Ranking alongside the Great Wall and the Forbidden City as one of China's top historical sights, the 2000-year-old Terracotta Army remains a stunningly well preserved, perpetually vigilant force standing guard over an ancient imperial necropolis. Almost as extraordinary is a pair of bronze chariots and horses on display in a museum by the main entrance.
The discovery of the Army was, like many major discoveries, entirely serendipitous. In 1974 peasants digging a well uncovered what turned out to be perhaps the major archaeological discovery of the 20th century: an underground vault of earth and timber that eventually yielded thousands of life-size terracotta soldiers and their horses in battle formation. In 1976 two other smaller vaults were discovered close to the first one.
The 6000 terracotta figures of warriors and horses face east in a rectangular battle array. Every figure differs in facial features and expressions. The horsemen are shown wearing tight-sleeved outer robes, short coats of chain mail and wind-proof caps. The archers have bodies and limbs positioned in strict accordance with an ancient book on the art of war.
Archaeologists believe the warriors discovered so far may be part of an even larger terracotta army still buried around the Tomb of Qin Shihuang. Excavation of the entire complex and the tomb itself could take decades.
Forbidden City
- Address
- Dongcheng District, Beijing
- Phone
- tel: (010) 6513 2255 (info)
- Transport
- underground rail: Tiananmen Xi, Tiananmen Dong
- Hours
- May-Sep 08:30 - 16:00 , Oct-Apr 08:30 - 15:30
- Web
- www.dpm.org.cn
- Keyword
- royal
The Forbidden City, so called because it was off limits for 500 years, is the largest and best-preserved cluster of China's ancient buildings. It was home to two dynasties of emperors, the Ming and the Qing, who didn't stray from this pleasure dome unless they absolutely had to. Allow yourself a full day, or perhaps several trips if you're an enthusiast.
On the north-south axis of the Forbidden City, from the Gate of Heavenly Peace in the south to Divine Military Genius Gate to the north, lie the palace's ceremonial buildings. Restored in the 17th century, Meridian Gate is a massive portal that in former times was reserved for the use of the emperor. Across the Golden Stream is Supreme Harmony Gate, overlooking a massive courtyard that could hold an imperial audience of up to 100,000 people.
Raised on a marble terrace with balustrades are the Three Great Halls, the heart of the Forbidden City. The Hall of Supreme Harmony is the most important and the largest structure in the Forbidden City. Built in the 15th century, and restored in the 17th century, it was used for ceremonial occasions, such as the emperor's birthday, the nomination of military leaders and coronations.
Grand Buddha
- Address
- Leshan
- Keyword
- monument, religious/spiritual
The serenely seated Grand Buddha, carved into a cliff face, is the pride and joy of the city, a spiritual uncle. Qualifying as the largest Buddha in the world he's 71m (233ft) high, his ears are 7m (23ft) long, his insteps 8.5m (28ft) broad, and you could picnic on the nail of his big toe - the toe itself is 8.5m (28ft) long. Holy smokes!
A Buddhist monk called Haitong started the whole thing in AD 713, hoping that the Buddha would calm the swift currents and protect boatmen from lethal currents in river hollows. Well, the big guy 'matured' slowly, finally completed 90 years after Haitong's death. Surplus rocks from the sculpting filled the river hollow and did the trick, but locals insist it's really the calming effect of the Buddha.
It's worth looking at the Grand Buddha from several angles. While the easiest way to see him is to walk along the riverfront on Binhe Lu, you need to get closer to him to really appreciate his magnitude. You can go to the top, opposite the head, and then descend a short stairway to the feet for a Lilliputian perspective.
Great Wall
- Phone
- tel: (010) 6912 1338 (info)
- tel: (010) 6912 1423 (info)
- tel: (010) 6912 1520 (info)
- Transport
- bus: 919 to Badaling from Deshengmen, about 500m E of Beijing's Jishuitan subway stop
- Hours
- summer: 06:00 - 22:00 ; winter: 07:00 - 18:00
- Keyword
- architectural highlight
The Great Wall (Changcheng) wriggles fitfully from its scattered remains in Liaoning province to Jiayuguan in the Gobi Desert. The wall was begun over 2000 years ago, required thousands of workers - many of whom were political prisoners - and 10 years of hard labour. Legend has it that one of the building materials used was the bones of deceased workers.
An estimated 180 million cubic metres of rammed earth were used to form the core of the original wall.
The wall never really did perform its function as an impenetrable line of defence. As Genghis Khan supposedly said, 'The strength of a wall depends on the courage of those who defend it'. Sentries could be bribed.
