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. There is nobody around who speaks a word of English (and sometimes not even Chinese - they use only local dialect).
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 are no computers, mobile phones or internet anywhere.
5. Everything on every sign post and notice is written only in Chinese.
6. You eat something and you have NO IDEA what it is!
That's my take on how to really see China - you don't have to listen or take it all in and of course you might find what you need in Shanghai and Beijing. But honestly, if you really want to see China and Chinese culture which hasn't changed in generations, then head off the scent to places like Jin Ji Cun, Shaoguan and Kaiping. You'll be gasping for more of China once you've seen what it's really like!
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. There is nobody around who speaks a word of English (and sometimes not even Chinese - they use only local dialect).
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 are no computers, mobile phones or internet anywhere.
5. Everything on every sign post and notice is written only in Chinese.
6. You eat something and you have NO IDEA what it is!
That's my take on how to really see China - you don't have to listen or take it all in and of course you might find what you need in Shanghai and Beijing. But honestly, if you really want to see China and Chinese culture which hasn't changed in generations, then head off the scent to places like Jin Ji Cun, Shaoguan and Kaiping. You'll be gasping for more of China once you've seen what it's really like!
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