There's a million zillion events and special events and holidays in China, reflecting 5000 years of history and 4 major world religions and philosophies, so I'll just hit on the one I was able to attend. My advice though? Plan your route well and do your homework on what's going on when and where. Nothing is worse in travel than missed opportunities. I was in Xijiang for the Miao New Year Festival in December. The celebration boasts songs, dances, bullfights, lusheng competitions and gorgeous Miao women in silver head dresses going through all kinds of courtship rituals. It was a whirlwind of sights, sounds food and smells.
China… Well for starters, it's "oh my god" massive, weighing in at 4 million square miles, with another 2 million square miles of water… It also has the worlds densest population and most ancient civilization. Archeological digs show that people have been here for over a million years, only the last 5000 of which are documented. That said, no other country in the world even compares to China in terms of potential for varied and fascinating travel destinations. I can't even scratch the surface here so I'll just lay some of my personal impressions on you. If you want to feel your place in the cosmic order, go to China. Seeing things like the Himalayas, the skyline of Beijing, the unbelievable Great Wall in the north or the mass of squirming humanity pressed into Hong Kong will quickly put you in your place. We're dots on a line, and no where in the world is that more apparent (and strangely more comforting to witness) than in distant and mysterious China.
With 5000 years of kingdoms, fiefdoms, wars and empires, there's just too damn much to go into, so I'll talk about one thing every human being should see before they die - The Great Wall of China or "Changcheng" as it's known over there. The thing was built and maintained for over 19 centuries to protect the northern border of China during some rocky times with those pesky Mongols to the north. What most people don't know is that it's a series of walls, stretching over 4000 miles, not just one single wall. We hiked from Juyongguan pass known as the Badaling for about 15 miles. And every step was a stark realization
