No Trouble in Big China

Well, like most things, seeing is believing. China had never featured heavily in our plans, but with the recent relaxation of visa rules—allowing Europeans to visit for 30 days visa-free—and competitive flight prices, it was now time to experience the country for ourselves. Our trip was a “short immersion,” a ten-day whirlwind flying into Beijing, traversing to the ancient echoes of Xi’an, exploring the Avatar fantasy world of Zhangjiajie, and finishing in the neon-drenched mega-city of Shanghai. It was a first taste of a country where everything is on an unbelievable scale: millennia of history, palaces the size of modern towns, and theatre productions with casts of hundreds.

Just 10 days, but we have a lot to get through, so if you already have a destination in mind, then jump to:

Before You Go: The Digital Prep 🏠

Preparation for China is less about packing and more about digital gymnastics. The “Great Firewall” means your daily staples—Google, WhatsApp, Instagram—are essentially ghosts. We utilised Surfshark, a Virtual Private Network (VPN), which, while technically in a legal grey area, is generally overlooked for tourists. However, the real secret is embracing Chinese tech. We suggest downloading Alipay immediately. It is a seamless “one-stop-shop” that puts Western banking apps to shame. Within Alipay, you’ll find “mini-apps” for everything:

  • DiDi: The local equivalent of Uber.
  • Trip.com: For booking trains and tours.
  • Translation tools: Essential for navigating websites, stores and restaurant menus.

At some point you will also have to endure WeChat, though it is a bit of a “necessary evil.” It’s clunky in English and frequently requires screenshots and separate translations, but it is often the only way to reserve slots for government-run sites like Tiananmen Square. If the digital struggle feels too great, Trip.com offers reservation services for a nominal fee.

Beijing: The Communist Heart 🏠

Arriving in Beijing was one of the most seamless experiences we’ve had. From plane landing to stepping into a taxi, the process took roughly 30 minutes. We stayed at the Fairmont, situated just outside the First Ring Road. It is a fantastic hotel with spy-movie aesthetics—including bathroom glass that turns opaque at a button’s touch—and a massage chair to combat the fatigue of a long-haul flight.

The city is navigated by a number of ring roads, if you are booking a tour and want a pickup, keep in mind which ring road you are within as that will be the catchment area. Using Didi to get around is pretty cheap and fast, so it does not matter too much if you are not right in the centre.

Orientation – The Square, Hutongs and Shopping

A visit to the capital is incomplete without witnessing the vastness of Tianmen Square. Walking across this massive expanse, surrounded by the Great Hall of the People, Chairman Mao’s Mausoleum and the National Museum, gives you a visceral sense of the scale of Chinese governance. You’ll need to brave WeChat to get admission tickets (free apart from the time it will take you to sort it out), if you want to visit the surrounding building you also need to pre-book tickets as you won’t get entry if you just turn up (as we did!).

Across the road (read 6 lane highway) is the gateway to the Forbidden Palace, more on that later; and after going through the Meridian Gate (no tickets needed) hang a right along the Tongzi river to exit the Imperial City complex and enter the labyrinth of Hutongs – the traditional narrow alleyways and residential neighbourhood – fast becoming extinct as modern Beijing swallows them up.

Here is also the place to enjoy Peking Duck, queue up at Da Dong for some of the best duck pancakes and a host of other delicacies, from a menu that looks more like a Taschen photo book.

All that food is best walked off, just round the corner onto Wangfujing Street, fully pedestrianised and having been around for 700 years, although you would not guess that with all the high tech frontages and vast communist style edifices. Despite all this modernity, you can still find some more traditional streets if you keep your eyes peeled.

The Great Wall and Gilded Palaces 🏠

On our second day, we tackled an ambitious pairing: the Summer Palace and the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. While public transport is a very doable option for both, to be able to see both in a day needs speed and so we opted for a private guide, the wonderful Mae, to navigate the logistics.

The Summer Palace is a “golden cage” of sorts, famously expanded by the Empress Dowager Cixi using funds intended for the navy. It is a sprawling retreat of temples and bridges surrounding Kunming Lake. To be honest, our visit was a bit of a “whistlestop” tour; one could easily spend a full day lost among the pagodas.

