Uncomparable China

Gong Hei Fat Choy or Xin Nian Hao! Whether you are wishing your friends wealth and prosperity or just a simple Happy New Year it’s the thought that counts! With colourful Chinese New Year celebrations captivating our attention, China is an increasingly popular destination for visitors from the UK. Most visitors need a visa and from 1st November 2018 it’s a requirement to attend one of three visa application centres in the UK to have fingerprints taken. I visited China last year and was relieved to find that China’s Shanghai Pudong Airport is reassuringly modern and easy to negotiate. My tour wasn’t due to start until the next day and I was impatient to start exploring with my newly acquired tour buddies. After a long walk from our hotel and failed attempts at conversing with some bemused locals we found the subway. Outside the main tourist areas, you may struggle to be understood and few taxi drivers speak English so it’s important to have the name of your hotel written in Chinese. Shanghai has an excellent transport system. Our first destination was the famous Nanjing Road. At over 5 kilometres long it is the world’s longest shopping district attracting more than 1 million visitors every day! At the Eastern end of Nanjing Road stands the iconic Peace Hotel dating back to 1929, and the central section of the Bund. The sun was setting as we arrived, bathing the stunning buildings along the Bund waterfront in a pink and golden sheen. Across the Huangpu River modern Shanghai gleamed in the fading sun. The distinctive Oriental Pearl Radio and Television Tower is particularly compelling and demands countless photos! The area is famous for bars and restaurants. The whole waterfront comes alive as the evening light show begins and vessels adorned with colourful lights ferry passengers up and down to enjoy the spectacle. The nearby French Quarter exudes colonial elegance and modern extravagance. Its tree-lined streets are graced with opulent hotels and statement supercars. It is the perfect place to sit with a glass of champagne soaking up the atmosphere of a bygone era Next morning, we were up early to visit the top of the Shanghai Tower, the tallest in Shanghai and second tallest in the world after the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. It is a fun interactive experience. By way of contrast, the nearby tranquil Yu Garden dates back to the Ming Dynasty and has a huge Jade stone as its centrepiece. As evening fell, we made our way back to the River for an evening cruise. We had a totally different perspective from the water, and it was wonderful to travel along the length of the Bund to fully appreciate the magnificent architecture. Watery Suzhou, known as the Venice of the East, was our next stop and it certainly lived up to its reputation. We were treated to a relentless heavy downpour! Undeterred we took a trip down one of the crumbling ancient canals and peered out through the rain at the quaint little dwellings lining the banks. There are welcoming cafes amongst the lanes where we tried some local delicacies. Later we found a steamy tea house and enjoyed being cosy and dry with hot drinks and cake. A visit to a silk factory was interesting but Suzhou’s evocative Lingering Garden has UNESCO World Heritage status and is one of the most famous gardens in China symbolising the Qing Dynasty. With a little trepidation we arrived at Suzhou Railway station to catch our overnight sleeper train to Xian, site of the famous terracotta warriors. Stocking up on drinks and nibbles proved essential. The compartments are for 4 people and we soon got to know each other better as we climbed up and down into our respective bunks. Before settling down we enjoyed chatting and swopping stories of our travels. The shared facilities are extremely basic but providing you know what to expect it’s all part of the adventure! On arrival in Xian we visited the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and cycled along the impressive City walls which date back to 1370 and are some of the few remaining city fortifications in China. The Muslim Quarter was one of my highlights of the trip with stall after stall of exotic Eastern culinary delights! We met up with a local ex-pat who showed us where she lived and the Xian night life. Emperor Qin’s 2,200-year-old Terracotta Warriors proved even more amazing than I anticipated. The sheer scale and numbers are breath-taking. 7,000 clay warriors stand in military formation and no two faces are alike. It is fascinating to see the ongoing excavation in progress. Another overnight sleeper train took us to the Chinese capital, Beijing, for the last leg of our tour. Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City are huge and busy. Tiananmen Square is home to the mausoleum of Chairman Mao Tse-Tung and the striking Monument to the People’s Heroes. The Gate of Heavenly Peace with its portrait of Chairman Mao is the main entry point into the Forbidden City. Built between 1406 and 1420 the Forbidden City served as the Imperial Palace for the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The last Emperor Puyi was removed from his throne in 1911. A rickshaw ride around the Hutongs or ancient lanes was very welcome and we enjoyed visiting a local family to see how they lived. The humble little homes are now prime Beijing real estate. A Chinese Acrobatic Evening included some extreme feats and was very entertaining. Later we visited the Bird’s Nest National stadium and marvelled at the structure which was pumping out Opera music into the night air. Next door, the National Aquatic Centre is known as the Water Cube because of its shape and innovative blue bubble membrane designed to reflect the light. Our last full day was spent travelling out to see the indomitable Great Wall. At one time the wall was garrisoned by over 1 million soldiers and had over 10,000 beacon towers. To finally step onto the Wall on a bright sunny clear day was a “pinch-me” moment that I had dreamt of since my schooldays. A stroll along a quiet section of the Wall in the fresh mountain air provided time for reflection to relish the moment. Visiting Chins is hugely rewarding and exciting because it is full of iconic landmarks that we are all familiar with. What it’s not possible to prepare for is the sheer scale and magnificence of many of the attractions. To create your very own Chinese adventure contact me on 01932 8009330 or by email at julie.welfare@travelcounsellors.com