Shanghai
China's largest city is a thrilling hub of international activity that has been developed extensively over the past few decades. As the first Chinese port open for trade with the west, Shanghai has a history of integrating foreign cultures and sensibilities with its own. This multi-culturalism has largely survived the country's tumultuous politics, and visitors will notice that, among other things, many of the city's buildings, particularly along the Bund, are reminiscent of spectacular colonial-era architecture.
With such a cosmopolitan global atmosphere, travellers will feel welcome and at home among the colourful crowds of Shanghai's celebrated street life.
Once a notoriously salacious city (the almost inevitable result of being built around a booming port), Shanghai is famous for its energetic and vibrant nightlife, with a near-endless selection of bars and nightclubs to keep visitors thoroughly entertained. Furthermore, as such a crossroad of cultures, Shanghai caters for the truly international pallet, boasting a diverse restaurant scene and offering some of the best shopping in the world.
Beijing
China's huge capital city is a perennial favourite with tourists and backpackers, who relish its wide range of unusual sights, sounds, smells and tastes. The city's unique cultural elements are alive and well and can be experienced first-hand through indigenous cuisine, temples and traditional performances. Beijing is nevertheless more than up-to-date with modern trends and fashions, partly as a result of its cosmopolitan expat population and partly because China is increasingly an international trend-setter in its own right.
A global hub of business, culture and entertainment, Beijing has an incredibly diverse nightlife that will keep even the most demanding of socialites satisfied at all hours, especially during the summer months, when areas such as the Sanlitun bar street are buzzing from dusk till dawn. Visitors hoping to lighten their pockets will also have no shortage of shopping opportunities; from bustling markets such as Silk Street (Xiushuijie) to colossal shopping malls like the 13-storey Xidan Joy Center, Beijing has it all.
China is a teeming medley of more than 50 officially recognised ethnic minorities and Beijing, as the country's capital, is suitably varied and representative. The city's many attractions are testament to this, and visitors will find exploring everything fully a near-impossible task.
Key Destination Information
Code: CNY
Symbol: ¥
China is 6 hours ahead of South Africa
South African passport holders require a schengen visa for EU & Germany