Sapore di Cina

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Travel to Huizhou, the beach near Shenzhen and Hong Kong

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Travel to Huizhou

There are choice benefits to residing or exploring the Guangdong province of southwestern China.

It could be the fool-proof access to Hong Kong and Macau territories, the subtropical climate, or the pleasures of metropolises such as Guangzhou and Shenzhen. However, those common reasons are weakened after experiencing the beauty of Huizhou.

Nestled along the coast of South China Sea this beach city is neighbor to Hong Kong and Shenzhen. With daily access via train and bus from Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong there’s no reason to not visit this haven.

How to get to Huizhou

The bus is the most efficient and direct way to travel to Huizhou. If you’re leaving from major cities such as Shenzhen, Hong Kong, or Guangzhou, there are charters located throughout the city. If in Shenzhen or Hong Kong, there’s slight advantage with many daily charters available at the Shenzhen Airport, Hung Hom Hong Kong train station and local hotels throughout the city.

If leaving from Guangzhou, there are travel agencies can that book accommodation and travel to Huizhou, with picks up at two major locations to ease travel difficulties.

You can also reach Huizhou by train. There are two train stations in the city: Huizhou Railway and Huizhou South Railway. These train stations don’t put you beachside but they are only 45-min drive away from from your waterfront getaway. However, let’s say if you want to stay in the city-center, then the train is for you.

It’ll put you around many hotels and will you open to exploring the near forest parks or heading to the waterfront. Huizhou South would be the better choice for travellers on a time crunch because it’s the closest proximity to the beach. [Read more…]

Traveling to Shangri-la (Zhongdian): The complete guide

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Ganden Sumtsenling Monastery or Songzanlin Temple – Photo by Matteo Bosi

Perched on the slopes of the Himalayas at an altitude of over 3.000 mt, at the most northern point of the multi-ethnic region of Yunnan, as well as the crossroads of people with an extraordinary folklore and the entrance gate to Tibet: this is the city of Zhongdian, better known as Shangri-la. It is the chief city of the (majority) Tibetan prefecture of Diqing.

The history of this name is not the history of the place. Or better yet, it became so. This is where it would be really appropriate to start with “Once upon a time”, yes: once upon a time there was the writer James Hilton and his novel Lost Horizon ; and then there was the director, the famous Frank Capra and his masterpiece of the same name.

The story tells about a perfect city, wrapped up in and well protected by the Himalayas, with a civilization that secretly lived in harmony hidden away from the greed and selfishness of the modern world. Only the story’s protagonist came to fully understand the community’s mission.

The mysterious fascination of this place that for a long time has lead several to track down the remote places in China, has today been widely recognized as Zhongdian of Yunnan (although others try to make the same claim). [Read more…]

The 10 most popular sports in China

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Most popular sports in China

We receive and publish this interesting article written by Lavrentiy Klimov

China has become not just an economic, but also a Sports superpower. According to Daxue Consulting, China is a huge sport market. Some Chinese athletes like Yao Min (姚明), Li Na (李娜) o Lin Dan (林丹) are popular around the globe and represent different sports brands. Also, sports in China receive great support from the government.

According to the Telegraph, China wants to complete a transition from a big country to a strong nation in sports. The purpose is to have one third of population (or 435 million people) to do physical exercises by 2020. Obviously, it is a very ambitious purpose. But have you ever thought what sports do Chinese people like? Let’s have a closer look at most popular sports in China!

Table tennis and badminton are top China’s national sports

Table tennis once considered as a “cheap” sport with no need for spacious facilities, has been declared by Chairman Mao as a Chinese national sport. It is also a national pride: 6 gold medals were won at London Olympics (2012) and a total sweep was completed by Chinese national team in Rio de Janeiro (2016). In China you can see tables for ping-pong in university campuses, local parks and yards. This sport does not require expensive equipment or to be very athletic. Come to China and give it a try to play with locals!

Another national sport is Badminton (国球, guoqiu). It is one of the most favorite sports in China. People are playing badminton in the streets both in the cities and in the villages. Many locals play it before work, during their lunch time or in the evening. Chinese dominance on the international level is unprecedented. One of the reasons is the Chinese unique training system, and a huge pool of talents, who are willing to sacrifice a lot to become champions. [Read more…]

Traveling to Hubei, Province of the Three Gorges Dam

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Traveling to Hubei

The capital of Hubei Province (湖北) is Wuhan (武汉). The abbreviated name for Hubei Province is 鄂 (E), a character mostly used on car license plates. The presence of the character 北 (bei) “north” shouldn’t fool you, since Hubei is a province in central China.

The name comes from the fact that it’s located north of the large and deep Dongting Lake (洞庭), just like Hunan (湖南) because, as opposed to Hubei, it’s located south of Dongting Lake. On one shore of Dongting Lake there’s the famous Yueyang Lou (岳阳楼), “Yueuang Tower”.

Note too that the really ancient State of Chu (楚) is located in Hubei.

Why visit Hubei Province?

Some time ago, the general image of China was a place full of lakes, rivers, mountains, forests, animals, Chinese with straw hats on board little boats, and so on.

Well, Hubei is certainly one of the most fertile and lush Chinese provinces, thanks to the countless rivers and lakes to be found there. The most important river that goes through Hubei is Changjiang (长江), the “Long River”, known in the West as the Yangzi or, Yangtze depending on the old phonetic transcription from Wade-Giles.

Although the literal translation of Changjiang is “Long River”, it’s conventionally called “Blue River” because there are clay-like substances present that allows it to reflect the blue of the sky like a mirror. The Changjiang is the longest river in Asia, and the third longest in the world, surpassed only by the Amazon and Nile Rivers.

