8 Off-the-beaten-track sights along Ancient Silk Road

China’s Silk Road refers to a network of ancient trade routes crossing Asia from China to Europe, and now becomes an epic journey among adventurous travelers dreaming of the off-the-beaten-track sights hiding in the sand dunes of desert, vast stretches of mountains and exotic cities all along. Travel along the ancient Silk Road with the off-the-beaten-track sights, you will throughout history and back to over 1000 years ago – caravans came and went, regions arrived in China with important relics…

Easytourchina itineraries following the Silk Road
15-day China Silk Road Discovery
15-day Silk Road Adventure at Soft Grade
12-day Essence of the Silk Road Tour

Qinghai Lake and Bird Island - In Mongolian, Qinghai Lake is called Kukuruo'er, and in Tibetan, Cuowenbo, both of which mean blue sea. It is the largest salt-water lake in China lying 3,200 meters above sea level, and embraced by high mountains. At its northeast end are the "Bird Islands", where countless migrating birds fly in and out. Visitors can hear the warbles of birds from miles away.

Mount Maiji Grottoes – the 1500-year-old Mount Maiji Grottoes were first built in Later Qin of Sixteen States (384-417), and now boasts 194 grottoes linked by zigzagging jutting plank roads, with 7,200 pieces of clay statues and stone carvings and more than 1,300 sq meters of frescoes.



Zhangye Danxia Landform - Zhangye's unique Danxia landform with a total area of approximately 410 square kilometers do create a very strong visual shock for adventurous travelers. Admire the Danxia cliffs, stone walls, pillars and peaks, eroded caves, table mountain terrain…

Jiayuguan Fort – 7 km southwest of Jiayuguan city, Jiayugyan Fort is the west end of the Great Wall built in Ming Dynasty. It is the most magnificent and best-preserved ancient military fort in China. Climb atop on Jiayuguan Fort for sweeping views! The Overhanging Great Wall nearby is also a great draw for travelers along the Silk Road.

Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang - Mogao Grottoes is the greatest treasure house of Buddhist art with innumerous sculptures, murals and manuscripts, and a glittering pearl that adorns the Silk Road.

Mingsha Dune & Crescent Lake –Minghsha Dune (or Singing Sand Mountains) is the first in a series of thousands of dunes that make up the Taklamakan Desert. And the Crescent Lake is an oasis Gobi desert lies at the foot of Minghsha Dune. Legend has that people have never seen Crescent Lake covered by sand, despite thousands of years of sand erosion.

Turpan Grape Valley – In the oasis city of Turpan, a vast areas of grapes valley is a paradise to keep away the surrounding desert heat. Feast on all kinds of grapes, and sip a fresh glass of white wine made by Uygur people.

Great Wall of Han Dynasty – located in Dunhuang, the walls were 1000 years earlier than the Great Wall of Ming Dynasty that we usually talk about and made of local sand and weed. However, it is now in danger! Only a few broken sections and several towers distorted beyond recognition are standing still, due to nature erosion and artificial damage.

Practical Tips on Buying Jade in China

Reputed for its beauty, grace, purity and bringing good fortune, jade stones has become a very popular keepsake among souvenir hunters and talented jade enthusiasts when visiting China. All top China destinations as Beijing,Hong Kong, Shanghai offer a vast assortment of jade carvings and jade jewelries including earrings, pendants, bracelets, etc. However, the market is now flooded with imitation jade – sometimes being passed off as genuine. How to tell apart the real ones and fake ones? Here some tips on buying jade in China.

What to buy in China

1. Check the jade type. There are generally three grades of jade: A, B and C. All grades, from A - C, are real jade just of differing quality and value. Only type A jade is the naturally produced stone. While type B & C are processed with chemicals or added with artificial colorings to various degrees. It is worth noticing that deep green and white jade are relatively rare and the most expensive ones.

2. Purchase from a reputable seller. Despite the street pedlar may offer pretty “jade stones” at good prices, we suggest you purchase high quality jade in reputable seller, which can ensure product quality, and better handle post sales issues.

3. Ask for a certificate of authenticity. Shop around first to get to know the market value of certain prices. And for a high-grade piece of jade, a serious vendor should be able to offer a certificate of authenticity, which indicates the jade has been scanned and checked with authorities.

