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Would you ever travel to China for vacation?
- Thread starter Blablurn
- Start date
CanUKlehead
Member
Well, they haven't lol
Acrually, more of a language thing, neither spoke much English then. Terrible idea all around.
My gf's reaction was, 'why...didn't you guys just get a hotel in your hometown for a week...?'
Buba Big Guns
Banned
Would love to go to China one day. It definitely sounds like a trip that would require a shit load of research beforehand though.
I'd rather not stay in the big polluted areas for too long, and see the nature instead.
I'd rather not stay in the big polluted areas for too long, and see the nature instead.
I'm in Quebec, so yeah... Asia is long way from me compared to Vancouver for example(although it would still be a long flight for them I guess, maybe 2-3 hours shorter at best).
Going to Mexico next month and that's a 3-4 hours flight, but I can deal with those.
Florida/Mexico/Jamaica/Dominican Republic are what I'm used to and the only places I've been in the past 15 years.
We thought about it several times when we lived in Vietnam but it wasn't anywhere near the top of our to do list, lots of other countries that we wanted to visit instead. Wouldn't rule it out in the future, I despise the government there, but that hasn't stopped me from going to other places where the government is garbage.
shacklesmcgee
Member
Yeah, I went to Beijing and Hong Kong a few years ago, it was amazing. I went with my family to check out The Great Wall, and my brother lived in Taiwan at the time, but I highly recommend it.
IggyChooChoo
Member
Speaking as an American who's travelled in India and Africa, I do find China somewhat more intimidating due to the language factor. But yeah, there's tons of stuff in China I'd love to see in terms of architectural and natural wonders, especially in southern China. Most importantly, there's tons of food I'd like to try. I am very ignorant of Chinese history relative to other major countries (at least, pre-1900s), so China isn't on my radar as a tourist destination as I'm sure it deserves.
Laevateinn
Member
I'd love to go but they stole all my info and know I had clearance so I'd rather not be held up while they try to determine if they can get anything useful out of me.
Maintenance
Member
No, zero interest.
balgajo
Member
I never wanted to go. Though this year I had to go there for a business trip and I really really liked it. I visited Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Next time I want to go more to the north.
Visa is a bit expensive and only 3 months of duration.
EDIT: Also I went to the Bubba Gump in the Peak Tower. Restaurant view is awesome.
Visa is a bit expensive and only 3 months of duration.
EDIT: Also I went to the Bubba Gump in the Peak Tower. Restaurant view is awesome.
HawksWinStanley
Member
Nah, I'd rather just stay where I'm at and take photos in front of a backdrop of Chinese cities here instead of traveling across the world to do it.
victreeb3l
Member
I'd love to one day. There are some incredible landscapes in China that I want to see.
That actually reminds me of the time I was in Bahrain(stayed there for a night before I flew onto the ship) and tried to go to a porn site...
That country just plain sucks though. Can only get alcohol in hotel bars(which are completely filled with prostitues, and they are pretty aggressive), nothing in the way of entertainment(they have nightclubs, but like the bars pretty much filled with prostitutes). The place most westerners go is "American alley" which is full of American style bars and honestly the best part of it. I just drank at the hotel pool bar for 12 hours. It wasn't all bad though, we hung out and drank with an older British couple so that was a lot of fun.
Been there 3 years ago and had a great time. Amazing food, amazing history spanning thousands of years, beautiful scenery.
Things I liked less: the pollution, people spitting loudly, people pushing to get into the bus/metro. But for a one-time trip, I was able to put up with it. I didn't have those problems in HK, which also had freaking amazing food. I like HK more as a city, I like the mainland for its scenery/historical stuff.
Things I liked less: the pollution, people spitting loudly, people pushing to get into the bus/metro. But for a one-time trip, I was able to put up with it. I didn't have those problems in HK, which also had freaking amazing food. I like HK more as a city, I like the mainland for its scenery/historical stuff.
Bahrain is essentially Saudia Arabia and Kuwait's weekend getaway location where the locals of those nations go to get shit faced and fuck prostitutes and then go back to their own nations and tut piously at expats who get busted with some homemade wine.
LMAO is that for real? 😂Nah, I'd rather just stay where I'm at and take photos in front of a backdrop of Chinese cities here instead of traveling across the world to do it.
I think I saw something like that in Shanghai. Then some old guy asked to take a picture with me, and then he gave me his business card. Weird experience.
always crazy bacon
Banned
Your friends are wrong. They just didn't go to the right places.
