One-Month Itinerary in China

The Hairy giraffe… IN CHINA

After a few days in Hong Kong and Macau, the world tour continues in China, where we will spend 25 days. We will spend the majority of our time in Yunnan, a mountainous region in the southwest of the country. This mountainous region is also one of the main tourist destinations for the Chinese people. We encounter very few foreign tourists during our stay. Our presence often attracts the attention of the Chinese, who are not accustomed to seeing foreigners. They don’t hesitate to point at us and look at us with curiosity. The bravest ones come to us and communicate through gestures or by speaking broken English to ask for a photo with us. This special contact makes our time in China memorable.

We also take advantage of our time in the country to make a detour to the Terracotta Army in Xi’an (which remains one of our worst travel experiences) and visit Beijing, the capital of the Middle Kingdom.

How long? We stayed 25 days in China. If we add to that the three days spent in Hong Kong and Macau, we spent nearly a month on Chinese territory.

When? Mid-March to early April.

Ease of independent travel: 2 giraffes While the infrastructure (trains, metro, buses, etc.) exists, finding information (schedules, bus numbers, etc.) often feels like a challenge. The Chinese are helpful, but it remains difficult to navigate independently, especially since domestic tourism is mostly group tourism.

Costs: 3 giraffes In Yunnan, it’s possible to eat very well for less than 15 euros per day for two people and to have a comfortable room for around 25 euros per night. Prices are obviously higher in Beijing. However, the majority of tourist attractions are quite expensive. It’s not uncommon to have to spend 10 to 15 euros to enter the sites.

Ease of communication: 1 giraffe Verbal communication is very difficult in China for non-Chinese speakers. The Chinese don’t speak English. Even though it’s sometimes possible to find a few English words (street names, metro station names, dishes, etc.), Google Translate was our best ally during our stay. Fortunately, the Chinese are kind. They try to make themselves understood through gestures, images, or translation apps. They are also patient when we struggle to translate everything from French to Chinese.

Safety: 3 giraffes At no point during our stay did we feel unsafe. However, the presence of cameras everywhere in public spaces, the fact that our passports were systematically checked during our travels, and being photographed upon arrival at hotels added a creepy aspect to our stay. Knowing also that individual freedoms are not the government’s priority and that a misstep can lead us directly to prison (without passing go), it can sometimes be oppressive.

Health: 4 giraffes Contrary to Western perceptions, China has modernized. Sanitary rules are respected. The streets are clean. Hygiene standards are high. Cooks work with gloves, wash their hands, and use treated water. However, the tap water is not potable, but most hotels provide unlimited bottled water.

Gay friendly: 1 giraffe The LGBT community has virtually no rights in China. It’s better to remain very discreet.

Travel ease: 2 giraffes China is not an easy or convenient destination for foreign tourists. Firstly, the language barrier presents a significant challenge. During our entire four-week stay in the country, we could count on one hand the number of Chinese people who could speak English to us. Furthermore, most reservations (for trains, tours, etc.) are typically made online. However, the websites and apps are exclusively in Chinese. Even if you manage to overcome the language barrier, payment often requires a Chinese phone number. In China, everything is paid for through WeChat, a Chinese app that serves various functions such as payments and messaging. Many merchants are even reluctant to accept cash because they lack change. To use WeChat, you need a Chinese phone number and a payment card. Of course, we could have purchased a SIM card upon arrival, as we did elsewhere. However, our French carrier provided free coverage in China up to 35GB. Additionally, buying a SIM card here means knowingly sharing personal information (including your credit card number) with the Chinese government.

Highlights: The Three Pagodas Temple in Dali, the cherry blossoms adding magnificent colors to the landscapes, the view of the snow-capped mountain in the Black Dragon Pool Park in Lijiang, and the Tibetan elements of Shangri-la.

