Top 10 Places to Visit in China - Travel Documentary
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 มิ.ย. 2024
- China is one of the most fascinating travel destinations in the world, and in this video I will share with you my personal top 10 best places to visit.
From the ruins of the Great Wall to vibrant megacities. From surreal mountain landscapes to charming riverside villages. Today’s China is a beautiful, complicated, and captivating place.
I spent more than 18 months in China, spread over the course of a decade and a half. In the last years, I started filming the places that I traveled to, using regular cameras and drones. All footage in this travel documentary is shot by myself between 2010 and 2019.
Here's a brief overview of the places in this video.
We start this journey in the stunning riverside village of Fenghuang in central China. The wooden stilt houses are a spectacular sight, and the backstreets are still filled with old world charm. We then continue to Harbin, best known for its Winter tourism. Millions of people usually flock here to visit the amazing Ice and Snow Festival, to admire beautiful sculptures and palaces.
Yangshuo is another spot not to miss, mostly for its mesmerizing mountain landscape of limestone peaks. It’s a great place to witness life in the countryside, and has a relaxed vibe. After Yangshuo we travel to Beijing, the nation’s capital city. The impressive Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven Park are two main highlights. And the nearby Great Wall of China is truly a sight to behold.
Zhangjiajie is the next destination on my list, and one of China’s most beautiful national parks. It formed the inspiration for the popular movie Avatar. You can get an aerial perspective from the many walkways, and don't miss out on the Glass Bridge here, if you dare at least. I continue my journey to Lhasa, the spiritual heartland of Tibet, and a place that left a deep impression on me. Take into a account that foreign travelers can only visit Tibet as part of a group tour.
Shanghai is a unique city with a jaw-dropping modern skyline, but also has some impressive historic architecture. It’s a busy place to visit, but also has many laidback neighborhoods and quiet streets. Yuanyang, on the other hand, is quintessential rural China, with an epic landscape of rice terraces. It’s a good place to meet some of the minorities living in the South of the country, and eat some local food.
I continue my travels in Qingdao, one of China’s most scenic coastal cities, located on the Yellow Sea. Many Chinese tourists come here to enjoy the beach and eat fresh seafood, but I was particularly impressed by the historic German buildings. I finish this journey in Hong Kong, easily one of my favorite cities in the world, and a perfect fusion between East and West.
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#China #travel #places #tourism #visit #documentary
Thanks for watching this video and feel free to leave comments/suggestions below!
Copyright of all footage: Hoffer Media
Timecodes / video chapters:
0:00 Where to travel in China?
1:04 Fenghuang, riverside village
2:52 Harbin, China’s ‘Ice City’
5:29 Yangshuo, villages and landscapes
7:37 Beijing, culture and history
10:55 Zhangjiajie, national park
12:42 Lhasa, Tibet
16:15 Shanghai, modern metropolis
18:44 Yuanyang rice terraces
20:19 Qingdao, China’s ‘beach city’
22:39 Hong Kong, fusion between East and West
26:48 Final words
** As mentioned, the footage in this video was made in the years before the global pandemic. I am currently not traveling, like most people in the world. **
![ทัศนศึกษาโรงงานผลิตโค้ก [THAI/ENG SUB]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/M9y-TJBNem0/mqdefault.jpg)
What place in China you want to visit?
I actually visited some of those amazing places, so i think the most interesting would be Harbin. thank you :)
Fenghuang
Nice video. Although a lot of places are missing. But then you need maybe24 hours. Emei mountain, 4 girls mountain, Grotties in Luoyang, Leshang, Yinde, Wuxi, Shuzhou, Huize, ......
Maybe Yangshuo, Zhangjiajie or Yuanyang but probably adding them all to my travel list! And would love to go back to HK, amazing city.
Xiamen China
Wonderful photography, great commentary and good editing. THANKS!
Thanks a lot for your kind words!
Awesome video Stef! You’re really making me want to visit China this year!
Thanks Ryan, glad you liked it! You should really visit China when it opens again. Love your new channel by the way, keep up the great work!
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@@stefhoffer 0p
Superb video, thanks a lot for all your effort! Well Done and Cheers!
Thank you for your kind words!
Your 10 top in China absolutely blew me away..... there is so much more to see in this wonderful world.
