---Latest of China Travel Talk

Travel to China? Always a dream of adrenaline-pumping idea from Marco Polo era to the times of Edgar Snow's Red China adventure and to nowaday drastic changing age. A nation of longest history and arcane culture that is still alive is beckoning enough and the rather that this ancient country has never been totally willing to open or geographically accessible to the outside world. Therefore it's very fortunate, thanks to then blockbuster travelogue of that Italian adventurer, that we can have a peek into the lives of Chinese people 800 year ago when Chinese culture was overwhelming over the world of the times and, longtime later Edgar Snow, an ambitious American journalist drew public attention from western world into the unbeknown Red Power withdrawing into passive defense in a northwest corner of China during World War 2 and it's also the Red Power that throned over the country later and shut itself off from outside world for tens of years till the end of last century. To most outside people, China is a land of virgin, but now a land of opportunities of, not only business yet possibility to explore this vast colorful terrain the size of United States and experience what Marco Polo and Edgar Snow did but with jetliner and digital camera. So it's understandable that foreign tourists are thronging to Beijing, capital of many ancient dynasties and today, where is full of imperial relics and enriched culture, Shanghai, an international metropolis integrating colonial architectures with modern skyscrapers as well as the engine of China's thrusting economy and Xi'an, the site of grand Terra-cotta Army and numerous historic sites survived from different dynasties. But, the question is: Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an can represent China in a large degree or how much if so? In point of encyclopedical Chinese traditional culture, Beijing or Xi'an only demonstrates imperial spectacles but many interesting parts of the culture have been rooted in communities, villages, towns or civil temples. For instance, you can't find gardens of Suzhou style in Beijing or in whole northern China, and that happened to fall into chime with traditional aesthetic standards. Shanghai has been developed into today's dynamic national hub and powerful economic center in only a short period of 150 years. Very few people know that Shanxi, a northern province used to be the hotbed of business giants who controlled most financial and trade activities of the country in dynasties of Ming and Qing. There are quite a number of private properties and gardens of luxury featuring with Chinese northern marks weathered and worth a visit. Guilin and the Three Gorges in the central section of Yangtze River are certainly particular as attraction sites of nature. But we can't forget China is a country of 9.6 million square kilometers in size with sharp variations of topography and big gaps of climate conditions in different regions. All these heaven-sent factors have created considerable natural miracles, of which Mt. Everest, Mongolia desert, loess plateau in northwest, mountain tundra in northern Tibet and tropical forest region Xishuangbana in Yunnan are just good examples of nature miracles. So far there are as many as 29 UNESCO world heritage sites in China either cultural or natural or both combined. Still there are many more to be unveiled and unexplored. You cannot always wait and see on the paper or Ian Wright's TV show if there is a discovery of new wonder today of the country. Chinese people may take a place as granted as it might have existed for several thousands of years in their eyes, whereas where could be a surprise to outsiders. Won't you take it as incredible of a temple being built atop a stiff hill nearly inaccessible or a temple suspended on midway of a rock hill? Or, imagine an enormous ring-shape building that has ever been home to over a hundred families from grandpa to grandson being evadable of bandit invasion and dissolution of traditional family organization too.

For Chinese tourists, Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an and Guilin are still their Mekka though, many people especially younger generation is shifting their attention to off-the-beaten tracks and destinations for satisfying their curious and adventurous souls. Fortunately their vast country provides just a perfect arena at home. You know what are the topics that people are chattering about most on the internet forums in China? Number one is of politics and the following is where to head for a recess time from everyday routine work and, it's almost certain that a lot zippy responders would follow the lead to offer their replies out of their own experience or simply expectations.

Here we like to give a briefing of some of those frequently touched target destinations in the forum on the travel-related BBS in China.