I visited China in November 2023. I was there for 25 days. I’m a solo traveler.
I’m from South India ( Hyderabad ) and I tried my best to find flights to China via Singapore, Malaysia or Thailand. But all of them had very long layovers. After lot of research, I realized it is better to go to Delhi.
Delhi to Hong Kong and then Hong Kong to Xi’an. I found Cathay Pacific Airlines as the best choice available. The Layover in Hong Kong was just 2 hours. I booked Cathay Pacific and the ticket cost was somewhere around 85,000 -
I then approached the Chinese Embassy in Delhi for VISA. I had to fill 8 pages form which was tiresome. They wanted my bank statement. The VISA charges were around 14,000 -
I got my VISA in a week.
From Hyderabad to Delhi I flew VISTARA Airlines as I wanted to land in Terminal 3. Vistara is an expensive airline. 😨
Delhi to Hong Kong was around 6 hours and Hong Kong to Xi’an was around 3 hours.
I landed in Xi’an at around 11 in the morning. The immigration officer asked me how I would I travel in China without knowing Chinese. I told him I would use a translator App on my mobile. He also asked why I travel alone.
At the immigration, there were 2 display screens. One for me and one for the officer. The Chinese officer would speak in Chinese and it would get translated to Hindi on my Display screen. I told him I cannot understand Hindi and requested him to change it to English, which he did. I felt this system was so cool.
After Immigration I came out and took a cab to my Hotel. I was very tired to travel in Metro. I just wanted to sleep.
I was in Xi’an for 7 days. As soon as I landed in China, I bought iPhone and it is very cheap when compared to India. I installed all the necessary Apps and then I’m fully loaded and prepared to travel around China. 😁
I booked Holiday Inn in Xi’an city center. The hotel costed me 3,500 per night. The hotel was very close to the famous Bell tower in Xi’an.
Xi’an is a very important city in China. It is very old and ancient city. I expected Xi’an to be a tier 2 city but I was blown away by the development and infrastructure. The city looked like the capital of China.
Like India, you will find people everywhere. High Population.
Food is cheap in China. You can have Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner in 70 RMB. I feel purchasing power in China is strong.
As I cannot speak Chinese, it was a big struggle in the beginning to order food. Zero English in Xi’an. I used Baidu Translator App. At the restaurant, I took several minutes to explain what I eat and what I can’t eat.
As a meat eater I did not face any problem in China. I just told them not to put Pork and Beef in my dish. I did not find a single restaurant selling frogs or bats. I spoke to local people and they told me that a very small percentage of people eat frogs and bats.
Pork is the most preferred meat in China. Next comes beef, lamb and Chicken. I found Chinese food delicious. I also realized that the Chinese food we eat in India is nowhere near to the authentic Chinese food. 😁
I met a Pakistani guy at Starbucks. He was working in Xi’an. We started talking and we were hanging out together whole day. He helped me to set up digital payment on my Phone. China is 100% cashless economy. From street food to 5 star hotels, everyone pays digitally. Alipay and WeChat Pay are 2 major players in Digital payments.
Next few days I explored the Terracotta Army Site Museum, The Wild Goose Pagoda, Ancient City Wall of Xi’an.
Xi’an has been the capital for many dynasties which ruled China. It is very old city and if you like History, Xi’an in the place you should visit. Xi’an also has good night life. Local beers are cheap. After 7pm all the bars are full. In India, the weekends are the time people go for shopping mostly. But in Xi’an everyday in the evening, it looks like weekend.
I visited 4 places in China. Xi’an, Chengdu, Wuhan and Shanghai. I somehow feel China is very safe. There are literally cameras everywhere. Every street and every turn have cameras. You can simply walk on the streets even at late night. You will find Police on the streets.