The Great Wall (Mutianyu) followed. While Badaling is closer to the city, it is notoriously congested. Mutianyu offers a more relaxed experience with impressive infrastructure. We took the chairlift up to Watchtower 6, floating above the forest before stepping onto the stones of a genuine World Wonder. The hike between towers is steep, but the views of the wall snaking over distant ridges are unparalleled. On the way back down you can take either the chairlift or the toboggan, but be aware the queue for the latter will get quite long as the day progresses.

Reward yourself after a long day with some hotpot at Haidilao, here the traditional Beijing hotpot uses a copper pot with a chimney, filled with a clear, savoury broth. Swishing paper-thin slices of mutton and fresh vegetables into the boiling water is the ultimate comfort food after a day of hiking the Great Wall and a bit of a show in itself.

Navigating the Forbidden City, Heavenly Temples & Imperial Echoes 🏠

The Forbidden City is an exercise in scale, covering some 72 hectares. We recommend booking tickets well in advance via Trip.com, it works quite easy, just pick up your tickets at the main gate along with your passport. The entrance gate will have a daunting looking queue, but Chinese efficiency gets people in quickly and once through the Meridian Gate, the crowds miraculously disperse into the vast courtyards of the City within.

We followed the central axis through the various Harmony halls into the buildings of Purity, Peace and Tranquility before ascending to the Imperial Garden, if doing again we would suggest to follow this path, not needing to rush, but start early and keep riding ahead of the wave of humanity to be a few steps ahead, as the Imperial Garden is one of the most beautiful spots in the city but also the northern exit so a natural choke point of the crowds. Sustenance can be found along the way with a number of cafes and restaurants plus the most exquisitely crafted ice lollies.

The garden is serene and almost wild with Gathering Beauty Hill, temples, pagodas and the Consort tree where today’s Insta Emperors and Empresses can be entwined for all eternity.

Once you have reached the Garden, you can then retrace your footsteps to visit the Eastern and Western sides of the city, the Eastern side has some highlights that also have various exhibitions, such as the Treasure Gallery, Clock & Watch Gallery and Bronze gallery and insides of halls that are museum pieces in themselves.

The western side is typically much quieter, but here you will really feel the stillness of the city and perhaps what it was like to be living here; in a way it does feel more like a prison that the Emperor and his court were shut into, which became a literal prison after the revolution and the new regime co-existed uneasily with having an emperor for almost 16 years, before they finally decided to expel him and turn the palace into a museum in 1924.

For those of you that enjoy a bit of dress-up there are a plethora of stores just by the eastern entrance to the City that rent traditional Chinese Imperial Outfits for you to totter around the sights in. Packages can include make-up, you will see big groups doing make-up along the Tongzi river, and a photographer if you want a professional look…try to do on a cooler day as all the gear can get rather warm.

When you are done with the City, cross the road to the north to Jingshan Park, that costs mere cents a ticket to enter, which you do not need to reserve online but can use cold hard Yuan! There is a simple cafe that does excellent noodles to help restore your energy levels before climbing to the Wanchun Pavilion, which offers the definitive view over the golden roofs of the Forbidden City.

Southward of the central city lies the Temple of Heaven, where Ming and Qing emperors prayed for good harvests. It will need a Didi to get to in good time. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, with its triple-eaved roof of azure tiles, is an architectural masterpiece.

If you arrive in the afternoon, then expect some crowds, around the Vault it will be manageable as it is such a vast building, however as you move southwards down the complex the crowds will get funneled into narrower and narrower pathways as you head towards and up the Circular Mound altar, at the centre of which is the Heart of Heaven Stone where your voice is supposed to resonate louder owing to the acoustics, but good luck with hearing that with the crowd control teams directing the masses with their megaphones!

Whilst at this end of town, the afternoon / early evening is a good time to catch a show at the Red Theatre, not a hotbed of communist shows, but rather a bit more culture where you can catch kung-fu, acrobatics and all sorts of cultural events, well worth it to take a bit of a load off your feet and have the culture come to you.

