China in your hand

Michelle Jana Chan creates a perfect two-week trip to give first-time visitors a deeper understanding of this extraordinary country and its people

With its farreaching history and incalculable prospects, China is a must for anyone interested in past civilisations and the future of our world. It also contains three of the world’s greatest man-made sights: the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and the Terracotta Warriors.

Yet it is tempting to cover too much ground, choosing a whirlwind tour of its 5,000-year history and ending up coming away with little idea of contemporary China and how life is lived today by most of its 1.3 billion people.

The clever way to visit this vast and diverse nation is to think quality, not quantity. In Beijing, for example, I suggest visiting the Forbidden City but dropping the Summer Palace (both are former imperial estates). I include a day devoted to the capital’s vibrant cutting-edge art scene but sacrifice visits to its museums, as similar artefacts can be seen at top-class museums in Xi’an and Shanghai instead.

When I lived in China in the Nineties, it was possible to do it all. There were few domestic tourists and the traffic ran smoothly. Now the Chinese are eager to explore their homeland and crowds at the main sights – and the traffic jams to get there – cannot be ignored. Avoid the main public holidays: Chinese New Year (usually in February) and the National Holidays in the first week of May and October, when the whole country appears to be on the move.

In this tour designed for first-time visitors, I have included the The Gate of Divine Might in the Forbidden City, right; flamboyant costumes in Beijing, below ancient capital of Xi’an to demonstrate how far ahead of the game this country was when Britain was still in the Dark Ages, as well as Beijing and a littlevisited stretch of the Great Wall where you will still get a real sense of how lonely a posting it must have been for a Chinese soldier.

Shanghai is one of the world’s most thrilling international cities and should not be missed as it may offer a glimpse of all our futures. I have also selected the smaller cities of Pingyao and Hangzhou, to slow down the pace and provide insights into China’s mercantile and literary heritage.

Trains on China’s high-speed rail network travel at more than 200mph, making them a convenient and more interesting way to travel. Use Mark Smith’s excellent rail travel website, seat61.com, for information on how to buy tickets from the UK which can be delivered to your hotel. Hotels can easily be booked online.

There is no need to employ a driver or a guide every day. Few taxi drivers speak English, so ask your concierge to write your destination in Chinese characters, and take the hotel’s business card. In Beijing and Shanghai, use the Metro.

So ditch the idea of trying to do it all. In doing so you will return home not only with a deeper understanding of the world’s next superpower but also feeling restored rather than exhausted.

The best time to visit China is during spring and autumn, when days are warm and pleasant but not too hot.

For more recommendations and advice, see Michelle’s China guide at telegraph.co.uk/tt-china. The flight lands at 9.30am. It takes around 45 minutes to transfer to the Kapok Hotel (kapokhotelbeijing.com), with its contemporary design and convenient location near the Forbidden City. Some three-night-stay packages include airport transfers.

The park at the Temple of Heaven, a 15th-century imperial sacrificial altar, is one of my favourite places to relax and watch the locals practising t’ai chi and singing rousing ballads in the late afternoon.

Walk to the south entrance of the Forbidden City, 100 acres of palaces and gardens where Ming and Qing dynasty emperors lived, loved and ruled. Arrive at 8.30am when it opens, pick up an audio guide or a site plan, and head for the Hall of Supreme Harmony and its dragon throne.

Afterwards visit the Palace of Benevolent Tranquility, restored to give some idea of its 18th-century splendour and opened to the public last October. The imperial clock and ceramics collections are other highlights here.

Exit by the north gate to explore the old hutong alleyways around Nanluoguxiang street, full of cafés and shops selling ethnic textiles, retro Mao gear and ceramics.

Spend the day at 798 Art District, a former armaments factory now occupied by dozens of contemporary art ateliers and galleries. Much acclaimed are Long March Space, 798 Photo Gallery and UCCA (ullens-center. org). Located in eastern Beijing, it takes about an hour by taxi. Most galleries are open by 11am. Lunch at