In this country, the hottest deserts are side by side with the highest mountains, the millennial tradition welcomes technological modernity and the bustle of the big cities spills over into the most remote countryside. Visiting China is therefore a unique experience, generator of new ideas and quick to awaken us to the world and its diversity. As long as you prepare your trip well ...
What is the image of China?
China has always been a world apart for Westerners. After its discovery by Marco Polo, it had become the starting point of the Silk Road. Subsequently, the Middle Empire frightened the entire West because of many legends, each more frightening than the last.
With Mao Zedong, China became a model for young people in 1968. Today, it is still talked about as much, but this time for the lack of human rights and many freedoms. Repeated conflicts with Tibet do little to improve international feelings about China. The Dalai Lama is the great figure of this policy of terror led by Beijing. However, far from all political considerations, a billion Chinese are working to promote China's economic influence. Hong Kong is a striking example of this success!
When is the best time to visit China?
The Middle Kingdom is so vast that the temperature range is around 80 ° C with maximum temperatures exceeding 40 ° C in the south, while some northern provinces see the thermometer drop below -40 ° C in full. winter ! You will therefore need to study the local trends in your destination before planning your trip. However, in general, travelers prefer to explore China during shoulder seasons. The months of September and October are particularly favorable because they are less hot than the summer months. Avoid the first week of October, which is the Chinese National Day holiday and sees accommodation prices soar in the most attractive regions of the country.
Snow capped mountains of China
At the end of spring, the country is adorned with its finery with the blooming of flowers and the rise in temperatures. In most cities, the thermometer displays temperatures of around 20 ° C, ideal for country walks and sightseeing. Many festivals take place during this period and the mountain panoramas are then sublimated by the onset of the wet season. In addition, this period corresponds to the low tourist season, which contributes to the drop in prices. If possible, avoid the period from May 1 to 4, National Labor Day holidays, which sees the influx explode on tourist sites and the prices with it!
What budget is to be expected on site?
Visiting China remains very affordable for Western budgets, but beware of the difference between the big cities and the deep countryside! In addition, your conception of the trip and your expectations will have a great influence on how you spend your yuan. Backpacking globetrotters will be able to find accommodation for less than 20 euros a night (and even less than 10 euros outside large urban centers), while standard and luxury hotels, even if they remain much cheaper than in Europe, will still be able to display prices up to 200 euros per night. Food side, China allows you to be full for a few euros a day, but there are also excellent restaurants which for less than 20 euros per person will offer you real feasts.
Visiting China without taking advantage of its exceptional monuments is a bit like visiting Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower, possible but too bad! However, these are the little extras that will impact your budget the most. This land of excess offers a myriad of sites to contemplate and some services come at a high price. The helicopter flight over the Great Wall will cost around 300 euros per person, while most of Beijing's landmarks cannot be visited without spending around 50 euros! The guided bicycle tour is also popular with tourists. Between 70 and XNUMX euros depending on the city, it allows you to immerse yourself directly in the life of the locals while benefiting from the knowledge of an experienced guide, a great way to visit china from below.
How to get to China?
Reaching China by road, as the famous Marco Polo did in his time, remains quite possible today. But you will have to reckon with several weeks of travel and many administrative problems to resolve. Unless you are a seasoned backpacker or an amateur of ambitious challenges, we therefore recommend the plane. From Paris, a direct return flight to Beijing costs between 700 and 800 euros and will take about ten hours. To lighten the bill a bit, you can choose to take a flight with a stopover. Although longer, these trips reduce the price of the trip from 150 to 200 euros, which is not negligible for small budgets.
To visit rural China, you can also choose to take your time and travel the country by train. For it, the Transmandchurian is ideal. From Paris, it will take you around 7 days to reach the coast of the China Sea. The price of the ticket is around 600 euros, roughly the same amount as the price of a plane ticket, but the experience is quite different. For those who have the time, the train allows you to discover the wild landscapes of China from the inside and meet the locals directly during the stopovers. Finally, know that maritime links still exist between the Old Continent and the Middle Kingdom. However, allow 3 to 4 weeks of travel at the very least!
