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Welcome to Shanghai China’s most populated city is a mixture of dizzying skyscrapers, tree-lined boulevards and temples. Pretty much every visitor to China sets foot in Shanghai for a day or two so naturally, it makes sense to put together a post about the city. In terms of the “real China,” Shanghai is certainly not it, however, it is a city with a charm all of its own. With gorgeous tree-lined streets around the French Concession, the stunning Lujiazui skyline and fantastic food, Shanghai does have a lot going for it. There is probably enough to keep you interested for at least a couple of days, possibly more if you wanted. However, in comparison to Beijing, Shanghai ranks a little lower in terms of sites and history (although the site of the first Communist Party took place near modern-day Xintiandi). It is certainly different to China’s other megacities, owing to…

What to do in Dunhuang An oasis located in the most western region of Gansu, Dunhuang has been a crossroad of culture and trade since the times of the ancient silk road. Surrounded on all sides by inhospitable terrain its amazing that civilization exists at all. Any trip to the far western regions of China is very likely to include at least a stop over in Dunhuang as this is the main gateway into Xinjiang, Chinas final frontier. Dunhuang is barely even a city by Chinese standards. This tiny speck on the map relies heavily on tourism a source of income and prosperity for the local population. Visitor numbers, both domestic and international are increasing. The city centre itself has very little to offer and is merely a base to explore the other surrounding areas. Its small size meaning that location isn’t quite as important as in China’s other metropolises.…

Visiting the Dazu Buddhist Caves from Chongqing Why Dazu? Along with the Longmen Grottoes (龙门石窟) in Luoyang, the Yungang Grottoes (云冈石窟) in Datong and the Mogao Grottoes (莫高石窟) in Dunhuang the Dazu rock carvings (大足石刻) outside of Chongqing make up China’s four most prominent sites of buddhist art. Of the 4, Dazu is probably the least visited, in part due to the fact that Chongqing itself is quite isolated from other popular travel areas in China. Also it is a long journey from the city itself. The vast majority of visitors will take a private tour. However it is quite easy to take use a combination of public transport and taxis to visit the site for a fraction of the cost. The carvings are about 160km west of Chongqing, one of China’s most impressive metropolises. They surround the town of Dazu (大足) across 5 sites. The biggest and most popular…

Visiting Zhangjiajie Zhangjiajie may not mean much to many, but this is one of China’s most popular travel destinations. Located in northern Hunan province it is most famous for being the inspiration for the film Avatar (the whole site is sometimes erroneously referred to as the Avatar mountains). The park is huge and there are numerous different sites, trails and paths giving you the chance to experience the stunning scenery close up. However this is not like national parks in Australia, the US or New Zealand. You can’t just head off on your own adventure and explore freely. You have to stick to the concrete paths that wind their way throughout the park. The main reason for this is due to the parks size and the huge number of visitors it receives on a daily basis. The scenery more than makes up for this lack of freedom though. Welcome to…

Welcome to Chongqing Often mistaken for being the worlds largest city, until 1997 Chongqing municipality was part Sichuan province. Since then it has been it’s own municipality, similar to Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin. It is now one of China’s most important financial centre’s. With rumours of free trade zones in future, a skyline that could rival anywhere on earth, a diverse and powerful history and some of China’s most sumptuous cuisine, Chongqing is one of the middle kingdom’s most vibrant cities. In spite of all of this Chongqing is still unknown to the vast majority of visitors to China. Getting there and away Located in south western China, Chongqing is easily reached by train and plane from almost anywhere in China. Both the airport and main station, Chongqing north (重庆北站) are directly connected to the subway. However Chongqing station (重庆站) and Chongqing west (重庆西) are not connected to the subway and…