The Great Chinese Adventure – South-West

Imagine traveling in November from Shanghai to Beijing for a couple of days. Nothing much, just an extended-family outing. The temperature difference is significant, as you move from 15°C / 59°F to around 5°C / 41°F. After the stay, you go back to Shanghai to sleep over, and then catch your plane to Hong Kong – going suddenly to 25°C / 77°F. The fun thing about it all, I got to ride the super-fast train between Shanghai and Beijing, running at speeds close to an airplane. The quick ride lasts only around six hours. And then the following day, flying all the way to the south of the continent – I can’t even remember how long the flight to Hong Kong really took. At least I got to ride the maglev (it’s short for magnetic levitation, not a Russian last name, as I originally thought) train, warping me from the Shanghai Pudong International Airport back to the city center where I lived, in a matter of minutes. This post shouldn’t even be about that piece of the experience, but Kunming and Tengchong, right? Yes. But I’ve given you an amazing idea for a travel sport. Thank me later, but do send pics!

Now imagine going to the south-western border of China, in the middle of a cold December, to visit Kunming and the Tengchong spa, at the cliff of an inactive volcano. The temperatures were so cold, that at night one needed to cover their T-shirt with something containing sleeves. Something light was in order. Fun fact, the private jet pictures are from this trip. Now this truly was something spectacular! But not even as remotely as the experience itself. Each part of China tells a different part of the same story, a different piece of the puzzle, and the overall impression differs among regions. I must have told you how each major Chinese city is more dissimilar to one another than two average countries in Europe. This goes much deeper than just the plain geography – this is weaved into the subculture, the sublanguage, the food, human relationships and sense of importance. Although, altogether, it is the same country, with the same general beliefs, overall understanding of life and mission, and common grounds, these subtle differences provide a feeling of spending time in far-away lands (from one another). Even the locals look slightly different from the ones in other regions, as if they share only a part of common ancestry. This is another reason why crossing China off the list after having visited only one or two cities is completely and utterly wrong. And it’s another reason why everyone should feel invited to visit this eastern marvel!