11 Reasons You Should Go to China Right Now

Posted on 10. Feb, 2013 by in Asia

Chinese New Year is on Sunday! Unfortunately for me I will be halfway over the Atlantic Ocean on a plane to Finland (which probably doesn’t have a high Chinese population, although I haven’t fact checked that).

I miss China. It’s kind of weird how much I miss it considering I spent most of my time there coughing and not being able to understand anyone. I guess anywhere will grow on you if you spend enough months there, but China is absolutely the most unique and interesting country I’ve been to.

It might be a bit presumptuous, but I really think you should go too. Don’t be intimidated by the language barrier and the pollution and the general crazyness. Go anyways.

Here is why:

Absurd Things Happen Hourly

Culturally, visiting China was like visiting another planet- one which was sometimes completely indecipherable. Motorbike moving vans, lettuce clothes lines and weird behavior. It’s the one country I’ve been to where I literally had no idea what was going to happen next at any given time. It’s odd and amusing and it constantly keeps you on your toes.

Their History is Longer Then Your History

This is what initially attracted me to China: it’s one of the world’s oldest civilizations with thousands and thousands of years of continuos history.

The Cheapest Yummiest Street Food

Some people are leery of street food, and it is always a bit of a gamble, but one well worth making. How else can you get a super tasty meal for 50 cents or less? I really miss being able to stroll from stand to stand and select whatever foreign looking snack caught my fancy (and I only ever got sick once- so there).

It’s Great For Your Immune System

Actually China is terrible for your health- the smog here is no joke. But I believe “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” and it certainly makes the air quality everywhere else seem great by comparison!

They have the Cutest Babies EVER

At least that I’ve seen anywhere in the world.

 PANDAS

Nough said.

Food to Die (Or Kill) For

It’s no secret that Chinese food totally blew me away. I’m so shocked when I hear from people who went to China and didn’t like the food, because it was so varied and so delicious. Chinese restaurants in the US can’t compare.

Chinglish

Always amusing, often confusing, English-language signs in China are an absolute delight.

Weird Cross Cultural Connections

Sometimes the best part of travel is seeing your own country reflected back at you. Finding little bits of the rest of the world in supposedly isolated China was always fascinating:

The Food!!

Yes, I said food three times in this piece but the food here is really that amazing. I miss it so much that I would probably go back to China solely for some yummy Szechuan cuisine.

You’ll Never Truly Get it Til You Go

What’s awesome about visiting China is that you get to see up close it’s so much more than communism, or a billion people, or smog, it’s an amazing living and breathing ecletic slice of life.

Pin It

26 Responses to “11 Reasons You Should Go to China Right Now”

  1. Olivia - young on the road

    10. Feb, 2013

    If I had been to China, I too would write about the food 3 times! I love fooooooddddddd

    Reply to this comment

  2. Sally

    10. Feb, 2013

    I’m also surprised when I meet people who went to China and say they didn’t like the food. I’m like, “Um, what China were you at? Because there’s a reason why I gained 20 pounds in that country.”
    I would also add: being able to watch a country grow right before your very eyes. I was always amazed at how quickly whole apartment complexes and shopping malls would spring up seemingly overnight. Watching all that quick growth, made me feel like I was in America during the Industrial Revolution (well, that and all the smog).
    Sally recently posted..Unbrave Reads: And, Also, My Palms Are SweatyMy Profile

    Reply to this comment

    • Edna

      11. Feb, 2013

      Haha, “What China were you at?” Totally stealing that line next time someone tells me they didn’t like the food in China (which so far has been never, because it is the bomb, but you know just in case).
      Edna recently posted..The Fairy Tale of KishMy Profile

      Reply to this comment

  3. Trevor Huxham

    10. Feb, 2013

    Hahahaha I really enjoyed this post. Sometimes China just seems incredibly intimidating to me, but your write-up (and photos) here reminded me of just how interesting that country is and why I need to travel there someday. Thanks!
    Trevor Huxham recently posted..Mont-Saint-Michel, France: An Island Fortress in the English ChannelMy Profile

    Reply to this comment

  4. Stephen

    10. Feb, 2013

    Food for sure! Food alone has me considering Chengdu as a potential future base. Much more important than teahouses and pandas, after all! Nice (and delicious!) write-up. 新年快乐！

    Reply to this comment

  5. Scott

    10. Feb, 2013

    May I clarify that we’re in Lunar new year, not Chinese new year! :)

    Reply to this comment

  6. Maria-Emilia

    10. Feb, 2013

    China has never been on the top of my list. No particular reason why. But now, I’m terribly intrigued. Thanks!

