China Discovery

How to plan your China travel? You plan it on your own, with your family or just leave all the troubles to your travel consultant?

You may think that booking a China tour can be an easy thing. You just need to click the button and send your inquiry then everything has been done perfectly by your China travel expert. However, before you get ready up on China, you still have to do some work. Don't worry. I'm here to help you make it simple with these easy steps to guide you in your China travel planning.

Matthew with his travel consulant wonder

1. Who is going with you?
China is an interesting country. And your trip here will be once in a lifetime. Will you come alone, come with your family or come with a group? No matter who will be with you, just come.

One thing to mention here, it is quite safe to travel alone in the hot destinations like Beijing, Xian, Shanghai, Guilin, Chengdu etc. If you travel in Tibet, you need to take the private Tibet tour or join the group tour. It is not allowed to travel alone in Tibet yet.

Cycling in Guilin with your family

2. Where will you go in China?
I do think you have known Great Wall, Terracotta Warriors, and Giant Panda etc. Do you want to see them? In fact, China is an enormous country with diverse options for travel. There may be certain things you absolutely feel you must see, or other places you didn't even know were in China. A good way to get a feel for China is to browse my China Destination Guide. A good way to find out more about classic china sites is to peruse the Top 10 China Tours and Classic China Tours.

Zhangjiajie National Park

3. Tour or self-guided? How do you want to see China?
I know it is a big decision to go to China. You may find it is an even bigger one to decide how you will travel. Here, I suggest you to choose a reliable travel agency and take the private and customizable China tour. It will save much time, budget and energy to get all the things done. Moreover, during the tour, you will have your own car and driver, tour guide...I believe everything will go smoothly and have great experience which is more than expected.

4. When to go to China?
Different places can be visited in different seasons. Usually, it is highly recommended to visit China in spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November).

If you want to reach the Roof of the World - Tibet, go during May to October. Please check the weather forecast, temperatures before you get started.
>>Best time to visit China

travel Longji Rice Terrace in spring

5. Get your travel documents ready
Before you even book your tickets, you'll want to make sure you've got your passport and visa all in order. You'll need a passport that is valid for at least six months at the time you apply for your visa and you'll need it to have a few empty pages. The Chinese visa takes up an entire page. Obtaining the visa through the Chinese embassy or Consulate in your area can take up to two weeks so you don't want to leave this until the last minute.

If you go to Tibet, you'll need the Tibet permit. Please ask your travel consultant to get this issue done for you.
>> Tibet Permit for your Tibet Travel

Get your Tibet Permit

6. Book your flights and accommodation
After you get the travel documents, the next step is to book your flights and accommodation. If you are going through a tour operator that is booking everything for you, there is no need to consider the accommodation.

7. Review your medical checklist
There are no required vaccinations for China but depending on what you'll be doing and where you'll be going. If you want to join the panda volunteer program, you need to provide you medical conditions.

8. Organize your money
Get acquainted with Chinese currency before you go and do a little budgeting. Also, figure out if you’d rather take traveler check, cash or and ATM card for your cash needs. When traveling with an ATM, find out from your bank if they charge an overseas withdrawal fee and find out the daily withdrawal limit.

Chinese money exchange

9. Traveling with children
If you'll be traveling with small children who have specific needs like diapers and formula, do some research before you go and make sure you have everything you absolutely need but haven't over-packed (e.g. you can get diapers in China!). Do some research on what they'd like to do so you have a good mix planned of adult-oriented touring mixed with kid-friendly stops.
>> China Family Tours
>> Family-friendly Activities in China

10. Start packing and Ready up on China
Packing is a big job. You may be touring many different parts of China, you need clothes for different seasons, different occasions. Bear in mind: take the necessities and travel as light as you can.
>> What to pack for your China trip?

Enjoy your China Trip

Now you have got all the things ready, it is time to start your exciting China trip. Enjoy your journey!

Originated from India, the grottoes were built to serve Buddhism. In China, many grottoes are located in Gansu, Xinjiang, Chongqing, Henan, and Shanxi etc. Among them, there are top 4 Buddhist Grottoes well known not only in China but also all over the world. The top 4 are: 

• Mogao Grottoes
• Longmen Grottoes
• Yungang Grottoes
• Maijishan Grottoes

Let's check out the details listed below.

No.1 Mogao Grottoes
Location: Dunhuang, Gansu Province;
Feature: the best preserved of Chinese Buddhist grottoes with 1900 years' history; listed in UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987

Dunhuang Caves

Magao Grottoes, or Mogao Caves, located at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road,
Form a system of 492 temples, 25 km southwest of the center of Dunhuang. It is known as the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas.

The grottoes contain some of the finest example of Buddhist art spanning a period of 1,000 years. The rooms of the grottoes were decorated with sculptures and frescoes in style, which changed over the centuries.