Letdowns: Smoking is very prevalent everywhere in China. A large number of Chinese people (mainly men) smoke. They do it everywhere: train stations, hotels, public toilets… The smell of tobacco is sometimes ubiquitous, and it’s not uncommon to inhale a puff of smoke. The rough manners of some elderly Chinese people. They cut lines, spit, sniff loudly, talk loudly… The new generation seems to be free from these behaviors. The reservation system for visiting the Forbidden City. All tickets are reserved in advance by groups and agencies. It’s impossible to reserve one on the official website at a reasonable price. Xi’an as a whole: too crowded, too noisy, too polluted.

Check out our Travel Reflections articles on China:

ONE-MONTH ITINERARY IN CHINA

Here is the detailed itinerary of our month in China:

Day 0: A flight of just over 2 hours connecting Hong Kong to Kunming. The Boeing we boarded managed to reach its destination safely. Entry into China was more complicated, especially for François, whose passport photo taken 6 months ago doesn’t seem to match his current appearance. His 10-year visa (issued to Canadian citizens) also intrigues the customs officers a lot. They have to look at it several times to ensure his identity. They also ask him many questions in English that is more than approximate to try to understand his motivations. We finally arrive at our hotel late in the evening.

Day 1: We start the day at Emerald Lake Park located right next to our hotel. The park is quite large and has several points of interest: small lakes filled with ducks, a “forest” of bamboo, and various vendors. On this Saturday morning, there are many people. The stroll is enjoyable.

We walk up Huanggong East Alley to Wuhua Square where several people are doing Tai Chi. Then, we pass by the bird market.

We make a quick stop at the Confucius Temple.

We then head to the old street of Kunming. The street is really beautiful. Buildings dating back to the Ming and King dynasties (17th century) line both sides and add a lot of character to the street.

We take the opportunity to indulge in a plate of noodles. We also discover a brand of drinks and ice creams with prices that defy all competition (a few cents for a vanilla ice cream). We will be loyal customers throughout our stay.

After a dessert made of flower-filled biscuits (flower cakes), a specialty of Yunnan, we head towards the Yuantong Buddhist Temple.

The temple is different from those we have seen so far. A central body of water and stone bridges add a certain charm and enhance the serene and spiritual atmosphere of the place.

We return, under the cherry blossoms, to enjoy a tea in our room before indulging in a delicious meal at the hotel restaurant in the evening.

Day 2: A relaxed day where we do essentially the same things as the previous day. We return to the park in the morning to enjoy the greenery and the Sunday morning hustle and bustle. We stop by the train station to buy our tickets for the following day and the day after. Then we head to lunch on the old street. A Skype call with the family concludes our day.

Day 3: We head to the Stone Forest of Shilin, located 85 km from Kunming. It’s a karst formation (formed by erosion) where huge limestone formations rise towards the sky like stone trees.

We decide to do it independently. We take the train to Shilin West Station and then the bus for the 40-minute journey to the geopark. The language barrier complicates the journey. We are never entirely sure if we are in the right place or taking the right bus, but we eventually arrive safely without any mistakes.

At the geopark, we start with the Major Stone Forest Scenic Area. All these rock formations are magnificent. It’s a real pleasure to wander among them. Although several tourist groups are present, most of them stay at the entrance of the site and at the pavilion overlooking the site. So, it’s easy for us to find quiet spots without tourists to appreciate even more the beauty of the site. Moreover, it offers superb viewpoints of the rocks. Benjamin gets the camera ready!

We finish with the Minor Stone Forest Scenic Area. Quite different from its big sister, this part of the park is not labyrinthine at all. It’s more like a garden where huge rocks are surrounded by lovely plants. We also have the chance to visit during the cherry blossom season. The pink flowers contrast beautifully with the gray rocks.

We’ll spend about 3 hours on the site before heading back to Kunming.

Day 4: Two hours on the train bring us to Dali, where we arrive in the early afternoon.

