China Off The Beaten Path

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Most Viewed Off The Beaten Path in China

1.

Hutongs   Beijing

Hutongs, Beijing

 62 Reviews  For visitors looking for a fun way to experience Beijing's hutong, you should consider doing a motorcycle sidecar tour. I know someone who recently started a company called Peking-Around... 

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2.

Shenzhen   Guangzhou

Shenzhen, Guangzhou

 10 Reviews  Hi to all virtual turists!!! My tip is about the place worth visiting in Shenzhen.. It's one of its beaches - Xiao Mei Sha... (As it turned out there're 2 main beaches - Da Mei Sha and Xiao Mei... 

 See All 74 Off The Beaten Path in Guangzhou

3.

Hua Shan Mountain   Xi'an

Hua Shan Mountain, Xi'an

 4 Reviews  Huashan is a sacred Taoist mountain 120 km to the east. Bus go from the train station to the base. It is fantastically beautiful, but hard work to hike. I've got a whole page for it here. 

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4.

Leshan Grand Buddha   Chengdu

Leshan Grand Buddha, Chengdu

 12 Reviews  Leshan is located about 120km south of Chengdu and is easily reached by bus, which takes about 2 hours. Leshan is famous for one thing - the world's largest Buddha. Known as Dafo, he sits at the... 

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5.

Great Wall   Beijing

Great Wall, Beijing

 44 Reviews  Visiting the Great Wall of China is a must when in Beijing. Most people will visit the extremely touristy and most visited section of the wall at Badaling which is only about 50 miles (80km) outside... 

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6.

Sha Min Island   Guangzhou

Sha Min Island, Guangzhou

 7 Reviews  When you enter the area of this island, you might wrongly think that you are in the early 1900s. If the Bund is the proof of foreign power in Shanghai, the Shamian would be the one in Guangzhou.... 

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7.

City Wall   Xi'an

City Wall, Xi'an

 4 Reviews  The big, solid volume of the walls make the long and wide moat that surrounds them look like a "insignificant" detail, but we are forced to admit that its perfect conception was an effective defense,... 

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8.

Shops/Souvenirs   Beijing

Shops/Souvenirs, Beijing

 10 Reviews  If you feel like a bit of pampering and have a little spare time - treat yourself to a hairdresser's visit. They are open till really late which is perfect and as it was very cold during our visit to... 

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9.

Xiqiao Shan Teng.   Guangzhou

Xiqiao Shan Teng., Guangzhou

 7 Reviews  While hiking around Xiqiao Shan, you will find many of these beautifully designed small Chinese pavilions called tengs... They are a great place to stop and relax, escape the heat on a sunny day or... 

 See All 74 Off The Beaten Path in Guangzhou

10.

Beijing Underground City   Beijing

Beijing Underground City, Beijing

 8 Reviews  Don't bother with The Underground City. It is very difficult to find and when you find the entrance you will discover that is no longer open to tourists. We looked for it on two trips to Beijing. On... 

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11.

Markets   Beijing

Markets, Beijing

 10 Reviews  There are numerous markets throughout the city. I visited one of the larger ones. It had seperate sections for produce (fruits and vegetables), spices, meats and fish, clothing and beverages. There... 

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12.

Beijing's Parks   Beijing

Beijing's Parks, Beijing

 27 Reviews  Not many people go to the Botanical Gardens when in Beijing. I did as I am into botany somewhat and particular flowers. The spacious grounds are full or various ornamental gardens such as the Rose... 

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13.

Rural Areas of Beijing   Beijing

Rural Areas of Beijing, Beijing

 8 Reviews  Beijing International Art Camp (BIAC) is situated near the highway to the airport and frankly speaking, it is not very easy to find, even on a taxi. It's situated inside a village called "Suojia... 

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14.

Ming Tombs   Beijing

Ming Tombs, Beijing

 12 Reviews  50 kilometers (30 miles) northwest from Beijing lies the Ming Tombs - the general name given to the mausoleums of 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644). The mausoleums have been perfectly... 

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15.

Museums   Beijing

Museums, Beijing

 8 Reviews  This museum is very interesting, if you want to see enormous scelletons of dinosaurus and other animals from millions of years ago. It also houses an exhibition about Beijing man and evolution. In... 

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16.

CCTV Tower.   Beijing

CCTV Tower., Beijing

 3 Reviews  CCTV auxiliary is burned down 2009 March in a ridiculous accident caused by people making fires on top of the building to celebrate a Chinese traditional holiday. What's in the picture is the... 

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17.

Marco Polo Bridge   Beijing

Marco Polo Bridge, Beijing

 4 Reviews  There's plenty more to see around the Marco Polo bridge area (or Lugouqiao Bridge as it's known in Chinese) than just the bridge itself. The bridge leads directly to the gates of the recently restored... 

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18.

Universities   Beijing

Universities, Beijing

 8 Reviews  The Beijing Language Institute is a wonderful place with many trees and a lot of nice people from all over the world. Please see my travelogue! It is the best place in China to learn Mandarin. Now it... 

 See All 356 Off The Beaten Path in Beijing

19.

