China Highlights

China is too big to summarize as a list of sites. Let's explore China Highlights as themes or principles – which is then a great basis for your visit. China Highlights: Chinese Food Chinese food is famous around the world and should be a highlight of any trip to China. Eating out is still relatively inexpensive, and great street snacks can be had for very little money, so enjoying this aspect need not break your budget. It pays to know the options available as the dishes known in the west are often not available and are certainly not the best to be had. Menus are rarely in English and very few travellers speak sufficiently good Mandarin to be able to order for themselves. Many phrasebooks have a reasonable section covering food but these, by nature, have to be very generalized. A little inventiveness goes a long way. Social customs are different so do not be afraid to ask for dishes that you see others eating. It is also acceptable, sometimes, to go to the kitchen and point at the ingredients that you would like combined. The chef will do the rest. Meals ordered like this take on a flavour of their own and add to the whole China experience. China Highlights: Chinese People Some 94% of the population of the People's Republic of China are registered as Han Chinese. Officially another 55 ethnic group or minorities are recognised. Putonghua (standard Mandarin Chinese) is the official language but there are very strong regional dialects even to the point where Guangdonghua (Cantonese) is widely considered a separate language. With such diversity, there are plenty of opportunities for anyone wanting to explore the costumes and customs of these various groups. Provinces like Yunnan and Guizhou make good destinations as these have many minorities living closely together. Tibet, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia are all predominantly one minority group and therefore allow another, more in-depth, exploration. Travelling within an area is one way to explore but does not always allow opportunities to meet the actual people. If you would like more interaction then it is worth seeking out homestays, and to have a guide that speaks the local dialect(s). China Highlights: Chinese Historic Sites China has a wealth of historic sites. If you enjoy visiting these then you will not be disappointed. Given that the number is so vast it probably pays to try and find a theme that will allow you to decide which sites become part of your itinerary and which to leave out. The following is one such sub-group that may be of interest. China Highlights: Chinese Temples and Other Religious Sites China is often said to have three religions: Daoism, Buddhism and Confucianism. Confucianism is not really a religion and therefore there are few sites that can claim to be linked with any practices other than the estates around Qufu linked with his descendants – the beneficiaries of his posthumous glory. Temples and monasteries tend to be Daoist or Buddhist but are not always exclusively one or the other. Investigating the features associated with either type could be of interest but, more likely, visits could just be an excuse to get to the naturally beautiful locations chosen for these spiritual retreats. Buddhist Grottoes offer another highlight for those with an interest in both history and art. These grottoes abound in sculptures and frescoes related to the Buddhist canon and offer a very interesting window onto movements in the region 1500 – 2000 years ago. China Highlights: Modern China Not everyone is interested in the old stuff and there is a trend for visits to take in some of the ultra-modern structures and transport options that are appearing across China. With the Olmpics in 2008 and the World Expo in 2010, China has had plenty of good reason to show this modern side – and the pace of change does not look like slowing much in the near future. China Highlights: Chinese Wildlife Pretty much everyone knows that pandas come from China. Other Chinese wildlife rarely gets a mention. This is a pity as there are diverse habitats and therefore also species. Visitors wishing to see China's wildlife will need to do their research. There are few places especially set-up to view wildlife as this is not yet a local preoccupation. Those sites that have been established are often not what keen wildlife observers would want anyway. Bird-watchers face the same issues. There is plenty to see but little on offer in the way of facilities or even information. China Highlights is a post from: Traveling China from Traveling China http://www.chinaya.org

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