We buy train tickets for the next leg of our journey before taking a city bus that brings us to the gates of the old town and near our hotel, where we check in around 5:00 PM. Despite the showers, we go out for a walk in the old town.

The main street is beautiful with its historical buildings and Bai architecture, an ethnic group native to Dali. Part of the street (the main part) is pedestrianized. On either side, a multitude of souvenir shops for tourists line the street, offering ethnic clothing, trinkets, flower cakes, jewelry, and more. Additionally, many food shops send their employees into the street to offer samples to passing tourists, providing an opportunity for a cheap snack.

The beautiful cherry blossoms also enhance the landscape.

We dine at a bakery with sandwiches that initially seem savory but are made from brioche bread. Not bad but surprising and a tad too sweet.

Day 5: We set out to visit the Three Pagodas Temple (Chongsheng Temple) in the morning. Contrary to what its name might suggest, the three pagodas are far from being the main attraction of the visit. The site is not limited to the three pagodas near the entrance but consists of about a dozen temples, most of them built one behind the other on the mountainside. Thus, as the visit progresses, the visitor climbs higher in altitude.

The site is truly impressive. The three pagodas rise towards the sky as soon as you enter the site and welcome visitors. Legend has it that they were built to ward off the dragons that lived in the nearby marshes. The temples, thereafter, vary in style, with some being ornate and others more austere. The site is so large that the Chinese tourist groups we encounter do not affect our visit in any way.

The cloudy weather and the mountain backdrop create a somewhat mystical ambiance.

You take your time to visit and climb; Dali being at just under 2000 meters above sea level, you get out of breath a little more quickly. We spend about 4 hours on the site.

We spend the afternoon in the old town. Benjamin buys some tea, and the seller offers him a tasting to confirm his choice. This lasts for 45 minutes during which we try to learn more about Chinese tea using Google Translate.

François then samples free samples of nougat, nutty milk bars, candied oranges, and flower tea picked up along the street.

We take some photos of the late afternoon and its changing light over the city before heading back to the hotel.

Day 6: We take a bus to the old town of Xizhou, located about twenty kilometers north of Dali. Xizhou is very similar to Dali but on a smaller scale. We find the same architecture, the same shops, and the same products for sale (tea, rose biscuits…).

Despite everything, we really enjoy strolling through the streets and especially taking photos of the murals found everywhere.

We spend about three hours in Xizhou, including lunch, before returning to Dali where we spend the afternoon in the old town doing some shopping.

We are approached by a couple who absolutely want to take a photo with us. We agree in exchange for being able to have a photo as well.

François also takes the opportunity to try out the Chinese hairdressers. The result is mixed and has a slight Desireless vibe.

Day 7: We have to catch a train in the afternoon to Lijiang. We sleep in at the hotel before going to have lunch at a restaurant we liked in the old town.

After a 1.5-hour train ride, we arrive in Lijiang in the late afternoon. We take a taxi, which takes us 45 minutes (thanks to the traffic!) to the outskirts of the old town (vehicles are not allowed inside). We struggle to find our way to our hotel because the streets form a real labyrinth.

We finally drop off our bags in the early evening and head out to enjoy the twilight illumination to explore the city and take some photos.

Day 8: We start the day with a visit to the Black Dragon Pool Park. One word to describe the morning: magnificent. The park offers an incredible view of the site and the snow-capped mountains from the Black Dragon Pool. Temples and cherry blossoms add to the picturesque scenery.

We spend the afternoon wandering through the streets of the old town. The architecture is different from that of Dali (we are now in Naxi territory, another ethnic group in Yunnan that still writes with pictograms). The city is larger than Dali and also more touristy. The streets are narrow and lined with canals.

They form a maze-like tangle where tourists can easily get lost. They are also bustling with life. Shops (always the same ones) are everywhere. However, we notice that there is much less street food than in Dali. The stalls have been replaced by hotpot restaurants that line the streets and all serve the same thing at comparable prices, but higher than what we had seen before. Eating in Lijiang will cost us more than elsewhere.

