It has been a while since I last published a travel diary post. The last part of my travel diary was all about South Korea. From there, my journey continued to Hong Kong and China. China is huge so I only managed to see a small part of the country despite spending six weeks there. This was my China itinerary:

HONG KONG (Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China)

Okay, I don’t really count Hong Kong as China, especially after seeing how different it is from the rest of the country, but just for this article I’ll throw the two together.

I spent about 5 days in Hong Kong and my main goal was to sort out a visa to mainland China.

I still saw a lot of Hong Kong, walking around, taking the cheap buses, the double-decker tram, the subway and the ferry across Victoria Harbour.

If you want to see my best photos of Kong Kong, including the Victoria Peak, the famous outdoor escalators and the tall colourful buildings, and read more about my trip to Hong Kong, check out my article here.

GUILIN (Guangxi Autonomous Region)

Once I got my visa, I crossed the border to mainland China in Shenzhen and took a high-speed train to the city of Guilin, my first stop in the People’s Republic of China.

I spent one day walking around the city, mostly just following the “Two Rivers and Four Lakes” scenic route which takes you around the most interesting things in Guilin, such as the Sun and Moon pagodas or the Elephant Trunk Hill. (The Chinese planted some trees obscuring the view so you can’t really see the Elephant Trunk unless you pay for a ticket – I thought this was ridiculous and didn’t bother paying. 😀 )

The next day I took a bus to the Longji rice terrace fields, which was the main reason I went to Guilin. It was raining which made hiking the rice fields slightly challenging but the views were absolutely stunning and the place reminded me of the landscapes in Sapa, Vietnam.

YANGSHUO (Guangxi Autonomous Region)

From Guilin I took a bus to the nearby Yangshuo. The more popular way to travel between the two towns is to go on a river cruise, but unfortunately the river was flooded due to rainy season at the time I was there.

Yangshuo is popular for its beautiful landscapes of karst mountains and scenic river cruises. On my first day I cycled between Yangshuo town and the popular Yulong Bridge which had some nice views… but it was raining all day.

The next day I went a little crazy and decided to cycle about 30km to Xingping town. The landscapes in Xingping are famous for being pictured on the Chinese 20 Yuan banknote. I also climbed Mt. Laozhai which is a little hill right in the middle of the town – yet the Chinese tourists don’t seem to realise it’s there since almost no one climbs it. The hike was quite difficult (and sweaty!) but the views from top were spectacular – definitely one of the best things I’ve seen in China.

CHANGSHA (Hunan Province)

One bus ride back to Guilin and a train from Guilin later, I found myself in a city of Changsha. Not because there was much to see, but because I was taking a train to Zhangjiajie from here and decided to stop for a day. Yeah… that was a mistake. Changsha is a depressing place with nothing to do. I swear I was the only foreigner in the whole 7.5 million city.

ZHANGJIAJIE (Hunan Province)

My favourite place in China! I stayed in Zhangjiajie for four nights and spent three days in the National Forest Park. I have already written everything about Zhangjiajie in this post where you can also find all the information you’ll need if you want to visit the beautiful Avatar Mountains in Zhangjiajie, too.

CHENGDU (Sichuan Province)

After Zhangjiajie, I headed to the city of Chengdu. The main attraction here is the Giant Panda Base, which is a research and breeding centre where you can observe giant pandas. Apart from that, I didn’t find Chengdu super exciting… I walked around the city’s historical part, including the old Jinli Street that was basically just pretty old buildings full of food (and Chinese people). The People’s Park was also quite an experience and a good place to observe local life – so many Chinese people are dancing here, singing karaoke and just hanging out.

The rest of Chengdu was just… okay (and quite polluted when I was there). In a way, I was actually glad the city wasn’t too interesting because I had time to watch Prince Harry’s and Meghan Markle’s wedding 😀 (If you are wondering why I am so attached to the UK, you can find your answer here.)

SHANGHAI

After taking a 36-hour sleeper train (you can do it in 11 hours, I just went for the cheapest option), I made it from Chengdu to Shanghai.

I spent way too long in Shanghai, much longer than anywhere else in China. Not because it was so amazing (although Shanghai is the cultural capital of the country), but because I was visiting someone. It was also nice to stay in one place for a while, have a rest from travelling and get some work done.

I also had to do a quick visa run from Shanghai (and China) because I was only allowed to stay in China for one month at a time – and I wanted to stay six weeks.

I did, however, manage to do a bit of sightseeing, too. For example, I went to:

• The Bund: If you haven’t seen the famous Shanghai skyline from the Bund, you haven’t been to Shanghai! It’s worth seeing both during the day and by night.
• Propaganda Poster Museum: A small museum that will probably show you more about the history of China than any other.
• Yuyuan: Old Chinese neighbourhood in Shanghai, with a market and a big garden.
• Tianzifang: Another neighbourhood with small alleys full of shops and cafés.
• Urban Planning Exhibition Hall: This is where you can find a mini model of Shanghai, among other things. Really cool!
• Marriage Market: No, I really wasn’t looking for a husband. But marriage is a big deal in China and if you are still single at a certain age, you are looked down upon. Which is why many parents and grandparents try to find partners for their unmarried family members – at the market where they advertise their age, salary and appearance on umbrellas. It was possibly one of the most ridiculous things I’ve seen in my life!

HANGZHOU (Zhejiang Province)

Hangzhou is a beautiful city not far from Shanghai and I spent one weekend here, wandering around the West Lake, temples and pagodas. And of course, the amazing Longjing tea plantations where we tasted some proper green tea.

JINHUA (Zhejiang Province)

Another weekend getaway from Shanghai, this one was randomly chosen by my friends. Honestly, there’s nothing interesting about Jinhua. It’s one of those small Chinese cities (population only about 5 million) where people have never seen a foreign tourist. Oh, apparently they have one of the three best hams in the world, right after the Spanish Iberian ham and Italy’s Parma ham 😀 Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard of the Jinhua ham…

BEIJING

One last train ride to the north of China and I found myself in the capital, which I had saved for last. The obvious highlight here was the Great Wall of China which is easily accessible from Beijing. You can read all about my Great Wall experience here.

Things I saw in Beijing were:

• Tiananmen Square & The Forbidden City: Massive palace complex and the most visited tourist attraction in Beijing.
• Jingshan Park: This is where you have the best view over the whole Forbidden City!
• Beihai Park: Nice park with a big lake.
• Temple of Heaven: One of the most famous temples in Beijing.
• Wangfujing Food Market: You can find all kinds of Chinese food here, including weird stuff like fried scorpions and bugs.

And that’s it! China was a really unique experience and travelling there definitely wasn’t easy. If you are planning a trip to China, definitely check out my super informative guide how to survive in China 😉

After China I headed back to Southeast Asia and explored Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia and Myanmar. A lot of posts from these countries are coming soon! Subscribe to my blog in the sidebar so you don’t miss them! In the meantime, you can browse all my travel diary posts here.

You should also follow my adventures on Instagram!

PIN IT FOR LATER!