VOC's Travel BLOG

Our Travel Blog is the place to share our real life, travel experiences in China with you. Besides, we will provide information related to Chinese culture and China travel guide. "A bosom friend afar brings a distant land near." Traveling makes us to be closer, let's discover China together!

Classical Chinese garden is time-honored with a history of over 3000 years, which has developed to a distinctive style of its own that enjoy a high reputation in the world garden family. A Classical Chinese garden is always a comprehensive one which combines traditional Chinese architecture, literature, calligraphy, Chinese painting, engraving and craftship. Generally, there are four garden schools in China according to regional characteristics, namely, south Yangtze River gardens (shortly known as southern gardens), south of the Five Ridges gardens, Sichuan gardens, and northern gardens, southern school of which is the most famed home and abroad. Among the four most famous gardens of China, theHumble Administrator's Garden in Suzhou, the Summer Palace in Beijing, the Imperial Summer Villa in Chengde and the Lingering Garden also in Suzhou, two of them in Suzhou that belong to the southern school.

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There is a popular saying goes: there is a paradise above, so are there Hangzhou and Suzhou below. In the 13th century, Marco Polo came to Hangzhou and declared it to be the finest, most splendid city in the worldwhere so many pleasures may be found that one fancies oneself to be in the paradise. Hangzhou is a city with beautiful scenery and friendly people, I have been there at last week for my business trip with my clients who came from Canada and USA, thanks for this chance for letting me feel the real paradise on the earth.

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Seated in the deep of southwest China and the upstream of Yangtze River, Sichuan Province enjoys preferable magnificent natural sceneries as well as a profound culture blended that of both the Chinese east and west nations. The magic Jiuzhaigou Valley, the famous Buddhist mountain of Emei, the base of cute Chinese pandas and the oldest dam of Dujiangyan are the most popular things in people’s mouths. Also, Sichuan is a popular destination for the exploration for the extended southwest ethnic culture along the Yunnan Province.

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This is a time when all Chinese people go travelling, come back home to see their beloved family and friends or just relax at home. Chinese national holidays are spread all year long at some specific festivals in order to allow people to hui jia kan kan (回家看看, literally come back home and see) and take a break. During the last Qingming Festival (清明节, qing ming Jie) falling on April 5th, one of my French friends and I living in Guilin decided to take the chance to spend these 3 days off to travel in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Place I dreamt off since the last time I was in China but that I never had the time to go for one reason or so, I finally had the chance to go to one of the most magic and beautiful scenic spot of Southern China: Detian Waterfalls (德天瀑布).

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Ha, Sanyajust hearing this name today makes me remember the great days I spent there with some of my Russian friends! Leaving the chilling weather of Guilin in mid January (yes, Guilin can be freezing and icy believe me!) for the southernmost tip of China was one of the best decision and winter vacation I ever had, spent between beach times, fresh seafood and coconutsthat's all about Sanya (三亚). Before coming to China, I never heard about that city or even the possibility that China could have any tropical islands and white sand beaches. Nave enough, I was just amazed by the trip I made to this gorgeous seaside city.

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It all started on one afternoon when, sat on a bench at GXNU (Guangxi Normal University) having a juice with some Costa Rican friends, we decided to move away for the next coming weekend and leave the though beautiful Guilin city for one day or so with just a backpack and the unforgettable Lonely Planet guide to have fun. (I extremely recommend that guide, it helped me a lot since I started to travel in China 4 years ago!).

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It has been long time I planned to take a visit Hong Kong, it was a little pity last time I did not visit Hong Kong once I was in Macao in 2009, because I would like to give myself more time to explore Hong Kong as it is worthy to spend several days instead of only one day. So, in early June, during my Dagon Boat Festival holiday, I had the opportunity to visit Hong Kong, my dream really came true. Now let me show you some Hong Kong highlights which I found.

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Finding some interesting activities around Guilin vicinity is one of the easiest things to do, the topography and natural sceneries of this area of China being such a jewel. Living in Guilin in order to study Chinese, I woke up on a Saturday morning with no plans at all for the day except going out with friends and have some good time. Our decision was to discover all together a famous scenic spot of the city that our teachers were talking about during the lessons: the Li River Crown Cave (Guanyan, 冠岩). Bottle of water and snacks checked, we left by bus - the easiest way I've taken so far to travel in Guangxi Province - for the scenic area is located at about 29 km downstream from Guilin city, on the banks of the Li River.

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