Day 9: The day begins with a visit to the Mufu Palace, the palace of the Naxi rulers. The palace is very large, and its different parts are built on the mountainside. The ascent allows us to have beautiful views of the old town. Some signs translated into English allow us to learn more about Naxi culture.

We decide to continue our ascent to Lion Hill and visit the Wangu Tower which crowns it. To get there, we have to buy an additional ticket: the tower is not included in the palace. Standing at 33 meters tall, the tower is dedicated to the various ethnic groups that inhabit Lijiang. The visit leaves us unsatisfied: the tower dates back to 1997, so there’s nothing authentic about it. Furthermore, the view of the city is no prettier than what we had from the heights of the palace.

The sky clouds over in the afternoon. The rain slows us down and forces us to stay at the hotel. We’ll venture out with umbrellas to stroll around the hotel’s surroundings to take our minds off things.

In the evening, the rain stops, allowing us to go in search of food. We find a small restaurant outside the old town that serves spring rolls, dumplings, and stuffed buns (we’re starting to get a little tired of noodle dishes). A tourist from Singapore who speaks English, sitting at the restaurant, helps us order a 100-year-old egg. Our first one! Served with soy sauce and sesame oil, we don’t dislike the taste. There’s no smell. The appearance is unique: the white part is gelatinous, translucent, and black, while the yolk has taken on a greenish hue. As for the taste, the first bite isn’t much different from a regular egg. However, the lingering hay-like aftertaste is somewhat divisive.

Day 10: The weather is back to being nice. We hesitate to go up the mountain and visit the Blue Moon Valley that all influencers are talking about. The ascent by bus and cable car is expensive, and the entrance to the site is not cheap either. Additional costs are also to be expected, such as renting a heavy jacket (it is very cold at the top) and buying oxygen canisters (the summit reaches nearly 5600 meters). Since the expedition is not trivial, we take the time to read more about it. We quickly realize that most Western tourists are disappointed with their experience for several reasons. First, the number of tourists is enormous to the point that it is common to step on each other. Secondly, all the landscapes have been created by humans and staged only to take pretty pictures. There is therefore nothing natural. Finally, the visit follows marked trails that lead from photo spot to photo spot. So it’s impossible to walk freely. In short, because of all this, we decide to stay in town.

We return to the Black Dragon Pool Park to enjoy the beautiful scenery. We even have lunch there with a view of the mountains.

We spend the afternoon wandering the streets of the city and doing some shopping.

Day 11: An early morning train journey of two hours takes us to Shangri-la, on the doorstep of Tibet. We continue our ascent into the mountains, as Shangri-la is situated at 3160 meters above sea level. We arrive at our hotel in the late morning. We drop off our bags before setting out to explore the city under rather overcast weather.

The city is very different from those we have seen in Yunnan so far. It has the appearance of a mountain town with its low wooden houses. Tibetan is also written alongside Chinese and English (!) on most signs. The shops are also different. Some regional brands that were omnipresent in Dali and Lijiang are absent here. There are no more flower cookies or nougat shops. The tea shops can be counted on one hand, and their products are less varied and more expensive (much to Benjamin’s dismay). Moreover, almost no one gives out free samples (much to François’ dismay).

In Shangri-la, ethnic costume rental shops are popular. Almost half of the tourists in the streets are dressed up and posing in front of any wooden door or painted wall. Moreover, here, women (some of them also dressed up) walk around with a kid goat in their arms and rent out their animal to these tourists to add a little mountain bonus to their photos.

In the afternoon, we visit the Great Buddha Temple, located in the heart of the old town.

Located at the top of a hill (the Great Turtle Hill), the temple overlooks it. It is divided into three independent parts: the main temple, a smaller one slightly below, and a gigantic prayer wheel. Standing at 21 meters tall and weighing 60 tons, it takes about twenty people to turn it with their combined strength.

