China is a fascinating country, with centuries of rich history and culture, and vast landscapes of grasslands, deserts, mountain ranges, lakes, and rivers.
It can be quite the culture shock for a first-time visitor. At some point during your visit, you’ll have to deal with smog, chopsticks, and government bureaucracy—but you will be blown away at their preserved culture, authentic cuisine and traditions, like theater, they still practice today.
Visiting China was one of my more memorable trips to date!
I traveled through the Shaanxi region in October, which happens to be off-season, so I didn’t come across as many tourists as expected and the weather was nice and cool. I found the locals to be friendly, accommodating, and quite curious as to what a tall, blonde girl was doing roaming the streets of their remote cities!
Shaanxi is also home to the Terracotta Army, a collection of terracotta warriors and horses sculpted to depict the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. It was such an overwhelming sight to see, and something that I got to (excitedly) check off my bucket list.
With activities from visiting the Muslim Street market, to riding bikes through Xi’an, to hiking the deadliest trail in the world…
After having visited South-East Asia I do believe it would be interesting to visit that country where all those bus loads of tourists are from 😉 It looks like an amazing place to visit and I might just push it up my bucket list. Many thanks for inspiration!
Coming from the Chinese culture, the photo kissing the general is so disrespectful and offensive. All the other delightful images / the blog post just got ruined by that photo. I think if you really understand the culture, you would not post a photo like that.
Hi there Fanny! I see you’re sharing this from California, so I’m not sure if you’ve been to Xi’an or are speaking as someone from Chinese background. I was in Xi’an as a guest of a group of local Chinese people and plenty of Chinese people were also taking the same photo. They’re not the actual Terra Cotta soldiers. They’re replications in a staged photo opportunity area for tourists to get a photo. Could you please explain why it’s offensive so other visitors will know why? Because even double checking with my friends in China, they don’t understand your comment.
Amen to that! Heck the general would be flattered to have that kiss…. I love your photos and can’t wait to see these places in December!