Xi’an: Centuries of History 🏠

With a two hour plane ride, or 6 hours by train you’ll arrive in the home of the Terracotta Warriors of the Qin dynasty, buried over 2200 years ago. This makes the city of Xi’an an essential stop on any itinerary of China, but it is by no means the only reason to come here. The city is full of sights and sounds to explore, having been the ancient capital of thirteen Chinese dynasties and being the start / end of the fabled silk road.  So, whilst two days is certainly possible for a visit (as we did) you will need to hustle to get to all the main spots and will need to consider taking a day tour to be most speedy, and perhaps a chocolate warrior to keep the energy levels up.

Warriors, Walls and a Wild Goose

Our full day was given over to a brisk group tour of the main sights, a necessary concession to our relentless schedule that saved us the two days required to navigate them under our own steam. We headed an hour outside the city to the Terracotta Warriors, arriving by 9:00 AM to find the main gates already bottlenecked by massive, surging crowds. Once golf carts whisked us to the exhibition halls, our tour leader’s primary objective became keeping our group from being trampled by the surrounding masses. In an environment this dense, hoisting a camera high is your best strategy—making selfie sticks invaluable for capturing clean shots above the crowd to piece the history together later.

The (known) site is made up of 3 pits that have been uncovered over the years, there are additional pits that can be found underneath your feet as you walk around the site, but these have been left deliberately closed in order to preserve them for the next millennia and beyond.

Pit 1 is the infantry, where over 6000 warriors emerge from the earth in varying states, even seeing it you can not compute the geology that forms over and around these figures that are later unearthed, plus the work it takes to put the millions of pieces back together again, all the kings horses and all the kings men had a pretty simple job in comparison.

Pit 2 seems to be the most chaotic, perhaps as there are raised, glass boxed podiums that house some of the most famous characters of the army the kneeled warrior, the general, the archer each of whom look like superstars with paparazzi crowding them to get a selfie with their Qin heroes.   

Pit 3 is the HQ of the army and true to form it is calmer here and seemingly more ordered in how the masses act. It is the smallest of the pits, but you can also get closer to see the generals and their horses. 

Being in a tour group means you will be on a tight schedule, particularly as time needs to be given over to..shopping; naturally, was there ever a tour that did not rush through things so that the group could spend an age shopping?  The added bonus of shopping here is that you could meet the farmer who first discovered the tombs back in 1974, he now has his own shop and is happy to have a picture with you and sign your purchase…for a little fee of course. 

Once you have fought the warriors (and crowds) the tour will then take you back into town, to pass by the Wild Goose pagoda, along with its ancient Bell (for the start of the day) and Drum (for the end of the day) and a chance to explore the complex, climb the pagoda or just say some prayers (for better weather). 

The tour also visits the ancient wall, but rather fleetingly for 30 minutes; when we come back we plan to hire a bike from one of the vendors atop the wall and cover the whole 14 km on a tandem bicycle.

Xi’an After Dark 🏠

As well as the Muslim quarter, the city holds other after-dark activities to enjoy. Across the city all monuments will light up, so it is very nice to take an extended walk through the city, especially down to the South Gate.

Here you will also find those mythical creatures that come out at night around places of great beauty…the insta-cosplayers, maybe you will even become one…

If you keep on going southwards from the gate you’ll pass the electronics shopping hub (useful if your power bank had been confiscated for not having the CCC mark whilst taking the flight here from Beijing!), around the Zhongmao Plaza you’ll find a great selection of restaurants and food stalls. This route will also take you to the Tang Dynasty Palace which offers theatrical renditions of China’s golden age with spectacular costumes and casts of many.

Catching a Didi back out to the Wild Goose Pagoda you can enjoy the nightly fountain, sound and light show, starting at 9pm, it’s good to arrive early if you want to get a prime spot at the front, but there is plenty of space up the sides to watch and enjoy.

Zhangjiajie: Home of Myth and Adventure 🏠

We moved on from Xi’an with a flight of a couple of hours south that took us into Hunan Province, here the landscape shifts into a cinematic dream from the moment you step off the plane and see Tianmen mountain with it’s distinctive cave silhouetted at its heart.

There are two primary reasons to be in Zhangjiajie, to visit the Wulingyuan Scenic Area and to visit Tianmen mountain. Both have to be visited, and you should not choose one or the other as they are each very special in their own way. They are, however in opposite directions, about one hour apart. The Wulingyuan Scenic Area is then made up of a number of different ‘must-do’ spots along a series of mountainous valleys, the eastern end of which is the Zhangjiajie National park.

