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.
First up, by China I mean for the most part mainland China. I don't include Macau, Hong Kong or Taiwan in that. I also respect Tibetan freedom and don't include Tibet as part of China. These are what I class as 4 Chinese countries, but not part of China. So as well as avoiding Beijing and Shanghai, you need to avoid those 4 places too in order to really see China. Rather than bore with the reasons why, I'm just going to tell you that I've been to China 10 times and the worst two places I have been so far have been Shanghai and Beijing. And by a long way. Beijing and Shanghai are almost on a par with Hong Kong and Singapore as being global cities these days, therefore their Chinese-ness is being phased out (there are loads of foreigners living in those two cities!). They won't stop to notice though as the money flows in...
Unless you have visited a village with a name you can't pronounce and nobody has ever heard of, eaten food you have never seen or even have a clue what it is, find yourself miles from any city you have heard of, are the only foreigner in sight, and can only see Chinese writing, then basically you haven't yet seen China!
So get off the beaten track to see the real China. If you experience these things then you are really in China:
1. No-one is sight speaks a word of English, some of them only speak a local dialect which isn't even Chinese Mandarin!
2. You get on a local bus to the completely wrong place.
3. Chickens are more common than cars in the village you stay in.
4. There is absolutely no internet anywhere, nor computers, nor mobile phones!
5. You don't see any other language than Chinese written anywhere!
6. You don't have a clue what was in the food you just ate!
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.
First up, by China I mean for the most part mainland China. I don't include Macau, Hong Kong or Taiwan in that. I also respect Tibetan freedom and don't include Tibet as part of China. These are what I class as 4 Chinese countries, but not part of China. So as well as avoiding Beijing and Shanghai, you need to avoid those 4 places too in order to really see China. Rather than bore with the reasons why, I'm just going to tell you that I've been to China 10 times and the worst two places I have been so far have been Shanghai and Beijing. And by a long way. Beijing and Shanghai are almost on a par with Hong Kong and Singapore as being global cities these days, therefore their Chinese-ness is being phased out (there are loads of foreigners living in those two cities!). They won't stop to notice though as the money flows in...
Unless you have visited a village with a name you can't pronounce and nobody has ever heard of, eaten food you have never seen or even have a clue what it is, find yourself miles from any city you have heard of, are the only foreigner in sight, and can only see Chinese writing, then basically you haven't yet seen China!
So get off the beaten track to see the real China. If you experience these things then you are really in China:
1. No-one is sight speaks a word of English, some of them only speak a local dialect which isn't even Chinese Mandarin!
2. You get on a local bus to the completely wrong place.
3. Chickens are more common than cars in the village you stay in.
4. There is absolutely no internet anywhere, nor computers, nor mobile phones!
5. You don't see any other language than Chinese written anywhere!
6. You don't have a clue what was in the food you just ate!
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.
About the Author:
For more information about backpacking china head to the amazing website china backpacker for ongoing stories.
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