Hello,
It has always my dream since I was a child to visit China, and I am 30 now, so I’d like to make it happen before I get too old.
The only cities that I know for sure that I would love to visit are Xianyang and Chengdu. Aside from that, I’m not sure where to start. I’d be travelling with my wife from Canada. Any advice/guide/videos is appreciated! Thanks you.
If it’s your first time here, I suggest you find a better travel agency. And welcome to our country 
Do you like nature/historical part of China or just a total city guy?
Hi, I am a Chinese person, and I warmly welcome you to visit my country. I noticed that you mentioned an interest in China’s nature and history in a previous response. If you want to learn about the history of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, you might consider visiting the Henan Museum (Henan’s Luoyang was the capital during the Eastern Zhou period), the Shaanxi History Museum in Xi’an (focusing on the Qin, Han, and Tang dynasties), or the National Museum in Beijing (which houses the largest collection of artifacts from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods). You could also visit Qufu in Shandong, the hometown of China’s most famous philosopher, Confucius.
For natural scenery, if you enjoy vast grasslands and towering mountains, Xinjiang is a great choice. If you prefer picturesque landscapes with beautiful rivers and mountains, you can visit Guilin in Guangxi. For snow-capped mountains and lakes, Dali in Yunnan is worth exploring. And if you appreciate the classical gardens and water towns of the Jiangnan region, Suzhou and Hangzhou would be ideal destinations. I hope this information is helpful.
I’m a Chengdu native. Is there anything you want to ask?
Before arriving in China:
I’ll update more later. （I’m the owner of a travel agency focus on China Travel for foreigners, Iet me know if you need anything. Don’t worry my answers are free. ）
“Begin at the beginning," the King said, very gravely, "and go on till you come to the end: then stop.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
Yo, sounds great that u wanna come over to China. So I think (don’t trust me) that u need a VISA to come to China, I doubt it’ll take very long but I’d apply for one ASAP. When you do get to China I recommend starting off at a bigger/more well known city maybe Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing, ETC pretty much so you can tell people you have been. Then moving on to the countryside and places you personally wanna go to. For transportation, I recommend for long distance travel to travel by train and high speed rail, in china that is superior to airplanes and it would be more stable.
Find travel videos on Youtube
As a Canadian, you will need a tourist visa for mainland China, but you can enter Hong Kong visa free. The cheapest flights from Canada to China are usually via Hong Kong. You can then reach mainland China by high speed train. Though the higher cost of hotels in Hong Kong can mean it works out to the same as a flight to a mainland city anyway. If you are going directly to Chengdu, it’s probably best to fly directly there. It’s an 8 hour train ride from Hong Kong.
Go wherever you want in China; big city, small city, rural. The one thing you should absolutely do before you go is get Alipay working on your phone. China is mostly a cashless society and your Canadian debit and credit cards will not always work. You can link your credit card to Alipay to pay using QR codes on your phone. It will also let you book train tickets on your phone instead of at the train station.
Don’t. Remember the two Michael’s.
Wait five to ten years for the current geopolitical crisis to pass
Thank you. Any recommendations for a good travel agency?
I love history and nature. When it comes to history, I am big fan especially of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period. That’s why I want to see Xianyang. When it comes to nature, I love just about all animals, but of course I would love to see the giant pandas! That’s why I want to see Chengdu.
Thank you! Great information!!
It takes like four working days so not that long when Schengen Visa is like 15 working days.
Ooh thanks! Great advice. I will remember that.
I was just there for three weeks. Even “broke the law” by using banned apps like western social media. Nothing happened.
With respect, I don’t believe I would have any issues visiting China because I am not a political person. From my point of view, I am an outsider and so the Chinese government’s affairs is none of my business. What I am interested in is the Chinese people, its food, its culture, its ways of life, etc…
One of the Michaels was a spy and the other was guilty of being a spy by association. Avoid the idiotic Canadian government in China and you’ll be fine
China has a lot of travel apps, there are a lot of tips on it, the best to use is Xiaohongshu, there are all kinds of food and accommodation tips for all the places you want to go, don’t look for a travel agent, a lot of travel agents in China are unreliable!