Best China Travel Experiences

China is a unique destination, distinct to other countries in Asia and elsewhere in the world. This is fantastic news for the traveller as the Middle Kingdom offers up a range of travel experiences that you simply will not find elsewhere. Below we have gathered together some of our favourites that keep us going back to this extraordinary country. We are sure that once you have completed your tour to China a good number of these experiences will be part of the memory you hold of the trip.

An essential China experience, at least one overnight train trip will give a good idea as to how China ticks and the train network is actually very good and getting better all the time. Longer train journeys also offer a window into ordinary rural China.

In major Chinese cities and other well visited tourist spots there are well put together cultural shows ranging from Chinese Acrobats, Martial Arts shows, Opera and music and dance  focusing on traditional culture and very much part of the China experience. Beijing, Xian, Shanghai and Chengdu all offer this entertainment as well as outdoor shows in Yangshuo and Lijiang and on an epic scale directed by Zhang Yimou who also directed the Beijing 2008 Olympic opening ceremony.

In the larger cities a wide range of entertainment is available from cultural shows including Acrobats, Opera and Martial Arts to the staggering array of restaurants many of which are a great way to observe how Chinese people spend their free time.

As China hurtles into the future there is a compensating revival and reverence for ancient traditions and beliefs. Residential streets and parks are alive with people pursuing cultural activities from kite flying and Tai Chi to games of Chinese chess.

China has been expanding it’s bullet train network at an extraordinary pace and it seems that every few months a new route opens. The trains travel around 300 km / hour and many distance times are now comparable door to door with internal flights.

For many one of the big pluses of time in China is the sheer variety of food available. There seems to be a national obsession with food and this has led to fantastic cuisine whatever your tastes. A Chinese back at home will never be quite the same!

Much of China is urban development sprawl or bland farmland but there are pockets of astounding scenery even in the densely populated East of China. Head further West to Yunnan, Sichuan, Tibet and Xinjiang for a more remote and wilder Asia.

Ordinary Chinese are very friendly and hospitable people who will often go out of their way to help a lost looking foreigner. Much of China has significant ethnic minority populations who are proud of their own culture and traditions.

The glow of rapid economic development shines bright in China’s large cities. Aside from the pretty lights the real experience comes from the sheer feeling of dynamism and energy that this booming country gives off to the visitor.

China offers some fantastic chances for adventure with the Western provinces in particular offer remote wild scenery and trekking opportunities to little visited areas. Tibet and Xinjiang are probably the most adventurous provinces.

Many temples have been surrounded by the buzz and noise of the fast expanding cities but once inside their courtyards it is possible to be transported to a world of tranquility and calm that predates the modern world outside.