What I discovered from travelling in China
Despite Western misconceptions, there's more to China than meets the eye
Tell people you’re going to China, and they will often look at you confused. Why China? Are you sure? Why not Japan or Vietnam? Unfortunately, many people in the UK have an outdated view of China. In their mind, China is still a poor, undeveloped country, a land of cheap goods and sweatshops. Most people, especially those slightly older, view China as it was in the 80s and 90s – something between Dickensian London and Airstrip One as imagined in Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Yet upon arrival, first-time visitors will be struck by the convenience of the public transport and payments. Getting a very affordable (about £5) mag-lev train from Pudong airport to Shanghai city centre in 6 minutes shows that, in some ways, China’s major cities are even more advanced and tourist-friendly than our own, making the first day of holiday far more enjoyable than somewhere like Paris. Fly into Charles de Gaulle airport and you will be forced to buy an overpriced ticket (13 Euros) just for the pleasure of using the crowded and noisy RER B line for the best part of an hour.
Upon arriving in Shanghai, you will notice that it is remarkably quiet. This is due to the widespread use of electric cars, which make little noise. Taxis are cheap, about £1-2 for short trips, and can be ordered via a messaging app called WeChat, which is kind of like WhatsApp except that it can also be used for payments, transferring money, and translating. So long as you have WeChat, you’re almost sorted. The metro is also great, so long as you don’t mind the security bag checks, it’s much cleaner than the Paris metro and not known for pickpocketing. The staff won’t give you a hefty fine for not having the right pass.
Shanghai, though very modern and developed, is also very green. Nearly every street is lined with trees and there are numerous parks to visit. It’s much like London, only you don’t have to worry about your phone being nicked. Shanghai has more coffee shops than any other city in the world, so you don’t need to look far to get your caffeine fix. With a population of 24 million people, about the same as Australia, there are always new experiences to have and great places to go.
Shanghai Tower is a must-visit. The third-tallest building in the world, Shanghai Tower, has the world’s fastest elevator, which will carry you up at 18 metres per second. Views at the top are memorable, but don’t make the same mistake as me by going on a cloudy day.
Another amazing location is the China Art Museum. Built in the shape of a massive red pyramid, it is one of the most iconic buildings in Shanghai. Inside, you will find stunning artwork that provides a fascinating insight into the history of the city.
Beijing, only a short flight away, is similar to Shanghai, only with far fewer cafes and far more historic sites, including the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the Hall of the People, the National History Museum, and Mao Zedong’s Mausoleum. From Beijing, it is only a few hours’ bus journey to the Great Wall of China, which is hard to describe in words. Surrounded by beautiful hills and mountains, the Great Wall is a memorable must-see for anyone visiting China.
From Beijing, you can go via high-speed train to Qingdao in a few hours. Qingdao is a seaside city known for its beer, which is a legacy of being a former German colony. The Tsingtao Beer Museum is another must-see for anyone interested in both beer and history. A great place to relax and enjoy the sun, the best thing to do in Qingdao is to wander the historic streets, enjoy the street food. and sample the local beers for as little as £1.50 at pavement-side stalls. Many areas are pedestrianised, so it’s a lovely place to walk around. I recommend simply sitting in a beer garden and soaking up the sun, or strolling along the seashore and enjoying the fresh sea breeze. The seafood is also worth a try and goes well with a pint of Tsingtao beer.
Beautiful scenery can also be found near Qingdao if you go to Laoshan Mountain. Accessible by metro, you can take a bus tour along the rugged coast and climb the mountain. The sea views are fantastic.
Despite its poor reputation when it comes to personal freedom, China is paradoxically more laissez-faire than the UK when it comes to the regulation of tobacco. Something of a smokers’ paradise, cigarettes are easily available in China and at very affordable prices (less than £3 a pack). Some restaurants and bars even allow smoking inside, which seems oddly permissive for socialist China, though a state-run tobacco company has a monopoly on production and sales. This might be one of the reasons why flavoured cigarettes are allowed, but flavoured e-cigarettes are completely banned.
Interestingly, smoking is very gendered in China – 60 per cent of men smoke compared to only 5 per cent of women. Despite making great strides in gender equality in recent decades, when it comes to smoking culture, women are socially excluded. Sorry ladies.
While much of the media coverage of China focuses on the human rights abuses carried out by its authoritarian government, this can obscure the daily realities of life for most citizens. China is a multifaceted country with a complex and interesting history and culture. People are patriotic, but they don’t spend their time thinking about politics. The police presence is intense in sensitive areas such as central Beijing, and passport checks are necessary for nearly every tourist attraction, but for a tourist, it feels more like airport-style security than Orwellian control.
As well as the places I’ve mentioned, Nanjing is also worth a visit. A former capital city of China, Nanjing boasts the Presidential Palace, which was the former royal residence during the Ming dynasty. It was also the place where Sun Yat-sen, China’s first President, proclaimed the founding of the Republic of China in 1912. Later, it was used as the central government headquarters. But I would also strongly recommend the Nanjing Massacre Memorial for those interested in China’s war against Japanese imperialism and Japanese war crimes, including the massacre of 300,000 people following the siege of Nanjing in 1937. Built on the site of a mass grave, the museum will teach you a lot about how evil and sadistic humans can be. Yet it also gives glimmers of hope, with examples of shared humanity between the survivors and some of the foreigners who saved them.
For a two-week trip, I think I packed a lot in and got a lot of enjoyment out of the experience. China is unlike anywhere else I’ve visited. It is vast, complex, and full of surprises. Go with curiosity, travel widely, and you’ll come home changed.