I also learnt that there is harsh punishment for crime against foreigners. They treat foreigners really well. I did not find any hatred for India or Indians. Not all hotels in China accept foreigners. There are hotels where only Chinese people can stay. Don’t misunderstand this as discrimination. China feels that only those hotels that are well equipped should accept foreigners. For example, the hotel staff speaking basic English, having continental food in the Menu, having western Style toilets and following all safety measures.
That doesn’t mean tourists are forced to stay in expensive hotels. You can stay in Hostels too. Even those hostels should be well equipped to handle foreign customers.
After spending a week in Xi’an, I decided to go to Chengdu. I decided to travel by Bullet Train. The distance between Xi’an and Chengdu is around 650 km and it took just 3 hours 25 minutes by high speed Train. This is the best thing I’ve ever experienced. The train’s coaches were excellent. The trains speed was fluctuating from 320 km per hour to 360 km per hour. If you place a glass of water near the window, it would remain still.
The railway stations in China are really next level. They look like Airports. The trains are on time and there are no delays. The high speed bullet trains have separate railway stations. I personally felt flights are cheaper than Trains in China. Chinese people use train very extensively.
Chengdu Railway Station
Even Chengdu felt like the Capital of China. 😄 Every City I visited looked like the capital. They all had next level infrastructure, Sky scrappers, damn big wide roads, best hotels etc. Chengdu is also one of the favorite vacation spot for Chinese people. You will find lot of Chinese people from other parts of China, in Chengdu as visitors. It was November and still I found many small kids roaming around with parents. I asked people if it was vacation time and they say NO. But I wondered why these kids did not go to school.
I booked a hotel in Chengdu. It was a new hotel which was opened in 2023. The name is very hard to spell and pronounce.
The hotel was excellent and this was the best hotel I stayed in my entire trip. It was super clean and very advanced. There was something like Alexa in the room which will talk to you. But only in Chinese. So I stayed away from it though it had a beautiful girl’s voice.
I forgot to mention about Robots in Chinese Hotels. Even in Xi’an, there were 3 robots in reception. All were female with female voice and they bring food to your room. This was really crazy. So, if you place food order, the delivery guy will reach your hotel and place the food in the belly of the robot. The Hotel management will enter few details and then the robot goes to the elevator and without human intervention it will bring the lift down using Wi-fi. It will go inside the lift and press the floor number using Wi-fi. It will come to your room and ring the door bell using Wi-Fi.
The moment you open the door, it will greet you in both Chinese and English. It will ask you to press the button on it’s belly to take the food. Once you take it, it will again go back and park itself in the Reception.
The voice of the robot was really beautiful. The robot doesn’t talk like the voice on Google Maps. I don’t know how to put it in words but the way the robot speaks is exactly like Human. It will use “err” “Ahaa” “oh Ho” in between while it speaks. If you close your eyes and listen, you will feel it is real woman talking to you. I really fell in love with the voice.
I spent the first 2 days in Chengdu just roaming around the city trying different foods. The food in Chengdu is very spicy. This is the first time the spice levels came very close to the South Indian spice levels. I was sweating while eating and I really loved the food.
This is the best meat noodles ever
After 2 days, I decided to go to see the Pandas. In Chengdu everywhere you will find Panda posters, Panda Pillows, Panda Key Chains, Panda T shirts etc. You have to book ticket in advance to visit the “Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding”
This place is quiet far from city center. I think I paid 100 RMB for 1 ticket which is approximately 1200 INR. There is a shuttle bus from the city center which will take you to the Park. I personally did not enjoy this panda episode. There was a huge crowd at the Research center. Literally people were brushing each other. You have to walk a long distance like this and spotting a Panda was not very regular. I came out in the middle and went back to city center. The Panda are just like bear with different color. I couldn’t understand the craze people were showing to see the panda. Just a doubt. If someone could enlighten me, it would be great.