Great to hear that Frank, and it's only a fraction of places. Safe travels!
Thanks for sharing this video.Feeling that I also travel as well.Beautiful places to visit and discover as well.
I love China, amazing culture and people. 😍😍
It's a fascinating place yes!
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It's such an amazing film Stef. I got emotional due to my personal travel experience in China, but also very curious to see a lot more in the future. thank you!
Thank you Adi, let's hope we can travel there again in the future!
Tibet invaded by China ? Are you sure ? Apart from the slight distortion of history, an interesting video.
@farren Robbinson, Cheers, man It's sad there're a few misinformation and bogus cliches like HongKong ers protested, with uncalled for violence, insult to China, etc for their
"democratic freedom" which the Ch hinrese don't have? He went to Trump School?
US is about 250 years old, it is a country. Tibet is belong to China since yuan (maybe around 1200), it has been to China for centuries, call China invade Tibet? So hilarious
A wonder travel documentary and one of my favorites. Thanks so much Stef! Excellent job done!!
I’ve been to Zhangjiajie and Huangshan, honestly it’s breathtaking, long to go back there
Would be great if you can go again, good luck!
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Been living abroad for almost a decade and haven't returned to China since the pandemic, I have to say your video made me realize how little I've traveled across this place I call motherland for decades.
And thanks for the publicity to my hometown :) Though a popular resort destination domestically, it's rarely getting much attention beyond the border.
Thanks a lot for watching, I'm glad you enjoyed it! Which town are you from originally?
@@stefhoffer The one known for the cerveza haha
@@zhangz5614 Ah the beautiful Qingdao, very nice city! :)
Beautiful scenery! So serene! I miss travelling...Will just have to use my mind for now. Thanks for helping! 🥰
Thanks for watching, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
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This video brings back many happy memories. Before Covid19 I visited China every year for a couple of months. My dear wife of 20yrs now an Ozzie but born in Shanghai & but grew up in Beijing. Having my own interpreter it was much easier to get around but helpful holding a letter of invitation from her family in Beijing we never had any trouble traveling, staying in China even during the 2008 Olympics. My wife seemed to have relatives, friends all over China & always invited us to stay a few weeks so I got to see a lot of China, it's foods, culture & sites.
Great to hear that Gary, hope you can travel to China again soon. Take care!
Wonderful video
And when I think I have already seen your best video yet, you strike again! What an amazing video, beautiful shots and great commentary!
Thank you Fleur, I'm very glad you liked the video!
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Amazing place and fantastic video
thanks for sharing such amazing film!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Stef! Great video I enjoy watching your vids so much! This is awesome content! Keeo it going!
Thanks a lot, I'm glad you like them! Take care :)
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Outstanding work Stef! I absolutely love beautiful China. I have visited 2 times totaling 52 days & cannot get enough. Of your top 10 list, I have only experienced Beijing & Zhangjajie. Because of your video I have added Lasha, Harbin, Shanghai, Fanghuang, Yangshuo & Hong Kong. What did not make your list & are on my list for my next visit will be Suzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Guilin & Xi’an. Again, thank you for sharing your outstanding video. Please continue making & sharing videos, you are great at it. GODspeed!
Thanks a lot for your support Detrick, I'm glad you enjoyed the video! China can really be explored for years. I hope we can visit again in the (near) future, take care!
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I’ve been in Huangshan and Guilin too. Actually, all the places I’ve visited in China are definitely breathtaking and each has a unique way to offer.
Completely agree, it's a very diverse and interesting place.
Yes! Wanted to visit more places this summer but because of the situation right now, it wouldn’t be possible. Hope to travel again as soon as possible before I come back to my country.
@@esaymazing Let's hope that will be possible, good luck!
You can try Sichuan Jiuzhaigou, I don't know how to put it into words
@@lifeinchina6426 can't agree more!
Qingdao is a must go city in China too
Great video Stef ! Top class cinematography and thoughtful narration.
Thank you for the kind words, I appreciate it!
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حلوه اوي الفديوه ده استمر 👌
جوله موافقه 👍 🔔 🌹
Thank you! :)
Thank you so much for the long-awaited new video! The Great Wall of China never ceases to impress! Welcome to my channel about the beautiful places of Moscow too) Thank you!