An ideal itinerary would be to stay at least a couple of nights in the Scenic Area and then a couple of nights in Zhangjiajie city to visit the mountain and local sites. Our trip did not allow for this, however, so we based ourselves at the Hilton Zhangjiajie, a bit south of the centre of the city, perfectly positioned for Tianmen mountain access, and around a 45minute Didi journey to the National Park. It’s certainly doable, but plan for some long days of many steps!

Sky Bridges, Pathways of Iron and the Pillars of Pandora

The Wulingyuan Scenic Area has multiple sights that are spread out over an expansive area. It will need multiple stops to see everything, so if you are time constrained a day tour is your best bet to get everything in. Even then you will only see a fraction of the National Park part of the day, so plan for at least another half day for the park itself on top of what the tour gives you, once you deal with scenic queues and grabbing some local food!

Our tour, with Jessie was a perfect introduction, first to the Eastern side of the Scenic Area, the Grand Canyon and its Skywalk Bridge, formerly the highest and longest glass bridge in the World (but now eclipsed by competition in Vietnam). Perhaps owing to its size, and that the glass is more in panels rather than continuous, perhaps because of the crowds already on the bridge it is not so terrifying…that is until you see a bungee jumper from the platform below leaping into the gorge. 

What is perhaps a bit more spectacular here is the Via Ferrata that clings to the canyon wall overlooking the bridge – it’s safe as there is multiple redundancy in the harnessing mechanism, but this logic will not filter through to your weak knees as you edge your way along the precarious route of boards, ladders, rails and wires…all without a guide, just you hundreds of metres up in the air with the valley below. 

There are two ways to do the Via Ferrata – down, if you come from the entrance to the bridge or Up is you have crossd to the otherside of the canyon, zip-lined back and then you reward yourself with a climb up.  The Zipline will have heavy queues, so make sure you have plenty of time in your day before going for a flight.

Onto the Zhangjiajie National Park, a trip we did in two halves; the first on our day tour that gave us the basics of getting around the park, and a second more in-depth trip by ourselves. Tickets for The NP are automatically valid for 4 days, so it is well worth to plan at least two visits to get the most out of it. The main entrance at the East Gate is laid out in what we now recognise as a usual efficient Chinese pattern, a massive open square, that houses ticket offices, restaurants and the entry gates.  Whilst there is a ticket office, it is usually expected that you will get your tickets beforehand online (use Trip.com).

To further optimise the flow of human traffic visits are segmented into different routes around the park that have different time slots and modes of transport (and potentially what you can see), not all routes are equal so have a think about which is best for you. A network of busses, cable cars and lifts will rapidly disperse the crowds to the different corners of the park, so as long as you are not in the peaks of May / Oct then you will get around quite quickly no matter how daunting the crowds look.

On our first visit we took Route B, probably the most direct to the main sights of the Bailong Elevator and the Yuanjiajie area that has the iconic spot of the Avatar Hallelujah Mountain. The foot of the elevator is where you can first marvel at the columns of quartz-sandstone, expertly presented by a troupe of resident wild Macaques that pose for photographs at the best spots…naturally in return for a food based tip.

The elevator will shoot you up over 300 metres, as the World’s highest outdoor elevator, from where you can first get a view of the columns from above…if you are lucky!  Our first visit coincided with some particularly rainy weather, which brought plenty of clouds and mist that meant our view was often a white out scene…however in a strange way, having visited on a clear day it felt somewhat magical and special to visit with the swirling mists and enjoying the anticipation and excitement of the clouds parting and giving us glimpses of this geological wonder.  It is, however a fine line as a complete white-out is a waste of time, you want to see at least some of Pandora. One thing is or sure, you will definitely have less crowds when it is rainy! 

From the top of the elevator there are more busses to take you further into the Yuanjiajie area and the sights of Hallelujah mountain and Greatest Bridge (weather permitting!).

We returned a couple of days later when the weather was somewhat better, this time we took Route A and saw that our first visit had skipped a fair amount of the park, and there was still much more to see.  Heading anti-clockwise on the busses and taking the Tianzi Mountain cable way up and over the Pinnacles.