Oh yeah, I was there on a Thursday (Middle East's Friday) and the downstairs bar was filled with Saudi Men getting prostitutes. Maybe there was less prostitutes during the week. The upstairs pool bar was absent of any prostitutes so we stayed up there lol.
China may not be as much of a blast to visit as Japan, but it probably has more things to see than any other country in the world. There's a diverse mix of large cities with modern and ancient architecture, tons of historic mountains and lakes, and all kinds of environments from jungle to plains to desert. Anyone with an interest in history will find lots to partake in as things that aren't at least 500 years old can be considered relatively new.
What's also pretty cool is that, because of the sheer number of domestic tourists in China, many of these places are well setup to accommodate visitors. Honestly, the biggest problem I faced when I visited was that I ended up with a million places that I didn't get to see when I was there.
What's also pretty cool is that, because of the sheer number of domestic tourists in China, many of these places are well setup to accommodate visitors. Honestly, the biggest problem I faced when I visited was that I ended up with a million places that I didn't get to see when I was there.
andythinkpad
Member
Since alot of Chinese/expat posters are already here, I will give my personal opinions on the places I have visited.
First of all, China is like the US. It's a huge country with a lot of varieties. I would say twice as much varieties than the diversity you see in the US.
My favorites:
Huang Shan, I visited the Yellow Mnt when I was in grade school and I loved it. I have been to Hua Shan and a couple other famous mountains and Huang Shan is the only one I want to revisit. IMO it's every bit as amazing as Grand Canyon. However it's extremely popular so you might want to pick a less busy season to go
Xi'an, pictures and videos can not convey the scope of the Terracotta Warriors site. Xi'an is one of the few cities that have kept its old city wall and style. Bad food but has its unique favors.
Beijing, the down side of BJ is the air is bad alot of times. I have been to the Forbidden Palace twice. The 2nd time was a lot less interesting than the first time. I can't tell you why. I still have very found memory of Tiantan, the 13 emperor tombs and the Great Walls etc. IMO if you go to China for more than 1 week you should spent 2 days in BJ to see the old stuff.
Guilin-Yangshuo-Shilin-Kunming-Dali, This Southwest line is very English/backpacking friendly and half of the tourists are already foreigners. If you like it you can keep going westward to Shichuang. Alot of young people things to do in a rural China setting and great food.
Guangzhou, a food Mecca but not a lot of other things to do. Must go if you have a local that can take you around IMO. Think of it as HK and 3x more laid back.
Shanghai, I will be honest with you SH is my less favorite Chinese city. It tries very hard to be New York and everything is just more water downed. I like it less than HK since its just as crowd as HK and you don't even get the mountains.
Hangzhou, been there twice and saw the lake twice, still don't know why it's famous,\.
Yangzhou, it's okay
Nanjing, small city and worst food. Don't waste your time unless you are related to Sun Yet-Sen
Hainan, think of it as bootleg version of Hawaii minus the volcanoes.
First of all, China is like the US. It's a huge country with a lot of varieties. I would say twice as much varieties than the diversity you see in the US.
My favorites:
Huang Shan, I visited the Yellow Mnt when I was in grade school and I loved it. I have been to Hua Shan and a couple other famous mountains and Huang Shan is the only one I want to revisit. IMO it's every bit as amazing as Grand Canyon. However it's extremely popular so you might want to pick a less busy season to go
Xi'an, pictures and videos can not convey the scope of the Terracotta Warriors site. Xi'an is one of the few cities that have kept its old city wall and style. Bad food but has its unique favors.
Beijing, the down side of BJ is the air is bad alot of times. I have been to the Forbidden Palace twice. The 2nd time was a lot less interesting than the first time. I can't tell you why. I still have very found memory of Tiantan, the 13 emperor tombs and the Great Walls etc. IMO if you go to China for more than 1 week you should spent 2 days in BJ to see the old stuff.
Guilin-Yangshuo-Shilin-Kunming-Dali, This Southwest line is very English/backpacking friendly and half of the tourists are already foreigners. If you like it you can keep going westward to Shichuang. Alot of young people things to do in a rural China setting and great food.
Guangzhou, a food Mecca but not a lot of other things to do. Must go if you have a local that can take you around IMO. Think of it as HK and 3x more laid back.
Shanghai, I will be honest with you SH is my less favorite Chinese city. It tries very hard to be New York and everything is just more water downed. I like it less than HK since its just as crowd as HK and you don't even get the mountains.