However, it did work very well as a kind of elevated highway, transporting people and equipment across mountainous terrain. Its beacon tower system, using smoke signals generated by burning wolves' dung, transmitted news of enemy movements quickly back to the capital. To the west was Jiayuguan, an important link on the Silk Road, where there was a customs post of sorts and where unwanted Chinese were ejected through the gates to face the terrifying wild west.
The myth that the Great Wall is visible with the naked eye from the moon was finally laid to rest in 2003, when China's first astronaut Yang Liwei observed that he could not see the barrier from space. The myth is to be edited from Chinese textbooks, where it has cast its spell over generations of Chinese.
Great Wall
- Phone
- tel: (010) 6912 1338 (info)
- tel: (010) 6912 1423 (info)
- tel: (010) 6912 1520 (info)
- Transport
- bus: 919 to Badaling from Deshengmen, about 500m E of Beijing's Jishuitan subway stop
- Hours
- summer: 06:00 - 22:00 ; winter: 07:00 - 18:00
- Keyword
- architectural highlight
The Great Wall (Changcheng) wriggles fitfully from its scattered remains in Liaoning province to Jiayuguan in the Gobi Desert. The wall was begun over 2000 years ago, required thousands of workers - many of whom were political prisoners - and 10 years of hard labour. Legend has it that one of the building materials used was the bones of deceased workers.
An estimated 180 million cubic metres of rammed earth were used to form the core of the original wall.
The wall never really did perform its function as an impenetrable line of defence. As Genghis Khan supposedly said, 'The strength of a wall depends on the courage of those who defend it'. Sentries could be bribed.
However, it did work very well as a kind of elevated highway, transporting people and equipment across mountainous terrain. Its beacon tower system, using smoke signals generated by burning wolves' dung, transmitted news of enemy movements quickly back to the capital. To the west was Jiayuguan, an important link on the Silk Road, where there was a customs post of sorts and where unwanted Chinese were ejected through the gates to face the terrifying wild west.
The myth that the Great Wall is visible with the naked eye from the moon was finally laid to rest in 2003, when China's first astronaut Yang Liwei observed that he could not see the barrier from space. The myth is to be edited from Chinese textbooks, where it has cast its spell over generations of Chinese.
Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve
- Transport
- bus: from Chendu & Songpan
- Hours
- 07:00 - 18:00
- Web
- www.jiuzhaigouvalley.com
- Keyword
- valley/canyon, national park, forest
Jiuzhaigou (Nine Village Gully) refers to the nine Baima Tibetan villages that can be found in the valley. According to legend, Jiuzhaigou was created when a jealous devil caused the goddess Wunosemo to drop her magic mirror, a present from her lover the warlord God Dage. The mirror dropped to the ground and shattered into 118 shimmering turquoise lakes.
Those pools of eye candy are what lie within your dreams after you leave, along with the snow-crusted mountain peaks, and forests and meadows home to protected takins, golden monkeys and pandas.
The park is pristine, however, resort-style hotels leading up to the park entrance have 20,000 beds; over 1.5 million people per year come here. The original residents have been forced to move in order to 'protect' the park (those here actually work within the park's confines to keep up appearances). And as you're technically not allowed to strike off into the backcountry, it can be a bit disheartening as the efficient shuttle buses whiz by with an alarming regularity. A word of warning: several tour operators in Chengdu have been blacklisted by travellers for lousy service and/or rudeness. Ask around among travellers to pinpoint a reliable agency.
Summer Palace
- Address
- 19 Xinjian Gongmen, Haidian District, Beijing
- Phone
- tel: (010) 6288 1144 (info)
- Transport
- boat: Houhu Pier, behind Exhibition Center near zoo
- bus: 331, 801 from old Summer Palace
- rail: Wudaokou, then bus 331
- underground rail: Xizhimen station, then minibus or bus 375
- Hours
- 08:30 - 17:00
- Keyword
- castle
One of Beijing's most visited sights, the immense park of the Summer Palace requires at least half a day. Nowadays teeming with tour groups from China and beyond, this dominion of palace temples, gardens, pavilions, and lakes was once a playground for the imperial court. Royalty came here to elude the insufferable summer heat that roasted the Forbidden City.
The Summer Palace with its cool features - water, gardens and hills - was the palace of choice for vacationing emperors and Dowager Empresses. It was badly damaged by Anglo-French troops during the Second Opium War (1860) and its restoration became a pet project of Empress Dowager Cixi, the last of the Qing dynasty rulers. Money earmarked for a modern navy was used for the project but, in a bit of whimsical irony, the only thing that was completed was the restoration of a marble boat. The boat now sits at the edge of the lake in all its immobile and nonmilitary glory. The Palace's full restoration was hampered by the disintegration of the Qing dynasty and the Boxer Rebellion.
