Simon Foster - Chinas Three Gorges, Xian & the Terracotta Warriors

China's Three Gorges, Xi'an & the Terracotta Warriors

Simon Foster

Hunter Publishing, Inc.

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2010 Hunter Publishing, Inc.

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This guide focuses on recreational activities. As all such activities contain elements of risk, the publisher, author, affiliated individuals and companies disclaim any responsibility for any injury, harm, or illness that may occur to anyone through, or by use of, the information in this book. Every effort was made to insure the accuracy of information in this book, but the publisher and author do not assume, and hereby disclaim, any liability for loss or damage caused by errors, omissions, misleading information or potential travel problems caused by this guide, even if such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or any other cause.

Cover photograph: Great Wall ( Tom Till/Alamy)

All photos by Simon Foster, unless otherwise indicated. Special thanks
to Tot Foster, Ewen Bell (www.ewenbell.com), Magalie L'Abb and Galen Frysinger (www.galenfrysinger.com) for their photographs.

A Changing China

As is always the case with the information in guidebooks, things change. Hotels close down (or just get run down), great new restaurants pop up and bars, clubs and Internet cafs come and go with the wind. In a country changing as fast as China this is even more so, and new roads, hotels and even cities, seem to appear overnight. All of the information in this book was carefully researched and correct at time of going to press. If there's anything you come across in your travels that has closed or gone downhill, or any great new offerings or adventures that you think should be in the book, please contact the publishers at comments@hunterpublishing.com.

About the Author

Simon Foster was born in England. Family trips first kindled his interest in places other than his own and after graduating in geography he set off to seek what he'd been studying. Following his first extended trip, wanderlust firmly set in and Simon became an adventure tour leader in the Middle East and Asia. He soon started travel writing and has contributed to the Rough Guide's Australia, China, Egypt, Europe, India and Tunisia books. Simon has spent most of the past ten years overseas, principally in China and sunny southern Taiwan. When he's not working, Simon enjoys, you guessed it, travel, whether to the Philippines or just back home to Yorkshire.

the Rough Guide's Australia, China, Egypt, Europe, India and Tunisia books. Simon has spent most of the past ten years overseas, principally in China and sunny southern Taiwan. When he's not leading tours or writing, Simon enjoys, you guessed it, travel, whether to the Philippines or just back home to Yorkshire.

Dedication

I'd like to dedicate this book to my grandfather, Maurice, who traveled the globe with the merchant navy and always followed my world wanderings on his atlas at home in Newcastle in England. May he rest in peace.

Thanks

Friends, old and new, from around the globe, have played their part in this book, and I want to say a great big thank you for all the time, effort, tips and tales. Firstly, thanks to my wife, Tot, without whom I would've surely given up several times along the way. Tot assisted with research, writing and by taking many of the book's photos. I'd also like to say a big thank you to photographer Ewen Bell (www.ewenbell.com) who was kind enough to let us use his incredible images. Next, my best mate Craig, who read through material in record time and threw in the odd amusing comment to spur me on.

As always, my family has supported me and contributed their own skills - my dad helped to manage the project as a whole, my mum (the librarian) helped with the booklist and my sister and Monty resolved computer problems as I created them! My Uncle Mick is an ornithologist and helped on the Flora and Fauna section and Jadranka, an author herself, and my Uncle Jon proffered helpful advice.

In China: xie xie to Ben, Leo, Nick and Su-San in Beijing, Fox in Xi'an, Lu in Shandong, John Zhang in Chongqing, Steven Huang in Tunxi, Mr. Hu in Tangkou and Pete, Selina and Chris Winnan in Guangzhou. To my friends in Guangxi who helped re-initiate me to the new Yangshuo - Alf, Bill, Chris Barclay, Dee, Echo, Forest, Ian Ford and Ian Hamilton, Jessie, Malcolm, Naomi, William, Sam, Shelly, Xu Chen Zuo and the China Climb team. A bigger thank you still must go to William and Linda Lu who nourished me well with food and information. And an enormous thank you goes to Rose Mo who assisted with the language section. In Hong Kong: Sarah Clark and Paul Etherington. In Europe: thank you very much indeed to Adi Vimal, Dara-Lynne, Henrik Rasmussen and his family, Jane and Eric and Terry and Jensia. Last, but by no means least, thanks to Michael and the team at Hunter Publishing, for letting this book happen and for breaking up my unruly sentences!

Wizened monks wearing walkmans, wooden huts topped with satellite dishes, pet dogs passing those soon to be eaten, skyscrapers smiling down on temples. China is the ultimate land of contrasts!

China, a country of superlatives, most populous of nations, hidden for so long, is now emerging onto the world travel scene. From frozen north to tropical south, modern east to wild west, this is a huge, diverse land just waiting to be explored. It abounds in magnificent sights - some are natural like the mystical limestone peaks of Guangxi , while others are manmade testaments to the power and glory of China's past, such as the Forbidden City . Some are a combination of the two such as the Great Wall or the impossibly steep Longji rice-terraces, where man has ruthlessly crowned nature's achievements.

Tien'anmin Square

However, many travelers' most enduring memory of this vast country is its people. From farmers to fashion students they all have a tale to tell and, even though most don't speak your language, that won't stop them from trying. Still predominantly rural, China's massive population, though principally Han Chinese, is actually comprised of some 56 different ethnic groups ranging from Central Asian horsemen such as Kazakhs in the northwest, more akin to Turks than Chinese, to the hilltribe peoples of the southwest. Long suppressed, the traditions of these minorities are now experiencing a renaissance, albeit often for tourist purposes. With such diverse people and regions comes an incredible variety of food, making China one of the world's great culinary centers - from ultra-fresh Cantonese to fiery Szechuan, or Mongolian hotpot to Beijing duck , there is always something new to try. When you add all these elements to the fact that this is the fastest-changing country in the world, it's no wonder the race to see China is on.