MADE IN CHINA

First-time visitors head to China – a land so vast that extremes are two-a-penny – expecting the Great Wall, cyclists, lanterns, smoke-filled temples and Mao’s Little Red Book. They find it all, but they also discover enormous shopping streets, lanky teenagers in baseball caps, synchronised dawn exercise and achingly elegant bars. MARK PARREN TAYLOR reports on new China’s top sights, while DOMINIC FITZSIMMONS brings us the low-down on the country’s tastes and city-hub scenes

Sights:

Land of extremes

There is no way to summarise China’s eclectically diverse destinations, as the cities that follow attest

Beijing: Culture central

For centuries, Beijing’s scale has inspired and astonished. The Forbidden City, at the city’s centre and still at the heart of China, continues to captivate with more than 800 buildings, sweeping courtyards, maze-like alleys and countless gates. Alas, it also attracts millions of visitors, which means it’s best approached first thing – almost by banging on its humbling gold-studded vermillion doors at 8.30am when the keys are turned. The Gate of Heavenly Peace fronts the complex and overlooks Tiananmen Square. Mao’s portrait hangs just below the platform where the People’s Republic was declared, and seems to peer over the shoulder of every Chinese tourist who comes to have a photo taken here.

Tiantan Park, the Altar of Heaven, is further south and is both an exquisite temple and an architectural marvel. On the subject of marvels, sections of the Great Wall are a day trip away; it will earn your admiration – and a few beads of sweat – as you try to clamber up its inhumanly steep steps.
Information: www.visitbeijing.com.cn

Beijing and Chengde: Summer palaces

Beijing’s summers can be steamy and stifling, especially for people with big decisions to make. So the imperial household made frequent use of the Summer Palace in the north-west of the capital. A pleasure dome as sophisticated now as it was 200 years ago, a whole day can be spent exploring its many sights, which include the elegant 17-Arch Bridge, Longevity Hill and the Marble Boat. If that is still too close for comfort, why not take a leaf out of Emperor Kangxi’s book and make the 255km trek northeast to Chengde. An ideal escaping-the-heat destination, the Imperial Villa is a tranquil hill-station at the edge of expansive, walled parkland encompassing soaring mountains, lotus-filled lakes, forests and deer-stocked meadows. Getting there: Beijing’s Summer Palaces can be reached in 45 minutes by taxi from the centre. A winding rail journey from the capital to Chengde takes approximately four hours.
Information: www.chengdetravel.com/en

OPENING SPREAD:
New Heights at Three on the Bund in Shanghai offers fine views of the Bund, Huangpu River and Pudong beyond OPPOSITE: A pleasure boat lazes on a chilly lake in the Imperial Villa’s gardens, Chengde THIS PAGE: Visitors marvel at the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, Tiantan Park, Beijing

 

 

 


Hangzhou’s romantic,
inspiring West Lake

Suzhou and Hangzhou: Waterworld

At almost 1,800km in length, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal may in part be impassable, but it remains the world’s longest man-made waterway. Yes, its ancient construction is an engineering wonder, but pure romance flows in its waters and probably emanates from the Canal’s southern source, Hangzhou. The city’s West Lake has inspired poets and wordsmiths for 500 years with its sublime vistas and healthy air. Further north along the Canal, Zhouzhuang is an appealing huddle of wooden shophouses and humpback bridges. Gondoliers offer leisurely trips around the town, or motorboats can whisk you to Tongli and its enchanting Tuisi Garden (a Ming-dynasty creation with World Heritage status). The Grand Canal flows on to Suzhou, a city famed for its exquisite classical gardens: the Master of the Nets Garden is a 12th-century masterpiece, while the park around Pan Men, an original city gate, is a satisfying contemporary version.

