After 4 weeks in China, the longest we’ve spent in any country together outside the U.S., we are fulfilled with the various sights, diverse cuisine, and friendly interactions we have been fortunate to experience. Uprooting our expectations, China was the most challenging country so far in our travels, despite its relative wealth and modernity. Here are some of our observations:
Payment and Language
We could only use a credit card twice during the entire month. China’s banking system and mobile apps are independent, bubbled away from Google, Facebook, and U.S. banking (the former two are blocked, along with many other websites disliked by the Chinese government). We sometimes had to search awhile to find ATMs or get change to use for transit tickets, which was frustrating when Chinese citizens could scan ubiquitous QR codes for payment by using WeChat or Alipay, two incredibly popular apps.
Very little English is spoken in China, although younger people are more familiar with it because it is now taught in schools. Even when we could not communicate, people usually repeated what they said in Chinese a few times, so Google Translate was a huge help (you can access blocked websites with a VPN app). Despite the language barrier, people were friendly, teaching us how to use chopsticks, sharing food, introducing us to their children, taking pictures with us, and helping us navigate. These interactions were especially appreciated in light of the somewhat stressfully crowded tourist attractions. Security
China has a LOT of security compared to the U.S. - a bag scan and metal detector is in every subway station and tourist attraction. There are uniformed guards on public buses. Passports and sometimes fingerprints are required for buying just about any ticket. Chinese citizens scan an ID card and are subjected to facial recognition technology just about everywhere. All of this seemed a bit strange because of China’s low violent crime rates. At least for us, these security checks often seemed hasty and perfunctory. We still don’t quite understand why public busses have a driver, ticket agent, and security guard - at least there are plenty of steady jobs!
Cultural Differences
Chinese etiquette, especially among the older generations, is quite different than that in the U.S. Noisy spitting, children with split pants using the street as a toilet, and aggressive shoving in crowds are just a part of daily life. These differences were, of course, a bit jarring. Our understanding is that there are some major divides between traditional, older, and more rural people and the emerging global, urban generation. Before a trip to China, it is worthwhile to learn about these habits, so you know what to expect!
Food and Diversity
While China is 90% Han Chinese, each region we visited boasts delicious and distinct cuisine. Mouth-numbing peppercorns and chili sauce in Sichuan, chewy Xi’an noodles and Chinese Muslim lamb skewers in Shaanxi, and hearty noodle soups in Hunan were just some of the great dishes we enjoyed. China’s vastness makes it a fantastic culinary destination, and we were thrilled to eat Chinese food for a month, as food is always a highlight of traveling for us. Chinese food in China is much different than the standard fare in the U.S. - it is worth a visit to Chinatown to seek out some authentic dishes. When visiting China, make sure to grab some fruit from the many produce sellers, as your main dish will likely be cooked with oil.
Our Route through China
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We finished travels through China with five days in Beijing. After experiencing a lot of culture shock during our month in China, we finally felt we were beginning to fit in. I no longer wince when someone spits on the ground too close to my shoes, and my legs have gotten a lot stronger from all the squat toilets. We are pros at navigating the subways (which are nearly identical in all China’s big cities), and we have too many new favorite foods to count. We were lucky with the weather in Beijing, with the exception of one rainy day, and the air pollution, though noticeable, was not at its worst. We walked around many different neighborhoods including the 798 Art District, Peking University, the Olympic village, and Tiananmen Square. As China’s capital, Beijing has food from around the country. We used our time there to have some of our favorites including Xi’an style skewers, spicy Sichuan prawns, and dim sum. We visited the Forbidden City and the China Aviation Museum, which has a unique collection of Russian and Chinese aircraft, including Chairman Mao’s planes. We spent our last evening having a drink on Houhai Lake before eating a quick dinner of surprisingly good pizza at Pizza Saporita. We are now in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, where we are preparing to set out on a two-week journey through the Gobi Desert staying in gers (portable round tent houses) with nomadic families. Mongolian language uses the Cyrillic alphabet, and as a former Soviet state, the country has some distinctly Russian architecture. We will ride in a Russian van across the country on this tour: http://www.tourinmongolia.com/gobi-desert-navel-eight-lakes-tour--12-days--.html. Yesterday, our second to last day in China, was a highlight of our travels. We hiked on the Great Wall of China from the wild, treacherous Jiankou to the more popular, accessible Mutianyu section. After an hour bus ride and another hour in a taxi to Nanjili, a small village of just a few families, we began the climb up to the wall. The Jiankou section follows the steep ridges of the Northern Chinese mountains, and was probably built during the Ming Dynasty around 1368, though construction of the 13,000 mile long wall began more than 2,500 years ago. After about an hour trekking up muddy switchbacks, we