tominrm

Hello, China Experts, I have been to Beijing (2 times) Shanghai (3 times), Hong Kong(3 times), and Macau(2 times).
in April I am planning to go to Zhang Jia Jie for the first time. Are there any other places you'd like to recommend for me to visit? Xi'An is one of other places I have in mind. China being a large country I don't expect to go everywhere, but I wouold like to go somewhere that have rich in history and culture. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

shelemm

Hunan Province, where you are going, is loaded with so many different landscapes, traditional villages, and cultural relics. You could start there by visiting the provincial tourism website.

Hunan Tourism-enghunan.gov.cn

Scroll down to the section 'Tour Hunan'

hewholovestravel

Since you're going to be in Hunan Province already for Zhangjiajie, I'd definitely recommend checking out some other places in the area too. After Zhangjiajie, maybe add on a few days in Xi'an like you mentioned - the Terracotta Warriors are incredible. Or you could head south to Yangshuo and hike the beautiful limestone karsts there.

tominrm

Thank you. I will look for other destinations in Hunan Province.

tominrm

Thank you, I will look. My real concern is, is it possible to tour smaller cities without speaking Chinese and without tour guide? I can read some Chinese characters but not well.

HappyTrvlr

Our favorite of four trips to China focused on western China. I highly recommend a visit to Kashgar.

shelemm

You are already going to a remote site that is not a city...... how are you getting/staying there?

A lot of places in the Hunan Province are connected by train. At each site there are tour agencies you could contact in advance who could help you, and there are internet cafes/lodging that can help people with English. Like anywhere else, of course there will be language barriers, but there is a benefit to getting off the heavily trod path.

Here is a map of trains in Hunan, from this link you will find many other tourist maps of Hunan areas, by town:

https://www.cn-zhangjiajie.com/view-25-284.html

Hunan Province has many ethnic minority villages and a lot of natural wonders, so you don't have to go far.

tominrm

HappyTrvlr, Thank you for the tip. It is interesting from the cultural point of view, but I wonder if my travel to the region as a foreigner raise a red flag by the authority. When was the last time you were in Xinjiang Province?

tominrm

shelemm, thanks. I realize China is a big country. It is not possible to see all the places in China. If you recommend two cities in the map which cities will they be?

shelemm

if you are asking about the Hunan Province map, then there are several ancient towns to visit near Xiangxi and Huaihua, so not far form Zhangjiajie. The cities themselves are not the attraction,; it is the ancient towns like Furong, Fenhuang, Dehang, Huangsiqiao, Qianyang and a few others. A tour agency there can put together an easy guided trip for you.

tominrm

Thank you, Shelemm. I will look into it.