China Vacations

Where should you go in China on vacation? If you are going to China, there are three cities you must visit while you are there.

Beijing is the obvious choice, as it will likely be the city that you fly into when you arrive in China. The capital city of China, it is the best known of the four Great Ancient Capitals of China. With over 13 million people within its borders and more than 17 million if you take into account the surrounding municipalities, Beijing is the second largest city in China, after Shanghai. But despite being the second largest, it was still the first choice for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. The city has an ancient history, and the many palaces, religious temples and old tenements give you a taste of what Beijing was like in the past. This has traditionally been the seat of power in China, and the Imperial Palace is still standing in the city, and now serves as a popular tourist attraction and museum.

Hong Kong is unlike any other city in China. A colony of Great Britain since the first Opium Wars of the 1800s, it reverted to Chinese rule in 1997. Hong Kong sits on the south coastal area of China, and is famous for its Western-style buildings and culture, despite a majority of the population being Chinese. It is one of the most densely populated areas of China, cramming seven million people onto an island of less than 500 square miles. The city is unique in China, and runs on a completely different system than the rest of the country. The differences mean that visiting Hong Kong is unlike any other trip within China. Hong Kong is among the world’s most important shipping and commerce centers.

Xi’an is less of a modern city than Beijing or Hong Kong, but it has important contributions to China that make it a worthy destination on your China trip. This is beginning of the legendary Silk Road that was the main route for commerce and trade for centuries in Asia. Xi’an was also the first capital city of what we now know as the country of China. There are fossil records that show that this area has been populated as long as six thousand years ago. When you go to China on vacation, Xi’an must be on the itinerary – if not for the above-listed reasons, then for the infamous Terracotta Warriors that were found nearby.

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