4 . Thanks to its geographical advantages, China’s province of Jiangsu has played a starring role in China’s ancient Maritime Silk Road. Today, it still has a lot of ancient sites related to it.

Nanjing

In 1403, the Emperor of Ming dynasty ordered the construction of a fleet (舰队) of “treasure boats” under the command of Zheng He, who led seven historical sea voyages across the world. It was one of the largest and most advanced fleets the world had ever seen. A reconstruction of one of the ships can be seen at the Treasure Shipyard Relic Park in Nanjing.

Taicang

From Jiangsu’s busy port city of Taicang, goods have flowed in and out of the province by water for centuries. In the busy port, Lusi, where visitors can try the freshest seafood at Lusi Seafood Market, huge vessels sail the same waters where Zheng He set out on his historic adventures centuries earlier. It’s a continuity of commerce and exploration which shows that the historic Maritime Silk Road has never really gone away.

Yangzhou

In the city of Yangzhou, which is famous for its Huaiyang cuisine and historic gardens, there is a Tang-dynasty temple. In the 8th century, Jianzhen lived there before he attempted several sea voyages to Japan to spread the teachings of Buddhism there. It can still be visited on Shugang Mountain today.

Lianyungang

Close to the present-day city of Lianyungang in northern Jiangsu is Kongwang Mountain. Visitors can climb the mountain to view a collection of the earliest Buddhist carvings. These carvings prove the importance of the Maritime Silk Road and Jiangsu province’s role in the spread of religion across China.

6 . Some people consider devices like iPhones and laptops to be a roadblock to an enjoyable vacation. But for my recent trip to Europe, using gadgets enhanced my journey without breaking the bank.

Here are some international technology travel tips:

TripIt:

The best way to keep track of your flight details and other travel information is with a free account at TripIt.com. As you book flights and hotels, just send the confirmation e-mails to plans @ tripit.com and the service will automatically create an itinerary (行程表) for you. TripIt offers a great free app that will let you access your travel plans when you are offline, as long as you sync (同步) it once when you have an Internet connection.

Google Maps

We added a 50 MB international data plan so we could access Google Maps walking directions. Since it’s hard to quantify how much data you will need, use the iPhone’s cellular (无线的，蜂窝的) network data trackers to keep track of usage and use little of your phone. Turn off automatic e-mail checking and active notifications, and put the phone in airplane mode whenever you are not using it. While Google’s walking directions came in handy many times, they weren’t always correct, so it’s smart to keep an old-fashioned paper map as well. You’ll also want to carry an iPhone charger with you, or spare battery for when you run out of juice.

Riversteves

Many of Europe’s world-class museums such as the Louvre in Paris and the Prado in Madrid have portable audio tour guides, but the guides can cost as much as 6 euros each in addition to your admission.

In some cases, we skipped the museum guides and downloaded free high-quality podcast audio tours from well-known travel author and TV host Rick Steves. The free audio tours can be downloaded from riversteves.com or iTunes, and they feature pictures for each stop on the tour so you can make sure you are in the right place.