2013: My China Year

2013 was without a doubt my China year. Unlike other travel bloggers I haven’t stayed there for several months or even a year, but China has definitely stolen my heart. I have been to China once before, in July and August 2010, when travelling through Yunnan and Tibet. At that time already I absolutely loved it  and have always planned to go back to see more of the Middle Kingdom. But I have never expected that it would blow me away that much and that I would travel there twice in eight months. At any one time I have stayed there for three and a half respectively four weeks and have spent a few additional days in Dubai, Hongkong and Thailand.

Exploring the Temple of Heaven

China’s capital Beijing has more than 20 million inhabitants and a more than 3000-year-old history. Its name means Northern Capital. With the Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the former Imperial Palace which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987, the old and the new Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, the Lama Temple, the Confucius Temple et cetera it hosts an imposing cultural heritage.

A trip to the Middle Kingdom

China has been on my travel bucket list for several years. For May 2010 I had originally  booked a trip called “Essential China” which would have led me to Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, Chengdu, Leshan, on a Yangtze River Cruise, to Yangshuo and to Hongkong but due to some unfortunate reason I had to cancel my trip two months before leaving home. A few months later I did a tour through Yunnan and Tibet instead which was absolutely amazing and one the best trips if not even the best trip I have done so far. Everything great came together. We were a small group of only seven members. My six travelmates came from the Netherlands, Norway and from Canada and were fantastic and Mill, our tour guide from the US, was outstanding. The same goes to our local tibetan guide Jigme who guided us through Tibet and gave us a great impact into his region. The places and sights we have visited were absolutely stunning. After finishing the tour in Kathmandu, Nepal I knew that I want to go back to see more of China.