A fascinating nation, China serves as a portal to the rest of East Asia. Peking Man, gunpowder, and noodles all originated in this ancient country. Chinese culture has persisted through millennia of violent upheaval and revolutions, golden times and periods of chaos alike.
China is once again one of the world’s top countries thanks to the recent economic boom sparked by Deng Xiaoping’s reforms and sustained by the country’s vast, hardworking people and plentiful natural resources. Ancient foreigners, like Marco Polo, were captivated by China because of the depth and complexity of its civilisation and its rich legacy; modern tourists will feel the same way.
First-time visitors to China typically focus on just three destinations: Beijing, home to the Great Wall and the Forbidden City; Shanghai, the country’s largest city and architectural showcase; and Xi’an, the ancient capital and site of the Terra Cotta Warriors who guarded China’s first emperor, Qin Shuhuang Di, in the afterlife. Many visitors to China choose to see the Three Gorges Structure, the world’s biggest hydroelectric dam, up close and personal by taking a boat down the Yangtze River.
Independent tourists who are more daring or seasoned may journey out of the Middle Kingdom in other directions, where the language barrier may make travel a little more difficult. They will go in search of the rice paddies of southern China, the silk mills of Suzhou, and the Tibetan settlements of Sichuan and Gansu. Their time spent in minority communities, where life has remained mostly unchanged for decades, will seem like a trip back in time.
