Everything in China comes in BIG scales, the "Giant" Panda, "Super Loud" Tourists, "Great" Wall of China, "Huge" infrastructure network and "Superb" public transport systems.
Public transport, food and accommodation are fairly cheap, however, as soon as you mention national parks, be prepared to fork out USD40-USD60 admission fee, and the country has many jaw dropping scenic national parks.
Thumbs Up
* Honesty and Equality (no such thing as tourist price).
* Cleanliness - no graffiti in any public amenities.
* Food - Hit and miss, but overall a great experience.
Thumbs Down
* Expect to join hundreds of thousands local tourists. Push or be pushed.
* Chinese middle age ladies in tour groups do not understand the art of soft conversation, they are very loud.
* Spitting
- Shenzhen: It was great to catch up with Ah Gee again.
- Yangshuo/Guilin: Stunning rock formation.
- Fenghuang: Old town. Miao tribe and Tu Jia tribe.
- Zhangjiajie: Unfortunately, due to bad weather, our climb to the top for a bird's eye view of the gorge was not rewarded.
- Changjiang (Yangtze River): Cruising up the longest and widest river in China was a luxurious 5 day trip.
- Chengdu: The giant pandas, chinese opera. While Chengdu is renowned for it's delicious food, we found the local delicacies to be very oily and do not agree with the "sichuan peppercorn".
- Jiuzhaigou: Colourful lakes with hundreds of thousands of tourists, push or be pushed.
- Xi'an: Terracota Warriors, great street food at the Muslim quarter.
- Beijing: Who said Beijing doesn't have blue sky, we arrived on the bullet train and were welcomed with a blue sky. Great wall of China. Tienanmen Square and Forbidden City.
All in all, we love China, having Shawn able to read, write and speak Mandarin has made travelling around the country a lot easier. Having that said, the Champ has an advantage and hence ruled in China. :)
STOPS: Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Yangshuo, Guilin, Fenghuang, Zhangjiajie, Yangtze River Cruise, Chengdu, Jiuzhaigou, Xi'an, Pingyao, Beijing
Date: 23/03/2015 to 26/04/2015 (34 days)
