It is hard to imagine exactly what awaits you when looking for China holidays if you have not visited China before. Such an exciting and vast country needs to be explored and most definitely deserves a decent amount of time spent in it. So I booked a 29 day Epic Adventure tour taking me to the remotest areas, fabulous and intriguing places that most people have not even heard of!

At Heathrow I met up with three other travellers going on the same trip which was great as we all got to know each other pretty well before we had even got to China! After a long flight to Beijing and further connections we found ourselves in the extreme west of China, in the “timeless” town of Kashgar. Still a little dazed from the jet lag, I woke up the next day and wandered out of our rooms and had to rub my eyes a few times, this place was incredible, a wonderful assault on my senses.

Kashgar is an exotic oasis town with a population of 200,000 and used to be the thriving centre of the centuries old Silk Road which connected Rome and China two thousand years ago. It is certainly still thriving and now homes what many believe to be the world’s “liveliest” market! We luckily had 4 days to enjoy this fascinating place and take in some of the sights like the amazing Abakh Hoja Tomb and the Idkah Mosque.

Etched on my memory has to be Kashgar’s magical Sunday Market which is actually geographically closer to India, Pakistan and Iran than it is to Beijing and the market reflects the amazing mix of cultures and produce. Shopping seems to be an ancient art form, no sale is quick, and it is haggled over with great enjoyment. I have never seen so many animals and so much market produce in one place; camels, horses, donkeys, chickens and birds of all varieties alongside heaps of vividly coloured spices, vegetables, fruits, flowers and homemade breads. The locals are an eclectic mix; some ladies dressed in brightly coloured western fashions, and some with Muslim style head dresses. The men often sported bushy “Abraham Lincoln” style beards and fur hats which further added to the intriguing air which surrounded the town.

The next exhilarating part of the this China tour took us for a 3 day trip by four wheel drive over the highest road on the planet, the Tibet Highway; this is the largest and highest plateau on earth often called the “roof of the world” and the views were incredible. Hours passed quickly as we travelled together lost in our own thoughts while crossing the many rivers and climbing the endless snow capped mountains. Although there have been recent disturbances of the peace between China’s communist party and the exiled Dalai Lama’s government, our group detected none of this on our trip; we only discovered why this high altitude plateau is associated with Buddhist serenity and mediation.

The stunning black mass of rock, Mount Kailash (22,000 ft) was where I felt that I experienced China in its most remote. It is one of the most sacred sites in the world, host to four different religions but also the least visited site. It felt like it was a million miles from anywhere, perched on the edge of the world. We stayed in very simple accommodation; personally I felt that this is the only way to travel as it would seem inappropriate to live any other way. The food was very basic, lots of noodles and rice but it tasted good as did the early morning teas and coffees whilst gazing over awe inspiring scenery. The following day we visited the desolate Lake Manasarovar. At 14,947.5 ft above sea level, this beautiful fresh water lake is one of the highest in the world.

The highlight in our third week took us to Mount Everest base camp with views up to the north face (29,029 ft), a place I have always wanted to visit, and now after chatting to the numerous trekkers we met at the camp, I really would love to return one day though and conquer it! We did get some exercise though after we had acclimatised properly; a walk to the Rhongpu Monastery followed by the spectacular views of the Rhongpu Glacier ticked all the boxes.

Our last few days were spent in Lhasa, the former home of the Dalai Lama; we visited the many sites, my favourite being the Potala Palace where he used to live. Built in the 7th century, it perches on top of Marpo Ri hill overlooking the Lhasa Valley and is believed to be the finest monumental structure in all of Tibet. This amazing holiday concluded with a day trip to see the wonderful pandas in Chengdu. This was definitely a holiday for those wanting to satisfy their sense of adventure, one which took us off the beaten track and left us with memories I will be sure to tell the grandchildren.

This guest post was written by a holidaymaker travelling on an escorted tour with Wendy Wu Tours.