Though I did not enjoy this Panda thing, one thing I would mention and again repeat is, the INFRASTRUCTURE. The way they built the park was excellent. Like for example, I mentioned you have to walk a long distance. So the way you go and the way you come out is different. So when you keep walking inside, you will see riddles and funny questions about the Panda. But the answers are there when you keep walking out. Also, they used more wood to build the place. You have wheel chair access and super clean toilets. Lot of trees and you will also find a quotes about animals by famous people.
There was a quote by Mahatma Gandhi also. I don’t remember exactly but it was something like this- “The greatness of a country can be understood by the way the country treats Animals”
Keeping the panda aside, if there are very less people, you can simply even take a walk along the park. It is so beautiful and calm.
In China, one thing I noticed is, it is quite regular to find Chinese people seeing you or giving a glance at you. They don’t stare at you, but they give a glance. It is just that they are curious about you. Especially someone like me who is dark and very different looking. ( According to them )
China has very strong censorship and therefore Chinese people are curious about the other countries. Also, when compared to other parts of the world, tourist coming to China is relatively less. Most people visit Beijing and Shanghai. Not many travel to interior parts of China. India is called ‘yeendu’ in Chinese Language. When I first landed in China, I used to tell I’m from India. But they were unable to understand. Later I realized they understand the Chinese name ‘yeendu’
I asked few people about their opinion about India. Everyone said they would want to visit India once. Few said India is pioneer in Medical field and tough operations are performed by Indian Doctors. Few women said they want to visit India but are afraid because they feel that women are not safe in India. I met a guy in Wuhan who said he likes Indian movies. He was struggling to recollect the name of the movie about engineers. I asked him if it was 3 Idiots and he said YES 🙂
Chinese people are aware that Indian people are one of their biggest customers. They know most of the products we use are made in China. I went to wholesale market in Chengdu. They were selling all branded Jeans and other clothing at wholesale rates. Usually we think all these are fake brands. But, all these big brands have their Manufactuing units in China. Most of the brands famous in the west have their manufacturing unit in China. One of the shopkeepers told me that they send huge stock to Ahmedabad and Mumbai every month.
I spent a week in Chengdu visiting other touristic places and then booked a flight to Wuhan.
I’m from South India ( Hyderabad ) and I tried my best to find flights to China via Singapore, Malaysia or Thailand. But all of them had very long layovers. After lot of research, I realized it is better to go to Delhi.
Delhi to Hong Kong and then Hong Kong to Xi’an. I found Cathay Pacific Airlines as the best choice available. The Layover in Hong Kong was just 2 hours. I booked Cathay Pacific and the ticket cost was somewhere around 85,000 -
I then approached the Chinese Embassy in Delhi for VISA. I had to fill 8 pages form which was tiresome. They wanted my bank statement. The VISA charges were around 14,000 -
I got my VISA in a week.
From Hyderabad to Delhi I flew VISTARA Airlines as I wanted to land in Terminal 3. Vistara is an expensive airline. 😨
Delhi to Hong Kong was around 6 hours and Hong Kong to Xi’an was around 3 hours.
I landed in Xi’an at around 11 in the morning. The immigration officer asked me how I would I travel in China without knowing Chinese. I told him I would use a translator App on my mobile. He also asked why I travel alone.
At the immigration, there were 2 display screens. One for me and one for the officer. The Chinese officer would speak in Chinese and it would get translated to Hindi on my Display screen. I told him I cannot understand Hindi and requested him to change it to English, which he did. I felt this system was so cool.
After Immigration I came out and took a cab to my Hotel. I was very tired to travel in Metro. I just wanted to sleep.
I was in Xi’an for 7 days. As soon as I landed in China, I bought iPhone and it is very cheap when compared to India. I installed all the necessary Apps and then I’m fully loaded and prepared to travel around China. 😁
I booked Holiday Inn in Xi’an city center. The hotel costed me 3,500 per night. The hotel was very close to the famous Bell tower in Xi’an.
Xi’an is a very important city in China. It is very old and ancient city. I expected Xi’an to be a tier 2 city but I was blown away by the development and infrastructure. The city looked like the capital of China.