After taking a few photos, the rain starts. We head back to the hotel to take cover.

Day 12: We start the day by climbing to the top of the hill behind the old town. Our goal: to reach the Baiji Si Temple (or Temple of the 100 Chickens), a Tibetan Buddhist temple. First of all, the name is funny. Secondly, we expect to have a beautiful view of the city below. For your information, the name comes from the fact that the city’s residents go to the temple to release a chicken so that their wishes come true. The ascent is quite difficult, despite the paved path, due to the altitude and lack of oxygen. However, it’s definitely worth it. The last meters are done under the clusters of prayer flags stretched everywhere.

The temple offers a small prayer room for wealth and a classic hall with Buddha statues and paintings on the walls.

You can walk around the temple, strolling under the prayer flags (which are omnipresent).

With a bit of luck, you might catch sight of yaks grazing or hares basking in the sun next to their burrows. Also, try counting the number of chickens you encounter. We saw around forty of them. Sure, it’s far from a hundred, but that’s still quite a lot!

We take several photos of the local fauna, the city (the view is indeed splendid over the rooftops and the distant mountains), and the prayer flags that add colors to the landscape.

We have lunch at the same restaurant as yesterday, slightly changing the menu but keeping the rou jia mo (which resembles a Lebanese sandwich) that Benjamin loves.

We take advantage of the sunny weather and clear sky to revisit the Grand Buddha Temple to take even nicer photos. It’s like night and day compared to yesterday! The temple is bustling with tourists and believers, and this time, the huge prayer wheel is almost constantly turning. We spend nearly 1.5 hours there, during which Benjamin makes a new friend.

We spend the rest of the afternoon wandering the streets of the old town. Once again, we witness a square dance (similar to what we saw in Dali). It’s a popular dance that usually starts with an older person bringing their music. The music begins, and people of all ages gather to dance in relative harmony. It’s quite impressive, especially because there can be dozens of dancers, and the vast majority of them know the moves perfectly. A dance can sometimes last for nearly ten minutes! It’s even more impressive when you consider that in France and Quebec, the only dance known (barely!) by many people is the Macarena… It only has six moves and lasts for just 4 minutes… We’re amateurs compared to the Chinese!

Day 13: We take a taxi to visit the Ganden Sumtseling Monastery located outside the city. It’s the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Yunnan. Built according to the vision of the 5th Dalai Lama in the mid-17th century, it’s also nicknamed the Little Potala Palace in reference to the palace in Lhasa, Tibet.

The monastery comprises twelve buildings (halls and khangtsens – “houses”) and a stupa on multiple levels. The ascent is quite challenging (again due to the altitude). Tourists can roam relatively freely on the site, and it’s easy to escape the crowds by leaving the main axis.

The architecture is striking. The buildings are massive and very tall. Painted in white or yellow, they display huge black drapes adorned with Buddhist symbols above their doors and windows.

Inside, the walls are painted up to the ceiling with colorful religious scenes featuring monsters or spiritual guides.

Some scenes can indeed be quite violent for a non-Buddhist. Several depict demons in positions of dominance over humans. They crush them, pierce them with spears, decapitate them… Nothing very cheerful. Other scenes are even stranger, such as one showing two demons explicitly engaging in sexual intercourse. Different culture, different customs.

We stay on site for a good three hours, taking breaks to reoxygenate. Before taking the shuttle back, we take the nearby footbridge, which gives us an overview of the site.

Back in the old town, we have Tibetan hotpot. We’ve seen it everywhere since we arrived in Shangri-la; now it’s our turn to try it. The concept is quite simple. You sit around a table with a burner in the center. Your hotpot dish, covered, is brought to you. Let it boil, remove the cover, and enjoy. In a flavorful and spicy broth, you’ll find green vegetables, mushrooms, and yak meat. It’s really delicious!

To push the Tibetan experience even further, we tried Tibetan butter tea made with dri milk (female yak), butter, and salt. It’s rich, warming, filling, and a bit nauseating after a while, but it’s an interesting experience.

