Here's the truth about China and how you should visit the world's most populous country. Here's my simple tip: AVOID Shanghai and Beijing. Once you have escaped the realms of those two, then China suddenly becomes more real, more authentic and more rewarding. To be honest, visiting Shanghai and Beijing isn't really visiting China. I'll give you you a rundown on how to really travel in China...and remember almost everywhere in China is "off the beaten track" for the non-Chinese.
I'm talking about mainland China here - not Hong Kong, not Macau, not Taiwan. I'll also take Tibetout of the equation as it's a separate political matter but the real China is also mainland China. From my endless visits to China, I list Shanghai and Beijing as the worst two cities or places to go in order to see China. They are on a level with Hong Kong and Singapore as global cities these days. With Italian restaurants, Irish pubs and French bakeries in those cities, they somehow seem a bit less authentically Chinese nowadays. You need to head to places where there is not a hint of anything thatis not Chinese. Get completely off the beaten track!
Until you sit down in a village that nobody has ever heard of, to eat food you've never seen, miles from any major city and with no other foreigners or foreign writing in sight, then you haven't really seen China!
Leave behind the cities and head to obscure, unknown villages to see the real China. If you have experienced these things then you have seen the real China:
1. Nobody speaks a word of English (or even Chinese - only local dialect is used).
2. You cannot understand the bus timetable and end up in the wrong village.
3. Chickens are more common than cars in the village you stay in.
4. There are no computers, mobile phones or internet anywhere.
5. Nothing on sign posts is written in any language other than Chinese.
6. You eat food without ever knowing (or wanting to know) what is in it!
If you've ticked those 6, then congratulations you have seen the real China! If you haven't, please grab a bit of what you're missing, you will love China. China is the world's largest country by population and the travel possibilities are completely and utterly endless. China surprises me on every visit. It actually astounds me that in the list of the world's leading travel bloggers, loads of them either haven't been to China, or have only been to Beijing, the Great Wall or Shanghai. Get out and see China - it's an amazing place.
I'm talking about mainland China here - not Hong Kong, not Macau, not Taiwan. I'll also take Tibetout of the equation as it's a separate political matter but the real China is also mainland China. From my endless visits to China, I list Shanghai and Beijing as the worst two cities or places to go in order to see China. They are on a level with Hong Kong and Singapore as global cities these days. With Italian restaurants, Irish pubs and French bakeries in those cities, they somehow seem a bit less authentically Chinese nowadays. You need to head to places where there is not a hint of anything thatis not Chinese. Get completely off the beaten track!
Until you sit down in a village that nobody has ever heard of, to eat food you've never seen, miles from any major city and with no other foreigners or foreign writing in sight, then you haven't really seen China!
Leave behind the cities and head to obscure, unknown villages to see the real China. If you have experienced these things then you have seen the real China:
1. Nobody speaks a word of English (or even Chinese - only local dialect is used).
2. You cannot understand the bus timetable and end up in the wrong village.
3. Chickens are more common than cars in the village you stay in.
4. There are no computers, mobile phones or internet anywhere.
5. Nothing on sign posts is written in any language other than Chinese.
6. You eat food without ever knowing (or wanting to know) what is in it!
If you've ticked those 6, then congratulations you have seen the real China! If you haven't, please grab a bit of what you're missing, you will love China. China is the world's largest country by population and the travel possibilities are completely and utterly endless. China surprises me on every visit. It actually astounds me that in the list of the world's leading travel bloggers, loads of them either haven't been to China, or have only been to Beijing, the Great Wall or Shanghai. Get out and see China - it's an amazing place.
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For more expert articles like Backpacking in China visit Jonny Blair's global travel website Don't Stop Living - a lifestyle of travel for more tips and advice.