China Travel Blog

As noted earlier, China is already the world’s number-three destination for international travel. Many travelers nowadays have already made one or two trips to China, but more often than not, they’re visiting the coast, possibly venturing inward to check out the Terracotta Army in Xi’an.

But China is more than just a handful of sites in the country’s east. In fact, western China has just as much – if not more – to offer travelers who are looking for unforgettable experiences.

If you’re planning a China trip this year, we encourage you to look beyond the traditional travel destinations to China’s wild west. Here are some of our picks for places to visit in China’s west in 2011:

Yunnan: Land of diversity

Few places in the world pack as much variety into one area as the province of Yunnan, which offers a mind-bog

gling variety of landscapes ranging from jungle lowlands in the south to Tibetan highlands in the northwest.

Yunnan’s ubiquitous mountains have historically isolated groups of people from one another, which is one of the main reasons that the province has China’s highest number of ethnic groups. With 26 ethnic groups including Han, Tibetan, Dai, Bai, Yi, Hani, Hui, Mongol, Naxi, Lisu, Yao, Lahu and countless subgroups, Yunnan is a rainbow of different ethnic traditions, clothing and cuisine.

The mountain towns of Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-la are home to unique cultures whose lives are still steeped in ancient traditions. Down south in Xishuangbanna, tropical weather, tea plantations, spicy food and the lazy Mekong River await.

Guizhou: Still undiscovered

Guizhou Province may not attract as many

visitors as its neighbors Sichuan, Yunnan and Guangxi, but it certainly deserves consideration when making plans to travel to western China. Beautiful mountain scenery and a distinctive spicy and sour cuisine are some of th

e highlights of a trip to Guizhou. But as in many other parts of China, the big draw for us is the people.

The Miao, Gejia, Dong and Yao villages in Guizhou’s mountains are home to some of Asia’s most unique cultures and friendliest, most welcoming communities. Many of our clients rank our Guizhou village immersions among their top China travel experiences.

Sichuan: More than pandas

Sichuan is one of China’s most distinctive provinces, known for its spicy food, stunning mountain scenery, beautiful women and China’s ‘national treasure’ – the giant panda.

Sichuan’s capital Chengdu is a modern metropolis set on the west end of the fertile Sichuan Basin, a region that kingdoms battled for in ancient times. Chengdu is considered the capital of Sichuan cuisine, one of the most famous and flavorful of China’s culinary traditions.

The historical importance of Buddhism to Sichuan is evident in Chengdu at the Wenshu Monastery, located in the city’s center. Not far from Chengdu lie the Buddhist holy mountain of Emei Shan and the world’s largest seated Buddha at Leshan.

Sichuan has fantastic natural beauty as well, with the mountain forests and fantastic aquamarine lakes of Jiuzhaigou in the north and gorgeous mountain scenery at Minya Gongga in the province’s west.

Xinjiang: Silk Road echoes

Xinjiang is simply massive. It comprises roughly one-sixth of China’s total territory and boasts some of the country’s most stunning mountains and deserts.

At the crossroads of Asia, Xinjiang has been home to many different ethnic groups, from the caucasoid peoples whose mummies date back to more than 3,800 years ago to the Turkic Uighurs who moved into the region from present-day Mongolia 1,100 years ago to today’s growing Han population.

Islam is the dominant religion in Xinjiang, where extremism is rare and moderation is the norm. Due to its location on the old Silk Road, Xinjiang has also been influenced by Buddhism.

For visitors to Xinjiang, the local cuisine is often one of most pleasant surprises. Featuring rich stews, tasty breads, a large variety of noodles from flat and wide to easily spoonable diced noodles and even salads, Xinjiang cuisine is a delicious world away from typical Chinese fare.

Today marks the beginning of the busiest travel season in China: from January 21 to February 27, China’s skies, roads, and rails will be inundated as an expected 640 million people, from every corner of the country, go on the move. What destinations could possibly be so compelling as to temporarily shift more than 9% of the world’s entire population? Home, of course.