To burn off the calories we just consumed, we ventured outside the old town for a walk in the modern part of the city. If we already attract attention normally, it’s even worse here. Western tourists venturing out of the tourist zone don’t go unnoticed!

Day 14: In the morning, we worked on planning the rest of our trip’s destinations. In the afternoon, we strolled around the old town and did some shopping. We returned one last time to the Grand Buddha Temple.

In the evening, a 1-hour and 30-minute flight took us to Chengdu.

Arriving at our hotel after midnight, we received bad news: the hotel had given our room to other guests. Despite informing them of our late arrival (and receiving acknowledgment of our message), the staff found us a room in a nearby affiliated hotel and paid for our taxi there. The frustration, poor quality of the room, and the noise from revelers outside the hotel made for a very rough night.

Day 15: Following the issue from the previous night, we returned to the originally planned hotel. After numerous apologies, we were finally given the room we had initially booked. They also gifted us the previous night. After some rest, we set out to visit the Wenshu Monastery.

It’s crowded with tourists, and it feels a bit cramped. The buildings are beautiful, but overall, the experience is probably the least interesting of all the monastery visits we’ve had so far. However, we’re fortunate to witness a tea ceremony in the monastery gardens. 

Then we head to the Kuanzhai Xiangzi alleys. These are traditional-looking streets that intersect. It’s overcrowded, and there’s hardly any space to move! On each side, there are tourist shops filled with food products and… pandas! Chengdu is known for its pandas, and you can feel it everywhere. They come in all sizes and styles. Perhaps due to lack of sleep, our patience is wearing thin, affecting our experience.

Day 16: It sounds like a perfect day for panda lovers! Spending the entire day at the Giant Panda Research Base must have been delightful, especially for François, who’s a big fan of those adorable furry animals.

We see more than forty giant pandas, most of them actively moving around (or as active as pandas can be).

We end with a visit to the red pandas. A memorable day, despite the sometimes large number of tourists, mainly near the park’s entrance.

Day 17: We wake up early to go see the Grand Buddha of Leshan. It’s a 71-meter-high Buddha statue carved directly into the cliff. Completed in the early 9th century, it’s the tallest and largest stone Buddha in the world.

The Buddha is breathtaking. The observation platform gives us direct access to its immense head, which alone stands 14 meters high. We also have the option to descend all the way down to see it from below. While standing next to its foot is impressive, the overall view is less captivating. The lack of distance prevents us from fully appreciating the enormity of the sculpture.

We also stroll around the monastery site nearby. It’s a pleasant walk.

In the end, between the 2 hours of transportation (subway, train, bus) back and forth, and the 4 hours on-site, this expedition took up our whole day.

Day 18: We spend the morning at the post office for a second shipment of packages to France. The experience is once again quite complicated, as our Chinese has not improved since Taiwan…

We spend the afternoon in the old Jinli Street, located right next to the Wuhou Temple. The atmosphere in the street resembles a lot that of Lijiang. The architecture is very similar. A river winds through, and bridges span it. We also find almost the same shops as in Yunnan. It feels like we’ve taken a leap back in time for a few days.

We decide not to visit the temple, as according to the reviews we’ve read, it’s less interesting than the Wenshu Monastery we visited upon arriving in Chengdu.

We spend the evening at the theater to attend a traditional Chinese arts show. For 1 hour and 30 minutes, there are performances of acrobatics, clowns, singing, music, puppetry, shadow puppets, and mask changes.

The show is entertaining, and our favorites are the Chinese shadow artist and the mask-changing troupe. The shadow artist brings animal shadows to life with impressive storytelling (far beyond the goose and the dog we all made as children). The mask-changing performers switch masks at lightning speed, hands-free, and facing the audience. Impressive!

The language barrier isn’t too much of an issue. We had a great evening, enjoying jasmine tea.

