Experience China
When there was the opportunity to attend the PIS annual conference in Shanghai China I said ‘where do I sign up?’ I get to visit a country I’ve always been fascinated with. I decided my China experience would be the China Highlights; Beijing and the Great Wall, Xian and the Terra Cotta Warriors (and the mighty Mt Huashan), and finishing in metropolis of Shanghai.
People often say the only reason to visit Beijing is to see the Great Wall, and I partly agree with that. However Beijing to me felt like the real China, or at least what I expected it to be like. Authentic historic china, with a lot a smog too. I spent my time visiting the mighty Royal Palace, Temple of Heaven Park, the patriotic Tiananmen square, and getting lost in the little streets of historic Hutong’s where English was non-existent. When the day came for my day trip to the Great Wall I was like an eager kid on Christmas Day. I visited the Simatai region of the wall, 3hrs from Beijing meaning less tourists. The wall was magnificent. How the wall was built thousands of years ago, spanning 8,852 kms, without the advanced technology we have today and still stands (mostly) after all the civil unrest amazes me. Well worth the visit.
My journey to Xian could have been the easy route via plane, but for me traveling is all about new experiences, so I decided to take the overnight train. After working out the train ticket which was all in Chinese as to which platform my train departed, the carriage I was in, room and bed, as I boarded the train the smell of Two Minute Noodles engulfed me. China has the largest train network in the world and is the main mode of transport for Chinese. As I found out, Two Minute Noodles was the main source of food for many. At least they’re supporting their local economy! After an actually very comfortable sleep, with none of the other 3 passengers in my share room snoring, I arrived in Xian.
Xian is by no means a country town. With around 4 million people calling Xian city home, it is also very much on the tourist trail for its Terra Cotta Warriors. Seeing the statues was over welling. The sheer number of them was a sight to see. And the 1000 or so what can be seen is only a small part, they estimate there are 6000 still to be uncovered. My other reason for visiting Xian was to visit Mt Huashan, a mountain which is 2155m high, known for its “plank walk” which isn’t for the faint hearted. While the paths are well maintained, the sheer steepness and cliff drop gets the heart pumping. Unfortunately the day I had planned my trip, the one day of my time in China it decided to rain, but I wasn’t going to let that dampen my spirits and off I went. Being wet the Plank Walk was close, major disappointment, but the views were amazing and I will be back to conquer the Plank Walk.
And then it was off to Shanghai, again by overnight train, but this time fast bullet train. Shanghai, with a population of 23.9 million, the size of Australia, is a metropolis, and still growing! Shanghai’s growth has been influenced by a mix of cultures and this is evident by the mix of architecture, from old to new, and different districts. The mammoth size of the sky scrapers is amazing, and the world’s second tallest building is currently being built. I have to say while I was amazed by the size of the buildings and historic architecture, for me Shanghai was too Westernised and touristy. That said, I would recommend visiting the city, but for the true China experience visit Beijing or a satellite regional city.
As I did say the primary reason for going to China was to attend the PIS annual conference, and that I did after my week exploring. After 3 jammed packed days of sessions on a variety of topics, from client engagement, market updates, business planning, compliance and legislative updates, the conference didn’t disappoint. On the final night of the conference we let our hair down at the annual gala dinner, with this year’s theme being Asian Culture. Everyone went to an effort dressing up making it a great night. Can you tell what I went as? In case not, I was a Chinese tourist.
My tips for eager China travellers, knowing some basic local language will help, locals speak and read very limited English (if any!), get someone to write in Chinese the address/location you want to visit, don’t be afraid to use the metro/trains, very efficient way to travel (and cheap), explore the food menu, and don’t be fooled by people asking you try tea (it’s a scam and you’ll end up paying an exorbitant amount).
It’s a country I would recommend visiting, and at some point, like to go back and explore the regions less travelled.