The impetus is the Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival (chun jie). Far and away the most important festival on the Chinese calendar, the Spring Festival has always been a traditional time of homecoming and renewal. As such, this deluge occurs every winter, but the Ministry of Transport in China has predicted that this year’s will be the worst yet. One explanation is that many Chinese, in addition to returning home for the holidays, will also take advantage of the time off for domestic and international tourism.

With so many people competing for tickets, the rush has resulted in some amusing local news items. One story details the rising trade in fake student IDs as travelers get more innovative in their search for a cheap ticket home. A well-humored Beijing man named Chi Dongting, frustrated with long wait times at railway offices in freezing temperatures, successfully used a stylishly-dressed mannequin to hold his place in line – while he huddled in his car for warmth.

Far from being intimidated by the crowds, AsiaTravel believes there are some not-so-packed spots in China that truly shine during the holiday period. Yunnan province is a popular destination with our clients this time of year for a variety of reasons; the subtropical climate of verdant Xishuangbanna is an obvious draw, while up north the old cities of Dali and Lijiang take on a more peaceful personality with high season still months away.

And if you own a good jacket, Tibet awaits. With many annual pilgrimages underway, February represents an ideal opportunity to see local Tibetans in their colorful traditional dress – and there’s plenty of yak butter tea to keep you warm!

We always promote going off-the-beaten-path for travel in China; but with the beaten path about to fill up with home-bound travelers and domestic vacationers, there’s perhaps no better time to do so than during the Spring Festival.

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Image: Birmingham Post

The following is an excerpt taken from The World of Chinese.  The author LeeAnn Deemer and her family traveled with AsiaTravel in August of 2010. Here is their story:

When we get off the plane in Lhasa, we can’t quite believe we are really in Tibet. This may have been partly due to the unscheduled stop in Chengdu which meant that we arrived hours later than we’d planned, but that was only part of it. The approach to Lhasa is vertiginous, as the plane banks left and right, dipping down below the peaks of the maze of mountains we are navigating. The runway is tucked into a narrow valley with mountains on either side.  Yet in retrospect the sensation of unreality upon leaving the airport in Lhasa is probably mostly caused by the altitude. I feel odd and slightly light-headed, and the colors around me all seem much brighter than usual.  The sunlight is intense and our surroundings look as sharp as cut glass. Lhasa itself lies about a 90-minute drive from its airport, hidden behind a chain of mountains, but Lhasa will have to wait. Excited to salvage what we can of the day, we head west, away from the capital towards the first stop on our seven-day itinerary, Tsedang.

We have brought three generations of the family on this trip—my husband’s parents who are long-time expats in Beijing and our two older children who are nine and six. We’ve left the three-year old in Singapore, where we live, as the altitude change is not recommended for children under five. The six of us bounce along the road with driver and guide, unable to tear ourselves away from the sights out the window. The town around the airport is so small that we are almost immediately in the countryside, passing farmhouses and fields. We see children playing, old women threshing on the side of the road, goats, sheep, pigs, dogs.

Tsedang lies in the Yarlung Valley, considered to be the cradle of the first Tibetan kingdom in the seventh century. We head directly to Yumbulagang, a fortress cum chapel which is said to be the oldest building in Tibet, although much of what one sees today is recent reconstruction. We only arrive about an hour or two before sunset, the last visitors of the day. Yumbulagang perches on the tip of a ridge, overlooking the flat green valley below. We are intimidated by the steep path and even steeper steps, as we’ve been warned not to exert ourselves for the first few days at this altitude. Any other visitors seem to have left hours ago, and we have our pick of the ponies, yaks, and one lone camel loitering in the parking lot with their owners, waiting to carry visitors up to side of the cliff. The view over the valley is spectacular, revealing neat green fields in the golden light of the setting sun. We have the place entirely to ourselves, and the only sound apart from the children frolicking in the distance is the flapping of the enormous tangle of prayer flags in the wind above the Yumbulagang.  The setting and the solitude conspire to fulfill every fantasy that I had ever had about Tibet—here I am in one of the most spiritually profound places in the world and I drink in the moment.

