Read Part One: Lijiang – Jade Peak – Yuhu here.
The next morning we caught a bus North from Lijiang to Zhongdian (about 80 RMB), renamed XianGeLiLa (or for westerners, Shangri-La) by the Chinese government in 1997 in an effort to promote tourism to northern Yunnan, that was by all accounts successful.
With 9 days free from work, two of my friends and I decided to check a mutual China travel goal off our lists: Yunnan province. We were particularly intrigued by descriptions of a small Tibetan village in the far Northwest corner of the province called Yubeng. Located in a valley between snowy mountains, and adjacent to a sacred waterfall and glacial lake, it required a full day’s hike in and out, which sounded just the right amount of off-the-beaten-path.
Due to the language barrier and cultural differences from the West, the prospect of visiting China is intimidating and often overwhelming to many would-be travelers. Thanks to smartphones, translation programs, and increased access to apps that were once exclusively Chinese, it has never been easier for foreign travelers to explore this ancient and diverse country. Download these 6 must-have apps for travel in China before boarding your flight (your app store may or may not work without a VPN in China) and you’ll be able to communicate, navigate, book flights, trains, and hotels, and make purchases with ease.
One of my favourite things about travelling is getting to explore a culture through food. When you are vegan in place like China, this can be a little daunting. Fortunately, if you go to the right cities you can manage to find places. Here is my vegan food tour of Chengdu!
I’ve got big, big plans up my sleeve. The clock is ticking, and with every click of the clock I am closer to starting my one month of travel through some of the hottest spots in western China (not literally hot—they are actually some of the colder places in China!).
One thing that’s surprised me about living in China is how easy it is to get around by train and the number of weekend trips it’s possible to do. Teachers at York regularly head to cities like Shanghai and Hong Kong, and go hiking at scenic sites like the Yellow Mountains in Anhui Province or Wuyishan in Fujian Province.
