Located in Guangdong province, Zhaoqing, a small scenic city featuring a wetland park and mountain nature reserve, makes for a great escape from the hectic and sprawling cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Craving for fresh air, and a reminder of nature, on the bus we went. Actually, we took the…
This page is intended for those people who haven’t had the luxury of doing a beginners Chinese course before having to/or choosing to step onto a plane and head for China. The page includes survival phrases, tools, apps plus links to loads of free resources for learning Mandarin Chinese. First,…
China’s train network is extensive to say the least, with nearly every city and town connected via over 90,000 km or tracks. The size is set to grown with the Chinas continuing domestic growth, plus proposals for inter-continental lines that could extend from China into Russia, Germany and even to…
This article sets out to explain a little about China’s currency, incredibly useful stuff if you’re travelling to China or buying from Chinese websites. Lets take at looks at the many names used when talking money in China and the Chinese currency, which include RMB, Renminbi, ¥; CNY; also CN¥, 元 and CN元 Yuan, Kuai and Mao. RMB…
Located on the coast of Southern China, Zhuhai offers visitors a laid-back environment, sightseeing and a relaxing coastal escape. Zhuhai is quite popular with domestic holidaymakers, offering a nearby escape for residents of Southern regions, and also offering great value for those living in Macao, and even Hong Kong, who…
Possibly one of the most beautiful ancient cities in China, Fenghuang of Hunan Province features all the ancient charm of traditional Chinese architecture, a rich history, and culture, all staged along either side of a beautiful river with lush green mountains as a backdrop. It’s otherworldly compared to China’s booming mega-cities. Fenghuang, often referred to…
The city of Maanshan is located in Anhui Province alongside the Yangtze River and only 30kms from Wuhu and 40kms from Nanjing the capital of Jiangsu Province. The city is home to well over 1 million people. The city is mostly known for it’s steel and automotive industries, although it…
The Presidential Palace could be thought of as Nanjing’s version of the Forbidden City in Beijing with it once being home to ancient emperors and later political leaders. The palace was also the base for Dr. Sat Yun Sen when he led the Kuomintang party to power in China. Officially,…
In 1937/38 Nanjing was witness to one of the worlds haunting events, being the massacre of some 300000 people at the hands of invading forces. At that time Nanjing was the capital of China and Japanese forces had taken control of the city and during the first six to eight weeks of their…
The Nanjing Museum is quite famous having had many exhibitions abroad and well known for holding some quite rare and valuable pieces of Chinas history, so, better take a look. The museum features several halls all with different themes including an ancient Chinese jade exhibit, ancient Chinese silk, Chinese copper…
A shopping market packed inside the historic buildings surrounding the Confucius Temple, aka Fuzimiao, makes for a popular place to visit in Nanjing, be it night or day. It was night when we first strolled into the area and after passing the traditional old Chinese gate and past the Pizza…
Like many of Chinas ancient cities Nanjing was once a walled city. The walled city featured sever gates but the south gate is quite special for a number of reasons. One visible reason is that it looks more like a castle than a gate. It took over 20 years…
Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province, is a beautiful, charming and ancient city that has a progressive feel. It has a long history dating back as far as 472 BC and has been the home of many of China’s emperors thus giving the city a rich treasure trove of cultural…
If your’e hunting for discount flights between China and Australia, read on. This post features some of the tips and tricks I’ve discovered, plus links to great sites for flight deals between Australia and China. Here’s a list of airlines, with their flight routes (in no particular order): Qantas Flies…
My personal experience with local Chinese airline companies has been mostly good, the planes are clean, in many cases new, the service is good, and my inability to speak Chinese has never been an issue. All the flights I’ve been on have had staff with English skills, and any messages are…
The Spring Festival travel peak was nearing an end and there was probably some chance of getting a train ticket or flight once again. For this trip it’s off to meet future relatives. So how to get from Shenzhen to Fuyang? Theres the train, bus or plane. It’s almost 24hrs…
The Spring Festival is a fifteen day celebration where most Chinese people have at least seven days holiday, and within the festival is the beginning of the Chinese New Year. It’s a very special time for Chinese. For my first year in China, my first Spring Festival began in Shenzhen…
Without a doubt the most important date on the Chinese calender – the Lunar New Year and the beginning of the Spring Festival. This year it falls on February 3. Most all workers will get 7 days off work and head home for celebrations and reunion with family. More about…
Chinese love their bicycles, ranging from the standard push bike through to home made three wheelers, they are absolutely everywhere. China has the largest fleet of bicycles in the world but as history tells the story the Chinese where quite slow to catch on to this thing with ‘two wheels connected…
Chinese people love celebrating things, and not only there own traditional festivals but also western ones too, and Christmas especially. Here in Shenzhen all the retail shopping malls have grand decorations throughout including themed displays, large trees and big custom made models of Santa, reindeers and the like. Even smaller…
Here is another one of those traditional Chinese shopping districts that I’ve come to admire, they span for block after block, most of them have been operating for centuries, they’re vibrant, teaming with life, and they’re packed with keen sellers waiting to do deals. These traditional marketplaces have soul, and character that…
The city of Shenzhen is already well known for it’s shopping options and it’s big modern malls but there’s now a new one on that list, the KK Mall. KK Mall is part of a large development which includes residential apartments and a financial offices tower which when completed will…
The city of Shenzhen near Hong Kong is starting to become very well known for it’s hi-tech industry base which has been a big part of the city’s success so appropriately it’s also home to the China Hi-Tech Fair which is claimed to be the number 1 tech show in…
Need an oil painting? Heres the perfect place to find one amongst what is an ‘Oil Painting Village’, artists live and work pumping out all sorts of original pieces and the odd replica. How many artists? No one seems exactly sure but many say there could be a staggering 10,000…
If you're looking for accommodation in Guangzhou and you're after somewhere peaceful to stay, I think it would be pretty hard to beat Shamian Island.
Another of Guangzhou’s interesting streets is Beijing Road, it’s also a commercial street and again it’s packed with shops, malls, and restaurants. Beijing Road is a little more cosmopolitan than Shangxiajiu Pedestrian St but some say a little more expensive too. It’s also pedestrian friendly with no cars. Along with…
Stretching for over 1 kilometer along Shangjiu Rd, Xia Jui Rd and Dishifu Rd in Liwan District Guangzhou, the Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Mall is home to hundreds of shops including several malls and many great restaurants. This is one of Guangzhou’s older streets and features an interesting mix of old European and Chinese architecture.…
Guangzhou, also called Canton, is the capital city of Guangdong Province. It’s a hotbed for entrepreneurs and traders as it has been for much of China’s history, but it’s also very well known for its culinary creations. The bus from Humen to Guangzhou takes about 90 minutes and costs 40RMB…
The town of Humen holds a special place in Chinas history for it’s role during the first Opium War which ran from 1839-1842. It’s actually quite a famous place in China, where a strong battle was waged against the importing of opium and in that battle a legend was made, namely…
While in Humen we stayed at the Grand Noble Hotel. It’s a clean, comfortable hotel, the food at the restaurant was more than fine and there was even English speaking staff. Even more interesting is that there is a Starbucks on site, so coffee and somewhere to chill is taken…