China is a country in eastern Asia with a unique mix of modern technology and ancient traditions. With close to 1.4 billion people it is the world most populated country and the major cities can be overwhelming and intimidating. Being the 4th largest country in the world, it is one of the most topographically diverse countries I’ve ever visited. There’s a lot to cover in this Travel Through Photography – China edition.
Like always, I’d love to hear your thoughts about what you loved and didn’t like about your travels in China. – leave a comment at the bottom!
Personally, I found China to have a more pronounced culture shock compared to other countries through Asia. Split crotch pants were a shocking first encounter and an image that will never be erased from my brain – if you don’t know what they are, Google search It, I’d rather not link to it – you’ll see why. However, it’s a good thing to look into before you go so you can prepare yourself.
Apart from the fact that I kind of enjoy a culture shock, there were many amazing destinations and attractions in China – so let’s get into the post!
Jinshanling Great Wall of China
What did you expect was going to be first, I mean really? The wall that’s visible from space!
Much of China’s Great Wall was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644); including the Jinshanling section, as early as the 7th century BC. These early walls were added to increase strength, height durability.
This ancient feat of mankind had more uses than just protection, it was also a much-improved delivery route along the silk road and helped control immigration. Construction of the wall was not without challenges though, an estimated 6 million people worked on its construction (around 1/5 of China’s population at the time) and about half a million people died during construction – many of their bodies are buried in the wall itself. Who knew?!
The Great Wall runs east-west in the north of China. Today, 21,196km is the total length of the Great Wall of China, this includes all its branches and off chutes. Just let that distance sink in for a second, that’s a lot of stone and brick!
Jinshanling is a section of China’s Great Wall that sees much less tourist traffic. If you walk far enough you will find a section that remains largely un-restored so you’re be walking over uneven and broken parts of the wall.
Some sections are extremely steep as well, I found myself sliding backwards at times!, and I enjoyed this much more. It’s a more meaningful experience looking at the decaying parts of history rather than a section refurbished just for tourism. In my opinion at least.
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park
In China’s Hunan province, a stunning national park goes by the name Zhangjiajie (it took me around a week to be able to pronounce it without people looking at me weird). Part of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Wulingyuan Scenic Area, it has held this status since 1992.
These towering sandstone cliffs are created by many, many years of erosion. The tallest peak was officially named “Avatar Hallelujah Mountain”. At 1080 meters high, it is a sight that you can imagine is incredibly popular. Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is said to have been the inspiration for the blockbuster movie “Avatar” (hence the name I guess). This whole area is so beautiful and totally unique, I can see how it could inspire otherworldly landscapes.
Unfortunately, like with a lot of China, you can rarely escape the smog for too long. Even throughout these pristine peaks of rock, smog sat idle in every direction. I’m just assuming there was a mountain I couldn’t see off in the distance.
Throughout Zhangjiajie, there are many quieter, less maintained paths. Quieter except for the monkeys that ran and jumped through the trees! Some even were tame enough to sit on the edge of sheer cliff faces. It made me nervous, but they were probably used to it.
For this reason, I highly recommend actually investing time to explore the interior regions of the park. We often only say one person in a couple of hours! You do get a workout though, literally climbing stairs all the way up one cliff, to go back down the other side and all the way up another cliff. The abundance of views makes up for the leg burn!
Tip: leave early in the morning to beat the crowds!
Tianmen Mountain
Located just south of Zhangjiajie City is one of China’s holy peaks, Tianmen Mountain and it is a beautiful, yet very busy attraction. A 7.4km cable car takes passengers to the 1516 meter peak of the mountain, built in 2005 by a French company, it’s the longest high mountain cable care in the world.
At the top of the mountain, there are kilometers of literal Cliffside paths giving stunning vistas of the surrounding scenery, even if there was a bit of smog on the horizon.
Tianmen Cave is a natural cave in the mountain. At 1,519 meters (4983 ft), this attraction is also known as “Heavens Door”. You can access the open cave by walking through it after descending 6 indoor escalators from the top of Tianman mountain, or by walking up the 999 steep and shallow stairs leading up to it after taking a shuttle bus along “Heaven-linking avenue” which is a fun road with 99 sharp turns leading you up here.
I walked down the stairs and let me assure you it’s one place you never want to trip over!
Tip: go as early in the morning as possible for fewer crowds!
