So to China again - the world's most populated country!! Now, when you think of World Heritage Sites in China you must mean The Great Wall, The Forbidden Palace, The Terracotta Warriors, etc...?? No, sorry, not today and not for this travelling Northern Irishman. China was the first Asian country I ever visited and my flirting love affair with it's land of endless possibilities continues...so here I bring you 3 very unknown and unusual UNESCO World Heritage Sites in China which I have visited recently.
1. Fujian Tulou Buildings in Fujian Province, China - situated is deep countryside with valleys and mountains all around, this is a splendid set of old style buildings known as Tulou. There are hundreds of them and they were built to house full families and Chinese clans back in the day. You can go inside most of them and they are not too busy or touristic, especially for those non-Chinese. This makes your visit seem so special and amazing. A great heritage site! []
Quick Guide - Get to the city of Yongding in Fujian Province. Once you're there you will realise that there are many bus tours out to these buildings and numerous drivers offering them. If you're a foreign tourist, they will probably come to you. However be aware of rip offs and drivers cutting special buildings off your trip.
2. The Mountains at Danxiashan in the Guangdong Province of China: These are a spectacular range of remote mountains hidden deep in the north of Guangdong - well worth a trip and best to do it yourself. A splendid range of mountains, hikes, climbs and rock formations make for a marvellous few days. Do the sunset and the sunrise hikes for some amazing views and scenery.
Quick Steps - Arrive in the city of Shaoguan first and then get a bus from the main bus station there out to these epic mountains. The bus will drop you off at the Danxia entrance and you can stay overnight in a village called Jin Jiang or Yao Tang. From there it becomes easy to organise the hikes - one at sunset is good and passes by penis rock, the other one is a sunrise hike and has incredible views!
3. Kaiping Dialou, Guangdong Province, CHINA: It's amazing that in a country so vast as China, that a scattered array of almost 2,000 impressive tower style buildings almost goes un-noticed! Well it's easy to get lost in China, luckily these buildings have outlasted their builders and as recently as 2007 they were declared a World Heritage Site, and deservedly so! This was actually my MOST recent venture into China, just a couple of weeks ago, so you'll hear a lot more about it. []
A Quick Guide - to see the excellent Dialou Buildings, you firstly need to stay in the city of Kaiping. There are a few hotels in the city centre, we stayed in the Milan Hotel and organised things from there. Pick up a leaflet and enqire abut tours or hire your own driver and get out there!
That's my rundown on these 3 excellent unknown World Heritage Sites in China - head out and check them out!
1. Fujian Tulou Buildings in Fujian Province, China - situated is deep countryside with valleys and mountains all around, this is a splendid set of old style buildings known as Tulou. There are hundreds of them and they were built to house full families and Chinese clans back in the day. You can go inside most of them and they are not too busy or touristic, especially for those non-Chinese. This makes your visit seem so special and amazing. A great heritage site! []
Quick Guide - Get to the city of Yongding in Fujian Province. Once you're there you will realise that there are many bus tours out to these buildings and numerous drivers offering them. If you're a foreign tourist, they will probably come to you. However be aware of rip offs and drivers cutting special buildings off your trip.
2. The Mountains at Danxiashan in the Guangdong Province of China: These are a spectacular range of remote mountains hidden deep in the north of Guangdong - well worth a trip and best to do it yourself. A splendid range of mountains, hikes, climbs and rock formations make for a marvellous few days. Do the sunset and the sunrise hikes for some amazing views and scenery.
Quick Steps - Arrive in the city of Shaoguan first and then get a bus from the main bus station there out to these epic mountains. The bus will drop you off at the Danxia entrance and you can stay overnight in a village called Jin Jiang or Yao Tang. From there it becomes easy to organise the hikes - one at sunset is good and passes by penis rock, the other one is a sunrise hike and has incredible views!
3. Kaiping Dialou, Guangdong Province, CHINA: It's amazing that in a country so vast as China, that a scattered array of almost 2,000 impressive tower style buildings almost goes un-noticed! Well it's easy to get lost in China, luckily these buildings have outlasted their builders and as recently as 2007 they were declared a World Heritage Site, and deservedly so! This was actually my MOST recent venture into China, just a couple of weeks ago, so you'll hear a lot more about it. []
A Quick Guide - to see the excellent Dialou Buildings, you firstly need to stay in the city of Kaiping. There are a few hotels in the city centre, we stayed in the Milan Hotel and organised things from there. Pick up a leaflet and enqire abut tours or hire your own driver and get out there!
That's my rundown on these 3 excellent unknown World Heritage Sites in China - head out and check them out!
About the Author:
To find more anecdotes like 3 amazing Chinese World Heritage Sites head to Jonny Blair's excellent travel site a lifestyle of travel for more anecdotes and tips.
No comments :
Post a Comment