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Photo by Pete Deemer.

We would like to introduce Zhao Bei as AsiaTravel’s new Assisting General Manager:

Zhao Bei joined AsiaTravel in 2004 and has seen the company grow almost since its very beginnings. A Beijing native, he has been very passionate about travel. Having graduated from Beijing’s University of International Relations with a degree in International Politics and Law, Zhao Bei was set to enter the local government. He decided, however, to diverge quite literally to an off-the-beaten path instead.

During his time at AsiaTravel, Zhao Bei has had the opportunity to travel to almost every corner of China, including overland journeys from Tibet into Sichuan and camping in the Taklamakan Desert. He helped develop innovative trips, including journeys examining China’s environment and its economic realities. Prior to his current position, he served as the Director of Travel Partners and most recently, Manager of AsiaTravel’s IT initiatives.

As he translates this knowledge into his new role, he was asked, “What are you most excited about? What motivates you the most? What’s your biggest challenge?”

He answers, “As cliche as it may sound, we truly are trying to shape the way people travel.  People all over the world are interested in China now. They want to come to China, and AsiaTravel strives to provide them with not only a unique experience but a unique insight. Stories exchanged between our guides and our clients discuss what this country was, what it is to them presently, and what it might be in the future. For me, the different perspectives about China create an interesting and multi-dimensional window through which I can process the world.  This is why AsiaTravel motivates me. Of late, I’m reflecting a lot about what our business means to everyone else involved – our clients, our partners, our teams. I’m considering their goals and wrapping my head around our shared core values so that AsiaTravel can help more people Experience China Differently.”

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The following post is an excerpt from Catherine Bodry, a writer for AOL’s Gadling Travel Blog.

Once an important market town on China’s ancient tea-horse road, Shaxi is one of seemingly very few Chinese villages that have retained their original feel. Quiet, with cobblestone lanes and courtyard homes, Shaxi is currently undergoing a “remodel” to restore and preserve its historical market square, inner village, and, eventually, ready the entire Shaxi Valley for tourism. Though only a few hotels and shops currently smatter the tiny village, there’s no way a town like this will stay this quiet for long. You’ll be rewarded by visiting soon, as the vibe is sure to change after the completion of a new highway nearby.

Gadling was lucky enough to visit Shaxi in November on a trip with AsiaTravel, during which we traced parts of China’s tea-horse caravan route.

Shaxi sits roughly between Lijiang and Dali, and was a halfway point for tea and horse traders traveling between southern Yunnan and Tibet. The town experienced its prime from 1368-1911, when it flourished as a way station along the tea-horse trading route. When the last of the caravans passed through in 1949, Shaxi settled into relative isolation. In 2001, the World Monument Fund added Shaxi’s market square to its Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites, as the square had its original theater, temple, and guesthouses. All, however, were in danger from neglect and the potential of shoddy restoration. In partnership between the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich and the People’s Government of Jianchuan County, the first phase of the Shaxi Restoration Project began in 2006, and the village is readying itself for more visitors.

To read full posts from Gadling’s trip to Yunnan, click here.

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Contact Catherine Bodry at catherine.bodry@weblogsinc.com. Photo by Gadling.

With the advent of the New Year comes the annual slew of lists of what to look for in 2011. Publications have picked their top travel destinations for the next year, and several prominent ones have turned the spotlight on new high-end accommodations in lesser-known spots in China. At AsiaTravel, we have been very much focused on the same trend…

That China is making appearances on such lists should come as no surprise. China currently ranks as the world’s fourth most popular travel destination and it is expected to topple the United States and France out of the top slots by the end of the decade (or even sooner).

But it’s not just trips to Beijing and Shanghai that will drive that growth. The New York Times and The Financial Times have cited Hangzhou, Pingyao, and Lhasa as the places to be in China this year, and there is a common thread linking the three. These cities have long had the historical and cultural pull to draw tourists, but now they also have high-end hotels where those tourists can hang their hats at the end of a long day of travel.