Hangzhou, been there twice and saw the lake twice, still don't know why it's famous,\.
Yangzhou, it's okay
Nanjing, small city and worst food. Don't waste your time unless you are related to Sun Yet-Sen
Hainan, think of it as bootleg version of Hawaii minus the volcanoes.
I did not know that, nice.You dont need that. You can get a temporary Chinese drivers licence with a tourist visa:
If you have a Z-visa or F/M-Visa you have to take the test (that is still bullshit in German, since they used Baidu translate to translate the questions
Though then again, last time I was in China on a tourist visa was 1999.
Yeah, but it's just something they put around construction sites to make it look better than some ugly ass fence. It's not meant to trick people into thinking there's no construction or anything; people, even chinese, are not birds you know.
The people taking that picture are most likely doing it ironically. Unless they're tourists from some deep deep chinese fly-over country. There are people there who are still impressed by color printing.
ZackieChan
Member
I never wanted to go. Though this year I had to go there for a business trip and I really really liked it. I visited Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Next time I want to go more to the north.
Visa is a bit expensive and only 3 months of duration.
EDIT: Also I went to the Bubba Gump in the Peak Tower. Restaurant view is awesome.
You went to Hong Kong and ate at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.?
My family used to travel there for vacation when I was a kid, but I don't remember where we went to. The last time I've been there was shenzhen, was just going there with my cousin, I live in hk so it's pretty convenient to get there, I'd love to visit more places though, but just didn't have the chance to, and my mandarin sucks
i'm also too scared to go there alone :lol
i'm also too scared to go there alone :lol
AbortedWalrusFetus
Member
I already have, and it was a pretty fantastic vacation, but it is a difficult vacation at the same time. Normally I never take a tour based vacation but it was almost a necessity in China. The country is just not very well suited to international tourists, which is a shame, because it has a lot to offer.
Little things like being told I wasn't allowed to speak a word about politics in Tienanmen Square, which is where the seat of government is. I had so many questions about the government buildings, how the government operated, which branches of government were in what buildings, etc. I was scolded by the tour guide for asking such questions, which were really not even politicized questions.
The locals will obviously take advantage of tourists in any way they can. Charge them more, skimp them on products, etc. That's a pretty common thing globally though. Certain local habits, such as the idea of lines/queues being a complete anathema there can be extremely frustrating for travelers. You'll also never get used to people having their kids squat down in the middle of the street or a beautiful public park to have them go to the bathroom. That said, the government obviously hired a ton of workers to try to keep tourist areas clean.
The language barrier is the worst of any country I've ever traveled to though. In most of Europe where they use an alphabet I could cope, but trying to navigate in China was very difficult because it's very difficult to read street signs at all. I found the locals to be a bit standoffish but generally treated me politely.
The biggest challenge is really two things: clean water and clean bathrooms (particularly for women). I was told by literally everyone to never drink anything but bottled water or other bottled beverages. I essentially just drank beer for literally every meal because most restaurants and eateries served tap water and I don't particularly like soda. My wife, her sister, and her mother all struggled with the bathroom situations. None of us got sick though so our vigilance was worth it. Edit: Oh yeah. Air quality was a massive problem everywhere.
Anyway, I'd encourage everyone to visit once in their lives. It was a fantastic trip. We visited Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai, and Hong Kong and had a blast. If you do visit I highly encourage doing it with a tour company, which I have literally never advocated for in any other vacation destination (or used one anywhere else) in the world. I'd really like to go back and see some of the country side and amazing natural wonders they have though. We were with my wife's family who is older and not really suited to that sort of travel anymore.
Little things like being told I wasn't allowed to speak a word about politics in Tienanmen Square, which is where the seat of government is. I had so many questions about the government buildings, how the government operated, which branches of government were in what buildings, etc. I was scolded by the tour guide for asking such questions, which were really not even politicized questions.
The locals will obviously take advantage of tourists in any way they can. Charge them more, skimp them on products, etc. That's a pretty common thing globally though. Certain local habits, such as the idea of lines/queues being a complete anathema there can be extremely frustrating for travelers. You'll also never get used to people having their kids squat down in the middle of the street or a beautiful public park to have them go to the bathroom. That said, the government obviously hired a ton of workers to try to keep tourist areas clean.
