The Great Wall

The journey to the Far East has to start with China.

Embarking on this journey to China started back in 2019. Pre-Covid times.

As a family we were deciding on holiday destinations, outside of the typical European locations. I wanted a different type of holiday - one which involved seeing one of the great wonders of the world. Instantly China came to mind and specficially the Great Wall of China.

It was time to convince my family - I produced a 5 page report and analysis on flights, hotels, visa etc. I was gaining traction and even my sisters were down to go, veering away from their typical Dubai holidays.

But then… Covid hit, and the plan was put aside for around six years.

Until… my very good friend let me know he was taking time of work to live in China. The game-plan was back on! Let’s gooo!

June 2025, that’s when the true planning started.

When it comes to planning a holiday (if you’ve read my previous articles, you know I’m a huge planner) - China required a level of planning never seen before. Let me break it down.

Visa topic first. I knew I had a finite amount of annual leave to take and decided that roughly 10 days would be a good enough time to visit core cities in China, which was perfect, as the new visa regulations introduced enables foreign visitors 10 days visa free, which only was introduced in late 2024. Previous to this, it was just 5 days and didn’t let you travel around the country. It was game time, I knew Beijing and Shanghai were core cities, but then my friend from university lived in Guangzhou, so had to see him and then Shenzhen the tech capital of China.

OH, and by that point may as well visit Hong Kong, it’s like 10 minutes from Shenzhen.

So flights were first - align with my friend and book. Done.

Then hotels, we both knew most of the day would be spent sight-seeing so we just booked somewhere easy and chill.

The fun part was the activiites/visiting historic sites. Ofccc the first booking was the ‘Great Wall of China’ it just had to be.

Okay, I’m not going to bore you with details off me booking a trip, let’s fast forward to landing in Beijing and my friend picking me up from the airport.

We were inside China, a full switch, it’s time to lock in.

I’m sure I was the only South Asian on the plane there - maybe one other, but who cares - it made everything feel more authentic.

Our first historic site was visiting the Forbidden City & Temple of Heaven - this was after a 13 hour flight, landing at 11pm, and being at the 4 hour walking tour for 8am the next day. I loved it.

First things first, what a busy place Beijing actually is, like wow. But the efficiency off moving people and ensuring safety during peak times was actually insane, so well regimented and barely any issues. Although I don’t speak Mandarin, so who knows…