China is one of the world’s most intriguing and underrated destinations. Where else can you get such a diversity of landscapes, incredible cuisines, rich ancient history, completely foreign cultures and be unable to access Facebook due to such a strict style of governance?

When I told people I wanted to spend a month exploring China, most people gave me a confused expression, asked me why, or politely tried to show enthusiasm with comments like ‘China…mmmm! I’d like to go to Japan.’ *Sigh*

I first became interested in China after watching the BBC documentary ‘Wild China’ during University. Years later, I used the same show to convince my then  boyfriend, Tom, that we were going to go to China together. He had been yet another China sceptic, disinterested in this populous, chaotic seeming region. However like me, after the first episode he was hooked.

We set about making our China holiday a reality, preparing everything down to the last train ticket, as others, including Chinese people, had warned us that the lack of English and cultural barriers would make it a very difficult place to travel.

As with pretty much ever other place I have ever been to, all the warnings about difficulties ended up being largely unfounded.

Whilst China is complicated at times, we probably could have got by with a lot less planning and sometimes regretted booking English speaking guides in places where we probably could have done it ourselves ( English speaking guides charge through the nose in China ).

That said, our super-jam-packed-awesome itinerary meant that we saw a lot of China other western travellers miss (including its best bits!!) and didn’t waste any time once we were there. We had one month and made it count. This was our basic itinerary:

1. Beijing

Tom insisted (and it was fair enough!) that if we go to China, we go to Beijing to see The Great Wall.  Being an engineer, seeing things like big walls and famous bridges stirs his loins. I was a bit ho- hum about the whole experience at first as for some reason man made / historic monuments don’t always do it for me, but walking The Great Wall was a HIGHLIGHT of my trip to China. This thing is beautiful and amazing and an easy day trip from Beijing.  We avoided going to the part of the wall closest to the city, which meant we had fewer crowds and were able to walk on original and ‘refurbished’ sections of the wall.

Another Beijing highlight is the Hutongs, which are the old, modest smaller houses in the city centre, that have been protected for their historic importance, and subsequently turned into an adorable village of cafes and shops of every whim and fancy.  Stay amongst them if you can – there are hostels in the area including Beijing Downtown Backpackers, that is famous for the Great Wall tour that they run – I recommend it just for the location and the tour, although you can book the tour and not stay there if you’d rather stay elsewhere.

Other big, must see sites are Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven. We got a guide for the Forbidden City that approached us on the street. She was definitely worth it. We used a paper guide (available at the entrance) in the Summer Palace and had a great time there too.  The Summer Palace is a little out of the city, but easily reached by taxi, which is crazy cheap if you have an honest driver.  Just negotiate the price before you jump in.

2. Xian

Another bucket list item for Tom was that we see the Terracotta Warriors in China’s ancient capital, Xian.  We were keen to climb the famous Mt. Huashan while we were in the area too, but Xian was covered in smog when we visited and we couldn’t see the peaks, which turned us against it. Still, we enjoyed the markets in the Muslim Quarter, the temples, the crazy coloured fountain display that goes off in the evenings, cycling along the 1000 year old city walls and of course, the warriors themselves. We also visited the Tomb of Emperor Jingdi on the way to the airport. It’s a smaller version of what you see at the Terracotta Warriors but WAY quieter. Were the warriors worth it? If you’re in China, I would say for most people yes, especially if you read up before hand and / or have a decent guide. However, I’m more into natural scenery than history with crowds.

 

 

 

   3. Juizhaigou / Huanglong / Songpan

Next, we flew into Songpan from Xian and then travelled to Huanglong for a day trip on the way to Jiuzhaigou, where we spent a couple of days. Be prepared for an altitude shock if you fly in (Songpan is at 2867 m). Songpan is a tiny town and feels completely different to cities such as Xian and Beijing. You really get a sense of the Tibetan influence and the simple, humble way of life up in the mountains.  Yak stew for dinner, anyone?