Longsheng Rice Terraces
These cascading hills of Longsheng, or Longji Rice Terraces, sit around 100km out of the Chinese city of Guilin. Varying between 600 to 880 meters above sea level, there are some beautiful views to be had from hiking along the rice terraces.
Also known as the Dragons Backbone Rice Terraces, these stunning fields follow the natural contours along the riverside and were built around 650 years ago. Longsheng Rice Terraces make for a great day trip from Guilin, as you can spend a great amount of time exploring the twisting and narrow pathways that coil around these rice fields.
But be careful, they’re not signposted very well so give yourself plenty of time to explore and embrace that you will almost definitely get lost amongst these intricate hills.
Tiananmen Square
To foreigners, this is one of the most well-known locations in China, for some very tragic reasons. Shocking both China’s allies and enemies, it’s the site of savage attacks perpetrated by China on it’s own people. In 1989, mainly student-led protests were mounting for weeks to protest the government’s oppression as they wanted democracy and liberalization.
However, the government forcibly ended the protests when they brought in tanks and assault rifles, firing into the crowds of people and crushing those who stood in their way. Deaths from the event vary greatly, somewhere between 180 to 10,000 protesters lost their lives, with over 10,000 arrested.
What really shocked me is the government officially bans any type of memorial here for these massacres (downplayed in their history books as simply as the “June Fourth Incident”.
It was a sobering experience to stand where that happened.
What really shocked me is the government officially bans any type of memorial here for these massacres, downplayed in their history books as simply “an incident”.
Beijing’s Forbidden City
In the background of the previous pictures you can see the “Gate of Divine Might”, the north entrance to Beijing’s Forbidden City. Constructed from 1406 to 1420, it housed the Emperor and his entire household during the Ming Dynasty and was used as the Imperial Palace of the Qing Dynasty.
Declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1987 as the largest collection of ancient wooden structures in the world. The complex sees 15-17 million visitors annually and is home to some beautiful examples of ancient Chinese architecture.
Be prepared to pass through cattle gates leading to lots of security checks and x-ray machines to be able to explore the site. I never anticipated such a heightened level of security before visiting China,but there were many instances of security checkpoints throughout my travels in the country.
Taking a walking tour of Beijing is a perfect way to learn about the country’s vast history.
Xi’an Terracotta Warriors – Emporer Qin Shi Huang’s Mausoleum Site and Museum
There are plenty of attractions in Xian that draw plenty of visitors each and every year. But these Terracotta Warriors are the biggest drawcard to the ancient city of Xian.
This Terracotta army of life-sized sculptures resides just outside of present-day Xi’an. These warriors, estimated to be around 8,000 in total depict the armies of China’s first Empire, Qin Shi Huang, with the intent of protection in the afterlife. This complex also houses hundreds of chariots and thousands of bronze weapons.
Created around 210 BC, these statues were discovered in 1974 by farmers digging a well. Originally painted bright colours, these warriors all have unique faces. Some restored, some not restored. There are three pits in total covering about 20,000 square meters to explore!
It’s pretty amazing to walk around and look at the detail put into this army of terracotta soldiers.
Leshan Giant Buddha
In the south of Sichuan Province, within the Grand Buddha Park, sits the largest sculpture of Buddha in the world. Leshan’s Giant Buddha towers at 71m high and is carved out from the red stone cliffs. Hai Tong was the original monk who had the inspiration for the statue, and after 20 years of fundraising, he began creating his life’s work. He created this stone wonder with the hope of protecting the people who lived along the torrential Dadu River.
Hai Tong never got to see the finished masterpiece as the 90-year project was completed after his death. A couple of facts to put massive undertaking in perspective, the statue’s head contains over 1000 coils of hair chiseled out of stone and the fingers are 8.3m (79ft) long!
Even though the views of Leshan’s Giant Buddha are incredible, the grounds around the statue can also be explored under the same ticket, and there is plenty to see. Like the tomb caves and a temple on a small island accessed from a very picturesque bridge. Totally worth the walk around if you can spare the time!
China has its challenges while traveling, it can be frustrating at times, daunting and intimidating just trying to cross the city streets. However, it’s an amazing country if you can deal with the culture shocks of a totally unique and ancient culture.
With such a diverse landscape and culture, there’s always more to see. I’d love to hear about your favorite sights and experiences below!
Have you been to China? Where did you go and what did you love/challenging about the country? Or are you planning your first trip there? Either way, I’d love to hear from you – leave a comment below!
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Happy and safe travels,
Ben