Mogao Grottoes

No.2 Longmen Grottoes
Location: Luoyang, Henan Province
Feature: with 1500 years, owns the largest number of statues among the four; listed in UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000

Longmen Caves

Longmen Grottoes, or Longmen Caves, has over 2100 niches, more than 100,000 statues, some 40 pagodas and 3600 tablets and steles in the caves of Guyang, Binyang and Lianhua. Over 100,000 images can be found in the approximately 1,300 caves of Longmen.

It is "an outstanding manifestation of human artistic creativity" for its perfection of an art form, and for its encapsulation of the cultural sophistication of Tang China.

Longmen Grottes

No.3 Yungang Grottoes
Location: Datong, Shanxi Province
Feature: listed in UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001

Yungang Grottoes

Yungang Grottoes are excellent examples of rock-cut architecture. It is considered by UNESCO a “masterpiece od early Chinese Buddhist cave art and represent the successful fusion of Buddhist religion symbolic art from south and central Asia with Chinese cultural traditions, starting in the 5th century CE under imperial auspices”.

All together the site is composed of 252 grottoes with more than 51,000 Buddha statues and statuettes.

Yungang Grottoes in Datong

No.4 Maijishan Grottoes
Location: Tianshui, Gansu Province
Feature: typical Danxia Landform
Maijishan Grottoes is was named for its shape – like that of a pile of wheat. There are a series of 194 caves, containing over 7200 Buddhist sculptures and over 1000 square meters of murals. The artist style of these grottoes show the influence of central Asian cultures.

Maijishan Grottoes

The other grottoes like Dazu Grottoes in Chongqing, the rock carvings at Feilai Feng within the Lingyin Temple site in Hangzhou are also very popular.

It is hard to describe the magnificence, beauty of grottoes. Let's get closer and discover them with China Discovery.

When you escape to the AWATAR world - Zhangjiajie, Fenghuang Ancient Town is also a must see attraction which should be listed in your travel list.

The Phoenix Ancient Town is situated on the western boundary of Hunan province. It is an area of outstanding natural beauty where mountains, water and blue skies prevail.
               

Fenghuang Ancient Town

Upon arrival, you will be impressed by its air of mystery, elegance and primitive simplicity. This is a world that is dominated by the color green. The mountain slopes are covered with green foliage, the fields are green and even the Tuo River reflects the greenery. The bridges over the water and unique houses built on stilts display a harmony that is so often portrayed in traditional Chinese paintings. This is particularly true when mist pervades the scene in the early morning or after rain. It soon becomes apparent that the claim to being one of the two most beautiful towns in the whole of China is more than justified; the other town is Chang Ting in Fujian Province.

the Chinese painting - Fenghuang

Fenghuang Ancient Town (Phoenix Ancient Town) is a wonderful example of what villages were like prior to the onset of modernization. Here dozens of alleys paved with flagstones run between the houses, each showing wear caused by the feet of generations of local people who have used them when going about their daily business. For you, these alleys are the way to see the typical high gabled wooden houses built on stilts along the banks of the Tuo River at close quarters.

>> 5 Days Culture Tour to Zhangjiajie & Fenghuang
>> 6 Days Zhangjie, Fenghuang & Changsha Tours
>> 7 Days Hunan Discovery from Changsha

Scenic Spots in Fenghuang Town:
Fenghuang Former Residence of Shen Congwen

The Rainbow Bridge in Fenghuang

The Southern Great Wall in Fenghuang Town

Stilt House (Diaojiao House) along the River

Are you a foodie, especially interested in Chinese food?

Impressed by the history and story behind foods of various kinds in China?

Eager to learn how to make Chinese cuisine?


From April 18 to June 6, 2014, a second season of "A Bite of China" is airing on CCTV-1, drawing an estimated 100 million viewers. Oliver Thring of The Guardian praised it as "the best TV show I've ever seen about food. I'd hazard it's the best one ever made.”

In season 2, there are 8 sets. Let’s follow the footprints of "A Bite of China" to make your tongue watered. 

A Bite of China

• Footsteps(pinyin: jiaobu; Chinese:脚步)
• Mind (pinyin: xinzhuang; Chinese:心传)
• Season (pinyin: shijie; Chinese:时节)
• Homemade (pinyin: jiachang; Chinese:家常)
• Mystery (pinyin: mijing; Chinese:秘境)
• Meet (pinyin: xiangfeng; Chinese:相逢)
• Three meals (pinyin: sancan; Chinese:三餐)
• Trailer (pinyin: huaxu; Chinese:花絮)

It's all about Chinese food culture...And the story telling digs deeper into the relationship between food and people...It is worth watching, tasting and sharing.

In this documentary, it covers the local cuisines all around China like Chengdu, Leshan, Shanxi, Nyingchi, Quanzhou (in Fujian), Chongqing, Shandong, Hunan, Zhejiang etc.

