Grumpus wrote:

Several people here have said that there has recently been a terrific
opening to East Asia. If you're in the middle of the continental U.S.
and East Asian stations are booming in, what is the route of
reception, polar, transatlantic, or transpacific?

That would depend upon the time of day, the frequency used, and possibly
the beam direction of the transmitted program.

The station could be received via short path, or long path propagation.

dxAce