China

Download a VPN and a payment app before you arrive, not after

China is the third or fourth largest country on earth depending how you count, and the practical business of travelling it has changed enormously in the last decade. High-speed rail now connects most major cities at 300km/h, which makes distances that used to mean overnight trains into an afternoon.

The two things to sort before flying are digital. Most Western apps, including Google, WhatsApp and Instagram, are blocked, so a VPN needs installing in advance because you cannot download one once you are there. And the country is effectively cashless, running on Alipay and WeChat Pay, both of which now accept foreign cards if set up beforehand.

Beyond Beijing, Shanghai and the Great Wall, the country opens up considerably. Xi’an has the terracotta army and a Muslim quarter with some of the best street food anywhere. Yunnan in the southwest is mountainous and ethnically diverse. Guilin and Zhangjiajie have the karst and sandstone landscapes that look invented. Chengdu has pandas and a chilli habit.

Annual events and festivals

• Chinese New Year (Jan-Feb) — the largest annual human migration on earth. Two weeks, and much of the country shuts.
• Lantern Festival (Feb-Mar) — closes the New Year period with lanterns, riddles and sweet rice balls.
• Qingming, Tomb Sweeping (Apr) — families clean ancestral graves and make offerings.
• Dragon Boat Festival (Jun) — races and sticky rice dumplings, commemorating a drowned poet.
• Mid-Autumn Festival (Sep-Oct) — mooncakes and family gatherings under the harvest moon.
• National Day Golden Week (1-7 Oct) — a week-long holiday. Every attraction in the country is full. Avoid.
• Harbin Ice and Snow Festival (Jan-Feb) — an entire city of illuminated ice buildings, at minus 20 degrees.
• Torch Festival, Yunnan (Jul-Aug) — the Yi people light bonfires and parade with torches.
• Water Splashing Festival, Xishuangbanna (Apr) — the Dai New Year, with three days of water throwing.
• Double Ninth Festival (Oct) — climbing hills and honouring the elderly.