Admit it, you’d love to be able to break a block with your bare hands and boast about being a black belt.

Martial Arts is much bigger than Karate though. There’s a whole spectrum of martial arts sports to try!

Get started with Martial Arts…

Tai Chi is the gentlest form of Martial Arts. It combines deep breathing and relaxation with flowing movements and there is no combat involved.

Tai Chi can reduce stress and improve posture and muscle strength. You can try it out at most local gyms.

It does work your muscles though! Tai Chi is a full body work out, even though it’s low impact.

A little more martial arts adventure…

Karate, Judo, Taekwondo, Jujitsu, Muay Thai, Aikido and too many more to list. Some are fast, some are slow, some are contact sports and some are less so.

Google Martial Arts in your city and sign up for whichever class takes your fancy!

Maximum martial arts adventure!

Travel to the Shaolin Temple in China. You can stay a couple of days and try Kung Fu yourself for an hour or two – taught my a Kung Fu master! Or, if you love the sport and want to become a pro, choose to stay for years and become a Kung Fu master.

Be warned, the daily regime is full-on and there are some pretty bad ass two-year-olds back-flipping around with swords (in total control).

There are some awesome hikes in the area too!

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The post Adventure Ideas: Martial Arts Adventure appeared first on The Chickadee.

I had always had a vague ambition to see the Great Wall of China, but in all honesty it wasn’t top of my bucket list.

It should have been.

(I know the above photo looks like I’m superimposed, but I really was there I promise! This is what happens when you give someone your camera on automatic flash.)

I decided to take a few months to travel last year and picked up some G Adventures brochures for inspiration. If you’re planning a trip but aren’t sure where to head to, I totally recommend a flick through one of their brochures. The photography and itineraries are fantastic and, even if you decide to go it alone, you will get some great ideas!

The Asia brochure inspired me to visit China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, India and Sri Lanka – many of which were places I hadn’t yet seriously considered.

I ended up hiking the Great Wall of China for two days in the company of some amazing people and an awesome G Adventures guide!

Is hiking the Great Wall of China full of tourists?

We’ve all seen the perfect Instagram shots of the lone traveller hiking the Great Wall of China completely solo. Many of us have also seen the not-so-awesome crowds of tourists wrecking what would have been a great photo.

So what’s the reality? Crowds or solitude?

Well, that really depends on a few things:

Where you start your hike

If you begin hiking the Great Wall of China from the stretch closest to Beijing, you’re probably in for a sardine-like experience. Take a drive just a few hours away from the city to start your hike and you may have better luck.

How far you walk

I began hiking the Great Wall of China around midday, about 2.5hrs drive outside of Beijing in Huairou. I won’t lie, there were tourists. Tourists with selfie sticks. Tourists with selfie sticks balancing precariously on the edges of the wall attempting the aforementioned perfect Instagram shot.

But! They were really only on the first stretch of Wall. You see, most tourists are sort of lazy – as soon as there are some steep steps to climb many of them will opt out. So the further we hiked away from the starting point, the less people there were around us. And eventually there was no-one.

I should mention at this point that the further away from the tourists you hike, the less well maintained the wall is. And if you really want to experience hiking the Great Wall of China, you’re going to have to take a risk or two.

Hiking the crumbling parts of the Great Wall of China

Before I did this hike my perception of the Great Wall of China was of the maintained touristy part of the wall. Many people don’t appreciate that these areas are looked after and rebuilt for tourist purposes.

But there are vast stretches of the Great Wall that are not maintained. These stretches are more authentic. They are hundreds of years old and, as such, are falling apart.

This makes for a challenging, in some places dangerous trek, that is nothing short of incredible and will live in your memories forever.

These are the areas of the Great Wall where you will not see other tourists. Where you reach out to steady yourself and accidentally pull of a chunk of ancient wall. Where you must help your companions to climb up and down steep inclines. And where you need to be acutely aware of the sheer drop either side of you.

But the view. You have to do it for the view.

What to wear for Hiking the Great Wall of China

Hiking Boots – Hiking boots are an absolute must if you are planning to venture away from the touristy areas. Even if not, flip-flops (thongs/jandals) will definitely not cut it.

The crumbling parts of the wall are, er, crumbling. So you’ll want closed, comfortable footwear with plenty of grip. I wore my Keen Terradorra Boots and they worked out great.

Sportswear

Sportswear is probably the most comfortable type of clothing to wear for Hiking the Great Wall of China. Aside from being comfortable, it will be coolest in hot weather and dry quickly after it rains.