The New York Times mentions Jing’s Residence in Pingyao, the ancient town’s first boutique hotel, and a wave of big names setting up shop in Hangzhou, including Shangri-La and the Four Seasons. The Financial Times highlights the St. Regis Lhasa, which represents that chain’s first push into Tibet.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Ken Green, president and managing director of Windham Hotel Group’s Asian-Pacific region, emphasizes the exact same trend; one of the five travel trends he predicts for 2011 is “High-end Products in Smaller Cities.”

“Everyone wants to be in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing,” he says. “But hey, Hangzhou, Changsha, Chengdu – those are all great cities to visit.”

Zhao Bei, AsiaTravel’s new Assisting General Manager, agrees.

“That’s something we’ve been talking about for some time here at AsiaTravel. You always have to be innovative in the travel industry, and our newest initiative, The AsiaTravel Collection, represents our own efforts to combine comfort with more adventurous travel in China.”

With so many worthy destinations away from China’s bustling east coast, we’re excited to see where 2011 takes us – or more importantly, where it takes you!

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Devin is a member of the operations team in AsiaTravel’s Beijing office. Contact him at devin.corrigan@wildchina.com. Photo by Landison Longjing Resort in Hangzhou.

While many countries are talking about the travel possibilities afforded by high-speed rail, China is busy turning those possibilities into on-the-ground realities.

On January 11, two new high-speed rail lines will connect Shanghai to two of southwest China’s most dynamic and interesting cities, Chongqing and Chengdu. The two new lines will put China closer toward its stated goal of 42 high-speed rail lines totaling 10,000 miles (13,000 km) in operation by 2012.

Shanghai had its stepping-out party during last year’s World Expo, but many people are still unfamiliar with Chongqing and Chengdu.

Famous for its sweltering heat, spicy hot pot and beautiful women, Chongqing also has a thumping nightlife, a thriving art and music scene, photogenic old alleys in the city and a Ming-era town on its outskirts.

China’s capital during the darkest days of World War II and now misleadingly called the world’s largest city, Chongqing is a proud, dynamic metropolis in the midst of a major transformation.

In many ways Chongqing feels like a new Hong Kong being built in Sichuan. Its large size, vibrant economy, deepwater port and the combination of mountains and water have similarities with Hong Kong, but the people, culture and cuisine are primarily of Sichuanese pedigree.

Chengdu has a flavor of its own, whether you’re talking about people, food, or culture. The former capital of the Shu Kingdom and the home of the mysterious ancient Sanxingdui culture, Chengdu has called its own shots during much of history. Its independent and proud spirit is still reflected in its people today.

Seated at the western end of the fertile Sichuan Basin, Chengdu has always been a city of abundance, which historically allowed its people plenty of free time. No wonder the city is known for its laidback teahouse culture and has produced many of China’s most famous poets and writers.

Chengdu is the epicenter of one of China’s spiciest regional cooking styles and is a must-visit for those of us who travel with our mouths. The Sichuan cuisine found in Chengdu restaurants is authentic as it gets: fresh ingredients and intense flavor combinations featuring the red chili and the mouth-numbing Sichuan pepper make the city an unforgettable culinary experience.

There are plenty of fascinating travel options in and around Chengdu, from the Sanxingdui Museum to the national giant panda breeding base, from the world’s largest seated Buddha at Leshan to the monkey-filled Buddhist holy mountain at Emeishan. Chengdu is also the jumpoff point for trips into Sichuan’s mountainous Tibetan highlands to the west and beyond to Lhasa.

If you’re considering a China trip this year and would like to spend time in Shanghai as well as exploring the country’s wild west, you may want to consider crossing the country at ground level rather than in the sterility of a plane cabin. Contact our travel experts today to find out how you can fit new transportation options into your upcoming China trip.