4. Some practical and helpful tips to buy jade. The real jade should be tough, smooth and cool to touch, without scratches on the surface. Choose the one with intense colors. Fake jade can often feel lighter than the real one. For translucent jade, which comes from the water, slightly striking it will produce a vibrational frequency. And for mountain jade articles, shine the light through the stones, the light will heighten the difference between the shades of green. But with fake jade, the light will only make it blurry.

5. Imitation jade can be fun too. Always beware scams and tricks when buying jade in China, but for the seller who is upfront about exactly what they are selling – imitation jade made from glass, plastic or other kinds of materials just on the right price, you may also take some as they can be interesting and pretty too.

Basic Table Manners in China

China has long been known as a nation of rites. People attach importance to politeness, courtesy and comity on any formal occasion, whether it is a wedding ceremony, a celebration party, or a banquet. Traditional Chinese customs have even spread throughout East Asia. As they say, When in Rome, do as the Romans do. The following baic table manners will help you initially master the Chinese dinner etiquette and ensure a pleasant dining experience.

Know  Chinese food & drinking

1. The typical seating arrangement is a part of Chinese dining etiquette. That is to say the respectable members, usually the elders or the guest of honor are given the best place – the place at the head of the table. It is discourteous to seat guests at the place where the dishes are served.
2. Dinning may only begin provided both the hosts and guests are seated. To better serve the small groups of guests, square dining tables are more often used than rectangular tables to permit easy sharing.



3. All the food is to be shared, except your own bowl of rice. The dishes are placed in the center of the table, and everyone can feel free to help yourself. Please remember not to make any noise when chewing the food.
4. Respect the chopstick, and you should not lick chopsticks, use them to stir up the food, point them at others, or even worse, stick them in the middle of the rice bowl. While waiting for the next course of dish, the chopsticks should be put on the chopstick rest.

5. Tea is usually served in a formal Chinese dinning. The one sitting closest to the teapot should pour tea for others. When the tea is served one should say “thank you” or make a gesture of thanks. However, the host should not let guests pour tea.

6. Make a toast to the senior. Conventionally, the host will make a first toast to everyone present to start the dining. When someone toasts you, you should immediately stop eating and drink to accept and toast in response. Toasts will continue to be made throughout the dinner. However, it is impolite to urge others to drink.



7. It is ok for you to stand up and reach for your food, if there is not a lazy Susan. When the dinner is over, the host will stand up and offer the final toast. Guests are expected to leave immediately thereafter.
8. Dress cheerfully When you are invited to a Chinese New Year party or a wedding ceremony (completely in black is not a wise choice).

Know more about Chinese table manners

Shopping in Guangzhou

Guangzhou has long been acclaimed as a shopping paradise due to its commercial development, especially in import & export industry and electronics industries. Visitors coming to Guangzhou for sightseeing or the biannual Canton Fair usually would like to allow one day or half a day for crazy shopping. In Guangzhou’s seas of shopping centers and malls, as well as the wholesale markets, there are tens of thousands of various products including clothing, toys, IT products and so much more. Most of them are at very low price!

Clothes Wholesales Markets
Baima Market (Add: No.16, Zhannan Rd, Yuexiu District, opposite Guangzhou Railway Station)
Xindadi (famous for woolen sweaters and cardigans; situated opposite Baima)
Zhanxi Garment market (Add: No.1-4, Zhan Xi Rd, Yuexiu District)
Hongmian Clothes Market (famous for women's clothing; at F1, 2 and 3, No.184, Huanshi Xi Rd)



Popular Shopping Centers

Beijing RoadLocated in the city center, it is Guangzhou’s oldest and biggest shopping district, teeming with shops selling trendy clothes, shoes, purses, good food… strolling here, you can have a glance at the ancient lanes of Song and Ming Dynasties.

Shangxia Jiu Lu Pedestrian StreetShangxia Jiu Lu Pedestrian Street at the Liwan District is the city’s No.1 commercial pedestrian street, home to over 200 stores and some brand name restaurants and teahouses. Here, you can see Qilou, an old building style on both sides of the roads.



