China travel guide

Sky burial is a Tibetan custom for giving back the earthly remains after death, when the soul has left the body for reincarnation. The body is simply sliced open and offered to waiting vultures that rip the flesh from the bones within minutes. Afterwards, the bones, along with the skull and brain, are smashed to pieces with an axe and mixed with barley flour and again offered to the still waiting vultures. Besides being a mind blowing experience (and not for the faint hearted), it's also a very rare opportunity to get close to these monster birds of prey, some of them very rare (such as Black and Bearded vultures). Remember this is not a tourist attraction and an invitation should be obtained before attending. (The picture was taken with permission from the descendants).

Long a fertile oasis centre and a real hotspot on the ancient Silk Road, the town of Turpan, in Xinjiang province, has a surprising number of excellent sites on offer. Everything from Grape Valleys to the Emin Minaret to Gaochang Ancient City to Buddha Caves and more... Turpan has a cavalcade of hits that are relatively unvisited. Although it could possibly be done as a day trip from the capital of Urumqi, overnighting is highly suggested. Any hotel can set up an easy day tour around the main sites, then the opportunity to freely wander the market in town is a great way to spend a day (or even two).

Wuzhen Watertown is an ancient town famous for its canals and old houses. It is a scenic place, so it can get rammed with Chinese tourists on tours throughout the day. It is not uncommon to watch a Chinese tourist poking a telescopic lense into someone's house and photograph someone doing their laundry. There are some good restaurants overlooking the water where you can sample loads of odd Chinese food and there is loads of Chinese street food especially the contentious "smelly fermented tofu". Wuzhen is two hours from Shanghai and one hour from Hangzhou and worth visiting for half a day of sightseeing and people watching - especially Chinese tourists. Don't bother buying the expensive ticket for 7 or 8 local buildings unless you can read Chinese characters.

The ancient city of Xi'an is surprisingly inviting. It was the imperial capital for more than a handful of Chinese dynasties and the end/beginning of the Silk Road. As a result, there are charming quarters, ambient temples and tall pagodas to keep any traveller busy for a couple of days. The old town is fenced off by a massive city wall that is so wide that you can cycle on top of it, which is a great way to take in the city (bicycles can, of course, be rented up there). The booming Chinese economy has turned the main streets into high class shopping malls and you have to zigzag your way through the luxury cars parked on the sidewalk. Away from the centre and the swarms of tour groups, you can find parks with group dance, fountains and hip-hop spinning teens. Outside Xi'an, you find the famous Terracotta Army and the mountain Huashan.

While in many other countries it's the international tourists you are trying to avoid, in China they pale in comparison to the fear of having to share a destination with coach-fulls of domestic sightseers. However, their reluctance to venture from the beaten path makes it a lot easier to find places to yourself. Yangshuo is one of the most popular destinations for Chinese to take their holidays but right nearby is the quaint, riverside town of Xingping. Many tourists do make their way here on day trips from Guilin or Yangshuo but leave long before sunset, leaving you to discover the beautiful town and the nearby farms in peace.
The windy cobblestoned paths will lead you away from the town and down to the bridge over the Li river, so you can enjoy the incredible spectacle of the sun setting behind the seemingly infinite karst peaks.

Yak butter tea is available all over Tibet. If you visit a local Tibetan family, you can be sure that they will offer you this drink. The tea is very very rich, since based on butter, and is definitely not to everyone’s taste. Tibetans drink yak butter tea regularly and because it’s very rich in calories, it’s a good drink for high altitudes. Since based on butter, the tea is obviously also very greasy, which actually makes it a good cure for chapped lips, which is why Tibetans never need to use lip balm.

Many places in Tibet you see yaks grassing along the roads and on mountain sides. They are everywhere, also on the menu. You can get yak soup, yak stew, yak dumplings, etc.
Yak meat is sold in market places and at butchers, where every part of the animal is for sale; head, intestines, organs, you name it. When you see the meat lying or hanging around the streets, you kind of try to supplant that that’s probably also where restaurants get their meat from.