Thanks for watching, it's really a very impressive place. Great channel you have by the way, good luck!
@@stefhoffer Thank you very much!
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Thanks Stef for the amazing video of China!
Thank you for watching!
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Nice video, Thanks for sharing this.
Thank you for watching
Truly , you're The BEST TRAVELER ! THANK YOU !
So beautiful place.
Great vedio.
And still a long list with very different landscape can explore in China.
Such as : xinjiang , chongqin, hainan, macau, xi’an, dunhuang, xishusngbanna, shangrila, hangzhou, wuhan.... toooo much.
Different city sometimes look like a different country.
China is really the most diversity and deep history country in the world.
Thank you! I completely agree, there are so many interesting places to visit in China. It's easy to make a 'Top 1000'.
Awesome video, awesome cinematography!
Thanks a lot :)
Thank you for such an inspiring vid. Some great memories recorded.
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Thank you for watching :)
Very beautiful China
Beautiful,beautiful......................
Nice video，thanks for sharing！
Thanks for watching!
Your videos make me want to visit China too! By the way, Immersive Translate could be a great addition to your travel toolkit, especially for translating menus and signs quickly.
breath taking scenes.
Thanks Benjamin!
Great china
Thanks Stef!
Great video Stef! I can’t wait going back to China .. it’s beautiful!!
Thanks a lot! Hope you can travel again soon!
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i really love watching your travel vlog Stef, i already visit Xiamen airport when i was in connecting flight and saw via arial view.
Thanks a lot Brad! I hope you can visit China again in the future :)
@@stefhoffer hopefully, God willing.
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Thank you for so much information about china
I'm from INDIA🇮🇳 love uu.।
Thank you for watching!
incredible Hong Kong no place could compared
Absolutely agree.
If you don't understand politics, please don't comment on it. It's not good for you
agree, made me fawned when the comments on Tibet and HK.
Nothing wrong he said
@@DMangalorean What he said is very wrong, disinformation. How come in this 1944 US made documentary at 3:15 time mark, it says Tibet is a province of China? th-cam.com/video/_tOtVQ7cNWY/w-d-xo.html
@@DMangalorean 👎👎👎
great video, thanks
Beautiful China cities.🙄🙏
wonderful video.
So many beautiful places to visit. This part of world is not known in mainstream media preserving its beauty
China is among the most diverse places in the world, you could spend years traveling there.
Stef, China didn't invade Tibet.
Tibet is recognised by the UN as a part of China.
Great description and video.
Thank you.
Very good presentation in all aspects. I love HONG KONG my birth place....
I still missed going to Lasa,Habin ,n many many more parts of the great China
Done a few places in China ~ Awesome
❤️❤️no words
Great video! Keep it up ❣️❣️☺️
Thank you :)
Very beautiful 🔝🔝❤️
Thank you!
@@stefhoffer 👍❤️
@@stefhoffer 👍❤️
thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching!
My first visit to China was in 1994 and since then I have been to about 10 places. Back then, you have the whole place/space to yourself, or almost. Local Chinese tourist was few. No crowding, no pushing and you can take your own sweet time to photo shoot or do whatever you want. I stop visiting China since 2010 as my last trip then was just crowd,crowd and crowd.
Do not travel on public holidays, there will be fewer people😋
Great place
Have u ever been?
@@SAZTravel no but by video it's seem beautiful
Excellent video! The pacing is a bit slow, which isn't great for many modern TH-cam viewers, but the visuals are really fantastic! Many of your shots are unique and share a larger story. If you come back, let's look to meet up (I've been living and traveling all over China since 2008 as a travel photographer). Well done!
Thanks a lot Adam, glad you liked the video! I agree that it's a bit slow for some TH-cam viewers. Would be great to catch up, can I see your work somewhere?
@lappelap tamalate Thank you, I appreciate that. I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
Nice video！Welcome to ChengDu！
Thanks a lot :)
Thank you for sharing. You'd video is super HD, so clear its 3D! Do you mind telling what camera or handphone you used to film? TQSM.
I went to China twice in April and then July - August in 1999.