Zhuangyuan FangFor those young people interested in Japanese or Korean style clothes, go to Zhuangyuan Fang on Renmin Nan Road. It is 200 meters long, but packed with fashionable clothes, ornaments, and small articles.
Add: Zhuangyuan Fang, Renmin Nan Lu
Global International Shoes Trade Center or Bu Yun Tian DiIt is a world of shoes, where you can find all kinds of locally made shoes with low prices. Usually, people can pay about 150 to 200 RMB (about 20 or 30 USD) for a pair of shoes that might be sold for two or three times or more in the US.
Add: No. 26, Zhan Xi Rd, Yuexiu District
China Plaza (Zhonghua Guangchang) and surrounding shopping area
China Plaza attracts locals with a blend of shopping, catering and entertainment. Next to it, Fashion Frontline offers various products from Japan, America and Taiwan. Besides, popular Dynasty Underground Mall is just a block away.
Add: Zhongshan Third Road of Yuexiu District



Hualing Jadeware Street & Wende Calligraphy and Painting Street
Located on Xia Jiu Lu, Hualin Jadeware Street is a place for jade jewelry, while Wende Calligraphy and Painting Street neighboring the Beijing Road is for traditional Chinese style calligraphy,  paintings and other craftworks.

Local Specialty in GuangzhouApart from those inexpensive clothes and shoes, visitors are also suggested to buy some local specialties, such as Canton Sculpture, Canton Embroidery, Canton Bacon and Wang Laoji Herbal Tea, a kind of medicine that is helpful to cool people off after eating spicy food.

8 Family-friendly Activities on China Trip

Forbidden City? historical museums? Or Buddha temples? Actually there are few children fond of these when visiting China. If you travel with kids, you’d better try others. For your sake, we have a list of 8 delightful destinations and activities to try in China that should satisfy both you and your “difficult” kids.

1. Riding up and down Great Wall

Given the wonder’s historical significance and magnificent construction, Standing atop the Great Wall is a lifetime experience. To flee from the noisy crowd, Mutianyu Great Wall, 70 km northeast of Beijing is the best choice with kids. Yet it is hard for kids to climb up. Luckily Mutianyu has a 723-meter-long cable car that helps take kids to the top (640 meters above sea level) and a toboggan ride down to the valley via a 1,580-meter track, which will surely bring kids fun.

2. Hug with panda

Animal is a classic theme for family travel. And when touring China, try giant panda – the country’s rare treasure. Sichuan is home to this lovely creature and several Giant Panda Breeding and Research Centers, where you and your kids can observe the animals, or pay extra fee to be a panda volunteer feeding and taking care of them, or even hugging a panda and take a picture with it！

3. Bamboo rafting in Yangshuo

Yangshuo resembles a Chinese landscape painting, a perfect blend of misty mountains and tranquil waters. If you are in Yangshuo with children, go for a lively bamboo rafting along Li River or Yulong River. Encourage your youngster’s imagination to name for the fantastically shaped limestone mountains on both banks, watch the quaint villages along slowly fade out. Why not rent a water gun? Kids are most likely to have fun with it.

4. Acrobatics in Shanghai

Like magic tricks, acrobatics can always fascinate children. While Chinese acrobatics, a gem of China traditional performing arts will amaze even the hard-to-impress teenagers. Shanghai's main show, "Era, Intersection of Time", uses the fantastic acrobatic skills to combine the present and future, the oriental China and the Western World, the fashion and Nostalgia, culminating with motorcyclists zigzagging upside-down and all-around inside an on-stage globe.

5. Learning Chinese Kung-Fu

Children visiting China deserve a Kung-Fu class. Many places in China including some hotels, Hulongs in Beijing can arrange a Kung-Fu class with a large selection of subjects, from Tai Chi to Shaolin Martial Arts. However, if the older children or teenagers want a high-level practice or learning, try the training course taught by master in Shaolin Temple - the cradle of Chinese martial arts.

6. Kites flying

Another delightful family activity when touring China is kite flying. People usually fly kites in the central parks, where children can run and play with their peers, while the parents will have an opportunity to meet local people, watching them dancing, playing cards and chess. Recommended parks for kites flying are Temple of Heaven or Ritan Park in Beijing, and Fuxing Park in Shanghai.

7. Playing with funny street food

Whet your appetite with tasty, interesting street food in China. It is also a quick source of entertainment for children. The snack street is never shortage of bizarre patents, such as scorpions, centipedes and even sea horses, apart from “plain-looking” Baozi, dumplings and noodles. In Beijing’s temple fair, you can see another funny food - Sugar Painting, a traditional street food made of sucrose and maltose into figures, animals, flowers and other shapes. Take photos with these cute things!

8. Riding a bike to the countryside

If you're in China with children and looking an opportunity to burn off kids' energy, go for a bike ride. Tourists in Yangshuo of Guilin can cycle to explore the countryside, watching the farmers plowing by hand, which is something children won’t forget. Or ride around Xian’s Old City Wall to enjoy a good view of this ancient capital, comparing its past and nowadays.