Some Recommended Chinese Food:

Lotus Root and Rip Soup

• Lotus root and rip soup
• Boiled fish with pickled cabbage and chili
• Shouxing chicken in wine
• Stinky tofu braised in soy sauce
• Shanxi braised noodles
• Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles
• Roasted matsutake
• Sichuan Hotpot
• ...

Would you like to join us to discover the delicious, superb flavors? Discover Chinese food with your tongue now!

I bet you know Great Wall, Terracotta Army, and Potala Palace in China. But, what else do you know?

Here, I should say China is a splendid country, richly endowed with fine natural resources and many wonderful places combining scenic beauty with historical interest.

Tiananmen Square

Until April 2014, there are 45 world heritage sites in China representing the quintessence of the nation, adequately demonstrating the magnificence, beauty and vastness that attract and intoxicate people from all over the world.


Usually, the world heritages are divided into three kinds: World Natural Heritage (10), World Cultural Heritage (31) and World Natural and Cultural Heritage (Mixed: 4).

Below is the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in China (By chronological order).

1.  Imperial Palaces of Ming and Qing Dynasties, including the Forbidden City and Mukden Palace (Beijing & Shenyang, Cultural, 1987)

2.  Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor (Xian, Cultural, 1987)

3.  Mogao Caves (Dunhuang, Cultural, 1987)

Mogao Caves

4.  Mount Taishan (Shandong, Mixed, 1987)

5.  Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian (Beijing, Cultural, 1987)

6.  The Great Wall (Northern China, Cultural, 1987)

7.  Mount Huangshan (Huangshan City, Anhui, Mixed, 1990)

8.  Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area (Songpan County, Sichuan, Natural, 1992)

9.  Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area (Jiuzhaigou County, Sichuan, Natural, 1992)

10. Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area (Zhangjiajie, Natural, 1992)

11. Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains (Hubei, Cultural, 1994)

12. Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace, including the Jokhang Temple and Norbulingka (Lhasa, Cultural, 1994)

Potala Palace

13. Mountain Resort and its Outlying Temples in Chengde (Chengde, Hebei, Cultural, 1994)

14. Temples and Cemetery ofConfucius, and the Kong Family Mansion (Qufu, Shandong, Cultural, 1994)

15. Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area (Emeishan & Leshan City, Sichuan, Mixed, 1996)

Golden Summit of Mount Emei

16. Lushan National Park (Lushan, Jiangxi, Cultural, 1996)

17. Ancient City of Pingyao (Pingyao, Shanxi, Cultual, 1997)

18. Classic Gardens of Suzhou (Suzhou, Jiangsu, Cultural, 1997)

19. Old Town of Lijiang (Lijiang, Yunnan, Cultural, 1997)

20. Summer Palace (Beijing, Cultural, 1998)

Summer Palace

21. Temple of Heaven (Beijing, Cultural, 1998)

22.  Dazu Rock Carvings (Dazu, Chongqing, Cultural, 1999)

23.  Mount Wuyi (Northwestern Fujian, Mixed, 1999)

24.  Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui – Xidi and Hongcun (Anhui, Cultural, 2000)

25.  Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, including the Ming Dynasty Tombs and the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum (Beijing & Nanjing, Cultural, 2000)

26.  Longmen Grottoes (Luoyang, Cultural, 2000)

27.  Mont Qingcheng and the Dujiangyan Irrigation System (Dujiangyan, Sichuan, Cultural, 2000)

28. Yungang Grottoes (Datong, Shanxi, Cultural, 2001)

29. Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas (Yunnan, Natural, 2003)

30.  Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom (Ji’an Jilin, 2004)

31.  Historic Center of Macau (Macau, 2005)

32.  Yinxu (Anyang, Henan, Cultural, 2006)

33.  Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries (Sichuan, 2006)

34.  Kaiping Diaolou and Villages (Kaiping, Guangdong, 2007)

35.  South China Karst (Yunnan, Guizhou and Chongqing, 2007)

36.  Fujian Tulou including Nanjing Tulou and Yongding Tulou (Fujian, Cultural, 2008)

Fujian Tulou

37.  Mount Sanqingshan National Park (Jiangxi, Natural, 2008)

38.  Mount Wutai (Shanxi, Cultural, 2009)

39.  Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in "The Center of Heaven and Earth" (Henan, Cultural, 2010)

40.  China Danxia (Hunan, Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Guizhou, Natural, 2010)

41. West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou (Hangzhou, Cultural, 2011)

West Lake in Hangzhou

42.  Site of Xanadu (Xilinggol, Inner Mongolia, Cultural, 2012)

43.  Chengjiang Fossil Site (Yunnan, Natural, 2012)

44.  Xijiang Tianshan (Xinjiang, Natural, 2013)

45.  Cultural Landscape of HongheHani Rice Rerrace (Yuanyang County, Yunnan, Cultural, 2013)

Yuanyang Rice Terrace