I stayed at the Working People's University. I went on The Great Wall at Mu Tian ___? I got up before 5 am and joined the uni community doing Taiji Chuan, Wu Shu,
Qi gong and meditation. It was blasting cold but the spring wind was so fresh, the air crisp, cold and really invigorating. I saw many faces with blushing apple red cheeks, like my own face in the mirror an hour or so later. The campus courtyard was a large open square where the Academia of all age groups assembled, making up a very large spread of a few hundred of the scholar class, uniformly dressed in inky dark blue, loose top and trousers, their hands bare and feet clad in soft dark cloth Taiji Chuan shoes with upturned front that curled like the eaves of temple roof, moved slowly and gracefully, like shadowy dancers choreographing the invisible movements of their energy leylines. The uniformity of their arms rising then pressing down on gravity, opening the right arm as the right leg shifted and the physique slowly rotated at increasingly wider angles - 25 degrees eastwards, right arm bending with suppleness westwards, one foot still the other foot in a new position to keep the balance as the hands, arms legs and physique make coordinated movements involving the deep breathing, moving and flowing with the energy and movements touching the cardinal points, making semi- circles, three quarter s and full circles, hands, arms, feet and legs work but what iskeeping the Balance and where's the centre when everything keeps moving and changing? This is also metaphysical Chan Buddhism and Zen. I wanted to bring out the ambience as l feel that my experience of everything in China has a unique ambience that's so Chinese...anf seeped in China's 5000-6000
years old history, culture and civilisation.
I spent 10 days on my own in Beijing, making myself feel at home exploring the local university, hostel, hutongs, food, shopping and people.It was April 1999 - chilly mornings when the steamed hot sweet potatoes and yams were so good. It was
my first time in China and I had no idea how safe it is for anyone to travel solo.
Months later, July - late August 1999, went to Beijing again with my daughter and her fiance. We knew nothing about China then, apart from the touristy places.
Despite my being a
huaqiao Chinese with someMandarin speaking ability, it took two visits of 10 days, 5 weeks and a 7 months living in Siadian, a province outside Guangzhou
where I often make day trips, feeling
uncomfortable travelling alone... afraiof getting lost among the huge masses of Chinese in such a massive country where a small village is big town. I fear getting lost and not having enough Mandarin to
find my way home. The size and scale of China, the massive crowds, my insufficient Mandarin... and lack of knowledge and sharing of the experience of vloggers sharing their travel experience of China prevented me from seeing as much of China as I would've liked to.
It wasn't till I made a trip to Fujian, Xiamen and Gulangyu on the 14 hours night coach costing 400 RMB and returning by HS train of 4.5 hours costing 50 RmB!!!
It's not knowing the best way to travel around that I began to see how useful a travel agent is.
At the railway station, the ticket lady left her cabin and walked me to the right platform. She came on the train and asked a passenger to take care of me... where to get, get another train which platform etc. Suddenly, there were 3-4 English speaking young
Chinese assuring they re all looking after me. Its amazing how very kind and helpful the Chinese people are. They would go out of their way to escort you all the way to your front door! Now I feel confident and safe wherever I go in China.l
Beautiful country
Really is.
very good presentation in all aspects .I love HONG KONG my birth place....
HK is good place to visit. Shanghai is my favorite though
Thanks for your comment!
Nice video👍
Life is so simple and joyful in Asian and african people really!!!
What a awesome place,I would love to visit Hong Kong
Hope you can in the future.
Yangshuo is fantastic along with nearby Guilin. Nightlife on West Street is fun. I fly into Hong Kong but don't spend much time there. My friends went to Tibet but didn't invite me.
to thank for video
Nice
Thanks, well done: a map showing your places would be helpful.
Thanks, I will consider it for next videos!
A great video with beautifull images ! An excellent guide if you want to visit China !!!!
Thank you very much! I hope you can visit China one day :)
So good brother
Thanks!
Welcome to nepal 🇳🇵🇳🇵🇳🇵
good
As a Chinese I haven’t even visited these most places you mentioned…haha
The nation is large and has a great many nice places to go.
Hope you can visit some of these places soon, take care!
Guilin and Shanghai Waterfront ❤
Great video Stef, it shows you have put a lot of effort into making it.
The only thing I would make a suggestion on is the wording in your explanation as you have touched history and politics in few places. I think for travel documentary, it should be always kept neutral and unified.
