China

"China is not so much another country as another world. Cut off from the rest of Eurasia by the Himalayas to the south and the Siberian steppe to the north, it has grown up alone and aloof. The only foreigners it saw were visiting merchants from far-flung shores or uncivilized nomads from the wild steppe: peripheral, unimportant and unreal. Apart from a few ruling elites of Mongol and Manchu origin, who quickly became assimilated, China did not experience a significant influx of foreigners until the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, something which still colours the experience of today's visitors to China.

While empires, languages, nations and entire peoples in the rest of the world have risen and blossomed - then disappeared without trace - China has spent the past two millennia largely recycling itself. The ferocious dragons and lions of Chinese statuary have been produced by Chinese craftsmen, with the same essentially Chinese characteristics, for 25 centuries or more, and the script still used today reached perfection at the time of the Han dynasty, two thousand years ago. It is as though the Roman empire had survived intact into the twenty-first century, with a billion people speaking a language as old as classical Latin.

To say that the Chinese are presently enjoying better government than at any time in their recent history may not be saying much, but it is surely true. There is little sign of the Communist Party relinquishing power, or its control over the media. However, the negative stories surrounding today's China, the oppression of dissidents, the harsh treatment of criminal suspects and the imperialist behaviour towards Tibet and other minority regions, are only one part of the picture. Away from politics, the country is undergoing a huge commercial and creative upheaval. A country the size of ten Japans has entered the world market: Hong Kong-style skylines are being constructed in cities all across China, and tens of millions of people are finding jobs that earn them a spending power they have never known. The colossal historic fact of Hong Kong and Macau, the last European colonies, being returned to China in time for the new millennium, as though by celestial injunction, only adds to the sense that Chinese destiny is being restored to its rightful place at the centre of the world.

The sheer pace of change is visible in every part of Chinese life, from the economy to the still-young independent travel industry. Travellers who visited China as little as ten years ago are amazed to hear how much the place has opened up and how many more liberal trends have emerged in the wake of the late Deng Xiaoping's free market economics. For whatever reasons you are attracted to China - its history, art, culture, politics or simply its inaccessibility - the speed at which things are changing will ensure that your trip is a unique one.

The first thing that strikes visitors to China is the extraordinary density of population: central and eastern China do not have landscapes so much as peoplescapes. In the fertile plains, villages seem to merge into one another, while the big cities are endlessly sprawling affairs with the majority of their inhabitants living in cramped shacks or in depressingly uniform dormitory buildings. This doesn't mean that China is the same everywhere - there are many regional variations in people and language; indeed, some whole areas of the People's Republic are not populated by the ""Chinese"", but by so-called minority peoples, of whom there are more than two hundred distinct groups, ranging from the hill tribes of the south to the Muslims of the northwest. Nevertheless, the most enduring images of China are intrinsically Chinese ones: chopsticks, tea, slippers, massed bicycles, shadow-boxing, exotic pop music, karaoke, teeming crowds, Dickensian train stations, smoky temples, red flags and the smells of soot and frying tofu - as well as the industrial vistas you would expect from one of the world's largest economies. Away from the cities, there is the sheer joy of crossing such a vast and ancient land - from the green paddy fields and misty hilltops of the south, to the mountains of Tibet, to the scorched, epic landscapes of the old Silk Road in the northwest. And the Chinese, despite a reputation for rudeness, are generally hospitable and friendly, though in the more out-of-the-way places travellers are still considered something of an oddity.

However, it would be wrong to pretend that it is an entirely easy matter to penetrate modern China. Borders are open, visas are readily distributed and the airports are teeming with foreigners, but the standard tourist ""sights"" - the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Terracotta Army - are relatively few considering the size of the country. Indeed, historic architecture is scant to say the least, and Chinese towns and cities lack that sense of history so palpable in the great cities of Europe or the Middle East. The Communists, like all dynasties before them, simply destroyed earlier showpieces. On top of this are the frustrations of travelling in a land where few people speak English and where foreigners are regularly viewed as exotic objects of intense curiosity, or fodder for overcharging.

When planning a journey through China, bear in mind that your trip is bound to involve an element of stress and hard work. If you have lots of cities on your itinerary, try to fit in some small towns as well, which tend to be cheaper as well as more relaxing. Don't stick exclusively to the famous places and sights; often your most interesting experiences will arise in places which least expect tourists. Above all, if it's your first visit, try not to be in too much of a hurry; take your time and be selective. If your budget is tight, think about staying in just a few places and getting to know them rather than undertaking lots of expensive and exhausting journeys. Even if money is less of a problem, you might do well to forego too much travel and opt instead for higher quality restaurants and hotels. Given the inevitable frustrations of making arrangements, flexibility is essential whatever your budget"

  Water Country in Southern China
Have you even visited the picturesque water country in southern China? If you haven't, why not pack you luggage and make a tour of Nanjing and Yangzhou,

Faithful Steed: Bicycles in a Chinese Photographer's Memory
The bicycle is an indispensable member of the Chinese family. Almost every Chinese person has a cycle.

Yangtze River Three Gorges Tour
Coursing over a distance of 6,380 kilometers, the mighty Yangtze is the longest river in China and the third longest in the world after the Amazon in South America and the Nile in Africa.

China Destination Guide
"Great Wall Strung along the peaceful, semi-ruined section of wall at Simatai are Ming dynasty watchtowers with lovely views of the surrounding hills."

WHERE TO GO
Inevitably, Beijing is on everyone's itinerary, and the Great Wall and the splendour of the Imperial City are certainly not to be missed.