The weather was much more conducive to sightseeing, particularly the more expansive sections of Tianzi that are more of a panoramic spectacle from the beautifully named viewing areas – Fairy Dispersing Flowers, Moon Viewing Platform and Warrior Taming Horse. The busses then continue around this top section to bring you back to the Yuanjiajie area and to get a different perspective on the pinnacles.

If (when) we come back again then we quite like the sound of entering at the South gate and hiking up the valley to get a different perspective of the park, along the Golden Whip stream and 10 mile Gallery...next time!

In the clouds of Tianmen Mountain 🏠

If you have just one day (which we thought we did) then you may have a bit of a dilemma from the outset of your visit to Tianmen Mountain – to go early and try to beat the crowds, or get there later in order to experience the beautiful lights on the Stairway to Heaven at night. 

Matt’s clever idea was to do both, which meant a 13 hour marathon from dawn to dusk.  Starting from the cable station we took Route A, which was the world’s longest cable car (7.5km, at time of writing, although Vietnam may hold that title now!) directly from the city into the clouds and then the Express Cableway down along with a bus from its base back to our start. 

There are 3 routes, and Route A is seen as the most efficient as it follows the most logical of getting you to the top from the outset and then circling your way down; Route B does route A in reverse (bus up / cablecar down), which means ascending the mountain, Route C goes up and down with the Bus / Express Cableway C and is probably the most cumbersome and time consuming as you will have to go both up and down through the mountain from the mid section…but if you don’t pre-book your ticket then this will typically be the only route left on the day.

At the top of the cable car you can then choose to go right (the West Line) or left (the East Line), it’s a circuit, so ostensibly you will end up everywhere just the same no matter which direction you take, but starting with the West route will take you along the best glass walkway parts and most iconic parts of the walkway first, such as the Guigo Moat, the Buried Treasures and the suspension bridge..so if you are trying to experience this with a few people as possible then think about taking this way round. 

Once at the top of the western route you will have some choices, but before choosing do visit the Tianmen Mountain Temple, a Ming dynasty buddhist temple that has some stunning views, and with piped chanting it gives a somewhat serene feel to it. 

With the temple done, grab some food at the Cherry Bay Restaurant, it is fast food style and may not look too enticing but the noodles are excellent and pretty good value (for such a tourist attraction); you’ll also get a million dollar view (weather permitting) whilst having your lunch. If a packed lunch is more your thing, then there are a number of creative snacks you can pick up along the way, from chicken feet to Duck poo tea and spicy fish in a packet!

The East route generally has broader pathways and vistas that can be left until later when the crowds start to grow, more cliff side paths, the Love between Trees and Rocks, Overlooks into Tianmen Cave and the Yu Hu Peak, that was hosting World Champion Wingsuiters when we visited…who were unfortunately grounded due to bad weather!

Once you have completed the circuits and the central path it is probably going to be mid / late afternoon and you’ll want to be thinking about descending the mountain to the lower levels.  If you are hanging on for the evening light show, then don’t descend too early as the Transmountain Escalator – a series of 12 escalators ferrying you nearly 900 metres through the mountain – does not allow for return trips.  The Escalator will deposit you at the foot of the Tianmen Cave and its reflecting pool, which is a wonderful sight unless you are still in the clouds (as we were!).

From here you can choose to descend by another escalator, or take the 999 steps of the Stairway to Heaven.  The steps are doable, but rather long and rather steep, so take your time, enjoy the views (without losing concentration on where your feet are) and enjoy the mid-point waterfalls and rest areas. 

The stairway will bring you down to the main square where various food rewards await you whilst you remain to see the light show between 19.00 – 20.30 (depending on time of the year).  The light show basically flashes different colours along the stairway to heaven and the cave, it’s pretty but as it was still somewhat cloudy on the day we went it did not necessarily justify the marathon day of 12hrs to stay and see it, but at least it sorted Matt’s fomo!

The descent back down the mountain on the Express Cableway will lead you to the sight of the Fox Fairy show, also a must do whilst here, not that you have to do it all in the same day, but it is very possible and convenient to do so as whilst in the vicinity as you are still some way outside the town.  Just look out for the sleeping foxes as you make your way down the mountain.

