With the Olympics coming soon, China's much in the news.
One of the best places for hiking or walking along the Great Wall is at Mutianyu, about a two-hour drive from Beijing.
I write about my experience hiking here in my recent Adventure LIving column.

What are some of the favorite places--including restaurants, museums, shops, country towns, etc--that you have visited in China or wish to visit.

Thanks,
Candyce

I watched the spectacular opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games and it made me miss China.
What did you think of the opening ceremonies?
Did it make you want to visit China?

Best,
Candyce

My favourite place in China is the wonderful little Shibanxi railway not far from Chengdu.It still has little ng steam locos hauling passenger and freight trains up to the villages in the hills through wonderful scenery.To take the first train half way up in the mornings and get out at a little station halt shown only by a pole in the ground is a great experience.One can see the mists lower down lifting and see the Chinese people coming out to tend their crops.Washing is done where a spring emerges out into a sweet corn field,and water is drawn from the same source and carried in buckets across the fields to their simple little houses.Then soon the silence is broken by the chattering of children as they walk down the railway line to their school-there is no road,this is the only way.Although very poor,they are all clean and smartly dressed.They smile shyly as they pass by and one may say "ello"-the only word in English they know.Soon the next little steam loco comes chuffing up from the valley below and I jump on to go to the top of the line.Here there is also much to see,but one of the best sights is to see the loading onto the train of large pigs by 2 or 3 small chinese men.There is much heaving,straining and squealing before the pigs are aboard in the luggage car with everything else,to make their last journey to the bottom of the valley.I could go on,but if in China,why not visit and see all these sights and more,for yourselves.It is the real China-not the scrubbed up antiseptic version that most tour operators take you to.
By the way,did anyone know that there are wild camels in Inner Mongolia-but that is another story!

Candyce-how did you cope with the pollution and smog in Beijing.Did you get the "China Cough"
I agree though that the Great Wall is a must see-once you have battled through the vendors at the bottom!
My guide told me that a real man can climb all the steps up the mountain to access the Great Wall and only woman should take the cable car.Half way up I wished I was a woman and had taken the cable car! However I made it and there was a nice little Chinese lady selling bottles of water at the top at an exorbitant price.Who said capitalism was dead in China!
I think it was worse coming back down all the steps-I found muscles I did not know I had got-but boy,did they tell me.All in all a very good day though.Hope to do it again one day.

Hi,
What a beautiful description! I will be sure to go there if I ever get to China again, and I hope I do.
I too really loved the countryside and I enjoyed meeting the local people, even ifwe could only bow and smile at each other.

Best,
Candyce

Hi
I am impressed by your climb, Our guide didn't even tell us we could do that and I am sure my two children would have wanted to climb the steps. We did, however, really like walking atop the wall.
We never came down with the China cough. I thought we would since all 4 of us have allergies. We did use Claritin daily, but we never felt the need to wear the special filtering masks that we bought.
The pollution as well as the heat seemed worse to us in Beijing than in Shanghai. The air cleared in the countryside.
How did the pollution affect you?

Best,
Candyce

Hi Candyce-I went out to some industrial areas in central China and the pollution there made Beijing look mild.Most days we were lucky to see the sun.One place no one lived past 40 years of age as the pollution got them.It is in the air,on the food,in the water,there is no running water,no toilets-just holes in the ground or ashpit toilets.They do not stand a chance.
So yes,the cough got me!-and for 3 weeks after I returned home.In the end I went to the sun and the sea in Tobago and that cured it-well,it was a good excuse to go anyway!
However,there are beautiful places in China as well,to the North and more tropical South,so do not be put off.Just choose your destinations wisely.Wherever we went the food was delicious.Some of the best was in simple villages where everything was freshly cooked often out of their garden.It is essential to master chopsticks though!
Pisces.

No china

Hi I like Xian city which I visited the first time when i went china I think Xian is great for its culture, art, and its' history. Guilin is now my first choice, for its' beauty and its' people. There are many towns and villages close to Guilin that are easy to visit and the Li river is a great place to see spectacular scenery.

I've just returned from a 3 day trip to Qindao, in the northeast of China along the coast. I wasn't expecting much, so was pleasantly surprised at how nice it was. It's a nice step away from the crazy chaos of the big cities like Shanghai and Beijing. It was a relief to breathe the fresh sea air! Though the air was a bit foggy for taking pictures, it was refreshing just the same. My favorite part was a tour of the Tsingdao beer brewery, which is China's oldest and main beer producer. There's a lot of history there, wrapped up with the world wars, and is put together in an interesting and informative way. We also hiked up Laoshan Mountain, a steep hike but one that rewards with a rugged view and quite a few photo ops!