Although nature has an important role in Hubei, modernity has not failed to reach this wonderful province, with all the pros and cons that this brings. [Read more…]

Chinese Fashion: Why it’s a trend in itself and not simply imitation

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Chinese fashion in Hong Kong

China is always making the news. A large number of foreign countries are turning their focus to the Asian giant in different spheres: the economy, politics, trade, tourism, new business opportunities… and fashion is not an exception to this.

For many years there have been preconceived notions around design and fashion from China, associating its designs with poor quality clothing, wholesale purchasing and sales and knockoffs.

In this article, you will discover why the world of fashion is changing in China and how the trends of Chinese consumers have changed. In addition, we will go over the most important fashion centers in Hong Kong.

How has the mentality of Chinese society changed with respect to fashion?

Chinese society is spending and investing in fashion. The purchasing power of Chinese citizens has been changing over the past years. The trend of purchasing better quality articles has also materialized in the fashion sector, in which originality, customization and looking for unique and distinct outfits are dominant. The luxury sector has exploded: it doesn’t matter how much an outfit costs; if it’s high-quality and different, people will pay the price.

In Europe, it has also been possible to see how Chinese tourism has become a key factor in the tourist industry, not only because of the number of Chinese tourists visiting the country, which is increasing every year, but also because of how much they are spending. The average purchase receipt for a Chinese tourist is approximately 1,000 Euro. [Read more…]

The 7 classes of Chinese tea and the 10 most famous brands

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Chinese tea

Click here to buy Chinese tea directly from China!

“Rather go without salt for three days than without tea for a single day,” Chinese Proverb.

I’m in love with Chinese tea. I drink it every day and every time I come back to Europe I bring some nice tea packages to my family and friends. Most important, I buy a ton of tea for myself.

My favorite Chinese tea is the Long Jing, the green tea produced close to the West Lake of Hangzhou. I also like flower tea and Pu’er, the fermented tea from Yunnan Province.

If you do a quick search on the internet you’ll find a lot of information about Chinese tea.

I decided to limit this first article about Chinese tea to two topics that I find interesting: the different classes of Chinese tea and the most famous tea brands of China (for each class of tea there are many different brands, for instance you have the Long Jing green tea from Hangzhou, the Bi Luo Chun green tea from Tai Hu and so on). [Read more…]

Trip to Huanglong, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

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traveling to huanglong

Huanglong (黄龙) is one of the most beautiful natural landscapes in China. Located in the north of the Sichuan province 380 km from Chengdu, it is without a doubt an essential visit in Western China.

The main attraction is the chain of natural pools filled with completely transparent water that run along the Yellow Dragon Valley. These pools offer a unique spectacle of turquoise terraces surrounded by a dense forest. In addition to the beautiful pools, in the nature park, you will find waterfalls and hot springs. In addition, among its fauna are giant panda bears and golden snub-nosed monkeys, a primate endemic to China that is characterized by its golden coat and bluish face. However, the latter are not easy to see.

This beautiful valley surrounded by snow-covered peaks has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1992. Over the past decade and thanks to the huge popularity of the nearby Jiuzhaigou Valley, tourism has developed greatly, eliminating many of the obstacles that made this visit a real odyssey not long ago.

Note: since the earthquake on August 8, 2017, Jiuzhaigou Park will remain closed until the area is completely safe, but the damages in Huanglong were minimal, and it was reopened to the public a few days afterwards.
[Read more…]

The 20 top things to see and do in Shenzhen

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top things to see and do in shenzhen

Just across the border from Hong Kong on the Chinese mainland, lies the first tier city of Shenzhen, where around 15 million people live, work and entertain themselves.

Whether visiting or living in Shenzhen, this article will introduce some of the better scenic spots, historic sites and themed attractions. Shenzhen is a sprawling city covering ten districts, so you’ll need to plan carefully to make the most of your time – places to see are listed by district to make this easier.

Depending on your expectations, you may find some attractions quite touristy and possibly even tacky – but that’s the nature of Chinese entertainment. Take time to look beyond this, and you are likely to have some great experiences and get to sample the unique and wonderful culture that China offers.

Getting around

The well developed public transport system is both efficient and inexpensive. Choose from taxis, private drivers, buses and the ever expanding metro. Check out Getting around Shenzhen and Hong Kong Border Crossings, for more detailed information. There are also handy maps on most street corners, that although in Chinese will give you a good sense of your location and direction. [Read more…]

Tourist Itineraries in China for trips of 1, 2 or 3 weeks

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China travel itineraries

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:

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…]

Traveling to Guangdong, the Province of Guangzhou and Shenzhen

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Traveling to Guangdong

Guangdong is the region that best represents Chinese history in recent centuries: it took on the role of a protagonist during the arrival of Europeans in China, it was the base in 1911 where the revolutionary party of Sun Yatsen saw the disintegration of the longest empire in history, was the headquarters of both the nationalist and communist parties; and it was actually the economic powerhouse of the region that launched the conditions for the Chinese economic miracle and for the exponential growth of the country.

Among the first five special economic zones (FTZ) it was founded along the coast of Guangdong, and the trip to the region from then president Deng Xiaoping held in 1992 definitively ushered in the beginning of a new epoch for the People’s Republic of China.

Why go to Guangdong

The region’s tropical climate makes almost every time of year a good time to visit, and going to Guangdong will allow you to taste the slow rhythms of the inhabitants’ life, always with a cup of tea and a deck of cards at their side, tasting everywhere the exquisite dim sum (a vast gamut of Chinese dishes such as won tons served with tea), losing themselves in the colonial neighborhoods of the capital Guangzhou and its food and antique markets. [Read more…]