Why
Travel to China?
Big,
big, big. 1.3 billion hard working, inventive people; 5,000 years
of arts and crafts; landscapes stretching from jungles to Mt. Everest
with deserts on the side; politics stretching from imperialism to
capitalism with communism on the side; amazing structures ranging
from the Great Wall to the Terracotta Army with dazzling skyscrapers
on the side.
The food is fantastic, scenery varies from dreary to magical, the
country is good value, the shopping is excellent and the country
is working hard to be tourist- friendly, people are getting used
to foreigners and no longer stare in horror when they hear English
spoken.
This huge land is the centre of the earth according to Chinese tradition
and it's heading that way again this century; the China travel buzz
is thrilling.
Downside:
- Pollution in some cities can be breathtaking, particularly in Beijing due to rampant construction and lax industrial controls as well as natural forces such as dust blowing in from desert areas. In 2007 the World Bank calculated that 16 of the world's top twenty most polluted cities are in China.
The World Health Organisations says 'exposure to high pollution levels may trigger serious problems. People who have heart problems may wish to reconsider their willingness to travel there'.
- Massive distances mean considerable expenditure of time and money
for domestic travel.
- Petty crime is on a rise in cities.
- Human rights abuse is not to be discussed.
China Climate Guide, best:
Sept-Nov [or June-Oct for high altitude places like Tibet
or West Sichuan].
OK: April-May [some wind and dust]
Worst: Dec, Jan [extreme cold]; July, Aug [hot, humid and crowded],
1st weeks of May and October [Chinese holidays so attractions are
very crowded] and the Chinese New Year [sometime January/ February]
China Tours
Tour operators offering tours to China can be found in
our listings here: China
Tours
Some of China's main attractions:
***Beijing for the Forbidden Palace, The Summer Palace,
the Temple of Heaven, the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square as
well as stunning new architecture, terrific shopping and entertainment
and a few lovely little old streets that still survive the massive
rebuilding for the 2008 Olympics. Beijing
Travel Guide | Beijing Pictures
***Shanghai, Asia's version of Manhattan is more about bling and less
about Ming than Beijing...with dazzling skyscrapers [don't miss
the viewing platform on the 88th floor of Jinmao
Tower], fashionable people, avant-garde galleries and museums,
funky restaurants and bars, rivers of cars, oceans of noise, superb
new transport systems and a ferocious night life.
Perfect for travellers who pursue sensory overload but not so good
for seekers of ancient artifacts, though calm oases like Jade
Buddha Temple, Fuxing Park,
the Yu Yuan Gardens and a few crumbling hutongs still exist; alternatively take
a Huangpu riverboat tour for a fish-eye view of China 2K. Shanghai
Pictures and information
Anhui
Province [east, near Shanghai] for:
***Mount Huang Shan's
massive peaks, weird rock formations wreathed in mist, diverse plants
and wildlife have inspired thousands of years of paintings and poetry.
Climb or take the cable car.
**Suzhou, 40 minutes out of Shanghai by train and not far
from Hangzhou or watery Tongli, quiet Suzhou is a canal town dotted
with fine bridges, complex gardens and ancient stonework. Suzhou
Picture
**Hangzhou [180kms/110 miles south of Shanghai, Zhejiang Province], a busy
tourist town of canals, lake, gardens, ancient pagodas and varied
buddhas.
'In heaven there is paradise, on Earth there is Hangzhou'
is not an accurate description of the city these days, mass-touristy
as it has become, but the west edge of the pagoda dotted West Lake
is a relatively quiet place to wind down and smell the Starbucks.
Just to the south Mt Wuyi [Fujian Province] is an outstanding sight
with gorges and diverse plant life. Hangzhou
Pictures***Xian [Shaanxi Province] is the place to see the 8,000 man, life-size Terracotta Army, discovered as recently
as 1974, and Qin Shi Huang's tomb that
the army guards, 28kms from the city Xian
Pictures; the Banpo Museum's remains
of a Neolithic village [4,500 BC]; Huaqing
Pool, hot mineral waters favoured by emperors. You can soak
tired bodies here, near the Terra Army, but it's not a culturally
invigorating experience; Famen Si temple
exhibiting Buddha's finger bone and a Tang dynasty museum; the expansive,
dramatic views from the holy mountain of Hua
Shan [Flowery Mountain] which you can partially ascend by
cable car, with sufficient refreshment stops further up if you have
the legs to keep climbing.