The place is packed to the gunwales in summer, with Beijing residents taking full advantage of Kunming Lake, which takes up three-quarters of the park. The main building is the lyrically named Hall of Benevolence and Longevity, while along the north shore is the Long Corridor, so named because it's, well, long. There's over 700m (2300ft) of corridor, filled with mythical paintings and scenes. If some of the paintings have a newish patina, that's because many of the murals were painted over during the Cultural Revolution.
Tai Shan
- Address
- Tai'an
- Phone
- tel: (0538) 827 2114 (info)
- Transport
- rail: to/from Beijing, Jinan, Yanzhou, Shanghai & Qingdao
- bus: to/from Jinan, Kaifeng, Qufu, Qingdao, Yantai, Weihai & Beijing
- Keyword
- views, religious/spiritual, mountain, physically challenging
Southern Chinese claim 'myriad mountains, rivers and geniuses' while Shandong citizens smugly contest they have 'one mountain, one river and one saint', implying they have the last word on each: Tai Shan (the most revered of China's five sacred Taoist peaks, and the most climbed mountain on earth), Huang He (the Yellow River) and Confucius .
Tai Shan is a unique experience - its supernatural allure attracts the Chinese in droves. Bixia, the Princess of the Azure Clouds, a Taoist deity whose presence permeates the temples dotted along the route, is a powerful cult figure for the rural women of Shandong and beyond. Tribes of wiry grandmothers - it's said that if you climb Tai Shan you'll live to 100 - trot up the steps with surprising ease, their target the cluster of temples at the summit where they burn money and incense, praying for their progeny. Sun worshippers muster wide-eyed on the peak, straining for the first flickers of dawn.In ancient Chinese tradition, it was believed that the sun began its westward journey from Tai Shan.
From its heights Confucius uttered the dictum 'The world is small'; Mao lumbered up and declared 'The east is red'. You too can climb up and say 'I'm knackered'.
Avoid coinciding your climb with the public holiday periods held in the first weeks of May and October, otherwise you will share the mountain with what the Chinese call 're'n shan re'n havi' - literally a 'mountain of people and a sea of persons.'
Yungang Caves
- Address
- Northern Shanxi
- Transport
- bus: 3
- Hours
- 08:30 - 18:00
winter: 08:30 - 17:00
- Keyword
- monument, religious/spiritual, cave
These caves, cut into the southern cliffs of Wuzhou Shan, contain over 50,000 Buddhist statues including the earliest Buddhist carvings in China. Images surrounding the main statues include the omnipresent '1000 Buddha' motif, flyingapsaras (angels draped in flowing silk), pagodas in bas-relief and Chinese symbols such as dragons and phoenixes.
On top of the mountain ridge are the remains of a huge, mud-brick 17th-century Qing dynasty fortress. As you approach the caves you'll see the truncated pyramids, which were once the watchtowers. Sadly, many of the caves suffer damage from coal and other pollution, largely a result of the neighbouring coal mine. At the time of writing, most of the coal trucks were being diverted to a back road, making the trip more pleasant. East of the caves you can walk to a remnant of the Great Wall.
The incredible artwork shows influences of the many foreign craftsmen, from India and Central Asia, who worked on the grottoes. There are no guides at the caves, but there are decent English descriptions and explanations for many points within.
For most travellers plastic should do the job, with ATM locations growing surely but steadily in the more sizeable cities. Credit cards are also gaining ground in China, with Visa, MasterCard, American Express (branches in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xiamen), JCB and Diners Club the most common. Cards can be used in most mid to top-range hotels, Friendship and department stores, but cannot be used to finance your transportation costs. If cards aren't an option then cash will never fail and exchanging currency is relatively easy. Out in the west and in the countryside bring a mixture of cash and travellers cheques. Counterfeit notes are a problem so make sure when using cash you examine large denomination notes when given to you as change from street vendors.
Money And Cost
Currency
- Name
- Yuan Renminbi
- Symbol
- Y
The Bank of China issues RMB bills in denominations of one, two, five, 10, 20, 50 and 100 yuan. Counterfeit notes are a problem in China. Very few Chinese will accept a Y50 or Y100.00 note without first checking to see whether or not it's a fake. Notes that are old, tattered or torn are also sometimes hard to spend. You can exchange notes for new ones at the Bank of China - counterfeits, however, will be confiscated. Local Chinese have a variety of methods for checking notes, including checking the watermark, the drawn lines (more distinct in fake notes) and colour (more pronounced in counterfeit notes). The texture of a fake note also tends to be smoother than authentic notes. Examine large denomination notes if given to you as change by street vendors; they could well be dumping a forged banknote on you.
Coins come in denominations of one yuan, five mao, one mao and five fen. Paper versions of the coins remain in circulation.