The Fox Fairy show is something that it seems only China cal pull off, set outdoors in a valley at the foot of the mountain, it has recreated whole villages that are the set and has a cast of hundreds that create a magical spectacle of the story of the Fox Fairy, it is visually stunning even if you don’t always follow the story! 

72 Wonders Tower 🏠

One last surprise that Zhangjiajie has is the 72 Wonders Tower, the World’s tallest stilted building (whatever that means!).  We thought it was just a quirky residential building that was to be visited and ticked off in a 5 minute visit, however as all things in China it ends up much more incredible than just that!  It costs about 10 eur to enter (after 4.30pm), which seems a bit steep at first glance, but the Towers are its own little fantasy world, not just the crazy architecture, but characters and shows that perform almost constantly. 

The main square has sound, light and mini-theatre shows that run every 30-45 mins that feature pyrotechnics, cirque du soleil style acrobatics and big cast shows.  We would recommend getting some dinner at one of the restaurants where you can position yourself to watch the shows and eat at one of their outdoor tables. 

The night culminates with the Bonfire carnival party where audience participation turns the night into a massive dance party, with flames and robots!

Furong Ancient Town: The Village on a Waterfall 🏠

Just 20 minutes away by high-speed train from Zhangjiajie lies Furong Ancient Town, it is so perfect in it’s traditional beauty and incredible setting on a waterfall that it seems it must have been manufactured in a Disney style way recently, but it is a settlement that is over 2000 years old, so it is the real deal, although it may have received some glamming up of late! 

Walking through the town is a step back in time. The winding flagstone streets are lined with traditional Tujia “stilted” houses, and the smell of fermented tofu and local ginger candy fills the air. It is well worth more than just a day trip, particularly as the night is when it is at its most beautiful, with the lanterns of the streets and the rainbow colours of the waterfall that frame the town. 

Expect outdoor performances at regular times on the hour in the evening and at 11pm all street lights are switched out and the town reverts to its pre-magical state! 

If spending the night here, make some advance bookings at the Tianquan Inn, probably the most expensive hotel we booked on our stay, but our Floral Shadows And Misty Moon Room With Waterfall View was exactly what it said on the tin and had the most mesmerising views of the town and the waterfalls, perfect for tea drinking and gazing out of the panoramic windows.

Shanghai: The Futuristic Finale 🏠

Leaving the mountains behind, we traded ancient pillars for the glass-and-steel forest of Shanghai. Arriving in this mega-city is a sensory jolt; the skyline is so densely packed with high-rises that it’s difficult to spot the “famous” landmarks through the thicket of skyscrapers. Shanghai isn’t just a city; it’s a vision of the future, where 1930s colonial grandeur meets 22nd-century ambition.

A Tale of Two Banks

We sought a moment of Buddhist Zen at the Jing’an Temple, an island of gold-roofed tranquility amidst the high-end shopping malls of West Nanjing Road. The temple’s ancient architecture, set against a backdrop of glass skyscrapers, perfectly encapsulates the duality of modern Shanghai. From there, we moved eastwards across the city, hopping through malls until we reached Yuyuan Old Street, for Shanghai of yester-year and tasty Xiao Long Bao (soup dumplings) at the Michelin recommended Nanxiang.

For those looking for a “souvenir hunt,” the AP Plaza Market (underground at the Science and Technology Museum station) is a labyrinth of “inspired” designer bags, electronics, and trainers. We followed a man whispering “bag” into our ears—a standard part of the theatre. The first price is never the real one; they may ask for ten times what you should pay. Haggle hard, keep your sense of humour, and you’ll likely walk away with a “bargain” and a great story.

No trip to Shanghai is complete without walking the Bund. This waterfront promenade is lined with grand, European-style buildings that once housed the world’s most powerful banks. Across the Huangpu River lies Pudong, a neon-drenched futuristic forest. The contrast is spectacular, especially at night when the Shanghai Tower and the “Bottle Opener” (the World Financial Center) pierce the clouds. While boat tours are popular, simply walking the promenade offers the best views of the light show.

Shanghai marked the end of our whistle-stop tour. A trip that we could have easily extended for many months longer (visa permitting), which means that it will be one of those rare countries that we see ourselves coming back to for several trips more. For now we will comfort ourselves with the great memories of this trip, and start planning for the next visit, enjoy!

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