It would take a lifetime, or perhaps several lifetimes, to fully study this Asian superpower. Use this travel guide as a starting point for your next adventure! Energizingly blending the cutting-edge with old traditions, China is a fascinating place to explore. New cities like Singapore with their neon-lit towers and ancient ones like Athens are connected by lightning-fast bullet trains. Over the roiling Huangpu River, Shanghai glitters. Further, Old Xi’an, at the end of the Silk Road, hides behind large, gated medieval walls, and huddles under the spires of the new metropolis. Moreover, it is home to wooden mosques, medieval market alleys, and temples.
Located between the towering spires of the Temple of Heaven and the Great Wall that encircles the Imperial Forbidden City, Beijing is a sprawling metropolis. All of these, and dozens more, encircled by the Chinese countryside, which is home to foggy mountaintops, rhododendron rainforests, deserts of billowing dunes where antiquities older than Stonehenge, butterfly-quiet temples, and caverns of Cyclopean stone Buddhas can find.
Regulations for entering countries and other travel limitations
There are once more nonstop flights linking mainland China with the United Kingdom. However, due to the nation’s zero-tolerance Covid policy, regular tourists are not currently eligible for visas. Also, all visitors must observe quarantine periods of at least 10 days upon arrival. You will put through frequent, arbitrary, and required testing, and asked to scan in QR codes to demonstrate your travel history.
If the person tests positive, they have to quarantine right away, which could mean being separated from their family and friends. There is a 14-day quarantine for people who visit Covid hotspots in several provinces. In 2023, rules will be less strict.
The Season to Visit Most Attractively
The climate in China further varies widely because the country is so vast. The spring and fall seasons are typically the greatest times to go, with November providing the ideal blend of cool, dry days and less tourists. In contrast to the pleasant weather in Shanghai and Yunnan, winter can be bone-chilling in the north. Moreover, temperatures in the western lowlands of China can reach the high thirties during the summer, which is typical of the rest of southern and central China. Further, if you want to see the mountains at their most beautiful, spring is the time to go. South and central regions have an increase in precipitation in April.
Most Notable Areas & Metropolitan Areas
Beijing
Beijing does not consider itself to be the capital of China. A world metropolis, it is once again the focal point of international politics. After all, throughout a large portion of the last millennium, this was Earth’s largest metropolis and the hub around which international trade revolved.
Among the chaos can be found the 8,000-room imperial palaces of the Forbidden City, the overwhelming majesty of the Ming Dynasty Temple of Heaven, and the dismal, eerie expanse of Tiananmen plaza. Further, you could spend a week in Beijing and still not see everything there is to see. And there’s a lot to see in the area, from the Imperial Ming tombs on Tianshou Mountain to the most impressive section of the Great Wall at Simatai, just over an hour and a half away.
Xi’an
Xi’an, at the foot of the Qinling Mountains across the desert from Mongolia, is one of the oldest cities in the world. Its glittering pagodas, mosques, and jagged skyscrapers marked the end of the Silk Road. Lantian Man, who hunted 12-foot-tall elephants in the era’s grasslands, isn’t the first human to call this place home. In the eleventh century B.C., this region became the seat of power for the Zhou Dynasty.
The Monkey Legend, which tells the story of the great sage Xuanzang’s quest to the west to retrieve the Buddhist sutras from India, begins and ends at Xi’an. Towering Ming Dynasty walls, the gigantic hip-and-gable pagoda roofs of the Bell and Drum Towers, and the tangle of streets in the old center with its bustling markets and hole-in-the-wall restaurants are all relics of a brilliant past that stand in the shadow of a 5G present. Further, there are also wonderful places to escape the bustle, such as the tranquil grounds around the Great Mosque (built in the eighth century) or the Wild Goose Pagoda (built by Xuanzang thirteen hundred years ago), where you can sit in peace and contemplate your inner world.
Guilin
Fishing with cormorants and cast nets, Chinese gondolas, soaring limestone peaks, buffalo hauling carts across soaring stone arches, and more… Scenery in Guilin are reminiscent of traditional Chinese paintings. On the Li or Yulong rivers, you can take a relaxing bamboo raft trip and take in the sights. Or, for breathtaking panoramas, trek up Kitten Mountain, which borders the river. The Reed Flute Cavern is one such cave, and it features dripping stalactites. Also, head 100 kilometers north of Guilin City to see the Longshen Rice Terraces, which stretch for 650 years and drop like green dragon’s scales over steep valleys and ridges to the horizon.
Yunnan
The southwest region of China is where the country becomes tropical, with rainforests stretching along the borders with Vietnam and Laos and teak woodlands climbing the steep slopes of the flowing Mekong river. Further, the vistas are very breathtaking. The snowy peaks of the Himalayas rise above lakes dotted with pagodas from the Qing Dynasty and the Jade Dragon Snow Mountains in the north, near the old wooden Silk-weaving town of Lijiang.
Located just to the north of Lijiang, the 3,000-meter-deep Tiger Leaping Gorge is home to the scattered hamlets of the colorfully attired Nakhi indigenous people. Waterfall-strewn jungles in the south send mist billowing into the air along the Dulong River and in Xishuangbanna Tropical Rainforest National Park. Gibbons whoop in the treetops as tigers stalk rabbit-sized chevrotain deer and gaur bison.
Shanghai
China’s largest megacity is perhaps the best example of the country’s economic miracle. In addition, digital murals adorning the sides and top of the steel and glass towers shimmer and shine in the sunlight. Until the 1990s, Pudong was little more than a marsh on the banks of the Huangpu River, but now it’s a gleaming new commercial area served by maglev trains traveling at nearly 300 miles per hour to transport tourists from the airport to the district.