climbed up the crumbling rocks onto the stunning stone wall built as a border to protect ancient China from nomadic invaders in the north. We walked along the wall through watchtowers and winding mountains imagining the Mongolian invaders, Silk Road traders, and Chinese imperial guards who walked the same path. For a few special hours, we were the only people in sight as we made our way over the crumbling dolomite. As we approached Mutianyu, which is accessible by cable car and is a popular day trip from Beijing, we began to encounter other hikers and occasional vendors selling souvenirs, and the wall became smoother and easier to traverse. We arrived in Mutianyu in the late afternoon for our journey back to Beijing. I was once again grateful for Robert’s extensive research and great ideas for this trip – the hike from Jiankou to Mutianyu was thrilling and the lack of crowds made it very special. If you want to see the Great Wall in a more adventurous way, we highly recommend hiking from Jiankou. There are a few guided tours, but contrary to what some people have written online, we did not find it too difficult to navigate ourselves. Here are two helpful articles about the hike: We were starving when we got back to Beijing, so we went to Xiang Man Lou 香满楼 for the famous local specialty: Peking duck. The ducks are glazed and roasted hanging in an open oven, and expertly sliced in front of you. Served with scallions, cucumbers, and a semisweet, umami brown sauce, it is best eaten rolled in thin pancakes, and washed down with the restaurant’s draft wheat beer. PingyaoLast week, we took the high-speed train from Xi’an to Pingyao, an ancient Chinese city that served as an economic hub during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and in which many original buildings still stand. The earliest records from Pingyao date from 800 BC, though much of the city wall was not built until the Ming dynasty, beginning in 1368. We spent the day walking on the wall, and visiting old banks and houses which have now been turned into museums. Pingyao was a Chinese banking hub in the 19th century, and the city’s financiers created a clearinghouse that replaced trading caravans and sword-wielding security. The Rishengchang Exchange Shop, founded in 1823, at one point controlled nearly half of the Chinese economy through its network of branches. Our hotel was one of our favorite places we’ve ever stayed and certainly the best value – for $15 we had a big, comfortable room in a beautifully decorated old building with an included breakfast of eggs, toast, fruit, coffee, and dumplings. We were greeted with hot tea when we arrived, and given cold persimmon juice when we left. After a very pleasant time in a charming, ancient town, we spent nearly an entire day traveling by bus to get to Datong, a city of just over 3 million in the northern Shanxi Province. The city itself does not have much going on, but we chose it for its proximity to two amazing sites: the Hanging Monastery and Yungang Grottoes. Hanging MonasteryThis temple, built into the side of a cliff by a monk 1,500 years ago, combines Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Time magazine ranked it as one of the ten most precarious buildings in 2010. We were excited to discover it was one of the few attractions in China that wasn’t swarming with tourists. The monastery hangs 246 feet above the ground, supported by weathered wooden beams, and (hopefully much more secure) leverage extending into the cliff. Walking through it was in equal measures thrilling and anxiety inducing, as the guardrails are only tall enough for a rural monk 1,500 years ago. Yungang GrottoesOn our second and final day in Datong, we visited the Yungang Grottoes, Buddhist carvings in caves from the 5th and 6th centuries. The 53 caves feature elaborate carvings of Buddha, as well as human-like figures from other parts of Asia indicative of the diverse populations that passed through the popular resting spot on the Silk Road. The art in some of the caves was so remarkable that, like the Hanging Monastery, it was hard to believe how old it is. Spending nearly a month in China has allowed us to visit some incredible, out-of-the-way places that have given us an increased appreciation for the length and depth of the history in this region. Xi’an, the capital of the Shaanxi province and home to 8.7 million people, was a nice stop for great food, friendly locals, and incredible history. The city is one of China’s great ancient capitals, and was the seat of power during several important dynasties, starting with the Zhou dynasty in the 11th century B.C., 3,000 years ago. On the way to dinner after arriving by train, we stopped at a street cart for delicious spicy fried potatoes, sautéed with cumin, hot chili peppers, garlic, and some other spices. For dinner, we had pao mo at a restaurant recommended by our hotel. Ripped up rice flour bread is topped with a savory broth, which gets thick and hearty as the bread takes on a chewy noodle-like texture. It was delicious, and the restaurant was so proud of visits from Chinese politicians that is displayed dinnerware used by former premiers in glass cases. After a filling breakfast of roujiamo (“Chinese hamburgers” made with roasted pork on chewy rice-flour bread) and tangy vinegar and vegetable noodles, we visited the Shaanxi Museum, a collection of antiquities from the region dating back 3,000 years. As with other museums in China, description was sorely lacking, but we fortunately got a free tour from a guide working on her English skills. We rode the subway across town to Xi’an’s Muslim Quarter, famous for its food, especially baked breads and grilled spicy meat skewers. We sampled a few snacks, and for dinner had skewers of chicken wings and unidentified “barbecue” with sides of garlic eggplant and corn at a