5 Tips for First Time Mountain Hikes in China

For those looking for an exciting and rewarding mountain climbing experience in China, the country boasts numerous awesome peaks with dozens of trails that are on par with the best in the world and meet all abilities and interests. However, for your first mountain hike in China, here are some basic tips and advices.

1. Assemble the perfect itinerary

No matter how many times you have reached the mountain summit, this time may be different. Therefore, take your time to plot out a route, fully understand the road/trail condition, as well as the terrain and elevation, so as to keep away from any possibility of rock fall or mud-rock flows.

2. Make sure your hiking gear is in good shape

Pack lightly, dress appropriately and comfortably, and equip yourself with some safety equipment. Do not wear high heels, even it is an easiest hike, as it may cause inconvenience or potential safety hazard. Prepare yourself alpenstock, backpack, sport hiking shoes, hat, sunglasses, glove, knee pa or anything you needs most. 

3. Keep an eye on the weather forecast

The weather in the mountainous areas changes quickly and varies from one part to another in a day. Keep abreast of the weather in order to dress accordingly and start the trip in a good weather.

4. Travel with friends or a group

It is better and safer to travel with a group. But if you are a solo traveler and decide to climb a mountain alone, make sure you bring with the safety equipment like mountaineering locator. Try not venture into the remote and dangerous trails.

5. You may need a local guide

China’s diverse mountain landscape offers a lot for mountain lovers. Many of the mountains are still untouched. Even the most detailed contour maps tend to be unreliable in these areas, so you’re suggested to hire an experienced local guide.

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Destinations for a mountain trip in China

Mt. Everest – the roof of the world

Great Wall – it winds its way across mountains like a huge dragon

Mt. Hua – China’s most precipitous mountain with thrilling plank roads

Yellow Mountain – the most scenic mountain in China

Zhangjiejie – the oddly-shaped mountain peaks inspired Avatar

Mt. Wuyishan – a UNCESCO World Natural and Cultural heritage

Top 10 Meat Dishes for Chinese Spring Festival

Finally, here comesSpring Festival (春节). Locals also call it Lunar New Year (农历新年), as it is determined by the Chinese lunar calendar. During the 15-day celebration, festivities erupt all over China and beyond. It is also a great time for foodies – you’ll never find Chinese dishes as delicious, multitudinous and traditional after Spring Festival.   

It’s a season of feast. Let’s forget about vegetarianism for a while, and enjoy a meaty meal, with 10 most famous meat dishes from different parts of China.

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1. Fried meat balls (炸丸子) from Beijing

A must-have dish for Beijingers during Spring Festival, fried meat balls can be served with spiced salt when they just come out of the fryer, or as a side dish to be stewed with rice noodles.

2. Diced pork in pot (坛子肉) from Shandong Province

You may have tried this dish in Beijing. Actually both Peking duck and diced pork in pot are originated in Shandong. Inside the humble pork, there is tantalizing streaky pork, simmered with several quail eggs or mushroom, and secret sauce.

3. Sticky rice balls with meat and lotus root (莲藕糯米圆子) from Hubei Province

A lucky food for New Year's Eve dinner, it symbolizes the family reunion.

4. Lamb stewed in iron pot (铁锅炖羊肉) from Shannxi Province

Everyone knows Shannxi people like mutton. It takes 3-5 hours for a perfect mutton stew. You can add some dry chili pepper into it if you prefer spicy taste.

5. Pig’s feet (发财猪手) from Guangdong Province

Cantonese love pig’s feet, as they bring fortune! Therefore, pig's feet braised in soy sauce or five spices (prickly ash, star aniseed, cinnamon, clove and fennel) is a should-not-miss lucky dish for Cantonese’s New Year Eve Dinner. 

6. Four Main Courses (四大件儿) from Northeast China

The four main courses refer to chicken, fish, ribs and pig’s feet. Northeast Chinese Cuisine features large quantities of food materials and mellow taste.

7. Xinjiang Hand Grasping Mutton Chops (手抓羊肉)

A specialty food in Xinjiang, it’s also a traditional dish for Uyghur family dinner. It is usually served cold with salt or after being simmered or fried with sauce.

8. Braised streaky pork with dried vegetables (烧白扣肉) from Sichuan Province

One of the most common dishes on Chinese feast, the streaky pork is braised with soy sauce and brown sugar, with China’s specialty side dish – dry vegetables.  

9. The Hakka stuffed foods (客家酿菜) from Fujian Province

Hakka people like snail delicacy. On Lunar New Year’s Eve, they make snails into a stuffed dish, mixed with chopped snails and meat, and ingredients like peppermint, corn flour, peanut oil. They are also stuffed tofu, stuffed pepper, stuffed radish, stuffed mushroom, etc. Stuffed dishes are also popular in Guilin, Guangxi.

 

10. Spicy pork leg (香辣肘子) from Hunan Province

It may weigh as heavy as 3kg, and is not easy to eat. But Hunan people consider this huge dish a lucky food that stands for the end of dark days and the beginning of a happy new year.

Basha Miao Village: The Last Gunman Tribe in the World

With the sheer number of charming destinations in China, the dozens of ancient ethnic villages hidden in wild Guizhou of West China never get much attention. Basha Miao Village is one of them, and offers a unique opportunity to discover, explore Miao Culture and interact with Miao people, one of world’s oldest and most mysterious nations.

