FIRST TIME TRAVEL TO CHINA!

What an interesting country, culture and people!

I’ve been travelling to Asia for 30 years but had spent very little time in China, so my plan for this trip was to cover the highlights and fine tune my sense of what is most important for a 1^st time visit to China. 

Beijing is an 11 ½ hr flight from Vancouver, so checking with your travel agent about all the options like premium economy and upgraded seats is a good idea. 

Standards may be different than expected.  Hotels should be chosen carefully, some claim 3-4 or even 5 star ratings may not be what we normally expect.  Some inconvenience may be necessary to experience the unique culture.

Homes along the River

Beijing is the capital of China and home to 11.5 million people.  I think you need a minimum of 3 days to visit the highlights.  We started at Tiananmen Square which stood out mostly for the extreme crowds of Chinese tourist.  Across the road, the Forbidden City is much more interesting but expect long queues and a lot of pushing.  Pushing is like a national sport, done in good humour.  Despite that, the Forbidden City is worth the effort and a truly impressive World Heritage site. 
Check out the following links.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square 
 http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/beijing/tianan.htm

I really enjoyed the Temple of Heaven, a temple in a large park.  I especially liked watching all the elderly people practice Tai Chi.  The park is very well used and a must visit.

We visited the Badaling part of the Great Wall.  This is one of the most popular sections of the Wall and painfully busy.  Climbing the Great Wall is a moving experience but I’d recommend a tour that visited some less popular section. 

The busy, busy Badaling section of the Great Wall

The Bird Nest Stadium and the Water Cube Aquatic Center were also on our itinerary.  Both are impressive buildings but sadly they aren’t used and are saved to proudly show tourists.  I thought it was a waste of time.

A Pedi cab ride through Hutong was interesting.  The homes are several hundred years old, simple and clean but worth millions because they are in the heart of Beijing.  I found some very good tours that can be booked in advance and include the Pedi cab ride as well a visit to one of these most interesting family homes.

Visiting an old home in Beijing

The food in Beijing was really good, especially if you avoid the restaurants catering to large tourist groups. We liked the jianbing pancake, a must try street vendor food and a Beijing specialty found in many places in China. It’s a very thin large crisp fried crepe stuffed with eggs, fried wonton, cilantro and several other ingredients plus hoisin and chili sauces cooked on a large cast-iron grill.

We took a 2 hour flight to Yichang to join our Yangtze River ship.  Our cabin was nice, on the third deck with a nice balcony.  They called it a 5 star ship but I’d give it 4 if I was being very generous.  The food was OK and the variety was good.  The 7 days cruise was fascinating.  We visited a different city or new site every day including the huge Yangtze River Three Gorges Dam, the largest hydroelectric project in the world.  Though an incredible feat, the tour is unbelievable annoying because of all the individual tour leaders, yelling over megaphones to describe the dam.  It is worth doing but be prepared for throngs of tourist and incredible noise.  Going through the three river gorges was a real highlight of our trip.  Seeing ancient coffins hung on the cliff walls displayed cultural meaning dating back over 2,000 years.  It was also amazing to find out how many people were displaced and seeing the new cities constructed on the river banks, with many empty condos waiting for people to come to live.

A view along the Yangtze River

A model of the dam

Panda in the Chongquing Zoo

After disembarking our ship we took a bus to Chongqing and the zoo to see the pandas.  It was even better than I expected.  The animals were in great shape and there was lots of natural habitat.  Chongqing is a beautiful mountain/river city with lots of vegetation and flowers.  It’s hard to believe it’s a city of 34 million people.

We flew to Shanghai and were met by our guide for the 1 ½ hrs drive to Suzhou.  We visited Tiger Hill with its leaning pagoda and the Lingering Garden and really enjoyed both. 

Our final destination was Hangzhou and we stayed out of the downtown core in a walkable neighborhood to better connect with the local culture.  We took a boat ride on West Lake and visited Lingyin Monastery; both were extremely busy and commercialized.  Finally we visited a green tea plantation, where the famous “Dragon Well” green tea is grown and harvested.  The Chinese take their tea seriously and the visit was interesting and the tea delicious.

Back in Shanghai we spent our last night walking The Bund and enjoying the incredible view of this very modern city, a stark contrast to Beijing.

Touring China is physically demanding and demands that you accept large crowds of people almost everywhere.  It is a destination where a good travel agent can make the difference between a good and a great experience.

A walk along the Bund in Shanghai