packed restaurant. Alexa joked that the barbecue might have been rat, based on a story that 900 people were arrested in 2013 for trafficking counterfeit meat. The next day, we took the bus to Xi’an’s world-famous Terracotta Army, a collection of over 8,000 terracotta soldiers, chariots, and horses meant to protect Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China, in the afterlife. Only 2,000 soldiers have been unearthed, and restoration work is ongoing. Every single warrior is different, with a unique face and posture, making the army seem incredibly lifelike; you can almost hear boots marching. The emperor’s mausoleum is part of a 38-square mile necropolis, and it was built by 700,000 workers and buried with the emperor in approximately 210 B.C., over 2,200 years ago. It is hard to imagine that lifetimes were dedicated to building something so beautiful and complex that was simply buried underground. We spent our last evening walking around Xi'an’s 700-year-old city wall and snacking at the Yongxingfang street food park, where we enjoyed fresh persimmon donuts filled with red bean or rose, as well as beef and cabbage stuffed flatbread. Salty tofu, marinated lotus root, egg and seaweed soup, and vinegar chili noodles at a small restaurant near our hotel rounded out the night. Xi’an’s fantastic budget food scene makes it a great place to enjoy a few nights on the way from Chengdu to Beijing. With China’s high-speed train system, the 100-mile trip to Leshan took only an hour, a perfect day trip from Chengdu. Based on our experiences so far, Leshan is a prototypical Chinese city: many, many uninspired skyscrapers, grey tones, and a haze of pollution – but the real draw is just outside the city. The Leshan Buddha, at 233 feet, is the tallest pre-modern statue in the world. The massive stone carving was constructed in the Tang Dynasty between 713 and 803. It is a remarkable and awe-inspiring accomplishment, given the simple tools, intensive labor, and multi-generational effort it took to build. Although crowds were intense, as at most popular tourist attractions in China, we had a great visit and were wowed by the scale of the Buddha. Chengdu, the capital of the Sichuan province, is renowned for its food. Designated in 2010 as UNESCO’s second City of Gastronomy, it is bustling with chili oil noodle shops, sizzling hot pots, and quick snacks sold off the backs of bicycles. The notable ingredient, Sichuan peppercorn, has a citrusy taste, and creates tingling and numbness in your mouth when you eat it. Locals claim the numbing effect allows them to tolerate even more spice in their dishes. With over 14 million people, Chengdu is much larger than any US city, yet most Americans know little about it. Robert and I have been eager to visit since watching Anthony Bourdain’s Sichuan episode of Parts Unknown. In addition to its incredible food, Chengdu is known for its Panda Research Base, home to more than 83 giant pandas. We spent three days and five nights in Chengdu (we also used it as a base for a day trip to Leshan, and one to Mount Emei). We spent a morning at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, where we learned about China’s most beloved animal, and got to see many young and adult pandas eat and play. We also visited the Wenshu Monastery and had tea in its peaceful courtyard, and went to a very strange science museum with many floors of somewhat dubious (or maybe just poorly translated) information on things like the mechanics of an airplane and the various types of boat engines. There is a limit of things to do for an English-speaker in this city, so we ended up spending a lot of our time walking around exploring different neighborhoods, and trying as much of the food as we could stomach. These were some of our favorite dishes: Tian Shui MianThis apparently translates to “sweet water noodles.” The noodles are thick, chewy, and rough. They are topped with hot chili oil, numbing Sichuan peppercorn powder, a sprinkle of sugar, a pinch of MSG, sesame seeds, and dollops of a few other special sauces. The combination of flavors is so unbelievable that we went back for these noodles four times. Our favorites were at 洞子囗張老二涼粉 (Dòngzi wéi zhāng lǎo èr liángfěn) near our hotel. Sichuan Hot PotLike other versions of hot pot in Asia, a pot of simmering broth sits atop a burner on your table, which you use to cook various vegetables and meats, typically with a large group of family or friends. Unlike other versions of hot pot, Sichuan or Chongqing-style is so fiery hot that even the locals wouldn’t dare eat a spoonful of the broth. We were advised to order a 1 out of 3, which was still among the spiciest food we’ve had, to have milk or yogurt before the meal, and to have plain rice afterwards to soak up some of the spicy oil in our stomachs. We ordered tofu, thin-sliced beef, needle mushrooms, lotus roots, bamboo shoots, and large beers to wash it all down. The broth gets spicier as it boils and more capsaicin (the spicy compound in chilies) is released. Although it was very spicy, the flavors were so addictively complex that we both ate a huge amount. We went to a lot of the Food Ranger’s recommendations for meals at what are popularly referred to as fly restaurants (because people swarm to the casual, hole-in-the-wall joints like flies because of how good the food is). We had delicious noodle soups, wontons in chili oil, clay oven baked bread filled with melted brown sugar, chicken stir fried with garlic and hot peppers, Mapo tofu, and more. Nearly all of it prominently featured the Sichuan peppercorn. We had so much fun eating our way through Chengdu, but decided we should leave while our clothes still (barely) fit. We took the new fast train to Xi’an today – the 409-mile journey took a mere 3 hours and 15 minutes, saving us another night on the sleeper train.