How to get around on site?
To visit China, the transport possibilities are numerous and largely depend on the time you will have to devote to travel. Know that urban transport is very affordable. With a bus or metro ticket below 40 cents, transport won't break the bank if you're a backpacker used to getting by. Same taxi fares remain very affordable, with prices about six times lower than in the large western European cities. The new urban political orientations have also promoted the bicycle as a preferred means of transport in large cities. Some trails allow you to move around in tourist areas in complete safety, we strongly recommend that you take them to meet the locals!
Beijing aerial view
Those who wish to visit China in depth will not be able to limit themselves to the big metropolises from the west coast. To go inland, the train is the most practical means of transport. The main TGV lines that radiate from Beijing to Shanghai, Lhassa or Xian allow you to reach previously inaccessible areas in record time while enjoying the scenery. A Beijing-Lhasa, for example, will cost you 160 euros with a berth. To go deeper into the countryside, you will have to borrow local buses, inexpensive, or choose to hire a private driver, a very common practice for visiting China from the inside.
What are the gastronomic specialties of China?
To visit China is also to discover a gastronomy very different from ours. But isn't that what every traveler is looking for? Here's something to make your mouth water!
Peking duck
Peking duck is one of the great dishes of China. Take advantage of a restaurant to eat a duck seasoned with soy, spices, garlic, honey ... A sweet and savory dish as we know very little in Europe, served with raw spring onion and tianmianjiang sweet and savory sauce. You will eat it in the northeastern region of China, near Beijing or Shanghai. There is also a small variant of the Peking Duck: the Peking Piglet, in the Canton region.
The cereals
Cereals are served with a lot of dishes. You will find very easily noodles or rice in large urban centers. While in the countryside, the impoverished populations are satisfied with corn and millet.
The snake and the insects
China boasts of having the widest variety of dishes. This is true in restaurants. On the map you will find snake, eel, turtle meat. In Shanghai, some chefs also offer fried insect kebabs ...
A different gastronomy from one region to another
In general, the cuisine differs from one region to another. In the north, the inhabitants of the Yellow River like strong aromas, hence the success of lacquered meat. In Sichuan, spicy dishes are very popular. Everywhere else, fish and rice are favored, accompanied by steamed vegetables.
Where to eat in China?
As in Europe, you will find many stalls where you can eat inexpensively. The other side of the coin? Often questionable hygiene ... Hotel restaurants are the most demanding from the point of view of hygiene. If you are of a fearful nature, start by settling your stomach at your hotel. You will be able to taste western dishes and try little by little local dishes like the Peking duck. As an intermediary, you can book in a restaurant in town. Food hygiene is quite uncertain, but at least you will have the opportunity to taste original dishes like snake!
Peking ducks in a Chinese restaurant
In which region of China to settle for your stay?
China is so vast that it would be possible to stay there for several years without having toured all its natural and historical beauties. The East region is the best known and most populated. On the coast, Shanghai is a showcase for modern China with its streets always covered in light and its latest skyscrapers. A little further west, le Hunan is appreciated for its karstic formations and isolated rice fields, creating fantastical landscapes for us Europeans. Le Yunnan and the mountainous regions of Tibet offer an inexhaustible playground for lovers of unspoiled nature, while the Northwest region aroundUrumqi represents its desert counterpart… with endless steppes, dunes, camels and oases!
Lake Tianchi
To the east of this region, beyond the Gobi Desert, we find the bustling dynamism of the big cities of the coast. Nerve center of the region, Pekin is also the historical symbol of powerful Imperial China. The monuments to the glory of the Son of Heaven stand side by side with the most modern constructions and many tourists stroll there in search of the grandiose past of the Middle Empire. To visit China in an exhaustive way, it will also be necessary to explore the North-East region. Often neglected, the Manchu region nevertheless offers magnificent mid-mountain landscapes and enjoys a strong economic attractiveness with Shenyang, the third largest city in the country.
What are the main visits to do in China?
