A Chinese class K train.

Trains are a primary form of transport and certainly the most widespread for extra-urban movement in China, by which you can reach just about every corner of this immense country.

How to buy a train ticket in China

First of all, it’s important to understand that if you plan to buy your train ticket at the train station, or using the official China Rail website, you can only buy a train ticket starting from 28 or 30 days before your trip, respectively (even if for some trains of C and D categories the period is even shorter).

Reservations usually open 30 days before departure for online bookings and 28 days before departure for sale at stations, for most long-distance trains. Some overnight D-category sleeper trains only open 20 days ahead, some C-category trains only 10 days ahead. You cannot buy tickets before reservations open.

The problem is that, in particular during peak seasons – Spring Festival (in January or February), May Day (May 1st), National Day (October 1st) and Summer Holidays (from July to August) – you should buy your ticket as soon as possible or you’ll risk that tickets will already be sold out. [Read more…]

General advice for finding cheap flights

The price of flights varies in such a way that it often seems arbitrary. There are many studies that try to predict ticket price trends. Below, I detail some of the main conclusions of these studies, which will let you save money when purchasing plane tickets:
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What are the Chinese fake markets?

The first time that I went to China, right after leaving one of my friends told me:

“Don’t come back to Italy without checking out at least one of the fake markets in Beijing.”

Fake market? What did that mean?

I never heard of them, and didn’t know of the existence of this parallel world until one day, at the end of my lessons at the Beijing Language and Culture University, with one of my colleagues I headed toward one of the most famous fake markets in Beijing, the Silk Market (秀水街, Xiushui Jie, in Chinese), in the Chaoyang district.

It was one of the most enjoyable experiences of my first trip to China. After weeks of frustration in university, finally a little shopping and entertainment.

The Silk Street Market is an actual building of fakes, each floor with specific products, from shoes to clothing, to electronics and toys, to perfume to accessories for the home. A shopping mall from which it is impossible to leave without making at least one purchase among the thousands of articles offered. [Read more…]

In this article you’ll find a collection of itineraries for visiting China. Keep in mind that China is extremely vast and diverse, so trying to visit it all in just a few weeks makes no sense.

This is why we have divided the itineraries into three main sections; something for those planning a trip of 6-8 days, those planning to stay 12-15 days or, why not, 18-21 days.

For each section, we have also specified if it is a “historic” itinerary (or designed for visiting mainly sites of archaeological interest, such as Xi’an for example), “natural” (or designed for those who want to be immersed in nature, such as Jiuzhaigou), or “contemporary” (or designed for visiting modern realities such as Shenzhen or recurring festivals, like the Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival of Harbin).

Moreover, for each itinerary we have also added a difficulty rating based on the necessary movements to complete it and the best time to visit each zone or province.

Lastly, for more general information on traveling in China I recommend that you also read the following articles:

• Traveling in China: The complete guide

• Tours in China: Advice and agencies

• How to book a hotel in China

• Health insurance for travelers

• Flights to China: The complete guide

• How to travel by train in China

Itineraries (the complete list)

Click on one of the links on the table below to directly see the itinerary that interests you the most: [Read more…]