Day 19: We hang out at the hotel in the morning to finish packing our suitcases. Then we head out to see a statue of Mao and walk towards People’s Park. On the way, we stumble upon a… Tim Hortons! Canadians are definitely everywhere.

The bonsai garden is nice.

The unique feature of this park: the matrimonial ads displayed here. Singles (or their parents) come to post an ad highlighting their attributes (or their child’s) and the main points of their search. Blue ads are from men seeking their soulmate. Pink ones are from women looking for their prince charming. While many tourists stop by out of curiosity, we saw several people actually taking photos of the ads. All we can do is wish them the best of luck.

We finish by doing some shopping in neighborhoods we’ve already visited before heading to the airport.

In the early evening, a 1.5-hour flight filled with turbulence takes us to Xi’an. Upon arrival, we realize that the number of available tickets for the Terracotta Army for the next two days has significantly decreased since our last visit to the official website. (We later find out that the next few days are holidays…). Panic sets in: we need tickets, but without WeChat, it’s impossible to book them online. We have no choice but to book a tour through the hotel at a significantly higher price.

Day 20: We’re ready for our first tour on a Chinese bus. The bus arrives thirty minutes late. We’ll make several detours to pick up all the tourists and will have to wait for some of them a few times because they’re not at their meeting point. Due to these detours and the numerous traffic jams throughout the city, it takes us 2.5 hours to cover the forty kilometers separating us from the archaeological site. Once we arrive, we quickly escape from the group (we figure there’s no point in staying and listening to a tour in Chinese) and set off to explore the site on our own. It takes us some time to find the entrance because it’s poorly marked.

The site consists of three pits and a museum about the discovery of the army, which holds little interest for non-Chinese speakers. We start with Pit 2. Its particularity is that it’s possible to see 5-6 statues of soldiers and horses up close. Indeed, statues have been placed under glass on the walkway used by visitors so that they can appreciate them.

In trying to approach the statues, we fall victim to the pitfalls of mass tourism. People jostle, push, and step on each other to get as close as possible and take a photo. We join in the “game” and don’t hesitate to assert ourselves in turn.

Next, we head to Pit 3 to escape the crowd at the first pit. The third pit is smaller, less crowded, and offers a few well-visible and well-restored soldiers and horses. Of course, patience is required to take photos and enjoy the scenery, as many groups gather along the railing.

We muster our courage and dive into the human tide at the first pit. We weren’t prepared for this. It’s even worse than Pit 2. Thousands of people crowd and push on a tiny walkway to get a view of the entire army (the classic photo seen everywhere on the internet).

The pushing and shoving intensify even more. Plus, security agents are shouting instructions through megaphones, making the experience even more deafening.

With great difficulty, we manage to make our way through to take a few photos and enjoy the spectacle. We have to elbow our way to maintain our spot.

We then move slowly towards the exit, praying that a panic doesn’t occur, risking being trampled by a horde of Chinese tourists.

We’ll stay on the site for about 3 hours.

We leave the site very late after waiting for over an hour for all the other group members to arrive since we’re returning with the same bus that brought us there.

We return to the hotel late in the evening with a bitter taste in our mouths. Between the catastrophic organization of the tour, the complete lack of crowd management on the site, and the overtourism we experienced all day, our visit to the Terracotta Army is probably our worst travel experience. We’re dreading the visit to the Forbidden City scheduled in a few days.

Since the bus dropped us off at the Bell Tower instead of our hotel, we take the opportunity to take some photos there and walk along Bei Yuan Men Street, the street in the Muslim quarter filled mainly with food stalls.

Day 21: We head to the Wild Goose Pagoda. We decide not to enter to save a few yuan. Instead, we settle for taking photos from the outside and walking around the lovely park surrounding it, despite the polluted sky.

However, we feel like Hollywood stars: at least six Chinese people ask us to take photos with them or their children. Although we’ve done it several times since arriving in China, it still feels just as strange.