Like India, you will find people everywhere. High Population.
Food is cheap in China. You can have Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner in 70 RMB. I feel purchasing power in China is strong.
As I cannot speak Chinese, it was a big struggle in the beginning to order food. Zero English in Xi’an. I used Baidu Translator App. At the restaurant, I took several minutes to explain what I eat and what I can’t eat.
As a meat eater I did not face any problem in China. I just told them not to put Pork and Beef in my dish. I did not find a single restaurant selling frogs or bats. I spoke to local people and they told me that a very small percentage of people eat frogs and bats.
Pork is the most preferred meat in China. Next comes beef, lamb and Chicken. I found Chinese food delicious. I also realized that the Chinese food we eat in India is nowhere near to the authentic Chinese food. 😁
I met a Pakistani guy at Starbucks. He was working in Xi’an. We started talking and we were hanging out together whole day. He helped me to set up digital payment on my Phone. China is 100% cashless economy. From street food to 5 star hotels, everyone pays digitally. Alipay and WeChat Pay are 2 major players in Digital payments.
Next few days I explored the Terracotta Army Site Museum, The Wild Goose Pagoda, Ancient City Wall of Xi’an.
Xi’an has been the capital for many dynasties which ruled China. It is very old city and if you like History, Xi’an in the place you should visit. Xi’an also has good night life. Local beers are cheap. After 7pm all the bars are full. In India, the weekends are the time people go for shopping mostly. But in Xi’an everyday in the evening, it looks like weekend.
I visited 4 places in China. Xi’an, Chengdu, Wuhan and Shanghai. I somehow feel China is very safe. There are literally cameras everywhere. Every street and every turn have cameras. You can simply walk on the streets even at late night. You will find Police on the streets.
I also learnt that there is harsh punishment for crime against foreigners. They treat foreigners really well. I did not find any hatred for India or Indians. Not all hotels in China accept foreigners. There are hotels where only Chinese people can stay. Don’t misunderstand this as discrimination. China feels that only those hotels that are well equipped should accept foreigners. For example, the hotel staff speaking basic English, having continental food in the Menu, having western Style toilets and following all safety measures.
That doesn’t mean tourists are forced to stay in expensive hotels. You can stay in Hostels too. Even those hostels should be well equipped to handle foreign customers.
After spending a week in Xi’an, I decided to go to Chengdu. I decided to travel by Bullet Train. The distance between Xi’an and Chengdu is around 650 km and it took just 3 hours 25 minutes by high speed Train. This is the best thing I’ve ever experienced. The train’s coaches were excellent. The trains speed was fluctuating from 320 km per hour to 360 km per hour. If you place a glass of water near the window, it would remain still.
The railway stations in China are really next level. They look like Airports. The trains are on time and there are no delays. The high speed bullet trains have separate railway stations. I personally felt flights are cheaper than Trains in China. Chinese people use train very extensively.
Chengdu Railway Station
Even Chengdu felt like the Capital of China. 😄 Every City I visited looked like the capital. They all had next level infrastructure, Sky scrappers, damn big wide roads, best hotels etc. Chengdu is also one of the favorite vacation spot for Chinese people. You will find lot of Chinese people from other parts of China, in Chengdu as visitors. It was November and still I found many small kids roaming around with parents. I asked people if it was vacation time and they say NO. But I wondered why these kids did not go to school.
I booked a hotel in Chengdu. It was a new hotel which was opened in 2023. The name is very hard to spell and pronounce.
The hotel was excellent and this was the best hotel I stayed in my entire trip. It was super clean and very advanced. There was something like Alexa in the room which will talk to you. But only in Chinese. So I stayed away from it though it had a beautiful girl’s voice.
