Chinese Cities: My Tourist Report Card
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Hello everyone! I recently took the time to reflect on some of the fairly well-known and worthwhile domestic destinations that I have visited and would like to share my personal travel experiences and evaluations with you.
However, I must note that there are certain places—such as Tibet, Northwest Sichuan (known for its breathtaking scenery with snow-capped peaks, grasslands that resemble Tibetan landscapes), Xinjiang, and Shanxi—that I haven’t yet had the opportunity to explore. Mainly because when traveling alone within the country, if the destination is too far, I usually opt for international destinations instead. However, the rest of the places have been ticked off my list!
Additionally, once I have some free time, I’ll be providing a travel evaluation for international destinations.
What do I prioritize when choosing a destination?
- Most importantly, natural scenery! This factor carries significant weight when making decisions.
- The next aspect considered is the city itself, with its unique character or special cultural atmosphere.
- When it comes to dining experiences, hotels, tourist crowds, weather conditions, etc., they hold relatively less importance to me.
One pitfall that I want to highlight is:
- Quality of Tourism Management! Even with excellent scenery available, poor local tourism management (some places really, unnamed!) would result in a demotion of their rating by me!
- Avoiding this pitfall? Before embarking on any trip, read multiple reviews, particularly focusing on negative ones to identify issues like mismanagement and excessive prices.
One other thing to note is that as someone who grew up in Guangdong, my evaluations of cities in southern China might be slightly more stringent (to be honest, a lot of southern cities just don't appeal to me as much...)
The scale I use for grading these places is roughly outlined as follows:
- 90-95 points: Must visit at least once in a lifetime! You’ll regret it if you don’t!
- 80-85 points: Worth making a special trip for.
- 75 points: Decent, a good choice if there’s nothing else you really desire going to.
- 70 points: Worth checking out if you happen to pass through.
- 60~65 points: Not worth making a special trip for.
This post serves as an introductory overview (P1). Subsequently, I will be discussing each city briefly in sections P2 to P6.
By the way, I have decided not to do an evaluation for Beijing—there's just too much complexity involved, making any fair assessment incredibly challenging!
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Why 90 for Huangshan?
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Isn't China's most beautiful mountain worth that score?
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Shenzhen got a 60?
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What's so great about big cities anyway? 60 feels too high for them.
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The author seems to be someone who loves natural landscapes and is a foodie.
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Spot on!
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Jinan got a 60?
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Rated too highly?
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Harbin got a 60?
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85 points.
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Harbin at 60 and Karamay at 75? Yeah, I knew this ranking was unreliable.
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Karamay should be rated even lower... I don't even think it's worth a visit.
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I've been to pretty much all of Zhejiang, except Wenzhou. Actually, Wenzhou is quite nice too; it has beautiful landscapes and great local snacks.
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Wenzhou definitely deserves a higher score than Hangzhou.
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Don't worry too much about what others think; if you want to go, just go.
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I could tolerate Shangrao being ranked higher than Nanchang, but Jingdezhen above Nanchang? That's a bit much. Jingdezhen really isn't that good; it's way worse than Nanchang.
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There isn't much to do in Nanchang.
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Chengdu's natural attractions include Mount Qingcheng and Dujiangyan, though Dujiangyan also has significant cultural aspects.
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I especially love the cultural heritage of Dujiangyan!