China. It's our first foray into the Asian giant, its growth is unstoppable. Ancient culture, untamed nature, ethnic diversity, avant-garde cities make up a country of enormous contrasts that will leave you fascinated. Everything here is different. Its gastronomy is exciting. Dare to visit the rural areas, not only the icons, they will not disappoint you.
Rice Terrace Ping An
Visa
Spanish citizens need a visa to enter China. You can use the following website, remember that this type of agency charges an additional price for their services that can even be almost the same as the visa itself. The amount also varies depending on the number of entries to the country. However, you can also get one at the Chinese Embassy in Madrid.
Li river Yangshuo
Money
The official currency is the Renminbi (RMB). Its monetary unit is the Yuan (CNY).
Language
The main language is Mandarin which is based on the dialect of the Han ethnic group. It is difficult to communicate, the vast majority do not speak English and only with written words you can reach your destination. Useful words: xie xie (thank you), ni hao (hello)
Great Wall
Transport
Transport works very well both by land and air and at affordable prices. The problem is that there are hundreds of thousands of Chinese people on the move and sometimes it is better to book. On this trip we did not book any.
The trains are quite modern and cover distances of up to twelve hours, although sometimes it is not easy to get a sleeping car.
It is only possible to rent a car with a driver.
Forbidden City
Accommodation
Bargaining is present in the life of the Orientals even in accommodation. It is easy to find accommodation available at a good price, in general it is quite clean. In most of the bathrooms there are no toilets so you have to get used to squatting. They do not use toilet paper either.
Health
Before starting your trip contact the international disease service.
Don't forget a first aid kit with the essentials: medicines, betadine, antibiotic ointment, syringes, flint, bandages, band-aids, scissors, water pills, mosquito net, mosquito repellent, sun cream.
Pingyao
Safety
Before travelling it is advisable to have travel insurance, not only health insurance but also civil liability insurance. Asian countries in general are quite safe although you should take basic precautions.
Gastronomy
In China there is a great variety of foods that are totally unknown in the West, blue, black, green eggs, sometimes with chicken inside; chicken legs, animal entrails, very spicy vegetables, also have duck, chicken (sometimes black), pork, beef, fish, always accompanied by noodles or rice.
The dim sum or the dumplins. It is very well known the Hot Pot, they serve you boiling water with vegetables and scald the meat and fish accompanied with bean sauce, very rich.
Terracotta Warriors Xian
Most of the restaurants do not have a menu or they are written in Chinese so if they do not have photographs it is better to choose the dish of someone who is already sitting at the table. You don't have to be afraid of not knowing what you are ordering, in general the taste is delicious and if you don't like it for very little money you can order another dish.
The national beer is very tasty and has little graduation, the one I liked the most was the Lee.
Society
China is one of the most populated countries in the world and the ethnic and cultural diversity is immense. However they have many things in common apart from the Han language (even though there are dialects), they throw all the garbage on the ground regardless of whether they are in a natural paradise or in the middle of the city, and of course they spit.
Although since the 2008 Olympics the Chinese government has been trying to change this custom by installing spittoons and no-spit signs in many places, it is so ingrained that it is impossible not to hear and see them do it.
Ping An
Bargaining is an art that they are very good at, they are born traders, you have to be very skilful and invest a lot of time to get the desired price. The problem is that you have to haggle from a bottle of water, the accommodation to any souvenir.
Chinese children wear trousers with a slit in the crotch so that they can be easily evacuated anywhere, sometimes in their parents' arms.
Sleeping
The Chinese are very superstitious and gambling. The number 4 brings them bad luck, it is omitted in many buildings.
In China social networks like Facebook are not allowed.
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