China Travel Guide
Your Online China Travel Guide...
If you must make a bucket list, we strongly suggest including plans for China travel in it. Life is too short to miss out on what the vast Chinese land, the thousands of years of Chinese history and the billions of Chinese people can and will offer visitors to the land of dragons, both ancient and modern.
Planning an itinerary within the borders of China is akin to wishing for clones so that everything can be soaked up within a few weeks of travelling through the land. Then again, this is where the beauty of being a mortal man in the immortal land of China lies – each time that you visit, China never ceases to amaze no matter how well you may think you are jaded to its charms.
So, where do you start with your plans for China travel? Everything about China calls to the body and soul from the magnificent open land of Tibet to the urban cosmopolitan vibe of Shanghai and from the breathtaking mountains of Huang Shan to the stately elegance of Beijing. Well, since you are in China, the best start would have to be its capital, Beijing, or Peking to the Chinese.
As the living repository of over 2,000 years of imperial history, Beijing certainly has many attractions, places and activities to offer its awestruck visitors. First stop is the Forbidden City, which modern tourists and locals alike are privileged to visit at will since it was, indeed, forbidden to all but the imperial family and its court. Its collection of almost a thousand buildings is the personification of Chinese architecture and well worth the tired feet that comes with touring the palaces, parks and museums inside
Of course, your China travel to its capital will be incomplete without a visit to the now world-famous 2008 Summer Olympics Structure. Bring along your camera and sense to wonder to gawk at the modern brilliance of the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube.
Once you have had your fill of the hustle and bustle of the metropolis, head on to the mountains, literally. The Huáng ShÄn mountain range in the Anhui province is widely considered to be a must-see attraction and for good reasons, too. Granite peaks, twisted pines and soaring cliffs shrouded in an ethereal mist have provided unearthly inspiration for countless poets, painters and writers in the ancient and modern worlds.
The place is a contrasting image evoking China itself – unchanging in thousands of years and yet leading the flow into change. You will find many more of these types of scenery in your China travel adventures but none quite like the Huáng ShÄn.
And don’t forget the Chinese people for, indeed, a land is only as god as its people and the Chinese are one of the best peoples on Earth. You will be bombarded by an almost ceaseless opera of drama, comedy and entertainment in the urban and rural areas with the Chinese being a happy but hardworking lot. But if you wish to retreat from the drum of the rat race, you will be guided to the monasteries and temples where the Chinese tap into the age-old wisdom of their ancestors to find serenity.
Truly, plans for your China travel must be finalized. Soon, China will hold you in its thrall just as it did the likes of Marco Polo.
