It’s been a little bit more than a year since we went to China. I am finally writing a blog post about it!! We spent ten days in this beautiful country and I can tell you that I can’t even call it scratching the surface. It’s definitely too short to experience it all. After all, China is the fourth largest country in the world.
Let me start this by talking about the very important step you should take before going – applying for a visa. Almost all nationalities need a visa to enter China unless you are a citizen of Singapore, Japan and Brunei or if you meet one of the visa exemption requirements.
As a US citizen, we were eligible to apply for a ten-year visa so that’s what we got. I highly suggest getting that even though you do not currently have any plans to go multiple times just because you will be paying the same amount whether you’re applying for a one-year or ten-year visa and it will save you all the troubles of re-applying in case you decided to go back. Which I don’t doubt, you will.
What you will need to apply for your Chinese visa:
- Original signed passport with at least six months of remaining validity and blank visa pages, and a copy of the passport’s data page and the photo page if it is separate (make sure you bring a copy, we forgot it and there’s no copier inside the embassy so we had to go out and find one which was two blocks away from their embassy in SF).
- A completed Visa Application Form with a photo on glossy photo paper glued onto the form – make sure your photo meets the requirements (different than the usual passport photos), otherwise you can get denied on your application or you would have to use one of their photo booth machines that are inside the embassy but be prepared to pay more.
- Documents showing the itinerary including air ticket booking record (round trip) and proof of a hotel reservation, etc. or an invitation letter issued by a relevant entity or individual in China.
Once you already obtained your visa, the fun begins!
OUR FIRST STOP – BEIJING!
WHERE WE STAYED: FOUR SEASONS HOTEL BEIJING – good food, warm staff, great location – everything that you’ll need in a hotel and more!
Wearing Socialite dress in mustard. Shop all my favorite yellow/mustard dresses here.
Check out the trendiest one piece swimsuits here.
WHAT TO DO/SEE:
PHOENIX MEDIA CENTER – when we went, the place was closed to public. We were fortunate enough to be given visitor passes via our contact from Four Seasons Beijing. This is probably one of the sickest architecture I’ve ever seen. We had a tour of the whole place and we were told that they are getting ready to open the building to the public in the future.
TEMPLE OF HEAVEN – by this time, we are already used to waking up early to beat the crowd when we travel. But China is an exception – you can never beat the crowd. We went to this place at 6:30AM hoping to be the first ones to get inside the temple. Unfortunately, to get to the actual temple inside, you have to wait till 8:00AM. But even then, there were already tour groups waiting and sure enough, everyone flew in right after the gate opened. My tip is to go straight to the left, right or back of the temple because everyone goes to the front and it looks symmetrical on all sides so you’d still get an empty shot.
My gorgeous custom-made dress is from Fame and Partners.
THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA – you can’t go to Beijing and miss The Great Wall – you just can’t! I mean, after spending all your childhood learning about history and reading about it, how can you just pass up on the opportunity to finally see it? It is just as impressive as you’ve read on books, what I didn’t expect was that it was also fun to go up and down the wall. You can either hike or ride a gondola going up. We took the gondola since we didn’t have enough time to hike and I personally think the views were better, and then to go back, we slid down a winding trail, which was my favorite part.
There are two popular gates that are accessible to public and closer to Beijing – the Badaling and Mutianyu gates. I would recommend going to Mutianyu if you want a less crowded experience. Key word “less”. Disclaimer: It is never really not crowded anywhere you go, but at least Mutianyu is LESS crowded.
SUMMER PALACE – it is the largest and most well-preserved royal park in China. You can find lakes, palaces, and gardens here and it’s a very good place to take leisurely walks with family and friends.
798 ART DISTRICT– lined with contemporary art galleries, this place also has a wide range of restaurants, bars and hip cafes. It’s a very cool spot to visit when you’re in Beijing. We even saw a movie being shot while we were there.
Wearing Socialite dress in mustard. Shop all my favorite yellow/mustard dresses here.
WANGFUJING FOOD MARKET- it’s the most popular night market in Beijing and offers a multitude of snacks from all corners of China. My eyes were so full just by looking at all the food stands. I recommend this place 10/10. Another night market that you can visit is the Donghuamen Night Market. We didn’t get to go last time, so please let me know how it is if you ever go. 🙂
NEXT STOP: ZHANGJIAJIE NATIONAL FOREST PARK
WHERE WE STAYED: PULLMAN HOTELS ZHANGJIAJIE – so happy that we stayed here. It’s on a very convenient location proximal to the park’s entrance. We walked for 15 minutes to get to the park’s gate. I have a blog post dedicated on our stay with Pullman Hotels Zhangjiaje if you’re interested to check it out.
