Yes, relations have been fraught, but now this spectacular destination is putting out the welcome mat again.
I first went to China in 1989 to teach English at Sichuan University for three years, and have returned numerous times since. Yet although I’ve visited many places, I have barely seen a fraction of what this immense country has to offer. I feel most other travellers are missing even more, which is a pity.
It’s time to take a new look at China, where many of us haven’t been since before the pandemic, if at all. Visitors will find the Chinese friendly and helpful, and should have few worries about general safety. Those used to the relentless negativity about China will be surprised to encounter first-class tourism facilities and transport systems, surging progress and well-run cities. The Chinese are optimistic, forward-thinking and rightly proud of their achievements.
Beijing has many other attractions such as the historical Back Lakes district, eye-popping contemporary architecture, the avant-garde 798 Art District, and atmospheric Yonghe Temple, China’s largest lamasery.While Beijing is China’s buttoned-up political power centre, Shanghai is a raucous trade city noted for its art deco Bund or river promenade. Hip South Bund has a string of fashionable international restaurants, West Bund an arts district.
Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, is increasingly popular, not so much for its cultural sights but for its laid-back lifestyle, parks, teahouses and famously spicy cuisine. Chengdu Research Base is where most visitors to China encounter giant pandas.Jiuzhaigou National Park, 400 kilometres north of Chengdu, is a China tour staple for its forest valleys embedded with stunningly coloured lakes.
Everything in China is new, all the time. Even returning expats are regularly baffled by new technologies, the latest vocabulary and new neighbourhoods in once-familiar hometowns. A major achievement has been the refurbishment and reconnection of the entire Grand Canal, a 2500-year-old construction that runs 1782 kilometres between Beijing and Hangzhou.
Hilton opened its 700th hotel in China in August 2024 and is aiming at 100 new hotels a year. Other notable new properties include Mandarin Oriental Qianmen in Beijing, which comprises 42 courtyard houses, and Four Seasons Hotel Hangzhou.But it isn’t all about international brands: the Chinese boutique-hotel sector is booming, offering abundant choice, and often at lower prices than their international counterparts. Go local and you’ll save on accommodation costs.
Ningxia is also positioning itself as a stargazing centre with the likes of the Desert Star Hotel bringing sci-fi architecture and glamping to the Tengger Desert.
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