Dan's Adventure

A tourist visa for China is only valid for three months. If I get one before I leave the UK, it will almost have expired by the time I reach China. I therefore need to obtain one in Hong Kong. I’ll have a day or three around Hong Kong whilst waiting for the visa to be processed so I’ll have the chance to see the sunset over the city from Victoria Peak and to see the harbour light show.

Due to entering and leaving in the south (I will be going to Vietnam after China) and wanting to visit Beijing and Xian to the north, my route in China will be a bit of a loop. Like India, the distances between destinations are huge so I’ll be using sleeper buses and trains extensively.

After crossing from Hong Kong to mainland China I will first be travelling towards Guilin from which it is possible to visit the Longsheng Rice Terraces and take a cruise along the Li River to Yangshuo. The scenery around Yangshou is stunning, its the perfect opportunity to hire a bike for a day and explore the countryside.

On the way to Shanghai I’d like to visit Hangzhou which is famed for its natural scenery, most notably West Lake.

From Shanghai I will be travelling north to Beijing where I will be visiting all the famous sites Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square and taking a day trip to the Great Wall of China. Apparently it is very crowded at any of the access points, but after you’ve walked past a few guard towers its practically deserted.

Pingyao lies between Beijing and Xian. Described by UNESCO as “an outstanding example of a Han Chinese city of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (14th-20th centuries) that has retained all its features to an exceptional degree and in doing so provides a remarkably complete picture of cultural, social, economic, and religious development during one of the most seminal periods of Chinese history.”.

The Terracotta Warriors are located near to Xian. I wanted to go and see the Terracotta Army exhibition at the British Museum in London last year, but I never got around to it. I’m glad I didn’t as seeing the full army rather than a small section of it is going to far more impressive.

Chengdu Panda Base is home to many pandas and I’ll be visiting it on my way to Lijiang. Near to Lijiang is Jade Dragon Mountain and Tiger Leaping Gorge which I’m going to spend a few days trekking.

As I head towards Kunming to get the bus to Vietnam, I might stop off in Dali, home to Three Pagodas. Kunming itself has a number of interesting features, the Stone Forest for example, making it worth some time before leaving China.

If you have any suggestions or recommendations for any part of my trip I would be very happy to hear them.