Contact us for more info on family-friendly activities in China.

Top Ideas for Weekend Excursions outside Shanghai

Standing on the estuary of Yangtze River, Shanghai is the economic, international trade, cultural, science and technology center of East China and a top tourist destination, hence attracting various talents and countless tourists abroad. And yet, many of them desire to explore some areas close to Shanghai as well. Here are seven choices within half a day (except Mountain Huangshan) from Shanghai for best weekend getaways.

Click here for the best Shanghai tours.

(Night Shanghai)

Zhujiajiao Water town

About 50 kilometers away from the city center, Zhujiajiao is the closest water town to Shanghai, featuring both historic sites and natural scenery. Take a fantastic cruise down through the rivers to glimpse at its 36 ancient bridges and more than 1000 ancient houses dating back to Ming and Qing Dynasties on the banks. Some time-honored temples are also worth a visit.

(Zhujiajiao Water town)

Xitang Ancient Town

Xitang finds itself about 90 kilometers from Shanghai, but looks like a completely different world: cobbled streets, old buildings, arching bridges, crisscrossed rivers, rowing boats and overall slow-paced lifestyle. It maintains many well-preserved architectural structures from the Ming and Qing dynasties and is known as one of the six ancient towns in southern China.

(Xitang Ancient Town)

Suzhou City

The high speed train takes only half an hour from Shanghai to Suzhou (100 km apart), which is well known for resplendent gardens and beautiful scenery. Among the over 100 surviving ancient gardens, Humble Administrator's Garden, Garden of the Net Master, Lingering Garden and Lion Grove are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Grand Canal passes through the city and make it "Venice of Orient".

(Garden of the Net Master in Suzhou)

Hanghzou City

About 200 km away from Shanghai, Hangzhou is also a metropolis reputed as "paradise on earth". Marco Polo described it as “the most beautiful and elegant city in the world” in 13th century. West Lake ranks the top among all attractions in Hangzhou. Besides, it is also famous for the production of tea and silk.

(West Lake in winter)

Nanjing City

Nanjing finds itself 300 Km or so from Shanghai. It is a nice and modern city yet teeming with amazing historic sites, as it ever served as the capital of 6 dynasties.

(Ancient Gate in Nanjing)

Wuzhen Water Town

Ancient docks, waterside pavilions and corridors, stone railings and bridges, arched gates across the street, imposing dwellings and spacious courtyards typify the elegant water town of Wuzhen. It is located at the center of the triangle formed by Shanghai, Hangzhou and Nanjing.

(Wuzhen)

Mountain Huangshan

It will take a 6-hour driving from the city center of Shanghai to Mountain Huangshan, as they are 672 km apart. Mountain Huangshan is widely recognized as the most beautiful mountain in China with breathtaking landscape. Hiking up the mountain by different trails. Besides, the two traditional villages of Xidi and Hongcun nearby are also worth a visit.

(Mountain Huangshan)

Our Weekend Getaway in Huangmei Village in July, 2013

What’s your plan for this hot summer time? As for Easy Tour China team, we took a delightful weekend getaway to a small COOL village named Huangmei near Guilin in mid-July. In Huangmei, which was seemingly a world away, we had so much fun and were so relaxed, by swimming, dabbling in water and water fighting with all green mountains surrounding. It was just great to have such a break after one week of intense work schedules. 

(Water fighting to cool off)

Huangmei Village is located in the valley of Dongjiang River in Lingchuan Country, about 50 km away from downtown Guilin. The Dongjiang River is actually a cool stream that twists through rolling mountains and dense forests. Residential houses and wood bridges scatter here and there. Given its advantageous landscape, many people from the nearby areas also like to drift here along the stream. After escaping the crowds, we were quickly revived by the fresh air, tranquil ambience, as well as the singing birds and the pleasant murmur of creeks.

(This place is sheer beautiful.)

Moreover, for such an enthusiastic group like us, it's no surprise that we took a series of exciting outdoor activities, such as swimming competition, hiking, reflex games and so forth, which offered so much joy and attracted everyone of us to participate. It’s also worth mentioning that the food we had in the local restaurant was so good! All those cuisine materials and ingredients were virtually home grown, fresh and delicious!


(Have a rest on the suspension bridge after hiking)


(Exciting activities)


(Cheers!)


(Let's take a picture!)


(Look at the clear green water)