The most popular China holidays follow well trodden routes and are in danger of giving a dull, distorted picture of the country. With a few minor tweaks these same routes can be brought to life, making for a more worthwhile China experience.

Most visitors will want to include many of the top-rated sites: the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and the Terracotta Warriors to start with. However, by realising that these sites are in huge demand the wise traveller plans to achieve some balance by also including some lesser known sites. A few hours away from the crowds allows for an altogether different set of experiences, the ones that are likely to remain when the grand images have faded entirely.

A typical two-week route through China would be Beijing – Xi’an – Chengdu, Shanghai or a Yangtse Cruise – Guilin – Hong Kong. Apart from the cruise, which is in itself a crowd experience, this route visits mostly city sites with just some token countryside in the Guilin area. A more balanced itinerary would therefore have to include some special sites in these cities or include some other less-typical stop along the way.

The Beijing experience can be improved hugely by including a less popular section of the Great Wall. It is much more pleasant to be able to walk a short way along the wall without large and noisy crowds and better still if you are able to hike along a longer route and get away completely.

There are also many B-list sites in Beijing that get little traffic simply because the capital has a huge number of A-list sites. Whilst an itinerary would look strange without the Forbidden City, the day can be improved significantly by then taking in some smaller sites. The Yonghe Gong Lama Monastery is convenient and interesting, and easily combined with other small sites in that corner of Beijing.

A visit to Shanghai can be brought to life by adding an excursion to one of the water towns nearby. These have become popular and so are not quite the crowd-free experience that they once were but there is still more of a feeling that this is typical China than the cosmopolitan megacity.

Guilin is already a good city to include as the rice terraces at Longsheng and the countryside around Yangshuo are both wonderful landscapes to savour at leisure. A stay in the city is no longer essential as the roads connecting the popular areas have been improved considerably, and there is plentiful accommodation in all but the very top-end of the range.

What makes a visit to these areas special is to have sufficient included activities or free time to really enjoy those aspects that you most like. There are some good hiking routes around Longsheng and it would be appropriate to stay for 3 nights in the area if you want to explore in-depth. In Yangshuo it is more typical to get around by bicycle. Most domestic tourists head to the Yulong River valley and take a bamboo raft as part of their day. Heading in almost any other direction will get away from these big crowds and allow for a close-up look at rural life as it still is.

A balanced itinerary does not need a major change in route. However, for a more special experience it is always worth looking to include at least one stop that is less typical. China is huge and there are a vast number to choose from. Of course, those who want to take that concept a few stages further will consider avoiding the most popular China holidays altogether and look for a less-visited area altogether. That will have to be the subject of another article.