CHINA BUCKET LIST!
We had a very short recent trip to China and I never thought that we would fall in love with the sights, the people and especially the local cuisine as much as we did. Yes next to no one understood us (thank goodness for the Google Translate app that helped us through,cfx) but only visiting the Sichuan region was not enough to fully experience China.
We have now compiled a list of where we want to go to explore the rest of China. With over 1.3 billion people residing here and 9.6 million square kilometres to explore, I feel like this bucket list may never end.
1. Volunteer with Giant Panda's in Chengdu
The Giant Panda is the symbol of China and one of the cutest animals I have ever seen, You can head to the Sichuan mountainous region and spend a week looking after these endangered animals. One of the best volunteer projects we have done abroad and as a bonus you get to explore the city of Chengdu as apart of your week.
Read More:Volunteering with Giant Panda's In China
Panda Volunteer
2. Camp on the Great Wall of China
Of course you can't go to China and not see the Great Wall - but did you know you could camp the night on it? Stretching over 8,800 kilometers you can team up with a local tour company that will let you set up a campsite on one of the stretches of wall.
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3. Stare in Awe at the Xi'an's Terracotta Warriors
First discovered in the 1970's with figures dating back to the third century, these terracotta warriors were used as a military tactic to make the armies of Qin Shi Huang seem greater than his real one. With well over 8,000 soldiers discovered and each with their own unique touch makes me want to see these in person even more.
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4. See the Leshan Giant Buddha
We came so close to seeing this giant stone statue but our schedule in Chengdu was so tight that we now have another excuse to head back, see the Giant Buddha and grab some more of their excellent spicy food.
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5. Visit the Forbidden City
Yes it would not be a Chinese bucket list if this tourist trip didn't fall on the list. But sometimes you just need to suck up your pride, head in the low season and explore this Royal Palace and UNESCO World heritage site.
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6. See the real AVATAR at Zhangjiajie
Words cannot do this place any justice. Located in the Hunan province in south-central China is arguably the national park that inspired the world of Pandora from AVATAR.
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7. Go To Disneyland in Shanghai & Hong Kong
Our goal in life is to visit all the Disneyland's across the globe (we are half way!) so this one may just be a personal bucket list item for us. The doors on the mouse house opened very recently in June 2016 making the Shanghai Disneyland the newest in the world.
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8. Take a Boat Ride up the Li River
A Li River cruise will take you from Guilin to Yangshuo in the Guangxi Province. Here you will see spectacular scenery ranging from ancient towns, luscious mountains and local fisherman as you go on this enchanting ride.
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9. See the Water Towns in Suzhou
Based in Eastern China here you can see the "Venice of China" with a plentiful amount of canals and gondolas. This ancient water town is easily towards the top of my Chinese bucket list due to the merging of Ancient China and the Italian vibes made famous from the Venice canals.
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10. See the Painted Rainbow Mountains in Zhangye
It's as if someone saw the mountains as their paintbook and decided to colour in between the lines. These geological wonders contain colours of red, green, yellows and blues.
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11. Undertake the Most Dangerous Hike the World
Located in the Shaanxi province you can hike Mount Huashan through some of the most scenic mountains in the world. Here you walk across planks literally on the edge of the world as you take in the panoramic views.
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What else have we missed on our China bucket list?
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