We then return to the area around the Bell Tower and explore the Muslim quarter. It’s dirty, noisy, and not very interesting.

Day 22: A morning flight of 1.5 hours brings us to Beijing. We arrive at our hotel in the early afternoon. We head towards the Temple of Heaven, one of the four major temples of imperial Beijing. The highlight of the temple is undoubtedly the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. A magnificent circular hall, it stands at the center of a square.

The temple also features other less interesting buildings, as they are less photogenic. However, the stroll through the gardens remains quite enjoyable.

Day 23: The schedule for the day: a visit to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Accessing the square is quite a challenge. Firstly, access is only possible by reservation (free), which needs to be made on WeChat. Then, a labyrinthine path leads us from the metro station to the first identity check (we’ll go through three in total). We can already feel that security is taken very seriously. 

Arriving at Tiananmen Square, we are impressed both by the immense photo of Mao there and by the quantity of military personnel and police cars standing guard. The number is completely disproportionate. It’s almost like paranoia. We can feel that the government fears any act of dissent that could reflect badly on the country.

We take photos of the buildings surrounding the square before continuing our visit to the Forbidden City. We were fortunate to be able to enter. Indeed, tickets are impossible to obtain independently. Even by going through agencies or resale sites, there is no guarantee of obtaining a ticket.

We spoke with several tourists during our stay in Beijing, and very few were able to visit the Forbidden City. Benjamin managed to find tickets, albeit at a higher price (although still lower than the cost of visiting a European museum).

Closed to the public until 1924, the Forbidden City has a mythical quality to it. Although visiting the Forbidden City mainly involves moving from one courtyard or garden to another, the visit still creates a certain atmosphere. It’s just a shame that it’s impossible to enter the buildings. You can only walk around them and peek through the windows.

It’s also unfortunate that a large part of the buildings are in need of restoration. The paint is peeling in many places, the roofs have lost their luster, and signs warn tourists of possible falling debris.

We had a soft spot for the imperial garden located near the north gate. It’s small, well-decorated, and lush with trees. There’s an intimate atmosphere to it. We stayed there for a little over two hours.

Day 24: We’re going on an organized tour to the Great Wall. Indeed, it’s the easiest way to get to this remote site. While it’s possible to visit several sections of the Wall, our tour takes us to Mutianyu, the most visited by Western tourists, but apparently quite overlooked by Chinese tourists.

We opt for a cable car ride up to Watchtower 14 and then head west towards Watchtower 19. We then backtrack to explore the eastern section up to the first tower.

This last part is the most impressive. It offers the most beautiful views of the Wall and provides stunning color contrasts with the flowering trees all around. We spend 3 hours and 30 minutes strolling on this world-famous wall before descending on foot from Watchtower 6.

Day 25: After reading several sites and blogs about what to do in Beijing, we head towards Xijiaomin Xiang street. We want to see tourist areas with traditional streets like we’ve seen all over the country. We chose this street, which according to many blogs, is typical and filled with shops.

What a disappointment! It’s actually a residential street filled with apartment buildings with no tourist interest at all.

We stumble somewhat accidentally upon Qianmen Avenue, which meets our expectations a bit more.

We then head towards Wangfujing Street, another street highly recommended for its market and traditional atmosphere. Second disappointment: the market (closed some time ago) and the tourist area have been replaced by a major avenue filled with shopping malls and international brands. 

We don’t lose hope and take the subway to Nanluoguxiang. Finally, we find what we’re looking for: a hutong, which is a traditional Beijing neighborhood made up of narrow alleyways.

We stroll through the streets and shops before returning to the hotel to pack our bags for the next day and rest, as the day ahead promises to be long.

Day 26: It’s already the end of our adventure in China. We leave Beijing in the afternoon for a 3.5-hour flight to Tokyo, where we catch a connecting flight to Hiroshima, where we begin our stay in Japan.

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