Chengde   Beijing

Chengde, Beijing

 3 Reviews  In 1703, Chengde, (located approx 150 miles, 250km north-east of Beijing), was chosen by the Kangxi Emperor as the location for his summer residence. Constructed throughout the eighteenth century, the... 

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20.

Lama Temple - Yonghegong   Beijing

Lama Temple - Yonghegong, Beijing

 3 Reviews  Lama Temple, short for Palace of Peace and Harmony Lama Temple, is better known as Yonghe Temple. I was intrigued to visit this 315-year old significant temple which is said to be one of the largest... 

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21.

Great Bell Temple   Beijing

Great Bell Temple, Beijing

 1 Review  Da Zhong Si. The temple was known as Juesheng Si (Awakened Life Temple), but clearly there wasn't enough awakening going on, so a 46 1/2-ton bell was transported here on ice sleds in 1743. The third... 

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22.

Beijing Zoo   Beijing

Beijing Zoo, Beijing

 2 Reviews  Beijing Zoo is one of those places that is *just* off the beaten track, but one which is often on that secondary list of places once visitors ahve seen the main sights of Beijing. I am not a great... 

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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Dongguan - Qifeng Mountain

by ant1606

Short hike to Qifeng Mountain, in the homonym park which is situated in the center of Dongguan (or Dongwan) in the Guangdong Province.The imposing park entrance gate, fashioned in the traditional Chinese style and under construction at the time of my visit, opens onto a pond which is probably man made and home to numerous Coi fish. Signs are in Chinese language only but I followed a paved road that keeps climbing, hence figuring out that it must have led to the summit where an observation deck is build in the shape of a typical red Chinese lantern. From a bar or restaurant, which was closed, a stone gate marks the start of a long staircase that reaches the observation structure.GPS tracklog available here

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The Secret Wall Tour

by graeme83

Leo's Hostel runs a "secret tour" to the Great Wall, which was probably the highlight of my visit to China. A few of us got in a minibus very early in the morning for a 2 hour journey to the wall. We had arrived in a farming village in the middle of nowhere. Here a really old man took us up a goat trail for about 1 mile. It was quite a steep climb, but we were rewarded with a magnificent view of the mountains and wall. Climbing up to the first watch tower was hard work but worth it for the great views of the wall snaking across the surrounding hills. We were the only people on this section of the unrepaired wall. We walked along the wall for a couple of kilometres and made our way down after an hour or so by a different route. Lunch was included in the price of the tour and was made up of a variety of dishes.The cost of the tour was 220RMB.

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Massage Center of Blind Person

by caslu

Tucked away in a corner of the old French concession in Shanghai is the "Massage Center of Blind Person". No hanky panky in this somewhat seedy looking joint, just a great massage at an unbeatable price. However, I have to be honest and say that the night we went here, not only could we not find any blind persons, we didn't even find nearsighted persons.

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Traditional Neighborhoods

by traveldave

At first glance, Guangzhou seems like an enormous construction zone in which glittering skyscrapers and highrise residential buildings are being constructed at a feverish pace. However, the city, like all Chinese cities, contains many traditional neighborhoods. These areas are worth visiting to get a glimpse of the lifestyle of the majority of the city's residents.Traditional neighborhoods are characterized by narrow streets and alleyways where the ubiquitous cars are conspicuously absent. In Beijing these neighborhoods are known as hutong, and in Shanghai they are known as shikumen. As far as I can determine, there is no special term in Guangzhou for these neighborhoods. In any event, the neighborhoods in Guangzhou have different styles of architecture from those in other cities. Most of the buildings in Guangzhou's older areas date from the 1860s onward, and are two to three stories...

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Garden of Cultivation

by DueSer

Even though all of Suzhou's gardens are on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list, it seems most tourists end up at the Master of the Nets garden and this one, the Garden of Cultivation, which is smaller and in the midst of the labrinyth of streets and canals, doesn't get as many visitors.It is small but it's also less crowded and a great place to go and relax and enjoy Chinese gardens the way they were meant to be enjoyed - in peace and tranquility.It's located at 5 Wenya Lane, Changmen Gate.

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Da Wall

by DueSer

Okay, you may be asking yourself: Really? Off the beaten path? The Great Wall? But let me explain.There are a lot of different places you can go to see the Great Wall. The Junggyuon Pass is one of the less visited and I think I know why. If you have trouble walking this is NOT the section of the wall you should go to. There are large sections of this part of the wall that are almost completely vertical and VERY difficult to climb.The wall rings the hills surrounding this pass and drops from the tops of these hills all the way down to the river valley below. This was a strategic move because if an enemy army was able to make it through this pass it was an almost straight shot right into Beijing. To protect the city, they made the wall ring the pass, making it almost impossible to get through and, now, almost impossible to climb.The steps come in varying heights, adding to the difficulty....