The language barrier is the worst of any country I've ever traveled to though. In most of Europe where they use an alphabet I could cope, but trying to navigate in China was very difficult because it's very difficult to read street signs at all. I found the locals to be a bit standoffish but generally treated me politely.
The biggest challenge is really two things: clean water and clean bathrooms (particularly for women). I was told by literally everyone to never drink anything but bottled water or other bottled beverages. I essentially just drank beer for literally every meal because most restaurants and eateries served tap water and I don't particularly like soda. My wife, her sister, and her mother all struggled with the bathroom situations. None of us got sick though so our vigilance was worth it. Edit: Oh yeah. Air quality was a massive problem everywhere.
Anyway, I'd encourage everyone to visit once in their lives. It was a fantastic trip. We visited Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai, and Hong Kong and had a blast. If you do visit I highly encourage doing it with a tour company, which I have literally never advocated for in any other vacation destination (or used one anywhere else) in the world. I'd really like to go back and see some of the country side and amazing natural wonders they have though. We were with my wife's family who is older and not really suited to that sort of travel anymore.
I probably had my best trip in China last year visiting Chengdu. That is probably because my wife had some family there and they took us around and took care of us, making it completely stress free.
I did really like the place though, it wasn't as polluted as I feared because we stayed on pretty green university grounds. The food was amazing and the historic sites are really well done. I prefer it to Beijing and Shanghai, it just a bit more laid back.
I rather like Shenzhen as well, it's feels a bit like Singapore in some ways.
I did really like the place though, it wasn't as polluted as I feared because we stayed on pretty green university grounds. The food was amazing and the historic sites are really well done. I prefer it to Beijing and Shanghai, it just a bit more laid back.
I rather like Shenzhen as well, it's feels a bit like Singapore in some ways.
Absolutely. Visa is not all that bothersome if you plan accordingly. Shanghai is rad, don't bother with Beijing except for surrounding attractions and the South China Sea features tons of amazing beaches and mountains and so on. Stop in Taiwan for a change in pace.
Sure, in theory.
Big diverse country, rich history, everything moving so fast. A lot of things to like.
Not in hurry though.
family_guy
Member
Would I be interested? Sure. Would I pay my own money to go? Probably not. I'm not sure I'd be welcome there because of my skin color.
Skellig Gra
Member
Hell yea, I love Chinese history. I'm a bit intimidated by the language/cultural barrier. Flights from my airport are cheap AF tho.
wondermega
Member
What a weird topic to suggest, but come to think of it, I guess as an American you generally never hear of any non-Chinese people express any interest in traveling to China.
I went there with my Chinese-born ex 10 years ago, I'm not terribly world traveled (Tokyo and Osaka, Paris, Switzerland, not much else outside of United States otherwise) but I'd say it was probably the most enjoyable and exciting trip I'd taken (it's hard to rank them though, each was a great experience).
We did one of those 10-15 people tour group packages, you hop between Beijing, Shanghai, Guilin, Xian, etc. A little exhausting but extremely enjoyable and the fact we had a little group with us made everything much better actually. After the main trip ended, we stayed in her hometown in SE China for a couple more days (a unique experience all by itself).
Overall a blast and a life changing experience for sure. I get melancholy thinking about it.. Everywhere we were people were generally friendly and polite, things were clean, I felt safe, etc. I got to bum around Shanghai by myself a bit which was a blast as well.
I went there with my Chinese-born ex 10 years ago, I'm not terribly world traveled (Tokyo and Osaka, Paris, Switzerland, not much else outside of United States otherwise) but I'd say it was probably the most enjoyable and exciting trip I'd taken (it's hard to rank them though, each was a great experience).
We did one of those 10-15 people tour group packages, you hop between Beijing, Shanghai, Guilin, Xian, etc. A little exhausting but extremely enjoyable and the fact we had a little group with us made everything much better actually. After the main trip ended, we stayed in her hometown in SE China for a couple more days (a unique experience all by itself).
Overall a blast and a life changing experience for sure. I get melancholy thinking about it.. Everywhere we were people were generally friendly and polite, things were clean, I felt safe, etc. I got to bum around Shanghai by myself a bit which was a blast as well.
SonicXtreme
Member
no chance, hundreds of interesting places in USA would rather explore over china any day
Sounds like you're a victim of those guided tours lol. They probably wasted all your time at those tourist traps around confusian temple/sun yet sen mausoleum.
Xinjiekou is the only place you should visit if you're only spending a short period of time in Nanjing