China

Hong Kong – quick travel guide

by

SAR…vibrant crowded hilly city spread across many islands, with amazing fusion food influenced by both west and east culture. (Arguably world’s best foodie destination.)

First thing to know is Hong Kong is NOT mainland China…and for HK people, Hong Kong is NOT China! Get that into your head when talking to the locals. They are NOT Chinese, they are HongKongers or Hong Kongese. Different language, different history, different culture. As a tourist, you’ll find English is widely spoken in HK (much like Taiwan) and even at fluent level. You can almost stop and talk to anyone in the street.

Appearance-wise, Hong Kong really looks like a Chinese version of London, New York, and San Francisco all mixed together.

  • British red phone booths (like London)
  • Hilly city (like SF)
  • Dense city with many skyscrapers (like NY)
  • Double-decker trams similar to both London double-decker buses and SF historic tram
  • Hong Kong was occupied by the British for 150 years, in case you didn’t know.

Yes, I think HK is the best foodie city in the world. I said it and I meant it with every ounce of my heart. This is due to the multicultural influence, and high standard for food, AND expectation. No doubt about it, Asians know how to eat and prepare food to a wider range of flavors than anybody else. Other countries might have good food but only when you pay a lot of money, or find the right restaurants, or they’re only good in a few dishes. But here…seems like tons of amazing restaurants are packed in every corner.

Known for tall beautiful city skyline (both day & night)

You could see the main tourist things and get a sense of Hong Kong within 3 days. But the city is really a nice enough vibe to sit out here for a week, a month, or a year. Don’t forget that Hong Kong Island is not the only place to see.

Read more

Chongqing – quick travel guide

by

Massive hilly main city of China with spicy food, lots of nature (near Chengdu/pandas), and very hot weather.

Chongqing, nearby the more popular Chengdu (panda tourist destination), is the biggest city you never heard of. 32 million people (officially China’s largest metropolitan area) when I went in summer 2024. For a foreigner, this city is known for its super hot weather, lots of nature (in the municipality), extremely spicy food (origin of Chinese hot pot), origin of Chinese foot massage, and lots of west China’s history and culture. Locals refer to it as the mountain city, or “hilly city with many layers”.

Most tourists and foreigners much prefer Chengdu over Chongqing. For being more tourist friendly, more unique things to see, also panda stuff, and that it’s far less crowded. There’s a sentiment that whatever tourist value Chongqing has, you could find it elsewhere in China already. And I agree with that. You should only pick Chongqing over Chengdu if you have a specific reason.

3 days is enough to feel the vibe, try spicy food, take mountain photos, and walk main busy tourist areas. 4-6 days if you actually want to visit the nearby nature destinations.

Read more

Shanghai – quick travel guide

by

China’s most international city. Most westerners and expats, English-friendly. Big, clean, quiet (seems all vehicles are electric), cleaner air, modern commercial hub, many business people here.

Despite recent complaints during covid lockdowns (2020-2021) about the government being too restrictive and killing the fun and business liberty, Shanghai is still a very nice place to live. Lifestyle here is very modern and trendy, in contrast to a more traditional or old-school lifestyle elsewhere in China. Whether that fits your taste is another matter altogether.

4-5 days would allow you to explore different areas and enjoy the metropolitan lifestyle.

Read more

China – quick travel guide

by

Huge territory of various terrain, food, and intact culture thousands of years old.

China is a really great place to travel because:

  1. There’s so much to see. A wide range of culture, nature, landscape, food, and everything intact for a civilization thousands of years old.
  2. It’s so different from anywhere else you’ve ever been.
  3. It caters to all price ranges. Whereas most countries are either all expensive or all less developed, China has the extremes of both. Which means you can find affordable accommodation and food in nice cities right next to fancy accommodation and food.
  4. It’s safe.

Bottomline, China is such an underrated place to travel. There’s so much to see and do, much of it relatively untainted by western tourism and culture. You actually feel like you’re seeing a totally new place. And the price is quite cheap for such a developed country. It’s loads of fun and feels like a whole new continent rather than just one country. Many of the unique things you’d find in Japan or Korea would be eclipsed by far more variety in China.

You could get A LICK (not even a taste) of China within a week. Like at least 4 days per major city. I honestly feel you could be here a month and feel like you barely saw 2% of the highlights. You would almost have to be here at least 3 months or a year to feel like you comprehended it.

As a reference, I feel America could be comprehensively sampled within a month. Western Europe within 2-3 months. But China?? Again…that civilization has been around thousands of years and their country is so big…I really don’t know, 6-12 months?

Read more