Some way to the east, 13km south of Luoyang are the brilliant Longmen
[Dragon Gate] Cave Temples of marble, wood and tiled structures
containing over 100,000 Buddhist statues and reliefs 1km long in
1350 caves; started in 492 AD, it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
*Guilin
[Guangxi Province],
not a very inviting city but nevertheless encircled by karsts and
terraced rice paddies and gateway for visits to the exotic villages
of ethnic minorities such as the Yao, Miao and Dong, as well as
the exquisite six hour Li River ride [by boat, but bike is possible]
down to Yangshuo.
***Yangshuo [south], surrounded by amazing pointy limestone
hills [karsts], rural tranquility and cormorant fishermen this is
premium biking or walking territory though the town itself is a
neon-lit bustle of tourist overdose.
***Yunnan
Province [sub-tropical, far southwest, near Burma/Laos/Vietnam],
for colourful ethnic minorities, some ancient buildings and terrific
hiking or biking.
Kunming, known for its fine climate [aka the city of eternal spring],
temples and relaxed lifestyle, is fairly modern but still pleasant
nevertheless.
The weird rock formations of Shilin 'Stone
Forest' are an easy 100kms from Kunming while Dali, 370km away, is a backpacker favourite, with its atmospheric, fortified
old town, great hiking around Lake Erhai or Cang Shan mountain and
banana pancake breakfasts.
Lijiang, 570 kms from Kunming is more remote and less modernised
than most Chinese towns. Traditional old, wooden, low-rise buildings
[that are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site] are inhabited by traditional
old low-rise Chinese, offering one of the country's most charming
and authentic old-time China experiences, with the added value of
canals, colourful Naxi culture and the nearby Jade Dragon Snow Mountains.
Hiking the jungle in Xishuangbanna brings travellers to really exotic, ethnic villages.
Best time to visit Yunnan: more or less any
time. Winter is sunny but a little chilly, summer a little
wet but cooler than most places due to its altitude of nearly 2,000
metres.
**Sichuan
Province [west China, north of Yunnan, aka Szechuan] for:
Mount Emei scenic area with diverse vegetation, hundreds of temples - including
the country's first Buddhist temple - and the world's largest rock-carved
Buddha [Leshan,
8th century, 71m high] overlooking the confluence of three rivers.
**Jiuzhaigou Valley wilderness area
in north Sichuan for forests, karsts, waterfalls, valleys, birds,
plants, pandas and the Himalaya mountains.
*Turfan,
Kashgar [far north-west] for Muslim minorities, stunning
desert scenery and Silk Road relics, though it's extremely hot,
distant and non-Chinese. Silk
Road Pictures
*Hainan
Dao,
the Chinese answer to Hawaii. Main activities involve swimming,
snorkelling, surfing, hiking, sun-burning and too much Tsing Tao
beer; sights include primate-packed Monkey Island and the colourful
Tomb of Hairui. Hainan
Beach picture
Get there by domestic or international flight or by ferry from Hai'an
[Leizhou Peninsula, nearish to Guangzhou]. Best
time to visit: November to April; Worst: May to October [storm
season].
**Hong
Kong, people packed, scenically dazzling and historically
fascinating, it's a kind of muggy mini-China experience. The climate
is more sub-tropical than most of the 'mainland' so the best time
to visit differs from the mainland: October-December
is relatively cool and sunny. See Hong
Kong Travel Guide
*Macau,
this tiny [11 sq miles], relaxed ex-Portuguese island has a few
interesting colonial relics such as forts, churches and temples
but its visitor raison d'etre is gambling of all sorts from
odd Chinese games involving sorting buttons to high stakes poker.
Macau is easy to get to from Hong Kong by high speed ferry.
***Tibet is a breathtaking experience, both metaphorically and literally as your lungs gasp for oxygen and your mind gasps for rational explanation of the magical mountains and strange rituals. See Tibet Travel Guide | Tibet
Pictures and information
China
Festivals Guide:
* Especially lively/colourful
Jan & Feb. Harbin *Ice Sculpture Festival. Plus ice
sports!
Feb. Xian, Hong Kong Lantern Festival.
Feb/March, Lhasa,Tibetan New Year.
March, Chengdu Flower Festival with music and theatre.
Mid April, Xishuangbanna Prefecture, Yunnan, *Water Splashing
Festival.
