China: Defining Asian tourism

Surprising as it may seem to many, China is among one of the top travel destinations in the world, and the inflow of tourists has been at an all time high ever since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Stretching from the conflicted Tibet's wide open skies to the hustle and bustle of Shanghai, the spicy delicacies of Sìchuān to the tranquil environs of the undiscovered parts of this land, if ever there was a contest for personification of diversity, China would not even have competition. The variations start from the terrain itself – one one side there are noisy cities filled to the brim with people (and surprisingly, even more keep pouring in!), and on the other, there are Ming Dynasty villages located on the top of mountains where one can hear so much as even a feather drop on the ground. Home to the world’s oldest continuous civilisation, one will encounter history at every curve and bump on the road, so to speak. However, it's not all art and culture here, for the massive development has resulted in the country having some of the most dynamic cities in the world.

Guǎngdōng: The province is both China's richest, as well as its fastest developing one. Owing to its mountainous terrain, it was isolated from the mainland for many centuries, which comes as a surprise as it is located in the fertile Pearl River Delta. The development began with foreign merchants coming in from the 800 km coastline of Guǎngdōng. However, the real deal breaker, so to speak, was Deng Xiaoping’s ‘open door policy’ that led to the establishment of three Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and opening of trade links to Hong Kong. However, it's not all out-and-out development, the capital, Guǎngzhōu, is very well known for its Cantonese cuisine. Kāipíng, located nearby, is famous for watchtowers. Also, the ancient temples of Fēilái and Fēixiá, that can be visited via a downriver journey from Qīngyuǎn is also a fantastic experience.

Lìjiāng: Hiking along the trail to get a feel of the northern Yúnnán region is worth all the hype in this marvellous location, and the Hǔtiào Xiá gorge, which is the deepest in the world, is an intriguing sight, measuring 16 kms in length and 3.9 kms in height from the Jinsha River, and stretching to the peaks of the Haba Mountain in the west and Yùlóng Xuěshān towards the east. The ideal time to travel are the months of May and June, as the hills are full of the most exotic flowers and wildlife. The best thing to do while one is here is to go for a mini-trek, and the cafés are the best place to get information on the weather and how it may affect the journey. At most of the cafés, one can even get a hand-drawn map, although it is not always accurate to the T, and never to scale!

While in China, one of the most important things to do is to stay in touch with family and friends all the time. Also, in order to ensure that the telephone bills do not go out of hand, and there are no problems related to network coverage, the right thing to do would be to go for Matrix international sim cards.

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