Jacket/Poncho

The weather on the Great Wall can be changeable and so make sure you take a lightweight waterproof jacket, just in case.

Hat

Hiking on top of a wall in the mountains is an exposed place to be. Make sure you take a hat with a peak, which will keep the sun off your head and face, and keep water out of your eyes if it rains.

Sunscreen

Obviously, sunburn isn’t fun.

And carry a lot of water and some snacks

You can purchase water and snacks at the tourist start points, but after that you’re on your own. With the heat and the exercise it is important that you don’t get dehydrated.

Ready to go?

Hiking the Great Wall of China was one of the most memorable of my travel experiences so far and I absolutely recommend it. There are a number of tour options available and I only have experience of one. I went with G Adventures and can’t recommend them highly enough. You can find their trips that include the Great Wall of China here.

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An Active Adventure In China

I’ll be honest – this article contains affiliate links, which means I will get a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you decide to buy. Integrity is really important to me, so I only recommend products that I really love! Of course, do your own research and if you have any questions about the items or need some advice, please feel free to get in touch – I’d be happy to help!

The post Hiking the Great Wall of China – What You Need to Know appeared first on The Chickadee.

People told me that I wouldn’t like China, but I thought – why not? There’s a Great Wall there and I like Chinese food! So I went anyway and I’m glad I did.

I chose to visit China on a group adventure tour, mostly because I was worried about getting around by myself – it’s not so easy if you don’t speak Chinese (I don’t!). I also really wanted to visit a less maintained part of the Great Wall and get some photos without a hundred other people in the shot!

Why choose an active adventure in China?

Be outdoors

One of the greatest things about China is the scenery. On an active adventure in China you will be outside a lot, taking full advantage of the amazing views. Plus, you’ll get super fit!

Safety in numbers

I’d say China is relatively safe, but there is always more safety in numbers than alone. The issues are more around communication. Ordering my first meal in a food court in a Chinese mall was really quite tough, so I was glad to be with other people the rest of the trip! Plus, I didn’t fancy a solo trek on the Wall.

Ease of travelling around

China can be a little difficult to navigate if you don’t speak Chinese. Street signs and signs at train stations etc aren’t always in English, and the staff don’t always know enough English to help easily either.

On a group tour, the transport is all arranged for you by the guide. They make sure that transport is waiting to take you sightseeing and that you’re at the station in time to catch your train.

A decent guide

I had a brilliant guide on my active adventure in China who taught me a lot about the culture. A dedicated guide for your whole trip means that you essentially have a local friend. You have someone to tell you the background of the places you visit and someone on hand to answer your many many cultural questions!

Choosing a tour company

There are a ton of tour companies offering an active adventure in China, from big foreign owned corporations to simply booking a guide when you touch down in Beijing.

Personally, as a solo female adventurer, I wanted to know I would be safe and looked after from the moment I arrived in China.

For me, it was between G Adventures and Intrepid Travel because they are well known to me. I had travelled with them before and both have partnered with STA Travel, who I trust.

Plus, they both have different levels of travel style to suit different budgets – from basic to luxury – and include adventure-style tours.

I ended up going with G Adventures, so the rest of this post is about that trip.

The down side of an active adventure in China

Of course, group tours aren’t for everyone. I don’t always travel this way – I’ve backpacked around Australia alone and arrived in Thailand without a plan.

I love the freedom that solo travel brings – to stop and stay longer in one place if you wish, or to wander a city alone. That is what is missing from a group tour, so it’s swings and roundabouts with the safety aspect!

An active adventure in China can be a bit ‘whistle-stop’ – you don’t get long in each place because you are fitting a lot into just a few weeks. And, with the physical aspect (hiking, cycling etc.) it can be a bit full on.

You don’t get a lot of ‘me time’ either – especially if you’ve opted to share a room. But it is safer and I met some awesome people that I’m still in touch with.

G Adventures China Active Adventure Review

The tour I chose was the G Adventures China Active Adventure tour.

Check out the full itinerary on their website (…and get lost dreaming of all their amazing active tours – they have so many around the world and I want to go on them ALL!)

This one is a Active style tour, so there’s activities like hiking and cycling involved. The accommodation in this style is fairly standard, though probably a little more on the basic side.

I’m sharing some of my experiences and photos from the tour below to bring it to life a little!

Check out Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City in Beijing

I arrived in Beijing the night before the start of the tour, so I had the first evening and the following day to explore alone.

With the group the next day, we visited Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City which were both cool to see, but super busy! I learned not to allow Chinese tourists to have their photo taken with me (people start to queue for the privilege and, whilst it’s fun feeling like a minor celeb for a while, it gets old quite quickly!) and to watch out for the hundreds of parasols being held level with my eyes!