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Temples

by szivhk

Ask your driver to drop you at the 'Temple of Bliss'. Pay your RMB10 entrance, look around the temple and then stay in the temple grounds. You can walk through to the next temple, the Seven-Tiered Pagoda Temple. This has its beautiful pagoda, but also a large statue of Guanyin. The covered walkway behind the pagoda has wonderful paintings. The red timber against the grey walls of the temple was especially beautiful on the snowy day that I went. After enjoying these two temples for an hour or so, I walked a out from the Seven-Tiered Pagoda and turned left towards an amusement park. In the park, you'll find the most magical old Russian Church. Its bell tower forms the gate to the park. Both gems are crumbling almost beyond repair, so see them while you can. I exited the park to my right, through the main gate onto a main road. I turned right and walked all the way back to a McDonald's. At...

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Hongbo Square - Hongjun Jie Area

by szivhk

If you walk down the hill towards the train station from Hongbo Square, you'll see classic russian architecture on both sides. The real gem is at the bottom of the hill, though, on your right as you approach the station. The low yellow building with the large canopy above the main door is the 'Lungmen Grand Hotel'. According to the plaque, this used to be the Russian Consulate. Art Deco features abound. The coloured glass, the wrought iron work, the wood and brass revolving door, the grand staircase inside... it's a beauty. The train station itself is interesting. Stark and functional, it houses every ethnic group you can imagine. It's a real melting pot in there, hectic, smelly and a real thrill.

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Hongbo Square - DongDazhi Jie Area

by szivhk

Leave Hongbo Square, not along the main Dongdazhi Jie, but along the minor road which runs parallel to it on its left. The road is short, more of a small square really, and ends up in a mall. On this short stretch you will see two of Harbins most exquisite villas. I am sorry, again I don't know anything about either, but they must have been extremely beautiful. I carried on into the mall itself. It has a food court on the top floor and a supermarket in the basement. I exited back onto Dongdazhi Jie and walked NE long this major road. Much of it is now closed to traffic while they build the subway stations, but you'll walk down the pavements either side of the site. On the left, you'll see a twin spired, fairly modern church. You can go inside. The church itself is on the third floor. I found it very atmospheric. Across the other side of the road, you'll see two older, smaller Russian...

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Train Station and XiDazhi Jie Area

by szivhk

Some amazing buildings and the heart of the 'real' Harbin. It would be a real shame if you left Harbin having only seen the touristy places. This part has so much to offer. I walked SW from the Train Station along Tielu Jie. People crowd around long distance buses and old railwayman's cottages line the street. I turned left almost at the end of this part of Tielu Jie, before I reached the major junction with Jiaohua Jie. You walk uphill about 150m through typical Harbin apartment buildings until you meet the main road, Xidazhi Jie. Immediately, you will see a huge, Stalinist building in front of you. I don't know what it houses, but the architecture is stark and stunning. Walk NE along Xidazhi Jie. Keep to the pavement, even as you squeeze past the construction of the subway station. You will be treated to a classic Mao statue in the grounds of another stunning building. Further along,...

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Off The Beaten Path: Cities in China
  1. Beijing Off The Beaten Path
  2. Shanghai Off The Beaten Path
  3. Guangzhou Off The Beaten Path
  4. Xi'an Off The Beaten Path
  5. Shenzhen Off The Beaten Path
  6. Chengdu Off The Beaten Path
  7. Harbin Off The Beaten Path
  8. Hangzhou Off The Beaten Path
  9. Kunming Off The Beaten Path
  10. Nanjing Off The Beaten Path
  11. Guilin Off The Beaten Path
  12. Suzhou Off The Beaten Path
  13. Yangshuo Off The Beaten Path
  14. Lijiang Off The Beaten Path
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  16. Sanya Off The Beaten Path
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  18. Qingdao Off The Beaten Path
  19. Tianjin Off The Beaten Path
  20. Xiamen Off The Beaten Path
  21. Jiuzhaigou Off The Beaten Path
  22. Lhasa Off The Beaten Path
  23. Wuhan Off The Beaten Path
  24. Chongqing Off The Beaten Path
  25. Beijing Off The Beaten Path
  26. Shenyang Off The Beaten Path
  27. Nanning Off The Beaten Path
  28. Huangshan Off The Beaten Path
  29. Changsha Off The Beaten Path
  30. Zhangjiajie Off The Beaten Path
  31. Wuxi Off The Beaten Path
  32. Pingyao Off The Beaten Path
  33. Urumqi Off The Beaten Path
  34. Changchun Off The Beaten Path
  35. Shenzhen Off The Beaten Path
  36. Dali Off The Beaten Path
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  40. Hainan Dao Off The Beaten Path
  41. Kashgar Off The Beaten Path
  42. Changzhou Off The Beaten Path
  43. Longsheng Off The Beaten Path
  44. Haikou Off The Beaten Path
  45. Lanzhou Off The Beaten Path
  46. Panyu Off The Beaten Path

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Questions and Answers

VikingCrown profile photo

Q:  I am coming to China at the start of April. I would like some suggestions of what to do considering China as a whole. The plan... 

chinamonty profile photo

A: I would think Guilin/Yangshou and then to Kunming would be an efficient use of six days but it is mainly natural beauty plus whatever you find in the towns. Yangshou is... 

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