April, Dali,Third Moon Street Fair.
May, Cheung Chau Island, Hong Kong, Bun Festival, 3 days.
Late May, early June. Chengdu, Sichuan, Guanxi, Hong Kong, *Dragon
Boat Festival.
June, Stone Forest, Kunming,Torch Festival.
July, Guizhou Province, Tribal Festivals for ethnic minorities.
Sept/Oct. Nationwide, Hong Kong, Moon Festival.
For
some precise dates, more suggestions and information see: Exotic
Festivals
Activities
Guide:
Trekking:
Yunnan province and Yangshuo area are terrific places for long and
short walks while of course the Great Wall is an amazing artifact
to wander in wonder, for days and as far from Beijing as possible.
Hong Kong's MacLehose Trail is renowned, as are Lantau Island hikes.
Tibet offers superb, eyeball-expanding skylines if you can handle the altitude but the bureacracy can be worse than AMS so check out hiking tours and let the experts deal with the paperwork!
Biking: a great way to see most places,
especially the countryside around small towns like Suzhou, Yangshuo,
Lijiang. Beijing is polluted and car dominated but still cycleable.
Hong Kong has good tracks around the harbour and in the New Territories.
There's plenty of bike hire available.
Train travel:
The Trans-Siberian is a classic ride, as is the new 690 mile trip
Beijing-Lhasa [Tibet].
Local rail services are generally reliable and more comfortable
than buses for getting around the country but take your own food
and book a place a few days in advance.
River
Cruises:
***Li River boat trips provide spectacular
views from smaller ships than the Yangtze River types, past rural
landscapes, karsts, bamboo groves and little villages. See information
right under Yangshuo and picture top right. [Best river months are
April, May, Sept, Oct]
***Yangtze cruises
[aka Yangtzi, the longest river in Asia]
escape new China's relentless hustle and bustle with a quiet chug
through the famously dramatic Three Gorges, past little old villages,
classic rural scenes, rusting barges and striking monuments.
By 2009 the Gorges will be less impressive as the water level rising
by 175m due to the controversial Three Gorges Dam.
Yangtze cruise ships range from bare bones backpacker operations
to luxury vessels loaded with all the comforts of a five star hotel;
boats commonly travel from Chongoing to Shanghai over 7 days or
just Chongoing to the Three Gorges over 3 days [return by bus],
or many other options.
*The Yellow River is big, dull and
dusty though there are some great monuments along the river banks
so boating works as transport but is not visually worthwhile.
Electricity:
220v, flat 2 pins, occasionally 3 flat pins or even 3 rectangular
pins [UK style].
Visa
advice:
Visas are required from visitor's home consulates with the exception
of western nationals visiting only Hong Kong or Macau. Mainland
China visas can be acquired in those two locations.
Health
information:
Beware AMS [altitude
sickness] in Tibet - even Lhasa - for older or less fit travellers;
hygiene standards are low in Tibet so typhoid is not uncommon, as
is rabies due to rampant dog packs.
Hepatitis A and B occur throuout the country as does malaria
in some south western states.
Language:
Mainly Mandarin [70%] or Cantonese, but service people are increasingly
making an effort with English.
Money
advice:
China is still not totally comfortable with credit cards outside
major tourist locations [e.g. big shops and hotels] so plan
to carry some cash. Exchanging foreign currency is easy but easier
still is to use cards to get ATM cash in most cities.
Tipping is not necessary in any situation outside Hong Kong or Macau.
Chinese
Cuisine:
Some of the best food can be found in little local restaurants so
don't hesitate to dive in where other tourists fear to tread but
locals are scoffing and slurping, even if the floor is littered
with bones.
A terrific north China speciality is Hotpot, often including
lamb, tofu and cabbage among other ingredients.
For the adventurous eater there are lightly barbequed scorpions,
sea cucumber, silk worm kebabs, snake bladders, bamboo rat, lamb's
penis and more exotica available from market stalls.
Chinese wines can be excellent, especially the yellow wine [huang
jiu] and rice wine [mi jiu].
And for those dependant on western food, no problem, KFC and MacDs
have a fat foot in the urban Chinese door.
If
you're visiting China you may like to check these other neighbouring
Asia guides:
Vietnam
Guide | Cambodia
Guide | Nepal Travel Guide | Japan Travel Guide
Thailand
Guide | Laos
Guide | China
Travel Links | Asia
Map
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