WHEN TO GO
China's climate is too varied for any but the vaguest generalizations: summers in most parts of the country are extremely hot and humid,

GETTING THERE
"To begin, select a topic in the navigation bar to the left Getting there from Britain and Ireland China has several international air gateways, the most important being Beijing and Hong Kong."

VISAS AND RED TAPE
All foreign nationals require a visa to enter the People's Republic of China. Single-entry tourist visas must generally be used within three months of issue, are usually

INSURANCE
It's essential to take out a good travel insurance policy. Bank and credit cards (particularly American Express) often have certain levels of medical or other insurance included if you use them

TRAVELLERS WITH DISABILITIES
Hong Kong aside, China makes few provisions for disabled people. With the country undergoing an economic boom, many cities resemble building sites at present,

COSTS, MONEY AND BANKS
Compared to the rest of Asia, China can be an expensive place to travel. Though it's always possible to eat and move around fairly cheaply, accommodation costs can be as high as in Europe or the US,

GETTING AROUND
China is huge, and unless you concentrate on a small area, you're going to spend a good deal of your time - and budget - just getting around. Fortunately,

EATING AND DRINKING
The Chinese love to eat, and from market-stall buns and soup, right through to the intricate variations of regional cookery, China boasts one of the world's greatest cuisines.

COMMUNICATIONS
China's communication system has much improved in recent years and is still being rapidly updated. Email is cheap and increasingly available - you'll often

POLICE, TROUBLE AND EMERGENCIES
Despite the new veneer of individual freedom, China is still basically a police state, with the State interfering with and controlling the lives of its subjects to a degree most Westerners would find it

LIVING IN CHINA: WORK AND STUDY
There are increasing opportunities to work or study in China. Most foreign workers are employed as English teachers, and most universities and many private colleges now have a few foreign teachers.

HISTORY
As modern archeology gradually confirms ancient records of the country's earliest times, it seems that, however far back you go, China's history is essentially the saga of its dynasties,

BEST OF
"Great Wall Strung along the peaceful, semi-ruined section of wall at Simatai are Ming dynasty watchtowers with lovely views of the surrounding hills."

INFORMATION AND MAPS
The concept of a country promoting itself by giving out tourist information for free has not yet taken hold in China. There is a very thin scattering of tourist promotion offices in foreign capitals,

HEALTH
Low standards of public hygiene, stress and overcrowded conditions are to blame for most of the health problems that beset travellers in China. If you do get ill, medical facilities,

OPENING HOURS AND PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
The general trend in offices - airlines, travel services and the like - is for relatively early opening and closing, with long lunch hours.

FESTIVALS
The rhythm of festivals and religious observances that marked the Chinese year was interrupted by the Cultural Revolution, and only now are old traditions beginning to re-emerge. Apart from countrywide Chinese festivals,

Social Conventions And Etiquette
"Some of the culture shock which afflicts foreign visitors to China comes from false expectations, engendered through travel in other parts of Asia. The Chinese are not a ""mellow"" people. Profoundly irreligious,"

DIRECTORY
Addresses Street numbering is so random in most Chinese cities that it's little help in finding the address. Note that floors within buildings are numbered as in the US, not as in

CHINESE BELIEFS: THREE TEACHINGS FLOW INTO ONE
The visitor to modern China will find few obvious indications of the traditional beliefs which underpinned the country's civilization for three thousand years. Certainly,

CONFUCIANISM
China's oldest and greatest philosopher, Kong Zi, known in the West by his Latinized name Confucius , was an obscure and unsuccessful scholar. Born in 551 BC, during the so-called Warring States Period,

TAOISM
"The second of the three major teachings which form the roots of Chinese beliefs is Taoism . The Tao translates literally as the ""Way"" and, in its purest form, Taoism is the study and pursuit"

BUDDHISM
The Tang dynasty (618-906 AD) was a period of unprecedented openness and prosperity for the Chinese court and it was then that Buddhism , originally imported from India through

POPULAR RELIGION
When Jesuit missionaries first arrived in China in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries they were astounded and dismayed by the Chinese flexibility of belief . One frustrated Jesuit put it:

MODERN CHINA
One of the reasons why modern China appears to lack the outward manifestations of her ancient beliefs is that they are not really essential. You will see the

THE MARTIAL ARTS OF CHINA
Given China's tumultuous ancient history - of warring clans, warring states and eventually warring dynasties - it's unsurprising that so much energy has been invested in the development

TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE
The medical treatise Huang Di Neijing, attributed to the Yellow Emperor (2697-2597 BC), mentions the importance of spiritual balance,

ASTROLOGY: THE CHINESE CALENDAR AND HOROSCOPES
Most people are interested to find out what sign they are in the Chinese zodiac system , particularly since - like the Western system - each person is supposed to

ARCHITECTURE
After several weeks in China, it seems that - apart from minor regional variations - one temple looks much like another, even that the differences between a palace,

ART
This very brief survey aims to reflect, and to help you to follow, what you are likely to see most of in Chinese provincial and city museums - and to an extent in situ.

CHINESE MUSIC
The casual visitor to China could be forgiven for thinking that the only traditional style to compete with bland pop is that of the kitsch folk troupes to be heard

NATURE
The scale of China's environmental problems makes an appropriate partner for the breadth of its wildlife and natural beauty.

FILM
"Film came early to China. The first moving picture was exhibited in 1896 at a ""tea house variety show"" in Shanghai,"