China is a vibrant country filled with many different regions and cuisines. My husband and I visited in October 2017. We flew to Beijing, which was the most interesting of all the cities we visited. I could feel the Chinese culture through both historic and modern sites. Xi'an was the most fun, with great restaurants, shopping, and activities. Guilin and Yangshuo, in the south, were very relaxing and had the most beautiful scenery. They felt like true vacation towns with vibrant downtowns and quiet countrysides. Shanghai was the largest city that I've ever visited, and has anything that a traveler could be seeking!
The Inspiration Behind the Meal
We visited many different regions of China - north, south, cities, countryside...
Beijing had the best dumplings. We found delicious homemade noodles in Xi'an. Guilin and Yangshuo had great rice and fish dishes. Shanghai has a tremendous amount of bars, Michelin Star restaurants, and street food options.
I'm sharing my perfected homemade fried rice recipe below. It's lower calories than what you'll get from Chinese-American take-out restaurants, but still packed with flavor!
ITINERARY:
Day 1: Beijing | We arrived after a 12.5 hour flight from SFO to Beijing. We checked into the Grand Hyatt Beijing (which had a beautiful, unique pool!) We were exhausted after the long plane ride, but were able to gather some energy to enjoy a Peking Duck dinner at the famous QuanJude Peking Duck restaurant. (There are a few locations)
Day 2: Beijing | During the first full day in Beijing we planned to pack as much sightseeing into the day as we could! We walked to Tiananmen Square (make sure you bring your passport) and found a small, local dumpling spot a few blocks from the Forbidden City. We thought it looked authentic since many people were getting bags of dumplings to-go on their way to work. We sat down inside and had the best dumplings of the trip! I wish I wrote down the name of it...
After breakfast we waited on line to go into the Forbidden City. It opens at 8:30 am. I'd recommend going early because it's enormous and there's so much to see!
After the Forbidden City we walked around some Hutongs (traditional residential areas that still exist in Beijing) near the Dongcheng North area where we stopped for lunch and visited the Bell Tower and Drum Tower. We then took a taxi to the Temple of Heaven, and ended our day with some shopping at the Hongqiao (pearl) market.
Day 3: The Great Wall | We booked a personal tour with Ricky at Wild Great Wall Adventure. This personal tour was totally worth it! He picked us up at our hotel and took us to both old parts of the wall and new parts, including Jiankou and Mutianya. We also stopped for a great lunch.
Day 4: Travel to Xi'an | We took the train from Beijing to Xi'an, which lasted about 4.5 hours, and checked into the Westin Xi'an. This hotel had a great atmosphere and was conveniently located near the subway station. It is also right across the street from the Wild Goose Pagoda and a lively park. It also had good room service (which we ordered the first night since we were exhausted from traveling) and a variety of options at it's breakfast buffet.
Day 5: The Terra Cotta Warriors | We asked our hotel concierge to hire us a driver to take us to and from the Terra Cotta Warriors. This was a great tip that we learned from our recent trip to Thailand - ordering a driver for the day in many parts of Asia is pretty affordable! The Terra Cotta Warriors museum was so much bigger than we were anticipating! It is definitely a must-do if you are in the region! When we returned to Xi'an we had dinner at Three Sisters Dumplings (Sanjiemei Jiaozi).
Day 6: Xi'an | The next day we took the subway from our hotel to central Xi'an. We rented bikes and rode around the top of the city's walls. We also visited many sites including the Bell Tower, Drum Tower, and the Great Mosque of Xi'an (located in the Muslim Quarter). We had dinner near our hotel at First Noodle Under the Sun - this was one of our favorite meals of the trip. The noodles were fresh and amazing!
Day 7: Travel & Guilin | After experience Northern China, we were ready to head South! We took a 2 hour flight from Xi'an to Guilin in the morning. We checked into the Sheraton Guilin, which had great views of the river, and then spent the day walking around the downtown - shopping and people watching. It's good to note that the downtown comes alive at night with their market and live music.
Day 8: Guilin to Yangshuo River Cruise | The Li river cruise took about 3.5 hours and included lunch. There was beautiful scenery of the Karst mountain and animals along the shore. It's definitely a 10/10 experience! When we arrived in Yangshuo we took a taxi and checked into the Yangshuo Village Inn (a bit away from downtown, but very relaxing and surrounded by the enchanting countryside). We were greeted with cups of tea while we waited for our room. Our room had a fantastic view of Moon Hill!
Day 9: Yangshuo | We did a lot of sightseeing and activities in Yangshuo including the Yangshuo Caves tour, renting bikes to ride around the countryside, and hiking to the top of Moon Hill. At night we walked around downtown Yangshuo and had dinner.
Day 10: Travel to Shanghai | We decided to extend our vacation by an extra day to see Shanghai since we were going to have a layover in Shanghai anyway. We took a taxi from our hotel to Guilin airport and flew 2.5 hours to Shanghai. We checked into the Le Royal Meridien Shanghai, which is located directly on Nanjing Road - a lively area that's a few blocks from the Bund. Hu Bar and Lounge is located on the 65th floor of the hotel and has great views of the city. We ended our night with a drink while soaking in the views.
Day 11: Shanghai | During the last day of our trip we stayed pretty close to the hotel. Shanghai is one of the largest cities in the world, and I'm sure we could have spent an entire week there! But, since we only had a day, and we were pretty tired from all of our traveling, we walked around the Bund and explored some nearby attractions, including the Yu Yuan Garden and Bazaar. We had lunch at Lu Bo Lang, near the Yu Yuan Garden, and dinner at Lao Zheng Xing, a Michelin Star restaurant.
PLANNING TIPS:
Bring notecards with both English and Chinese directions to your hotels. This way you can show them to your driver if they don't speak English! (they probably won't)
Give yourself plenty of time to apply for a travel visa. It took us about 2 months. There are only a few locations in the US, and you'll need to go in person. Luckily, we lived in San Francisco at the time. You'll need your flights and hotels booked to show the embassy before they issue your visa.
Chinese Fried Rice
Total time: 30-40 minutes
Ingredients: White rice, garlic, onion, peas, chopped carrots, olive oil, soy sauce, fish sauce, curry powder, ginger powder, pepper, eggs, pineapple (optional), meat choice (ex: chicken), green onion (optional)
Step 1: RICE | Add 1 part rice to 2 parts water to a rice cooker (or however you choose make your rice). The ingredients in this recipe are measured for 2 cups of rice.
Step 2: MEAT | While the rice cooks, use a pan to cook the meat that you choose. Some options include chicken, pork, or shrimp. They can all be cooked in olive oil in a pan.
Step 3: EGGS | Move the meat to a plate and set aside. Cook 2-3 scrambled eggs in the pan by continually folding the eggs while they cook.
Step 4: COMBINE | In a large wok (or large pan, if you don't have one) saute 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 chopped onion, 1/2 cup peas and 1/2 cup chopped carrots in olive oil. Once the garlic and onion are lightly browned, add the rice and mix.
Step 5: SAUCE | Add the 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/8 cup fish sauce, 2 tablespoons curry powder, 1 tablespoon ginger powder, and pepper (to taste).
Step 6: ADD OPTIONS | Add the eggs, meat choice, and any other hot additions that you choose. Move the fried rice to a large bowl and then add any cold options that you choose (I like to add pineapple and green onion)
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