    Reply to this comment

  7. Colleen Brynn

    10. Feb, 2013

    Hahaha… no noising. Love that!
    That street food looks unbelievable! I am planning on being in China this summer (for the tail end of the Trans-Siberian)… CAN’T WAIT!
    Colleen Brynn recently posted..Remembering Easter IslandMy Profile

    Reply to this comment

  8. Monica

    10. Feb, 2013

    I’d love to go to India and these photos have just made me want to go even more! The food looks absolutely amazing and it seems so different to anywhere else in the world. One day….!
    Monica recently posted..Incredible views from Table Mountain, South AfricaMy Profile

    Reply to this comment

  9. Andrea

    10. Feb, 2013

    I love the point “absurd things happen hourly.” That’s the same in Korea…never a dull a moment!
    Andrea recently posted..An American War: The Vietnam War Remnants MuseumMy Profile

    Reply to this comment

  10. Alouise

    10. Feb, 2013

    You had me at food, then at pandas, and of course again at food. China looks like a pretty amazing country to visit.
    Alouise recently posted..Souvenirs and A ContestMy Profile

    Reply to this comment

  11. Idiosyncratic Journeys

    10. Feb, 2013

    I agree Chinese food is good at some more upscale restaurants; maybe I was just unlucky but I found the more ‘local’ eateries and what the everyday people eat at their school/job cafeterias unbearable.

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      11. Feb, 2013

      Hmm I dunno, I ate at the student cafeteria every day and loved it.

      Reply to this comment

    • Becky

      22. Feb, 2013

      I definitely think that with food, it depends which region you’re in and the quality of the university cafeteria. I loved eating in the cafeteria in a university I attended in the northeast, but the one I attend now in the south (a poorer university in general) has pretty terrible food. Not to mention…I’m just gonna come out and say it…I definitely think Sichuan/Northeast food has all the rest of the Chinese food beat by a mile (can’t speak for Xinjiang/Tibet because I have no experience with those)! However, it’s not always easy to find a good Sichuan or Northeast restaurant. Definitely in regions of the far south, at least, they can be few and far between.

      Reply to this comment

  12. Wftristan

    11. Feb, 2013

    It would def be the food for me – although the “absurd things happen”….. that always makes for an interesting time
    Wftristan recently posted..Foreign holidays ‘cheaper in 2013′My Profile

    Reply to this comment

  13. Theodora

    11. Feb, 2013

    Great list. I think it’s the bewilderment that’s part of the magic of China, even if it can feel like hard work at the time.
    Theodora recently posted..Farewell to KathmanduMy Profile

    Reply to this comment

  14. Hogga

    11. Feb, 2013

    Pandas and delicious food? Who wouldn’t want to go to China?

    Reply to this comment

  15. Nick - Goats On The Road

    11. Feb, 2013

    Great Post! We live in China and we can’t agree more! There are so many different types of food from Dong Bei, Cantonese, Sichuan, Jiangsu and Beijing… Amazing! The people here are so friendly too. We love learning about all the ways that the Chinese people are SO different from us. For instance, everyone who’s born in China is 1 year old on the day they’re born, and they turn 2 on Chinese New Year day… no matter when they’re birthday is! That means if they’re born the day before New Years, then they are considered 2 years old when they’re actually only 2 days old! Makes it hard to figure out the actual age of your students… usually just minus a year or so!

    China is also a very underrated backpackers destination… great hostels, amazing food, friendly people and 1st world transport.

    Visit China… it’s amazing.
    Thanks for the post Steph
    Nick – Goats On The Road recently posted..Happy New Year!My Profile

    Reply to this comment

  16. Amanda

    12. Feb, 2013

    From reading this, you’d think you really liked the food in China or something. ;)

    I love the one about absurd things happening all the time!
    Amanda recently posted..5 Ways Travel Has Made Me More AdventurousMy Profile

    Reply to this comment

  17. Jess

    12. Feb, 2013

    I spent two weeks on Mainland China and nothing compares to it. I fell in love with the country, culture and people and am hoping to move there permanently some day. I agree-you won’t truly get it till you go!

    Reply to this comment

  18. Audrey

    19. Feb, 2013

    While I do agree with your post, i felt it only showed all the good and positive parts. you didn’t include street food of weird insects, scorpions and even cockroaches. They eat dog meat :s
    The toilets in some parts of China don’t have doors, sometimes, there aren’t even toilet walls. :s
    The place is dirty! And also, while the economy is booming, the rich-poor gap is stupendous and there are tons of suffering people too.
    Good to know you had a good time there, but i just felt you painted too positive a post about China…

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      19. Feb, 2013

      Well I did mention the terrible pollution and the chance of food poisoning. I spent 3 months living in China and I could write an equally long list of problems with the country, and but that wasn’t he subject of this post. Yeah china is dirty and poor and weird sometimes, but it’s also amazing, and and I wanted to highlight some of the great reasons to go despite its flaws.

      Reply to this comment

  19. Heather

    13. May, 2013

    Hi Stephanie!

    I enjoyed this post and your others about China…I’m relocating to Shanghai in less than a month (never been) and really related to your story about not having ever been specifically drawn to China, but ending up there because of Mike. My boyfriend is moving to Shanghai for work and lo and behold, I’m now on my way there too. Can’t wait to embrace the wackiness and the new adventures (my own moving-to-china post is below). Thanks Steph!

    Cheers!
    Heather recently posted..I’m Moving to ShanghaiMy Profile

    Reply to this comment

  20. Mo

    14. May, 2013

    Lived in china for 1 and a half years, amazing place, and agree with everything you have written. oh how i miss the food, and so cheap too

    Reply to this comment

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. WS Update - March 2013 - March 1, 2013

    [...] 11 Reasons You Should Go To China Right Now (Twenty Something Travel) [...]

Leave a Reply

CommentLuv badge