A few weeks ago I got a call from the New York Times to photograph the late-night scene in Boston's Fenway area, focusing especially on The Verb hotel and the late-night crowd at Tasty Burger's outdoor window. It was a fun shoot and a great chance to explore a part of the city that I don't spend much time in.

You can see the article and a few of my pictures here: Fenway Park’s Neighborhood Changes, but Keeps Its Character

I had a couple of days in Xian, China, in between trips to Chongqing, Yan'an, and Pingliang last year. It was brutally hot, but I tried to get out and explore for at least a few hours each day. The town's a common stop on the tourist route; the Terracotta Warriors were found not far outside the city.

But on this visit, I decided to spend my time mostly outside the city walls in the growing outer districts where people live. I went to out-of-the-way parks, took subways and buses to the ends of their lines, ducked into alleyway markets, found small temples not listed in tourguides, and otherwise just tried to go to places where a tourist might not have reason to go.

I'm fascinated by tourism, especially in China. So last summer, I jumped at the chance to go to Hua Shan (Mount Hua), one of China's five great mountains. It's a little ways outside of Xian, Shaanxi Province, and it's full of tourists, photo hawkers, and workers carrying heavy loads up what seem like indefinite staircases. Most skip the stairs and just take a cable car to the top where they can check out temples and hazy views of surrounding peaks and farmland.

The group I was with was on a fast schedule, so I could only visit one of the 5 peaks at Hua Shan in the hour we were on top, and unfortunately I didn't get anywhere close to the infamous plank path.

Last August, I spent an evening (and a few daylight hours while shooting other things) photographing Chongqing's streetfood culture. Big thanks are due to David at the Asia Society's China File for support on this project. You can see more images in my archive: Chongqing Streetfood.

It doesn't matter how many times you tell the cook not to add hot peppers, anything you order in Chongqing is going to be mouth-numbing and hotter than you've ever tasted before. It will be good, but it will be hot. From hotpot with friends to streetside barbecue to cold noodles from a bangbang man's buckets, Chongqing's myriad street vendors operate late into the night. You'll be lucky to get a table at the restaurants opening onto Tiyu Road, an area in Chongqing's central Yuzhong district and ground zero for the city's streetfood scene. But just about every little road throughout the city has a few cooks that set up shop on the street.

In the morning, you can find the standard oil sticks (youtiao) and porridge (xifan or congee), though there's usually an assortment of spicy pickled vegetables, tofus, and beans to add to the bowl. After the heat of the day cools off, vendors start parking their carts at street corners and the edges of plazas around Chongqing. On Shibati, the famous 18 Steps neighborhood built on a staircase, the street vendors are disappearing because the area, one of Chongqing's oldest remaining neighbhorhoods, will be demolished and redeveloped starting in October 2014. Most street vendors' customers now are demolition workers. Near Ciqikou ancient town, the tourists disappear at night, and shaokao vendors fill up the sidewalks. In Shapingba, street vendors fill the open areas near Chongqing University's gates. In Deyi World Plaza, one of Chongqing's glittering club and shopping areas, though, independent street vendors have given way to franchise kiosks.