China: Beijing, Shanghai and the Zhangjiajie Mountains — Where to Go and What to Try

Beijing: the Forbidden City and the Great Wall

Beijing is a capital with an immense history. Here are the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace, and in the old hutong neighbourhoods, narrow lanes with inner courtyards. From Beijing people head out to the Great Wall: the Mutianyu and Jinshanling sections usually have fewer tourists and very beautiful views.

Shanghai: skyscrapers and the old town

Shanghai is the country's most modern city. The Bund, with its historic buildings, looks across at the skyscrapers of Pudong, and nearby are Yu Garden and the old lanes. The city is especially beautiful in the evening, when the lights come on along both banks of the Huangpu River.

Xi'an and the Terracotta Army

Xi'an is one of China's ancient capitals and the starting point of the Silk Road. Near the city stands the famous Terracotta Army — thousands of life-size clay warriors. In Xi'an itself you can walk or cycle along the old city wall and try the street food in the Muslim Quarter.

Nature: Zhangjiajie and Guilin

Zhangjiajie park is famous for its stone pillars rising out of the mist — they're often compared to the landscapes in the film “Avatar”. Around Guilin and Yangshuo, karst mountains line the Li River, which people float down on bamboo rafts.

What to try

Chinese cuisine is very diverse: every province has its own flavours.

• Peking duck with thin pancakes and sauce.
• Jiaozi dumplings and Shanghai xiaolongbao with broth inside.
• Spicy Sichuan cuisine — kung pao chicken or mapo tofu, for example.
• Hand-pulled noodles, made right in front of you.
• Dim sum — small bites to go with tea.
• Tea — from green to pu'er — in traditional teahouses.

Good to know before you go

China is an easy country to travel in, and a few simple tips will help you feel at ease.

• Save the names and addresses of your hotels in Chinese on your phone — it makes it easier to explain where you're going to a taxi driver.
• Tipping isn't customary here.
• Bags are checked at stations and in the metro, and you show your passport to get on a train.
• During holiday weeks millions of people travel around the country — it's best to book trains and hotels in advance.
• A translator app on your phone is a real lifesaver: English is far from widely spoken.

Staying connected

In China you need the internet from the very first minutes: to open a translator app, call a taxi, pay through an app or show your hotel booking. You can install your eSIM at home over Wi-Fi, so after landing you won't have to hunt for a SIM card at the airport or stand in queues. When a plan's validity begins is shown on the checkout page before you pay: for some plans it starts at the first connection in the destination country, for others on installation or right after purchase. Your main number stays in your phone, and calls and messages to it keep arriving as usual, under your carrier's terms.