We were blown away by the gorgeous scenery on the drive between the sleepy Tibetan town of Songpan and Jiuzhaigou:

Make sure that you stop at Huanglong National Park on the way – it’s right on the route and fairly standard practice to book a taxi that will look after your bags and let you stay there for a few hours before continuing your journey.  Huanglong National Park is incredible, and fits perfectly into the journey:

Jiuzhaigou, or ‘Nine Villages Valley’ is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen; clear blue and green waters, rushing and tumbling waterfalls, steep valley walls, bright autumn coloured leaves jumping out at you as you walk the trails.  You can do the whole park in one big day but may feel a bit rushed.  Two days will give you ample time to explore at leisure (and is a good contingency if the weather isn’t ideal on one of the days).  It’s the stomping ground of wild pandas, although you aren’t likely to see any, but you can see why they like this place:

4. Chengdu

Speaking of Pandas, Chengdu is the city to hit up if you want to see pandas, pandas and more pandas. It was also our next stop after Jiuzhaigou, with both areas being in the province of Sichuan.  Chengdu is home to China’s two largest panda sanctuaries and endless panda paraphernalia.

On top of that, its close to some amazing UNESCO listed features, as well as some areas that aren’t UNESCO listed but are just as beautiful. A local guide took us to the back part of a local mountain – the front is World Heritage listed and packed with tourists, who unfortunately are famous for having trashed the place. The back part? Incredible day hiking to a temple at the summit, beautiful waterfalls, forest, boat rides and peace and quiet.

 

5. Yangshou and Rice Terraces

After Chengdu, we headed down to Yangshou.  Yangshou is South – East Asian style backpacker heaven in South China. Ever looked at the scenery on one of those blue and white China plates? This is where it’s based from. Located on the Li River, this relatively small town is famous for its stellar karst scenery, laid back vibes, enjoyable nightlife, caves, rock climbing, comorant fisherman and nearby rice terraces – so big they are worth an overnight trip hiking around. We got a (highly disappointing) guide but you really don’t need one – I’d recommend doing the trek between the rice villages by yourself 🙂

6. Zhangjiajie

Energised from Yangshou, we headed onwards by overnight train to Zhangjiajie. This region claims to be James Cameron’s inspiration for Pandora in the Movie Avatar, and it is easy to see why. It’s a shame that nearby growth is impacting this area with smog, but provided you go there after recent rain (or even if it is a little smoggy, as it was for us) I guarantee this is one of the most incredible landscapes you will ever see.

 

The area is huge, with lots to explore, including Tianmen Mountain, so give yourself a couple of days to make the most of it.

Near to Zhangjiajie is the little touristy town of Fenghuang, which is built pretty much entirely on stilts along a river.  It’s beautiful, like something from a movie or another time.  While I’m not much of a big city girl, I found this place jaw dropping.  I knew I had to see it for myself after stumbling on pictures of it online and I’m really glad we made the effort.  Furong town, a village built either side of a huge waterfall, is also in the region and is worth a visit for a few hours – walking under the raging waterfall is a highlight.

We arranged our trip through this region with Zhangjiajie Backpackers and had a week visiting the Zhangjiajie / Tianmen / Fenghuang / Furong area.  This part of China would have been a little harder to do alone and was one place that, for the time being at least, I think is easier with a guide.  We only saw two other western tourists during our whole week in the area.

8. Shanghai

For me, this was the least interesting stop we made in China. It’s far more modern and western than Beijing. The European style buildings on the Bund are interesting, but then if that’s what you’re after, why not go to Europe? They have great food here and of course, plentiful shopping, especially great if you are an unusual body shape or size and want cheap tailored clothing, but expect to pay a lot more than you would in anywhere else in China (with the exception, perhaps of Beijing) for food, taxis, everything.

This blog post, while a bit of a monster, only scratches the surface of what we actually did during our time in China, but hopefully gives you a good idea of the diversity within this amazing country and how to plan a month-long-adventure.  🙂

Where I’d go next time

– Lijang, Tiger Leaping Gorge.  Just didn’t get time for this area but I have heard wonderful things.
– Further into Tibet, for the culture, the mountains and the sense of being somewhere remote.
It’s a little long (like 45 minutes long) but here’s a video my travel companion made of our China trip for those interested.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGIkN61lkaE