Getting there: Until the Maglev train links Hangzhou with Shanghai in 2010, the fastest train currently takes two hours. The railway also links Suzhou with Shanghai (one hour). The canal towns are reached by taxi or bus from Suzhou. Hangzhou’s airport connects with several Chinese and international cities.
Information: www.visithangzhou.com


For upscale cocktail
consumption, head
to the lofty heights
of Cloud 9 at the
Grand Hyatt Shanghai

Shanghai: Party powerhouse

A dizzying mix of chic eateries and boutiques rubbing shoulders with high-rises and makeshift markets, Shanghai exemplifies China’s 21st century ambitions and spirit of adventure. The Bund – the iconic waterfront lined with grand art deco banks and business HQs – has been born again as one of the city’s hubs: people head there for dawn tai chi, a morning waltz, afternoon tea, an evening promenade or a late-night bar crawl. Another revitalised entertainment district, Xintiandi, draws diners, shoppers and clubbers to its cobbled lanes both day and night. Some high-flyers head to rooftop restaurants by the People’s Park and those with seriously lofty ideas drink at the Grand Hyatt’s bars – Cloud 9 is on the 87th floor – with staggering views across the Shanghai skyline.
Information: www.shanghai.gov.cn

 

Guilin and Yangshuo: Reaching for the stars


a fisherman rafts down
Guilin’s Li River with guest
cormorants

This fairy-tale landscape of meadows and meandering rivers pierced by countless tooth-like rocks as big as mountains is one of the world’s natural treasures. The limestone karsts (dropped like crumbs by a gargantuan Ice Age glacier) are on Guilin’s doorstep, and despite brash commercialism, one cannot help but be enchanted by this pleasant city that nestles in and around rugged hills, flanked by the Li River.

For true magic, head to Yangshuo (four hours by boat, one by bus) and neighbouring riverside villages such as Xingping, where fishermen still head out on the water at dusk on narrow bamboo rafts with swinging paper lanterns and hungry cormorants.

Getting there: An overnight train links Guangzhou with Guilin, although express and sleeper buses offer more departure times. The airport is served by various national airlines, while international carriers arrive from Bangkok, Singapore and Seoul.
Information: www.guilintourist.com


Two Xi’an treasures – a
pair of terracotta soldiers
and the Big Goose PagodaXi’an: Hidden treasure

 

For millennia the eastern terminus of the epic Silk Road, Xi’an is to central China what Shanghai was to the coast: a major gateway where cultures, as well as goods, were enthusiastically exchanged. The city’s wealth lies both in its sights – the impressive ancient city walls, pagodas, mosques and historic bazaars – and, of course, the extraordinary Terracotta Army. There are few man-made creations that are as breathtaking, and this huge hollow army – built during the Qin Dynasty only to be immediately buried and discovered only 34 years ago – is truly astounding. Getting there: Xi’an’s airport links with many domestic airports and others further afield, including Hong Kong, Bangkok and Japan. Trains and buses arrive at all hours from across China.
Information: www.xian-tourism.com


Enjoying a spot of cha
cha in Shanghai’s Fuxing
Park

Everywhere: Parks galore

If there is one sure-fire way to guarantee an exhilarating start to the day, and a chance to meet with rosy-cheeked locals, then head to any large park at dawn. All manner of muscle-pumping, cobweb-clearing activities are on offer from backwards-walking and duel-to-the-death dominoes to mass-synchronised fan-dancing, ballroom dancing and slow-motion tai chi.

PHOTOS: CORBIS

 

 

CWT’s Tips of the Trade

Restaurants: Try to eat at local restaurants to sample the different types of cuisine, such as Hunan, Sichuan and Shangdong. The food is often better than the fancy restaurants catering to foreign visitors. Be adventurous and your hosts or guests will be very pleased.

Getting about: Have your hotel’s telephone number programmed into your mobile phone so you can speak to hotel staff if lost, and carry the address written in Chinese of where you need to go. Also, zebra crossings aren’t really pedestrian crossings – don’t assume that cars will stop.

Internet access: Some hotels provide this service free of charge. And, don’t worry; you’ll have access to most foreign news sites and be able to listen to most Internet radio stations.

Keep cool: Losing your temper is invariably counterproductive.

Tipping: With the exception of five-star hotels, tips are usually not expected.

Tim Ramage, general manager, CWT Greater China

PHOTOS: CORBIS, 1949 – THE HIDDEN CITY, ISTOCK, GETTY IMAGES, PHOTOLIBRARY and CHAO CHEN
ILLUSTRATION: MAG INOO