I forgot to mention about Robots in Chinese Hotels. Even in Xi’an, there were 3 robots in reception. All were female with female voice and they bring food to your room. This was really crazy. So, if you place food order, the delivery guy will reach your hotel and place the food in the belly of the robot. The Hotel management will enter few details and then the robot goes to the elevator and without human intervention it will bring the lift down using Wi-fi. It will go inside the lift and press the floor number using Wi-fi. It will come to your room and ring the door bell using Wi-Fi.
The moment you open the door, it will greet you in both Chinese and English. It will ask you to press the button on it’s belly to take the food. Once you take it, it will again go back and park itself in the Reception.
The voice of the robot was really beautiful. The robot doesn’t talk like the voice on Google Maps. I don’t know how to put it in words but the way the robot speaks is exactly like Human. It will use “err” “Ahaa” “oh Ho” in between while it speaks. If you close your eyes and listen, you will feel it is real woman talking to you. I really fell in love with the voice.
I spent the first 2 days in Chengdu just roaming around the city trying different foods. The food in Chengdu is very spicy. This is the first time the spice levels came very close to the South Indian spice levels. I was sweating while eating and I really loved the food.
This is the best meat noodles ever
After 2 days, I decided to go to see the Pandas. In Chengdu everywhere you will find Panda posters, Panda Pillows, Panda Key Chains, Panda T shirts etc. You have to book ticket in advance to visit the “Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding”
This place is quiet far from city center. I think I paid 100 RMB for 1 ticket which is approximately 1200 INR. There is a shuttle bus from the city center which will take you to the Park. I personally did not enjoy this panda episode. There was a huge crowd at the Research center. Literally people were brushing each other. You have to walk a long distance like this and spotting a Panda was not very regular. I came out in the middle and went back to city center. The Panda are just like bear with different color. I couldn’t understand the craze people were showing to see the panda. Just a doubt. If someone could enlighten me, it would be great.
Though I did not enjoy this Panda thing, one thing I would mention and again repeat is, the INFRASTRUCTURE. The way they built the park was excellent. Like for example, I mentioned you have to walk a long distance. So the way you go and the way you come out is different. So when you keep walking inside, you will see riddles and funny questions about the Panda. But the answers are there when you keep walking out. Also, they used more wood to build the place. You have wheel chair access and super clean toilets. Lot of trees and you will also find a quotes about animals by famous people.
There was a quote by Mahatma Gandhi also. I don’t remember exactly but it was something like this- “The greatness of a country can be understood by the way the country treats Animals”
Keeping the panda aside, if there are very less people, you can simply even take a walk along the park. It is so beautiful and calm.
In China, one thing I noticed is, it is quite regular to find Chinese people seeing you or giving a glance at you. They don’t stare at you, but they give a glance. It is just that they are curious about you. Especially someone like me who is dark and very different looking. ( According to them )
China has very strong censorship and therefore Chinese people are curious about the other countries. Also, when compared to other parts of the world, tourist coming to China is relatively less. Most people visit Beijing and Shanghai. Not many travel to interior parts of China. India is called ‘yeendu’ in Chinese Language. When I first landed in China, I used to tell I’m from India. But they were unable to understand. Later I realized they understand the Chinese name ‘yeendu’
I asked few people about their opinion about India. Everyone said they would want to visit India once. Few said India is pioneer in Medical field and tough operations are performed by Indian Doctors. Few women said they want to visit India but are afraid because they feel that women are not safe in India. I met a guy in Wuhan who said he likes Indian movies. He was struggling to recollect the name of the movie about engineers. I asked him if it was 3 Idiots and he said YES 🙂
Chinese people are aware that Indian people are one of their biggest customers. They know most of the products we use are made in China. I went to wholesale market in Chengdu. They were selling all branded Jeans and other clothing at wholesale rates. Usually we think all these are fake brands. But, all these big brands have their Manufactuing units in China. Most of the brands famous in the west have their manufacturing unit in China. One of the shopkeepers told me that they send huge stock to Ahmedabad and Mumbai every month.
I spent a week in Chengdu visiting other touristic places and then booked a flight to Wuhan.
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