China - Landing on a Different Planet

China has impressed us a lot. Just beyond the Chinese border, you enter a whole new world. In China, there are 50 million cities - even relatively smaller places feel surprisingly large. Cities you've never heard of overshadow many European cities in terms of size and infrastructure.

First, we completed the Trans-Siberian route and arrived in Beijing. The city doesn't seem infinitely large at all. Hutongs line the narrow streets with single-story houses. These are perfect for cycling. The Chinese love electric mopeds and scooters in all kinds of designs. You hardly see gasoline-powered vehicles in the cities anymore. Just outside the city, we were able to hike on a wild, deteriorated part of the Great Wall and were impressed by its immense expanse.

Thanks to the high-speed train network that China has built in a few years, surpassing all others in the world, you can quickly travel around the country. The 1300 km to Shanghai can be done in less than 5 hours, with a train departing every 10 minutes. The train stations are more like large airports, and you really have to go through extensive checks at the gates to board the train. Where there are no high-speed trains yet, sleeper cars operate overnight, with 3 people sleeping on top of each other in the cabin, unlike in Russia.

Shanghai was the city we liked the most. The wind provides pleasant air, and the city feels green and western. We got to know Daniel – a funny study friend of Steve's in England – and his wife here. From here, we traveled to the gardens of Suzhou and then further to the million-city Hangzhou. From there, we explored the water town of Wuzhen and traveled to the Huangshan Misty Mountains. The mountains are beautiful and a huge tourist attraction. We experienced a completely new kind of hiking. You pay admission for the mountain, take shuttle buses to the starting points, and walk on one-way paths at the popular places - accompanied by dozens of Chinese tour groups with flags and megaphone guides. Once you get off the paths between the cable cars, you almost have the mountain to yourself. We wanted to get to know the Chinese nature even better and traveled to the Jiuzhaigou Valley via Chengdu, where we saw the bluest and clearest lakes we have ever seen.

Despite our enthusiasm for the beauty of China, we didn't really connect with the Chinese. You quickly get used to the table manners, belching, and slurping, and soon join in. However, we could never really get used to the constant spitting that follows the loud collection of snot in the throat.

But it was the rather harsh attitude of the Chinese that sometimes gave us some difficulties. Pushing and elbowing everywhere is understandable given the number of people. But the lack of helpfulness and patience was sometimes a bit more challenging. If you approach a group obviously lost, no one will help you on their own. You have to pick someone out and almost force them to help you.

Naturally, the language was a barrier. Most Chinese don't speak English and can hardly decipher our script. Therefore, they could not understand, for example, an English map or address. In addition, there are a number of obstacles for travelers: there is the Great Firewall (for us, normal websites like Google, Youtube, or Facebook are banned and can only be accessed through detours), book censorship (we could not buy a travel guide of China because it was banned for critical passages about Tibet), or the fact that many, especially cheap hotels, only accommodate Chinese people. Despite its excellent infrastructure, China was a somewhat exhausting travel destination for us.

The sights are geared towards domestic tourism. A park of temples is built around the actual attraction, additional attractions are invented, and they are connected by a clear path that ultimately leads through a huge souvenir market. Then, a cemented two-lane road is drawn around the complex, on which electric trolleys or buses will drive so that all places can be reached without much walking effort. Meanwhile, an entrance fee of around 40 Swiss francs is justified given the effort. Now, hundreds of Chinese tour groups can be serviced at once, and around 2000 jobs have been created. For Chinese tourists, you are a welcomed selfie motif and popular photo model amidst hundreds of Chinese, but their interest rarely goes beyond that.

We also made many nice acquaintances. Especially in the very simple restaurants and soup kitchens, you feel welcome. Even in the countryside, such as the less touristy Yuanyang Rice Terraces, the Chinese inevitably appear happier and more relaxed. In the cities, on the other hand, we couldn't shake the impression that people are not particularly happy. To quote Andrea: 'For my birthday, I wish for a smile from anyone!'

The Chinese food always tasted excellent and is about 100 times more diverse than the Chinese food at home. Each province cooks and eats somewhat differently. The food tasted best in Sichuan, where it is spicy. The delicious Sichuan pepper is added to the dishes as whole grains and pleasantly tingles on the lips. Our favorite dish was Gong Bao Chicken - a mixture of chicken, bell peppers, chili peppers, and peanuts in a sauce with mandarin peels. The food is also highly efficient. Everything comes to the table within 2 minutes. It has to because a bus on a longer trip stops for just 20 minutes for lunch. Eating is also done at a breathtaking pace, and despite our improved dexterity with chopsticks, we had no chance of keeping up.

We have now traveled by train and bus to southern China and crossed the border to Luang Namtha in Laos. So, we gradually escaped the eternal autumn and returned to summer.

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