We flew 2 hours west from Shanghai to Zhangjiajie, then transferred to Wulingyuan, where we stayed for our two-day visit to Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, located in the northern Hunan province. The UNESCO World Heritage Site’s quartz-sandstone pillars rise dramatically, with sheer cliffs above 3,000 feet high. The 400 million-year-old formations were shaped by physical erosion. It was difficult to capture the enormity and dramatic cliffs in photos, so we recommend a visit! On our first day, we took a very crowded cable car to the top of the Tianzi scenic area, then hiked down 3 hours to the base of the park. While hiking trails are peaceful and scenic, the shuttle buses from the entrance of the park to the main scenic points are chaotic and crowded. People ran from what can best be described as a holding pen to grab a seat on the bus. In the park, food consisted of various pieces of organ meat on sticks, chicken feet, and other unfamiliar snacks. We had lunch at the McDonald’s, and met four medical students from Yale University at our table. The next day, we walked along Golden Whip Stream, then up towards Yuanjiajie, where we saw incredible views of the pillars. The cliff-side trails were great exercise and a calming break from the city. We returned home via the glass Bailong Elevator (“Hundred Dragons Elevator”), the world’s tallest outdoor lift at 1,070 feet. Our next stop was Fenghuang (“phoenix”), an ancient town about 5 hours south of Zhangjiajie. On the bus ride, the attendant spoke for 45 minutes straight, apparently an infomercial, as other riders then bought large quantities of vacuum-sealed, preservative-laden meat products. Fenghuang was founded in 681 AD during the Tang Dynasty, then rebuilt in 1554 during the Ming Dynasty, and expanded through the Qing Dynasty. The ancient streets, undulating roofs, and leaning stilts of the houses are beautifully set along a bright blue river. Fenghuang was an important ancient center of the Hunan region. We left at the end of the day for Tongren, where we caught a 12-hour night train to Chengdu, the capital of the Sichuan province. Between the crowded bunks, loud passengers, and constant smoking, the ride was not the best sleep of our trip, but it was certainly an adventure. We finished our time in Shanghai with some more sheng jian bao pan-fried dumplings, xiao long bao soup dumplings (which we previously had in Taiwan), and more walking around the city. Our morning started off slowly, as we struggled to find a laundromat. Because of China’s ban on Google, the Maps app has little useful information. The sheng jian bao at Da Hu Chun (71 Yunnan South Rd) were superb; the owners proudly displayed photos of a visit from Apple CEO Tim Cook. In the late afternoon, we took a long walk to the fascinating Propaganda Poster Art Center, oddly located in the basement of a nondescript apartment building in the French Concession. Although we could not take photos, information about this private collection of rare propaganda is available on the website. The day ended with some drinks at Perry’s Café, a smoky hangout with groups of Chinese youth gambling and having fun. As usual, no smoking signs were treated as mere suggestion, which was unfortunate given the lack of ventilation. We met an interesting local resident who was born in Cameroon, lived in France, then moved to Shanghai for work. He shared some insight about Chinese culture and the challenges of adjusting to China’s banking, internet, and communication systems. We’re stuck with using cash for the time being, as we think it is probably not worth the time and effort to figure out how to get a Chinese bank card. We broke up our third day in the 24 million populated Shanghai with a day trip to the ancient water town of Xitang, about 1 hour outside of the city. After a 15-minute ride in Shanghai’s expansive subway system, we bought our bus tickets in the chaotic and crowded, yet functional Shanghai South Long Distance Bus Station. The drive took us past massive projects, including dozens of identical buildings, miles-long industrial zones, and enormous planting areas. The mind-boggling scale of these Chinese projects creates a sense of dystopia and backwardness, alongside an appreciation for the enormity of development and progress. Xitang dates back to the Spring and Autumn Period, approximately 771 to 476 BC, making it one of the oldest places we’ve visited. The 9 rivers and 104 bridges in Xitang kept it connected as a commercial hub. Most of the remaining structures are from the Ming and Qing dynasties, which ruled from the 1300s to the early 20th century. The crystal-clear sunny day complimented the town’s ancient charm and beauty. We strolled through the stone-paved streets, enjoying some local snacks and detours to attractions such as wood carvings, calligraphy collections, and manicured gardens. We were particularly impressed by the root sculpture museum by Zhang Zheng, an artist who brilliantly carves entire trees and root systems into elegant forms. |
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