Antique
yet up-to-the-minute, familiar yet unrecognisable, outwardly urban but
quintessentially rural, conservative yet path-breaking, space-age but
old-fashioned, China is a land of mesmerising and eye-opening contradictions.
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| The Great Wall |
Awe-Inspiring
Antiquity. China
may be modernising at a head-spinning pace, but the slick skyscrapers,
Lamborghini showrooms and Maglev trains are just eye-catching but wafer-thin
gift-wrapping. Let's face it: the world's oldest continuous civilisation is
bound to pull an artefact or two out of its hat. Travel selectively around
China and you can quickly tap into a rich seam of antiquity: ponder the legends
and myths of the
Forbidden City, rediscover your sense of wonder on the Great Wall or attempt to fathom the timeless
expressions of the silent Terracotta
Warriors. Submit to the unique charms of Píngyáo – China's best preserved walled town –
or get a glimpse of Nirvana at the serene Mògāo Caves outside Dūnhuáng. Meander
among the historic villages of Wùyuán, wake with the
cock crow in an ancient Hakka roundhouse or join well-dressed Tibetan pilgrims
on their circuitous kora around Labrang
monastery.
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| Peking Duck |
Out-of-This-World
Flavours. China
is famously fixated with food but do yourself a favour and exchange your meagre
local Chinatown menu for the lavish Middle Kingdom cookbook. Wolf down Peking
duck, size up a sizzling lamb kebab in Kāifēng or gobble down a bowl of Lánzhōu
noodles on the Silk Road.
Spicy Húnán food really raises the temperature but
find time for momo (boiled dumplings), tsampa (roasted barley flour porridge)
and other titbits from Tibet. Impress your friends
as you gānbēi (down-in-one) the local firewater, sip a frozen daiquiri in a
slick Běijīng bar or survey the Shànghǎi skyline through a raised cocktail
glass. Second to none, the never-ending culinary adventure is possibly the most
enticing aspect of Middle Kingdom travel and you'll come back from China with
highly stimulated taste buds and much-cherished gastronomic memories.
Stupendous
Scenery. China
is vast. Off-the-scale massive. And you've just got to get outside: island-hop
in Hong Kong, gaze out
over the epic grasslands of Inner Mongolia or squint up at the mind-blowing
peaks of the Himalayas. Trek your way around Tiger
Leaping Gorge or cycle
between the fairy-tale karst pinnacles of Yángshuò. Ponder the
desiccated enormity of the Taklamakan Desert or swoon at Huángshān's
preternatural mists. Become entranced by the Yuányáng
Rice Terraces of Yúnnán, size up the
awesome sand dunes of Dūnhuáng, hike your
way around the exquisite landscape of Déhāng or, when your energy fails you, flake
out for a tan on the distant beaches of Hǎinán island.
Text from: Lonely Planet
