We had our silver wedding anniversary in 2025 and didn't want to go on a big trip, but now in 2026 China was on the cards. But how do you travel to China? From our point of view, only guided tours were possible, you can't read anything, no plan where to buy tickets, you need one almost everywhere. So we did some research to find the best place to book. In the end, we came across Windhorse Travel, a Chinese travel agency. We had no regrets, from the preparation and selection of the route, to the booking and the organisation of the driver who was not available at the time, everything worked perfectly. Jenny looked after us very well and communication via WeChat was easy. We didn't have to worry about anything, just be there at the agreed time and everything was taken care of for us. If you usually do this yourself, it's a bit unusual.
We had to rebook our journey due to the events in the Middle East and had now travelled to Beijing via Kuala Lumpur. This gave us a chance to get used to the time change.
What do you need for China, a sim from China, which we bought at the airport for 30 days. A sim from Holafly that does roaming via Spain, so we don't need a VPN. Apart from Google and Whatsapp, almost everything was accessible anyway. The WeChat and Alipay apps are essential for survival, we almost only needed cash for tips. The translation app then takes care of the rest, which works quite well. We didn't notice much in the way of checks on the locals, only our guide in Beijing was checked once and asked why he had a VPN client on his mobile phone.
Everything in China is bigger, higher, louder and, above all, there are an incredible number of people. You have to get to grips with that first, there's no queuing, you just push until you get to the front. This applies to the streets as well as everything else. But they are all friendly and helpful, and with a few words of Chinese and a bit of arm wrestling you can always get to your destination. And as we had a group tour with only two participants, the guide was always able to help. Apart from two places, we always had more or less German-speaking guides.
It's all very well organised and geared towards large crowds, luckily we weren't travelling in peak season, but we got an impression of what it can be like at the Terracotta Army. Without Mia, who guided us through the back entrances and against the flow, we would never have made it.
We were able to experience so much in the 29 days, new impressions, new cultures and behaviours. It was also physically demanding with almost 5000 metres above sea level, the countless stairs up and down, it was always a challenge. We are a little proud that everything went so well and that we persevered.
The food was consistently good to very good. In Sezuan it was really really spicy, even though we like spicy food, we couldn't eat it. And you don't have to eat everything, such as chicken feet, which is available almost everywhere. It tasted almost the best in Beijing. We didn't realise the legend of sweet & sour chicken, which is a European invention, but it is available in almost every restaurant and is far too sweet. In general, there is sugar in a lot of dishes, which is not really our cup of tea.
China really has a lot to offer, they are way ahead in terms of technology, economically everyone has been moaning a bit because everything is getting expensive, just like here. Covid has caused a lot of economic damage and there are many unemployed people. You don't notice it so much in the big metropolises, but you do in the countryside.
It is a clean country, there is a lot of cleaning. Whether on the streets or in tourist areas, on the train there is always someone running around with a broom. The roads were very good throughout, with a few exceptions in rural areas.
Travelling by train is almost like flying, but cleverly organised. There is a security check at the entrance similar to the one at the airport, just not quite as precise. They took a mousse away from Sylvia because it was more than 100 ml. Then there's a waiting hall and the trains are called, your ticket is linked to your ID, that's the same everywhere, we've never had to show our passport so much. Then you go to the platform and the carriage numbers are marked on the floor, there are almost only reserved seats. The high-speed trains travel at up to 350 km/h.
Hongkong macht den Abschluss, die Führung mit Polly und die Nacht im Penisula Hotel, werden sicher in Erinnerung bleiben.
It is very difficult to make a selection - there are so many great memories that we are taking with us. We will always remember the people, the incredible landscapes, the megacities, the food in Beijing. We could go on and on, but we've already done that in detail.