China has some very beautiful places to visit:
- Pekin is certainly the most visited city with in particular the Forbidden City or the Summer Palace.
- À Shanghai, the Jade Monastery dazzles all visitors.
- In Xi'an, the army of buried soldiers could very well be a new wonder of the world.
- Deep China also has very many sites to offer: the Potala in Lhassa, the capital of Tibet, but also Everest and the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas, or the famous Chinese wall, a titanic project undertaken between the 4th and 2nd century BC
- China is characterized above all by a mosaic of cultures. Hong Kong and Shanghai seduce more by their eccentricity and their festive character. There is no shortage of good shopping spots there, whether in a market or in a huge shopping center.
- Far from all this hustle and bustle, tibet offers a face much more turned towards piety, religion. Tibetan monasteries are very numerous, and you will come across many monks.
We offer a small selection of remarkable sites to see during your stay:
The Giant Buddha at Po Lin Monastery
Perched on the Ngong Ping plateau, the giant Buddha towers over Hong Kong from the top of its 34 meters. Try the visit and climb the 200 steps that lead to the foot of this immense statue.
Yufosi Temple
Yufosi Temple is one of the only Buddhist temples in Shanghai. This temple is made famous thanks to the presence of a beautiful jade buddha.
The Forbidden City
The Forbidden City is the most visited place in Beijing. She jealously preserves her splendid treasure: the Palace of Supreme Harmony, a palace which was used for major imperial events.
The Forbidden City
Le Potala
The Potala embraces Lhasa and the entire surrounding region. Former residence of the Dalai Lama, it is subdivided into two parts: the white palace and the red palace.
The Terracotta Army Museum
Preserved in a museum, the soldiers of the terracotta army allow you to contemplate an army at work. This is an impressive testimony to the military formations under Emperor Qin.
Terracotta soldiers
What to bring back as a souvenir in your luggage?
At the end of your stay, the time will come when you will have to buy gifts for all your family. Practical or decorative, here is our selection of souvenirs. Follow the leader !
Local cuisine
Your stay will surely have left you with good gastronomic memories (or not…). In any case, admit that Chinese tea is simply divine. Why not bring back a few boxes? Black tea or green tea, you will be spoiled for choice, with the best wines you can find in Shanghai! Special mention to jasmine tea whose aroma stays in the mouth for a very long time. To make a splash with your friends, bring back a tea flower. The ball, once thrown into hot water, hatches and gives way to a magnificent flower: the tea is then ready to be served. Of course, you can also bring back noodles and rice, although there is little difference to the food you buy in a European supermarket. But above all, remember to bring back chopsticks. So if you find yourself nostalgic, you can order Chinese and eat their way.
Jewerly
In China, many objects are made from jade stone (for example, the Jade Buddha in Shanghai). Many jewelry will allow you in particular to please your female entourage. Also think about cultured pearls, which you can find quite easily in China.
Clothing and fabrics
Known for being the starting point of the Silk Road, China produces a lot of fabrics. You can therefore bring back many clothes (sweaters, pants, T-shirts) at a lower cost. Also remember to bring back clothes or any silk object, always at very attractive prices. However, beware of counterfeiting!
Art
Chinese art is particularly distinguished with calligraphy. Writing is an art in China, which will allow you to bring back many personalized memories. As the arsenal of Chinese artists is always far ahead, you will also see many very special brushes and inks, difficult to find in Europe. If those around you love to paint, here are some great gifts!
Chinese door with calligraphies
Useful information
Each stay in China brings its share of joy and wonder, especially if the trip has been well prepared. We offer you practical information to leave with peace of mind!
- Formalities: Apart from Hong Kong where only the passport is required for Europeans staying less than 3 months… a visa application is mandatory for the rest of China. Please note, your passport must be valid 6 months after the stay and it must include 2 consecutive blank pages.
- Health : No vaccine is required to enter the country. If you are staying in a rural area, you can get the Japanese Encephalitis vaccine. Either way, protect yourself from mosquitoes and drink bottled water.
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Are you planning a trip to China soon? What will be your tour or your destination? Make us dream in the comments!
