Quite possibly the important question that we should have asked ourselves when planning this trip was: two months in China – where should we go and what should we do?
Another question I’ve been asking myself since arriving in China is why has it taken us so long to visit? We are frugal travellers, we love delicious food, and we love seeing new sights and learning about the history of a new country… surely China covers all of that and more!
China had never been appealing for various reasons:
- Enormous cities
- Pollution
- Language difficulties
- Crowds
- Weird dishes
- The stories about people spitting in public places, including trains and restaurants!
These were all contributing factors in why it’s taken us so long to visit the most populous country on Earth. I’m so pleased that we’ve had no choice but to visit as part of our Grand Tour of the Eurasian Continent, as China is proving our expectations wrong in so many ways!
Where to go in China and how to get there?
We were successful in our application for a 30 day Chinese visa in Busan (details in a future post), so set about making detailed lists of where we wanted to go and what we wanted to see – had to stop after 20 places when we remembered just how slowly we like to travel – it’s great when commonsense finally catches up with us!
The issue isn’t what to see and do in China but how to choose the best itinerary for you. There are so many great suggestions out there of China’s Top 30 (yes, 30 – not a mere 10 or 20 must-sees!) so it’s about narrowing down your options.
It is expensive to travel around China
One major consideration when visiting China is the cost of travel. Accommodation and food are reasonably priced but trains and buses are quite expensive considering that so many new railway lines are being built, and the Chinese are travelling around their own country in droves.
A second class seat on a train is the same price as a standing seat, while the prices go up exponentially for 1st class seats; hard sleepers and soft sleepers.
As an example, our train tickets from Guilin to Chengdu were RMB 376 each for 2nd class seats for a 7 hour journey, whereas our hotel room in Guilin with ensuite, TV and aircon unit was RMB 93 per night!
Flights are reasonably cheap but as we love to see the landscape we always prefer to travel by train or bus, and two months in China is barely enough to scratch the surface of this enormous, fascinating country!
Deciding to spend more time in less places
In the end we decided that we needed to slow things down as had raced through South Korea, Hong Kong and Macau in 25 days.
We were torn between Guangxi Autonomous region, with its stunning karst mountains, and Yunnan with its beautiful mountains and many diverse ethnic groups… in the end I came down with a bad cold/cough/fever in Yangshuo so we decided to stick to Guangxi and save Yunnan for another time.
So how have the first 3 weeks been?
We have been totally surprised by our first few weeks in China. This country is such a mixture of old and new, shiny and decrepit, with rickshaws riding beside the latest Mercedes.
The food has been amazing – so cheap and a lot easier to order than in South Korea as most places have photos of their dishes or we just follow the crowds!
We’ve received a gentle exposure to China I think, as started in the south. We’re leaving Chengdu tomorrow for Shanghai, having booked tickets in the facing middle bunks in a hard sleeper carriage for 34 hours… will be interesting to see if my newfound love for China survives the journey 🙂 I can definitely say that I am so pleased that we decided to spend two months in China!