Changing Your Money
Foreign currency and travellers cheques can be changed at the main branches of the Bank of China, the tourist hotels, Friendship Stores and some department stores. Hotels usually charge the official rate. You will need to keep your exchange receipts if you want to change any of your remaining RMB at the end of your trip. Travellers cheques are the best option because they are safer and the exchange rate is more favourable than that for cash; Thomas Cook, American Express and Visa are most commonly accepted. If you have to exchange cash, stay away from less reputable sources that may try and slip you counterfeit notes.
Money Tips
All four- and five-star hotels and some top-end restaurants add a tax or 'service charge' of 10% or 15%, which extends to the room and food; all other consumer taxes are included in the price tag.
Generally, eastern China is much more expensive than the western part of the country. Visitors to eastern China could get by on around US$50.00 a day, but it would be a challenge. Budget travellers in western China should be able to keep costs down to US$25.00 per day. The main drain on savings tends to be long train journeys. Food is cheap throughout China, and if you're careful you won't have to spend much more than US$7.00 a day on meals. However, the bottom line is that you'll be charged the 'tourist price' a lot of the time.
Sample Price Guide
- food court meal
- Y 16
- American hamburger
- Y 12
- sending postcard overseas
- Y 4
- internet cafe per hour
- Y 2
- pack of 20 cigarettes
- Y 3
- small bottle of beer from corner shop
- Y 2
- draught pint of local beer from a bar
- Y 10
- International Herald Tribune
- Y 23
- city bus ticket
- Y 1
- pirated dvd
- Y 8
- litre of petrol
- Y 3
- small bottle of water
- Y 2
- souvenir t-shirt
- Y 25
- Street snack - large lamb kebab
- Y 2
Average Room Prices |
| Low | Mid | High | Deluxe |
| US$25-35 | US$35-100 | US$100-300 | US$300+ |
Average Meal Prices |
| Low | Mid | High | Deluxe |
| US$1-5 | US$5-10 | US$10-25 | US$25+ |
Getting There And Around
Getting There
Despite over 115 ports of entry and exit, most visitors to China travel via Hong Kong, Shanghai or Beijing. The national carrier is Air China, which also operates a company called Dragonair as a joint venture with the Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific (bookable through Cathay Pacific worldwide). If you are leaving China by air, there's a departure tax of Y90.00 , payable only in local currency, so be sure you have enough yuan to avoid a last-minute scramble at the airport moneychanging booth. However, there are plans to include this in the price of the air ticket so check before you fly.
You can travel to China and back from Europe or Asia without having to leave the ground. Exotic routes include Laos-China, the Trans-Siberian railway, Tibet-Nepal and Xinjiang-Kazakstan - but don't even think about bringing your own car, as foreigners are rarely allowed to drive in China. Other entry points include Zhuhai-Macau, Kashgar-Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan, via the Torugart or Irkeshtam passes), Beijing-Pyongyang (North Korea) and Pinxiang/Hekou-Dong Dang/Lao Cai (Vietnam). You can take a slow boat to China from Japan or South Korea. Popular places to sail to and from include Shanghai, Xiamen (opposite Taiwan), Tanggu (near Tianjin), Macau and - of course - Hong Kong.
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Getting Around
Now that private carriers have been allowed to set up operations in China, the Civil Aviation Adminsitration of China CAAC) has assumed the role of 'umbrella organisation' over airlines including China Eastern, China Southern, China Northern, Great Wall, Yunnan Airlines and several others. Discounting is common. There is an airport tax of Y50.00 payable on all domestic flights.
Long-distance buses are one of the best means of getting around on the ground; they're frequent and cheap (which also translates as crowded and stuffy) but there are extensive services, passable roads and interesting towns and villages en route. An even better mode is the train, which reaches into every province (including Tibet from July 2006) along a 52,000km (32,311mi) network. It's cheap, relatively fast and a safer proposition than buses; the only dangers on the trains are getting your luggage pinched or dying from shock at the state of the toilets.
As land transport improves, the romantic days of domestic boat travel are fading. But there are still a number of popular boat trips to be had between Hong Kong and the mainland. The best known river trip is the three-day cruise along the Yangzi River from Chongqing to Wuhan.
Taxis cruise most city streets; while most cabs have meters, they usually only get switched on by accident. Motorcycle taxis, motor-tricycles and/or pedicabs hunt in packs around most major train and bus stations. They're a motley bunch, but they're cheap and useful if you don't mind sudden traffic-induced adrenalin rushes. But really, once you've settled in somewhere, the best way to get around is by renting a bike and joining the pedalling throng.
With its modern design, multistorey capacity, large dorm rooms, and hotel-quality privates, this newcomer is ready to take on all competition. With a location just a stone's throw from the main train station, it looks likely to succeed. And having room service doesn't hurt at all.
