Travelling in China

[Goblinz]

I'm looking at travelling round Eastern China fo a few weeks next year (mainly to catch the eclipse). Has anybody here ever been before and can recommend places to go?

I'm toying with the idea of popping down to Vietnam while i'm there. I've found one news report online that mentions a ferry that goes from China to Vietnam but can't find anything else about it, does anyone know if it exists?

[madox]

Hi,

I have spent just over a year in China. I used to work there in my university holidays. I think China is a great place to visit, if you have local contacts. I didn't get nearly so much out of guided tours. I think this is probably true of everywhere, though. My wife is Chinese, from the far North East, and I had a couple of contacts in Beijing, from my father's students, and I think the local contacts make a huge difference in the experience.

Are you interested in major metropolitan sites? Historical sites? Wilderness? My favourite experiences in China, were getting to know some locals, in really undeveloped regional areas. I think it is possible to spend time in the major cities, and not see very much that is different from other major cities throughout the world. However, it really depends on how much opportunity you have to get away from the main stream.

I really liked a couple of the clubs in Beijing. Some really nice Euro style shill clubs. Unfortunately, I couldn't tell you where to find them. I was hanging out with a couple of Dutch and Norwegian guys who lived and worked there, and were known in most of the night spots. Beijing also has a serious modern art scene, with local and ex-pat artists, which I enjoyed a lot. I met quite a few artists there, and stayed in a studio complex, for visiting and resident foreign artists. I loved that experience, but my wife just felt we were slumming it (if you know what the average sculpture or painting studio looks like, you'll know what I mean).

I really liked Xi'An. It reminded me in some ways of Melbourne. It has a huge art scene, but one has to really dig under the surface to see the serious art. There is a lot of pop illustrative work done for tourists, which is really just cheap rubbish, made to pull in a dollar from an undescerning customer. Xi'An also has a lot of interesting historical sites nearby. A lot architecture and relics remained there, and was missed during the very destructive phase of the cultural revolution. During that time, there was a sweeping movement to break ties with the old world of China, and move for complete adoption of the Communist paradigm. Unfortunately, this involved an enormous slash and burn process, but a lot was missed in Xi'An, and still survives today.

I haven't ventured much into the wilderness of China, as I was always working while there, but there are some truly spectactular landscapes. Just be sure you are well looked after if you do venture out, and don't do any activities like white water rafting, or base jumping, unless you are experienced enough to take care of yourself. I did go to Hainan (a Chinese island) which is considered pretty nice by a lot of Chinese, but it was really nothing special for me.

If you are using a tour guide, I suggest trying to get a guide recommended by a friend. A good guide can make for a really great experience, but there are lazy and selfish guides who will really dissapoint. One workmate has just come back from Asia, and his recommendation was to use an ex-pat tour guide, as he found them to be better at providing a good experience for a foreigner. I can't say if that is usually the case though. That workmate also recommends Cambodia as a better tourist destination than Vietnam. A couple of other friends went through Vietnam recently, and foudn that it is no longer much different from the rest of South East Asia, and also the caretaking of national monuments has been woefully neglected.

If you have any questions, I could try to answer, though I expect my experiences there may not be completely relevant to what you are looking for, as I didn't really go as a tourist.

Cheers,

madox