Travelling Through China.

Travelling through China was EPIC and I would recommend it to anyone. Especially if you're interested in vast, rural mountains, ancient history dating back thousands of years, sacred temples and really long and great walls. Wherever you land, get some rest, then head on out to Rural China.

China is 3.69 million square miles of land, 1200km of coast and although China is the 4th largest country in the world, it's the most populated country in the world with over 1,442,590,047 people... It's seriously massive.

There are tourist attractions as well as hidden gems all throughout this striking country. Theatre shows, markets, food you’ve never seen or heard of before, hiking, ancient temples, palaces, shopping, sanctuaries. It's incredibly diverse and remarkably hard to get much done in a short amount of time because of its size!

But my bestie and I tried to get in as much as we could, and if you continue reading the tale of our 10 up and down days in China, I'll pop in some tips, recommendations and photos for your future China travel endeavours.

This is part 1 of a three-part "Travelling Through China" Series. Read Part 2 for where to go and what to do and part 3 for mine and Cenny’s China Travels story!

So here's some tips for you future fellow China lovers.

1. Mid-April is pretty much the perfect time to travel to China. Not too hot and not too cold. It's the middle of Spring, maximum of around 21 degrees (C) and a minimum of about 7 degrees (C). Winter and summer can be pretty harsh, so stick to March - May.

2. Arrange your visa... with not much time to spare! You can start the application online, there's a checklist you have to fill out. It's actually fairly simple. They need evidence of your arrival flight, first hotel you're booked into and paid evidence of your flight leaving China either before or on the same day your visa ends. Some things will have to be mailed to the Chinese Embassy, but they ask that you don't send it too early. I sent my application off about 6 weeks before leaving and had no issues.

3. Arrange a sim card/VPN for your mobile before you get there. (Avoid roaming fees. I got a $300 bill because we weren't able to arrange sim cards when we were already in China.) We went to a shopping mall in Beijing and no one there could help us. It was stressful and we weren't able to let family back home in Aus know we had landed safely for two days. Keep in mind China has banned some social media sites (Like Facebook and Messenger) so download WhatsApp or Zoom or something similar if you want to contact home.

4. Learn a little Chinese. Thank you, hello, yes, no, can you help me please, goodbye, which way to, train station... Things that will help you along the way. It's really just common courtesy to do this for any country you visit.

5. Always take a marked taxi cab with a proper taxi sign on top. Organise taxi's through your hostel or hotel desk. Or you can arrange private transfers too. Seriously... this is for your safety. Don't ignore this tip. It's easy to politely refuse anyone that does not have a marked Taxi, don't feel rude, just say no as many times as it takes for them to get the hint and leave you in peace.

6. If you don't have google translate, you'll want it for China. Most accommodation sites will have the translated language version of their address on their app too. So before you get your taxi, have your destination details ready in Chinese to show to your driver. Then once they've taken off, get your destination up on your own maps so you can keep track of where you're going along the way. This sounds pretty over-cautious, but it helped us a few times. Those taxi drivers try to make an extra buck wherever they can.

7. Please don't let this scare you, It's just a warning so you know to be prepared. If you're not a smoker, prepare to have your lungs filled with smoke. The air pollution in China is already a serious issue thanks to China being such an industrialised, factory filled country. But the cigarette smoke is just as intense. Almost every second person in China is a smoker. When we left China I continued my travels through Eastern Europe with a Respiratory Tract Infection. Try living your best life while you're feeling your worst! But also, well worth it.

8. Chili flakes, chili powder, chili oil and chili paste are pretty much used in most Chinese dishes. If you're not a chili fan, get that google translator out and be ready to tell your host that your tongue is not a fan of chili. Qing buyao lajiao - No chili please. In some cases your lovely host will recognise that you are not a local and will try to warn you about the chili. Don't ignore them.

9. Currency is CNY or RMB. The formal currency name is Renminbi, but Chinese Yuan is used the most. Pronounced “Yen”. It’s basically like the United Kingdoms “Pound Sterling” but everyone just says “Pound”.

10. Public toilets aren't quite like the Western World toilets. Hope you're good at squatting. Take tissues in your backpack or pocket with you and when you're done with your business, do not flush it down the loo. Your dirty tissues go in the bins provided. Take hand sanitiser too. I'm not calling anyone dirty but we live in a world where disease and infection is easily transmitted. If you're not great at squatting there's handrails in some toilets that you can hold on to for help.

11. If you have fair skin, be prepared to be asked to have your picture taken... numerous times. We felt famous a lot of the time as lovely Chinese ladies constantly asked to have their pictures taken with us. Husbands would drop what they were doing to please their wives and take photographs of all of us posing together. It was really fun and it always ended with a lot of smiles and laughs.

May Your Chinese Adventures Take You Down Similar Paths to Ours:

(Read China Part 2 to see recommendations and what to do in each of these places)

Beijing

Zhangjiajie

Yongding District

Chengdu

Sichuan Province

Jinshanling District

Places I recommend staying:

• Junyue Manju Hotel - Zhangjiajie

The owner is happy to pick people up from the airport or the train station with about a days notice in advance. He's kind and talks about the city while driving through. The hotel is on the 19th and 2oth floors of an old rundown building that also has a floor for local dance lessons. The city and mountain views are breath-taking. Our room was HUGE, had a small balcony, breakfast included, telly with movie options, air-conditioning, a gorgeous tiled bathroom. Honestly, he's created a haven of style and comfort where you'd least expect it.

• Chengdu Mix Hostel Courtyard Poshpacker (Wenshu Monastery).

A beautiful multi-level oasis in a busy street in Chengdu. The shared bathrooms weren’t an issue, there were plenty of showers and toilets on each level with an open plan sink area. We actually made a lot of friends in this area while brushing our teeth and getting ready for some Chengdu nightlife! Friendly staff that can supply you with maps and directions, book cars and taxis and there’s a cat that lives wherever he wants too. He’s super friendly. There’s public computers, a lovely dining area where they serve delicious and spicy Chinese meals and our favourite part was the bar. A jazzy but tiki kind of small bar with cocktails and beers and good people with good conversation.

You have your tips and recommendations for Travelling Through China. I sincerely hope you consider visiting China one day. It might be vast in size and it may be a place where spitting and burping and grunting are normal everyday behaviours wherever you are. But it's an amazing place if you get the chance to see the right places and meet some cool people along the way.