I didn’t know what to expect at Mr. Liang Congjie’s memorial service, or specifically, how to dress for it. In any event, I put on a full black outfit, a bit on the formal side and found my way through the neighborhood in northern Beijing. There were no Porche or BMWs lining the narrow alleyway, the building was simple – Beijing Science Activity Center.  Once inside, a few young volunteers greeted me. They are the typical volunteers of Friends of Nature, college graduates, and passionate environmentalists. The whole low-key nature was just perfectly fitting to see off Mr. Liang Congjie.

The surprise came inside the memorial hall.

First of all, there were many more older people than I ever expected.  Secondly, people were wearing their daily outfits – quite a few women were in their brightly colored cotton coats (–棉袄),  a typical winter outfit for northerners from the country side. Somehow, that surprised me because environmentalists in China are such a niche group of people that people usually associate them with the active college grads whose lives are not inundated with the needs of a car, house, kids, etc., and sometimes, idealistic intellectuals who still continue to dream into their old ages. I had no idea that Liang’s grassroots movement was truly grassroots based. These are common Chinese you see everywhere – no formalities of dressing for the occasion.

Then one of these old ladies spoke up. “I am from Xinxiang, Henan.” From the moment she spoke, she started to cry. She recounted how Liang helped her to start grassroot organization to protect the environment in her village, and how Liang coached her on how to speak with government officials, how to motivate her followers. (Now, her organization had more than 10,000 members.) As she talked, she became more emotional, by the end, she was practically wailing, with many in the audience were crying silently as well. I used to see this kind of wailing at funerals for relatives in the countryside, but wasn’t a bit surprised here.  It simply seemed the right way to say goodbye to such a leader.

More than 300 people were there, who had come on their own – many by buses, by taxies – but the goal was the same. They were here to celebrate Liang’s life and find a sense of camaraderie among us all. Liang is the last of three famous Liang men important to modern Chinese history. Liang’s Grandfather was Liang Qichao – the one who attempted to assist the emperor in setting up a modern democracy in the 19^th century, and Liang’s father was Liang Sicheng – the founding father of Chinese architecture and also the one who fought against the demolition of Beijing’s old city wall in the 1950s. Liang himself was the one who fought to protect Yunnan Snub-nosed monkeys, Tibetan antelopes, and the environment. All three of them fought in losing battles, but all three believed that the losing battles were worth fighting as they woke up the nation, woke up the people.

There were many people wanting to speak at his memorial, so I didn’t want to fight for stage time, as my personal interaction with Liang was fairly limited. But, I think it’s important to share what kind of a person he was.

I first met him in late in 1999. A few of my conservation friends wanted to take me to meet him, so I did. His office was humble and simple, and so was him home, but somehow, seeing him in his home was simply inspiring – reminding people once again that you really don’t need all the fancy stuff in life, but focusing on doing something meaningful is more important.

Soon I married an American journalist, and I wanted him to meet Liang and his wife. So, we invited them to my house for dinner. My husband was cooking and he was fretting over the fact the cucumber that day wasn’t that good. Liang arrived, my husband and I were both a bit formal as he was a very well respected and well known scholar so we didn’t know how to treat him appropriately. Casually, Liang strolled into our kitchen, picked up a piece of cucumber and took a bite.  My husband looked at him sort of nervously and asked, “how is it?”.  Liang simply said, “不好吃” (“not good”). Then we all laughed. That broke the ice. He was straightforward, and immediately, we were talking like old friends.

Then, my dear husband’s roasted whole chicken was ready. He cut off two drumsticks, and two pieces of breast meat, put them on separate plates to serve. To my horror, he served the guests the breast meat and reserved the drumsticks for himself and me! In China, drumsticks were the best part and always served to the guests! Liang looked at the plate and simply said, “美国女婿还没训练好.” (“American son-in-law still needs more training!”)  That became the legend joke in my marriage. We went on to discuss many issues related to the environment and US/Chinese relations.