Further, Shanghai Tower, at 632 meters, and the Oriental Pearl, at a height of 570 meters and resembling a huge Tesla Tower with a needle on top, now stand here. The greatest place to take in the sights is from the Bund, a stretch of riverbank that was originally the heart of a European trading city founded by the British, the Americans, and the French as a result of the Opium Wars. Magnificent museums and galleries further can find in the never-ending expansion inland beyond the river, as can the gold stupas and gabled pagodas of Jing’an, the Temple of Peace and Tranquility, which hides next to the rushing West Nanjing expressway behind the haze of skyscrapers.
Favorite Off-the-Grid Vacation Spots
Hunan
Some 3,000 quartzite pillars cloaked in pines stand up to a kilometer high above the rushing Zhangjiajie River in Wulingyaun, Hunan Province, Central China. These surreal landscapes may have inspired James Cameron to create the paradisiacal world of Pandora in the film Avatar. Dense forests are home to black bears, Chinese water deer, and Asian wild dogs, among other animals. You’ll have to walk a ways to view the wildlife, but the pillars are noticeable from a distance. Moreover, just outside Zhangjiajie City, there is the world’s tallest lift that will take you from the riverbank to the top of the mountain for a breathtaking view.
Yixing and Nanjing
Although Nanjing, the provincial capital, is one of China’s four great imperial cities, relatively few foreign visitors venture to Jiangsu Province. And it’s a beauty: its monumental antique walls, imperial palaces, porcelain pagodas, and Ming mausoleums mirrored in the Yangtse river. It’s a pleasure to explore the ancient stone city’s maze of winding lanes and quaint tea houses. There are many interesting places to visit in the area, including some excellent museums and exciting bars and restaurants.
One of the best places to visit for the day is Yixing, a city that can be reached by bullet train in under an hour and fifteen minutes. Further, over a thousand years ago, local artisans in Zisha used purple clay to create the first teapot. Shops lining historic canals now specialize in making them collectible works of art with elaborate decorations. The renowned ceramicist Gu Jingzhou created an antique Yixing etched teapot that sold at auction in Beijing in 2013 for $2 million.
Ideal Courses of Action
Chengdu is the place to go if you want to see pandas
It is quite difficult to locate wild giant pandas. The mountain bamboo woods of Western China are so remote that even park officers rarely see them. Hiking through their natural environment in Wolong Nature Reserve (three hours north of Chengdu City) is further simple, and visitors can get an even closer look at the pandas at the Wolong Panda Center, where (if they’re feeling brave) they can help feed the bears or clean up their enclosures.
Experience the Great Wall by foot
Incredible as it may be, the length of China’s Great Wall, with overlapped sections included, is greater than half the Earth’s diameter. Further, you can’t possibly walk the whole thing. The magnificently rebuilt part at Mutianyu, 45 km north of Beijing, is the most popular choice among tourists. Visit Jinshanling, located just two hours drive north of Beijing, and hike the part of the trail leading to Simatai in a single day through a semi-wild, mountainous landscape.
See the Suzhou Gardens for yourself
Scholars have been retreating to classical Chinese gardens for over a thousand years. These gardens feature semi-wild landscapes that have been painstakingly cultivated with pavilions and organically sculpted rocks. Although many were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, Suzhou City in Jiangsu province is home to some of the most stunning examples from the Song and Ming eras. The area beyond the circular gates further is like stepping into a real-life Willow Pattern, complete with birdsong among the trees and trickling streams crossed by little bridges. The surrounding city of Suzhou, with its thousand-year-old leaning pagodas, canals, and wooden bridges, makes a visit to the gardens a classy overnight trip from Nanjing.
Take some time at Luoyang to think about the Buddha
Beijing, Xi’an, Nanjing, and Luoyang are the four ancient capitals of China and are sometimes referred to as the “cradles” of Chinese civilization. Furthermore, this area is rich in history, with numerous prehistoric sites such as Neolithic villages, astronomical observatories dating back 800 years, and a series of painted tombs. Longmen Grottoes, however, is an absolute must-see. These are caves filled with approximately 100,000 effigies of Buddhas and Boddhisattvas, ranging in size from the size of a thumb to that of a bus.
Getting around China is easy thanks to the country’s well-developed aviation and high-speed rail networks, which link together the country’s major cities as well as the vast majority of its smaller ones. However, getting around can be difficult as English is not widely spoken and most people only speak Chinese. Further, combining a package vacation from a company like The China Travel Company with a customized itinerary from a local expert like Yixing Yiyou (yxlondon@123.com), who offers fantastic pottery and art tours in Jiangsu, or China Highlights, is a great option. Furthermore, Chinese-owned When planning a vacation, whether it’s for a few days or a few hours, Trip.com is a great place to start.
Getting There
Before the pandemic, British Airways and Air China flew directly or indirectly to most of China’s major provincial cities. However, they now only fly to Beijing and Shanghai. It’s inevitable that something will shift.
Hints for reducing expenses
Since prices are rarely displayed in China, haggling is not only tolerated but expected. This covers the vast majority of China’s markets, where you can find literally everything.
Questions answered about China
How’s the weather today, if you happen to know?
The range of weather conditions is extremely broad. Furthermore, extreme heat and humidity in the thirties are typical during the summer in the country’s central and southern regions. While Harbin and Beijing experience extremely cold winters, Shanghai and Yunnan remain comfortably warm. Most of the Mediterranean’s greatest sunshine and mild temperatures may be found in the fall.
Where does one find out what time it is?
Beijing Time, which is eight hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, is the only time zone in China.
What kind of money do I require?
Yuan
What do you speak?
The national language is further Mandarin Chinese, while Cantonese (Yue), Hunanese (Xiang), and Min are spoken in specific regions.