It’s hard to think of an isolated life in Basha, 5km from Congjiang Country, as even now the village is virtually untouched by modernization. For over 2000 years, Basha residents have been living in their traditional dwellings of wooden houses, practicing centuries-old customs and keeping their own unique beliefs.

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Embraced by lush primitive forests, with a quiet, serene surrounding, Basha consists of four sub-villages, with a total population of about 2000. Today, most of Basha Miao people live by farming and planting fruit trees. They still keep their own society system, with which, the chiefs and elders are in charge of village affairs.

Miao’s old customs and traditions

Diaojiaolou dwelling

All the residences in Basha Village were built in line with the landform of mountain, including a number of Diaojiaolou (wood columns supporting building), which is beautiful and comfortable. 

The gunman tribe 

All men in Basha Miao Village carry long rifles, but only for hunting and practicing a traditional manner in the grand ceremonies or to welcome the distinguished guests.

Worshipping Trees

Basha Miao people believe that human beings are children of nature and trees, and the old trees are the ancient ancestors. Therefore, around the village are numerous ancient towering trees. Basha people also plant a tree on the birth of a baby. The tree won’t be cut down until that person dies, and it will be made into a coffin for him/her.

Baha man’s unique hairstyle

Here, men attach great importance to their hairstyle – a unique hair bun, with a lock of long hair in braids in the middle of head, and all the other hair being shaved off. Legend has that this is the oldest hairstyle for men in China and has existed for thousands of years.

Qing Dynasty dress style

Men and women of Basha also keep their traditional dress style, which dates back to the Qin Dynasty (1644-1911), thus they are known as the living fossils of Qing Culture. Basha men usually wear turbans and short loose trousers, with a long knife on the waist and without shoes, even in the cold winter. Women's clothing is colorful and dazzling. They wear silver necklaces, bracelets, and embroidered attires and skirts.

Steamed Bun – China’s Most Popular Breakfast

A very old Chinese wheaten food, steamed bun (baozi, 包子) was invented by the scholar and military strategist Zhuge Liang over 1800 years ago during the legendary Three Kingdom Period.

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15-day China Culinary & Cooking Tour 

Today, steamed buns can be seen all over China, and usually purchased for take-away. They are placed neatly in the steamer or bamboo utensils and giving up sweet fragrance of food while engulfed in steam. Many consider steamed bun a masterpiece of Chinese gourmet art, while almost all people find it an excellent breakfast.

Chinese steamed bun is a fermented food that can be filled with pork, beef, lamb meat, yolk, candy, bean paste or various vegetables, and may be made in small cage package, or in big size and served individually.

Top 10 steamed bun types in China include Goubuli baozi from Tianjin, baked baozi from Xinjiang,Nanxiang Xiaolongbao from Shanghai, soup dumpling (guantang baozi) from Kaifeng Henan Province, Shengjian mantou from Shanghai, steamed creamy custard bun (naihuang baozi) from Canton, Qingfeng baozi from Beijing, Fried bun (shuijianbao) from Shandong Province, Cha siu bao from Guangdong, and Doushabao (sweet bean paste baozi).  

Follow Hollywood blockbusters to China’s most inspiring destinations Part II

Transformers: Age of Extinction was filmed in Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Chongqing

Michael Bay's fourth Transformers movie has a dozen locations in Hong Kong, including Tsing Ma Bridge, Lyndhurst Terrace, Victoria Harbour and the old areas of Sham shui Po, Kowloon. However, the movie has its most exciting scene in Wulong, Chongqing, when Optimus Prime fought with Grimlock in the huge Three Natural Bridges.

 

(Wulong, Chongqing)

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor was filmed in Xian

Director Rob Cohen was hooked on Chinese history and culture, thus we can see the wonderful performances of Chinese Kung Fu actors Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh, as well as the stunning scenes of Terra-Cotta Warriors, the holy snow mountains in Shangri-La and the deserts in Hebei.

(Terra-Cotta Warriors)

Kill Bill was filmed in Beijing

Both Quentin Tarantino and Uma Thurman are Chinese martial arts fans. Kill Bill was deeply influenced by Hong Kong’s Kung Fu movies and mostly filmed in Beijing.

(Temple of Heave in Beijing)

The White Countess was filmed in Shanghai

Many Hollywood directors are interested in mysterious Chinese culture, not least for James Ivory. The White Countess provides a perspective of the old Shanghai, and the city’s past prosperity and continued development.

(The old streets of Shanghai)

The famous locations of Chinese movies:

China West Film Studio at Zhenbeipu: "the Orient Hollywood" is of primitive simplicity and mysterious charm, and very appealing to Chinese and international directors. Numerous movies were shot here such as Red Sorghum, the West Odyssey, Dragon Inn, Red River Valley etc.

Kaiping Diaolou architectures: UNESCO cultural heritage the Diaolou buildings in Guangdong set a fantastical background for the wonderful movie “Let the Bullets Fly”.

Erjina Populus euphratica forest: in Alashan league of Inner Mongolia, the beautiful forest has been known to the world because of Hero directed by Zhang Yimou. It is the location of Juyan Culture sites dating back to Xixia Dynasty (1038-1227)

Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological Park: Zhang Yimou’s A Woman, A Gun And A Noodle Shop was filmed in this majestic rainbow mountain.