I guess the point of me sharing this is to say, Liang is such a personable man that he didn’t become a crusader environmentalist that turned people off, but instead, he brought these serious issues to our daily lives, made the issues accessible to everyone.

I took a cold shower Monday morning, because it takes about 10 minutes flushing out the cold water before the hot shower comes on. I wasn’t brave. I simply did one little thing to pay my respect to Mr. Liang Congjie.

 

For many travelers, one of the difficult aspects of setting aside the time and money for a trip to China is that it’s hard to know what you’re getting yourself in for until you’re stepping off the plane — unlike buying a car there is no ‘test drive’ option.

We frequently receive enquiries about our Tea Horse Road journey, an exploration of ancient trade routes in Yunnan from the jungles of Xishuangbanna to the breathtaking Tibetan highlands of Shangri-la.

For 13 centuries, the Tea and Horse Caravan Road was a network of rugged paths linking China with Tibet, Southeast Asia and India through Yunnan. Its name comes from the exchange of Chinese tea for Tibetan horses that formed the backbone of this commercial network connected by fearless caravans. These caravans facilitated the exchange of customs and culture between dozens of different ethnic groups scattered across some of Asia’s wildest terrain.

A virtual trip back in time peppered with some of Yunnan – and China’s – most spectacular scenery, our journey is led by Jeff Fuchs, the first Westerner to travel the entirety of the Tea Horse Road.

It is not easy to fully convey how special places such as Mangang Village or Shaxi are over the phone or in an email. Many places along the old route are simply too unique for words.

That’s why we were excited to happen upon the book Tea Horse Road, an amazing introduction to one of the world’s most beautiful and diverse regions. A joint effort between photographer Michael Freeman and ethnobotanist Selena Ahmed, this incredibly thorough book is the result of years of travel, photography and research.

This attractive 340-page book published by River Books is big enough and has enough photos (more than 270!) to call a “coffee table book”, but that wouldn’t do it justice.

Freeman, who makes great photography seem easy, spent two years on the route getting to know the places and people of the old route through his lens.

Ahmed’s writing – which comes from four years of doctoral research – allows the reader to understand the route as a whole while appreciating the unique role each individual town or ethnic group played within this fascinating trade network.

This September we will travel the Tea Horse Road once again with the incomparable Jeff Fuchs. If you are considering joining us on this unforgettable journey, we highly recommend that you give it a test drive with Freeman and Ahmed’s excellent book.

One of the most exciting and positive travel trends over the past decade has been the rapid growth of youth-focused education travel programs coming to China  – but there’s also been plenty of action at the other end of the age spectrum.

A recent AFP article looks into a growing trend of older Western travelers deciding to travel to Asia, with China one of the top destinations.

There are several reasons for this. China was virtually impossible to get into until the 1980s and has only in recent years begun to offer the levels of service, amenities and hygiene that older travelers tend to prefer.

Another contributing factor is that more and more seniors are physically fit and adventurous. Combine this with flexible schedules and plenty of disposable income and you have a new breed of traveler, which one travel agent in the article refers to as SKIers, an acronym for “Spending the Kids’ Inheritance.”

In 2009 more than 50,000 seniors from the UK alone visited China. There isn’t much reliable data on other travelers from other Western countries, but we have noticed a steady increase in the number of older travelers – many of whom are retirees – coming to the Middle Kingdom, which had been off-limits for most of their lives.

Not only are older couples coming to China for a second honeymoon or to indulge in their lifelong desires to see the Great Wall or Tibet, they are also coming with their children and/or their grandkids. This kind of transgenerational travel is great for creating memories that will last a lifetime.

This video snapshot of the Deemer family’s journey with AsiaTravel to Tibet last year illustrates just how even simple moments in amazing placescan bring a family together.

Many first-time visitors to China over the age of 60 prefer to hit the major sites, but a significant number are also looking to get off the beaten path… which happens to be our specialty. If you want to rekindle the wanderlust of your youth or have an experience that will bring your family together in a unique and inspiring way, contact us today.