So you want to see the real China then? Well read on for a bit of decent advice into how to properly dip your toes into the world's largest country by population. One thing you need to know first is that visiting Shanghai and Beijing are not really visiting China. The reason is these places now have street signs in English, an influx of foreign workers and they are well connected with internet, telephone and all modern communications. To see the real China you need to avoid those two big cities and get out into the obscure countryside where China breathes the way it really lives.
I'm talking about mainland China here - not Hong Kong, not Macau, not Taiwan. I'll also take Tibetout of the equation as it's a separate political matter but the real China is also mainland China. From my endless visits to China, I list Shanghai and Beijing as the worst two cities or places to go in order to see China. They are on a level with Hong Kong and Singapore as global cities these days. With Italian restaurants, Irish pubs and French bakeries in those cities, they somehow seem a bit less authentically Chinese nowadays. You need to head to places where there is not a hint of anything thatis not Chinese. Get completely off the beaten track!
Until you have sat down in an unknown village, eaten food that you don't even know what it is, stranded miles from any city you have even heard of and with no foreign writing in sight, or any foreigners, then you really haven't yet experienced China!
So get off the beaten track to see the real China. If you experience these things then you are really in China:
1. Nobody speaks a word of English (or even Chinese - only local dialect is used).
2. You cannot understand the bus timetable and end up in the wrong village.
3. Chickens are more common than cars in the village you stay in.
4. There are no mobile phones or internet connections anywhere.
5. You don't see any other language than Chinese written anywhere!
6. You eat something and you have NO IDEA what it is!
So that's a decent guide folks - if you've seen and ticked those six then you really have done China. If not, please check it out, but don't forget to avoid those major cities particularly Beijing and Shanghai! Get away from those two and your travel possibilities becomes extreme, endless and unrivalled. China is a whole new world to discover!
I'm talking about mainland China here - not Hong Kong, not Macau, not Taiwan. I'll also take Tibetout of the equation as it's a separate political matter but the real China is also mainland China. From my endless visits to China, I list Shanghai and Beijing as the worst two cities or places to go in order to see China. They are on a level with Hong Kong and Singapore as global cities these days. With Italian restaurants, Irish pubs and French bakeries in those cities, they somehow seem a bit less authentically Chinese nowadays. You need to head to places where there is not a hint of anything thatis not Chinese. Get completely off the beaten track!
Until you have sat down in an unknown village, eaten food that you don't even know what it is, stranded miles from any city you have even heard of and with no foreign writing in sight, or any foreigners, then you really haven't yet experienced China!
So get off the beaten track to see the real China. If you experience these things then you are really in China:
1. Nobody speaks a word of English (or even Chinese - only local dialect is used).
2. You cannot understand the bus timetable and end up in the wrong village.
3. Chickens are more common than cars in the village you stay in.
4. There are no mobile phones or internet connections anywhere.
5. You don't see any other language than Chinese written anywhere!
6. You eat something and you have NO IDEA what it is!
So that's a decent guide folks - if you've seen and ticked those six then you really have done China. If not, please check it out, but don't forget to avoid those major cities particularly Beijing and Shanghai! Get away from those two and your travel possibilities becomes extreme, endless and unrivalled. China is a whole new world to discover!
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For more information about backpacking china go to the fantastic website china backpacker for endless tips.
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