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
