China travel guide

China guide

Lauded for its progress since its establishment in 1949, courted for its economic potential, excoriated for its human rights record, China is Asia's sleeping giant – the world's most populous country (1.25 billion and counting) but still one which has a fair way to go before it takes its true place on the international stage.

The prodigious leaps from feudalists to communist to capitalist have greatly enhanced the PRC, and for much of the past half century, China has been the world's fastest-growing economy. Yet it remains poor in many parts – there are sharps divisions between rural areas and the cities, the rich coast and the poor interior, and schisms within the political elite. But just as staging the Olympics in Seoul catapulted South Korea to prominence, so the 2008 Olympic Games should give Beijing the necessary fillip to show that it too can host the planet's most prestigious sporting event with requisite efficiency and panache.

As might be expected from a country with 9,561,000 square kilometres at its disposal, there is an enormous amount to see and do in China (too much to mention here), whether showcasing thousands of years of culture or something that was only built last year. Beijing's attractions lie not merely in trophy sights like the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, but also in its 'hutongs', the maze of residential streets just out of the centre that are gradually being swept away in the name of development. Tianjin, to the east of the capital, is a former treaty port and hosts one of the country's most intriguing antique markets. A former German concession, Qingdao was Mao Zedong's favourite seaside holiday spot, and Chinese still flock to its beaches – backed by statuesque and very Germanic mansions – every summer. Shanghai is widely touted as China's 'Next Big Thing', a hotchpotch of new energetic capitalism and construction, with an exotic and varied nightlife. Slightly inland, Hangzhou caught Marco Polo's eye when he passed through in the 13^th century ('one of the most splendid cities in the world') and, despite the onslaught of tourism, its lakes and temples are still utterly picturesque.

Shenzhen, on the border with Hong Kong, has gone from 99 percent paddy fields to 99 percent concrete in the space of 20 years, a Special Economic Zone that could be a metaphor for the new China. Inland, there are panoramic vistas in Guilin, the Terracotta Warriors in Xian, Tibetan highs in Lhasa and seemingly a different country altogether in the far western city of Umurqi.

Gone are the days of staying in grubby, Soviet-style dormitories, an alarming prospect that greeted China's first foreign visitors when the country started to open up in the late 1970s. True, some of its lesser hotels are behind when its comes to basic requirements like hot water and clean sheets, but nowadays all the major cities host a crop of 5-star – or at least some very acceptable 4-star – properties. Boutique hotels are making their first appearance around Beijing, and properties like the Grand Hyatt Shanghai (the tallest hotel in the world) are setting a trend that other cities can only hope to emulate.

Gone too are the days of foreign visitors being stared at as if they were on day release from some anthropological zoo. You are likely to attract some attention at tourist spots – if only to be included in a friendly souvenir photograph – and if you wander off the beaten track you can expect to be quizzed enthusiastically. Many young Chinese are keen to practice their English and other languages, and Beijing – in the run-up to the Olympics – is making a concerted attempt to drum some basic foreign words and phrases into its public officials.

China's borders embrace sub-tropical islands and frozen desserts, so it is difficult to recommend precise times to visit. The best rule of thumb is to avoid the sticky summers and chilly winters if possible. Spring, from March to April, and autumn (September – October) are more climatically welcoming. Lunar New Year, which falls in late January or early February, sees much of the populace uprooting and returning home for family celebrations, so expect hotel beds and rail and air tickets to be in short supply.

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