China travel guide

The Great Wall of China is not just one long piece, but several smaller parts dating back to different times. The Huangyaguan Great Wall was original built during the 6th century by the Qi Dynasty guarding against the northern tribes and was later reinforced by the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In 1984, 3 km of the wall went under serious renovation including 20 watch towers, a water pass, and a small castle with a maze which all appear brand new today. Due to the mountainous location, the Huangyaguan Great Wall snakes its way on the ridge from peak to peak, turning the steep sections into never-ending staircases.
This is where the annual Great Wall Marathon is held, a tough run even though some of the route is not actually on the wall.

The wall at Jinshanling is probably one of the most exciting sections of the Great Wall of China. Near Jinshanling village, the wall has been renovated and is therefore very groomed, with cable car and outdoor loudspeakers playing Celine Dion. Going West towards Gubeikou, the wall quickly becomes naturally overgrown and decayed. Going East towards Simatai, the wall again becomes a bit deteriorated with loose surfaces but more winding with steep sections and plenty of stairs. This section offer great views of the snaking wall jumping from peak to peak until it disappears into the horizon, the image most people associate with the Great Wall of China.
You can walk on the wall all the way from Jinshanling to Simatai, a distance of 5 km, a trek that is quite popular these days.

The Great Wall of Simatai shares history with the sections of Jinshaling and Goubeikou, since it is a part of the same defense of the strategic pass of Gubeikou further west. It connects with Jinshanling in the west through a challenging section that is rough and winding with loose bricks. Though the west section is steep at some points, it is nothing compared to the east section. Here, the wall clings to the mountain ridge at an angle up to 80 degrees (earning the name Heavenly Ladder), passes over a natural bridge limiting the width of the wall to only 50 cm (Sky Bridge) before it reaches the high Watching Beijing Tower (986 m), where it should be possible to see all the way to Beijing 120 km away on a clear night (clear sky, in China?). This last wall segment (including Heavenly Ladder and Sky Bridge) is unfortunately off limits due to the obvious danger, so it is not possible to test the claim, but the climb up to the forbidden part is still rewarding - and hard.

The difference between the Vietnamese border town of Lao Cai and Hekou on the Chinese side is quite immense. Crossing the bridge from Vietnam to China, you leave behind the joking have-all-the-time-in-the-world Vietnamese only to be met with stern looks and Chinese efficiency on the other side. The huge billboards with Chinese advertising facing the Vietnamese side of Red River leave you wondering who it is for, since nobody on the Vietnamese side speaks or reads Chinese. Beside all the facilities a traveller needs : banks, restaurants, hotels and a bus station, there also are the odd stores (like porn shops) catering for the border crossers. Hekou is packed with border traffic going or coming from Vietnam and can be an annoying place if you have to stay the night. Nobody speaks anything other than Chinese except for a few dodgy characters who seem to live of ripping off the few travellers passing by. You only spend time in Hekou, if you have to.

Passing through the Tanggul Pass at 5072 m to become the highest railway on earth, the Qinghai-Tibet railway adds to an impressive list of Tibetan height superlatives. Running 1956 km from Xining to Lhasa, the railway is also hailed as just another world-class feat of engineering for the Chinese. Much of the line is built on permafrost and requires artificial cooling during the warmer months to ensure the rail stays in place. Consider also that oxygen is pumped through the cabins to help prevent altitude sickness and it all starts to feel a little extreme. Just don't forget to spend some time glued to the window as the landscape is completely captivating.

Hong Kong is officially a part of China, but it sure is a different world from the mainland. The whole range of life is represented here, from glamorous high society life on Hong Kong Island to the darkest corner of Mong Kok in Kowloon, where the density of people is beyond belief. The neon lit city is famous for shopping and fine dining, but nothing comes cheap here. Gawk at all the luxury brand stores, some you probably didn't even know existed, or get lost in the more trashy part of Tsim Sha Tsui. Go to the beach or take a hike in the hills, or gulp in all the iconic Hong Kong of high-rises, malls and neon signs.

In the old days when the Forbidden City was forbidden, the area around it was a huge maze of traditional shopping quarters, so-called hutongs. Today, most have been demolished for communist concrete or modern highrises, but there are still a few hutongs left. Here you can get lost in the narrow lanes, watching how real Beijing people live, join the squatting row in one of the public toilets (most houses here do not have their own toilet) and check the merchandises of the many small specialised shops. The hutongs that have become tourist attractions are a bit tarted up, but there are still lots of hidden scruffy corners waiting to be explored.

The East Qing Imperial Tombs contain 15 tombs hereof five for emperors from the Qing Dynasty along with a long list of empresses, princes, princesses and concubines, including the tomb of Empress Dowager Cixi (she is portrayed in the movie "The Last Emperor"). The largest tomb is also the first which dates back to 1663 and is for the first emperor, Shunzhi, of the Qing Dynasty. Though the complex has some fine elaborated tomb chambers which are open (e.g. the ones for Emperor Qian Long and Empress Dowager Cixi), the most impressive thing about the tombs is the whole layout which follows strict feng shui principles which incorporates spirit paths guarded by statues and the surrounding mountains.

This crazily named mountain reaches 5,596 m into the sky and is capped by the southernmost glacier on the northern hemisphere. One side of Tiger Leaping Gorge is actually formed by the far side of the mountain. The snow on the peaks is eternal and can be reached in classic Chinese fashion by cable car which goes as high as 4,506 m. Here you will mingle with smoking Chinese tourists inhaling oxygen from canisters while sliding down the slope on rented toboggans. Jade Dragon Snow Mountain can be reached from Lijiang on a fun, though a bit surreal, day trip. If you are looking for a bit of serious exploration of the mountain, you can then go skiing (there are a few ropeways), hiking and even mountain climbing.

This is where main China ends and the Tibetan Wild West begins. The town is beautifully located along a river at the bottom of a canyon with steep mountain sides. The town itself is not among the prettiest and it is hard to tell whether it is Chinese turned Tibetan, with a bit of Tibetan architecture thrown in for pleasing local tourists, or it was once a Tibetan town turned Chinese (the latter is the truth). It functions as a getaway point for both the northern and southern overland routes into the Tibetan province (TAR), which both can be broken off into great journeys of the Tibetan areas outside TAR, which are rich in Tibetan culture and do not need special travel permits.