For example, at 23:20, the word 'negotiation' is a euphemism for 'colonization' or 'occupation'. At 13:30, 'invasion' would be often viewed by allies of Britain, while 'liberation' is used by CPC. Here I suggest 'takeover' to maintain the neutral tone.
Hope this helps to get your videos attract more audiences regardless of their subjective opinion.
Thank you, I'll keep your suggestions in mind for the future.
Chinese are dictators
invasion of tibet? u mean after british empire who enslaved india, anglo-saxon intended to expand northward into qing dynasty china's territory called tibet?
too bad british invaders failed its attempt in land grabbing of tibet. it was stopped by chinese troops of qing dynasty. wasn't that why you anglo-saxon countries began fabricating BS about chinese invasion of tibet? 😂😂😂😂😂😂
lahasa is my favourate. i also saw dalai lama in india because i am from india... he always say how china in late 40s and early fiftys captured tibet
you only discovered about 10 to 20 percents amazing places in China from my view
Yes, it's probably easy to make a 'top 100' about China :)
歡迎大家來中國旅游參觀，來自中國成都的愛
Xingjiang and Jiuzhaigou is the most beautiful
Isn't Tibet was under the administration of Yuan Dynasty since 1240?
👏👏👏👍👍👍
Feng huang, Yangshuo, Xi’an, Shenzhen, Sichuan where are most attracted me.
You traveled around China a lot it seems :)
China, generally speaking, now costs like Taiwan. So seeing many places requires a little cash. However it is still the most economical place to travel.
👍👍🤩
Anyone know where 0:10 is? The little boats and the riverside houses? EDIT: Fenghuang
9:50 - 10:07
A must do when in Beijing is visit the Great Wall,
a series of fortifications that were built along the borders of ancient Chinese states,
and later imperial China.
These stretches were linked when China was unified in the Qing Dynasty, more than 2,000 years ago, and became known as the Great Wall of China.
9:59 - 10:04
the Qing Dynasty, more than 2,000 years ago
The spelling of ‘Qing （清）’ is wrong and it should be ‘Qin （秦）’.
The Qin dynasty or Ch'in dynasty (秦朝) was the first dynasty of Imperial China, lasting from 221 to 206 BC. Named for its heartland in Qin state （秦国） (modern Gansu [甘肃] and Shaanxi [陕西]), the dynasty was founded by Qin Shi Huang （秦始皇）, the First Emperor of Qin.
The Qing （清） dynasty, officially the Great Qing (大清), was the last imperial dynasty of China. It was established in 1636, and ruled China proper from 1644 to 1912. It was preceded by the Ming （明） dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China （中华民国）. The multiethnic Qing empire lasted for almost three centuries and formed the territorial base for modern China. It was the fourth largest empire in world history in terms of territorial size.
great video but you haven't been to hangzhou?
Yes, I also visited Hangzhou. It would probably be included in a top 20 :)
You should have included XIAN which is the ancient capital city of the most prosperous and successful TANG DYNASTY OF CHINA. Also, it was the cradle of civilization of China. The Chinese is still called themselves as TANG MAN, literally means the people of the TANG DYNASTY. It is a cultural city with a lot of Chinese History over there. The grave of Emperor Chin is located there. Emperor Chin was the one who united China from seven warlords in those days to form one country in AD210. He was the FIRTH EMPEROR OF CHINA.
Thanks, definitely agree Xi'an could have made it to the list!
On your journey, don't forget to smell the flowers. Take time out to notice that you're alive. You can only live in one day.Share this You can never regret anything you do in life. You kind of have to learn the lesson from whatever the experience is and take it with you on your journey forward.
👍
Vengan a El Salvador a transformar este país es un pedacito de China para su desarrollo y progreso
Has he really personally travelled to Tibet. Saying that one can only travel to Tibet as a tour group is not true.
As a foreigner this was the only way, at least when I traveled there.
I fou le like To ses unknown places which age not in thé travel guides
I don't really like their communist but I could say that China is one of the great culture and the most beautiful country in this world!
It's really a fascinating place with many different sides.
14 towns .China.900 00,keys each town.motels houses.business keys
Yangzi river three gorges, Chongqing, Jiuzai gou ???
I hope they will feature in some future films, about nature and cities. Those are beautiful places too!
😄✌️👍