WHAT TO DO/SEE:
THE WHOLE PARK! – The unique landscape of the park helped inspire the floating Hallelujiah Mountains of Pandora in the famous movie Avatar. If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend that you do. I only watched it four times in the theaters when it first came out. LOL
Entrance to the park. From here, we took a gondola up to the mountains.
AVATAR OR HALLELUJIAH MOUNTAIN – the vertical pillars covered in dense green foliage will really take your breath away.
We saw some monkeys while hiking. Beware though, cause although they look cute and harmless, we were told that they can get really aggressive especially when you have food.
One day is not enough to explore the whole area. So if you ever plan on going, which I think you really should, plan to give yourself enough time to really take in the beauty of this place. Here are some of the other things that you should check out while in the park:
Glass Bridge in Grand Canyon
Tianmen Mountain
Baofeng Lake
Yellow Dragon Cave
NEXT STOP: SHANGHAI
We decided to take a train to Shanghai for the experience of it and to save money from flights. The 22-hour flight was not brutal, as what we expected. Not at all! You get bathroom amenities and a bed. So think of it as another way to save money on a night in a hotel too. I love snacking while in transit so we bought snacks beforehand. There are a lot of stores outside the train station and my favorite was the spicy chicken sandwich as well as the local chips that we got from a convenient store. We mostly ate and slept the whole train ride and next thing we knew we arrived in the big city of Shanghai!
WHERE WE STAYED: FOUR SEASONS HOTEL PUDONG- the hotel is centrally located and we loved our room view. The Shanghai Financial Tower and other iconic buildings are just minutes walk away too.
Swimsuit from L*Space Bikinis and Swimsuits.
WHAT TO DO/SEE:
YU GARDEN – It’s one of the most visited garden in Shanghai so make sure you come early.
White dress from Cesila. Discover the cutest white dresses here.
THE BUND- we came for sunset and we were so amazed by how much people come here to watch the buildings light up at night. It was such a beautiful sight and I can say it’s one of my most favorite skylines.
SHANGHAI WORLD FINANCIAL CENTER- it’s the second tallest skyscraper in the city. The exterior is very interesting as it looks like a bottle opener. It’s not as tall as its neighboring building, the Shanghai Tower, but we chose to come here due to their Skywalk on the 100th floor made of transparent glass. We also went at night after watching sunset from the Bund to admire the city lights.
YU TEMPLE – we just accidentally stumbled upon the temple while looking for Yu Garden. I liked the vibe here though. It is the most significant Taoist temple in Shanghai so expect that it will be busy here.
Our ten days in China was short and sweet. But it gives us all the more reasons to go back and explore this huge and beautiful country. I am hoping to explore Chengdu, Xian, Guangxi and Jiangsu next. Is China on your bucketlist too? Let me know in the comments if you have any questions. 🙂
xo,
Cherrie
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Do you recommend visiting the Great Wall with a tour group? I was wondering about the language difference and getting around. Love your photos and your story. Thanks.
Author
I don’t think it’s necessary. Although you can always learning something from a guide. But just going around is pretty easy and straightforward.
Looks an awesome destination to spend a vacation. Thanks for sharing through your photos and words.
Author
Very beautiful country! You should def go.
I’ve always wanted to go to China. I haven’t started my research yet, so thanks for posting your article. Very helpful.
Author
I hope you get to go soon as there’s so much to explore! 🙂
Very interesting read. You were there a year ago? I never dare to wait so long writing a post since I’m afraid too many things might change. However, the mood remains, right?! I’d love to visit the wall one day.
Author
I hope it is still the same. But I’m open to people correcting me if some data are outdated. But I mostly checked all the info so they should be current.
Thanks for bringing back such memories. I agree with your that 10 days is only scratching the surface. Every place we visited caused us want to see more. We are so sorry we missed the Summer Palace in Beijing. But we just ran out of time. We will have to add the Zhangjiajie National Park for our next visit.
The Great Wall has always fascinated me! If I ever get to China, that’s a must-see. I’m glad to hear you enjoyed your trip!
WOW, you’ve been to three beautiful places in China! i’ve been to Beijing too, it is indeed one of the best places I’ve visited And the great wall of China was a dream come true. Looking at your photos make me wanna plan a trip to Zhangjiajie Park.
Cool photos!!! Thanks for sharing, looks an awesome destination to spend a vacation.