Then we took a nice easy hour-long cycle tour of the Hutongs (Beijings low-level backstreets, which have been deliberately preserved).

Trek the Great Wall of China on the G Adventures China Active adventure!

The two-day trek on the Great Wall of China was hands down one of the best experiences of my life. The China Active Adventure deserves a glowing review for this experience alone.

Starting the trek on the ‘maintained’ part of the wall a couple of hours from Beijing – watching with horror as tourists balanced precariously on the towers with selfie sticks – we then climbed onto the non-maintained section of wall.

The crumbling sections of the Great Wall are an experience in themselves. Steep inclines with rubble underfoot makes for a fairly energetic trek. Add in an electric storm and you have some pretty atmospheric memories!

If you’d like to know more about what to expect, check out my other post about hiking the Great Wall of China.

Try out your Kung Fu skills and hike in Song Shan

Song Shan is home to the famous Shaolin Temple and Shaolin Kung Fu school, where we stayed. I watched children as young as two practice backflips, running drills around the schools at sunrise and sunset in training to become Kung Fu masters.

We took a pretty epic hike one day to a temple in the mountains. This one isn’t for the faint-hearted. After an hour of climbing there is a sign which tells you it is 7,000 steps (as in stairs) to the temple. That’s 15,000 there and back!

Maybe that is putting you off, but take a look at the photo above – the scenery is like that the whole way so it is totally worth working your calf muscles!

Besides, I really enjoy telling people about all the steps I hiked in China. It makes me sound like a boss.

See the Terracotta Warriors in Xi’an

After all that hiking it was nice to visit a city and have a break from it all. Being an active tour, we didn’t just wander around though. We started early morning with a cycle around the Xi’an City Wall. Don’t worry – it’s completely flat and a lot of fun!

I also visited the attraction that Xi’an is best known for – the Terracotta Warriors. They are completely amazing. Hundreds upon hundreds of soldiers made of clay, incredibly detailed with no two the same.

Imagine having the power to request that your people create a Terracotta Army to guard your tomb when you die?

Get active cycling around Yangshuo

Yangshuo has a really cool vibe. It’s a bit backpackery. A place to grab a coffee, some decent western food (Chinese food every day does get a little much and, a year on, I still can’t quite face it…) and some souvenirs.

Related post: Your Coffee Habit Will Cost You in China

Yangshuo is surrounded by distinctive thin green mountains which make for interesting Instagram photos.

Again, being an active tour, there was cycling involved through a fairly flat area of rice paddies and a couple of hills on quiet roads.

Hike the Longji Rice Terraces

Hiking the Longji Rice Terraces was my absolute favourite place in China. The mesmerising terraced rice paddies go on for miles (more Instagram material!) and you pass through some tiny villages on your way.

The hiking trail was super quiet and we passed only a few villagers tending to their crops on our way.

It was a long trek though and some of the hills were pretty steep. But I was pretty in shape from the Great Wall and all that cycling!

End your China Active adventure with an evening in Hong Kong

The G Adventures China Active Adventure ends with crossing the border from mainland China into Hong Kong. I immediately noticed the cultural differences.

I was disappointed not to get a stamp in my passport (I’m British, and as Hong Kong was under British Crown rule until 1997, they are still pretty happy to let us in without a fuss!).

In mainland China people push and shove and behave in a way that many westerners may consider rude (they aren’t though, it’s just culturally very different). Hong Kong, on the other hand, is more like home. People queue. I’m a Brit – I love a good old queue.

One disappointment was that I was only in Hong Kong for less than 24 hours before my flight out to Bali. So there was really only time to have dinner.

A few of us decided to take a late night trip up to the peak (see photo above – totally worth it! Sorry for the blur, but yes that is a t-shirt with a photo of my tour group on the Great Wall on it – we had them made in Yangshuo!)

I hadn’t realised there would be so little time when I booked, or I would have extended my stay. I’ll just have to go back and explore further one day!

Other, less active, G Adventures China tours

I thoroughly enjoyed the G Adventures China Active Adventure tour, hence this review! But if you’re worried about the ‘active’ travel style there are heaps of other options for a group tour in China!

No matter how you choose to travel, do visit China – the scenery is absolutely amazing.

I’ll be honest – this article contains affiliate links, which means I will get a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you decide to buy a tour from G Adventures.

Integrity is really important to me, so I only recommend products that I really love! Of course, do your own research and if you have any questions about the tour itself or need some advice, please feel free to get in touch – I’d be happy to help a fellow traveller!

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