The finest China

IF you are lucky, a holiday yields one or two sights - true wonders of the world - which render you genuinely speechless. China is like that from start to finish. In an age where the world grows ever smaller, few countries retain a sense of unfathomable mystery, but China is one of them. There is something about the country which captivates, a sense that you are travelling through living history and experiencing at first hand one of the planet's most ancient cultures.

But it is not just the stunning Great Wall, the mind-blowing Terracotta Warriors, or the exquisite Buddhist temples which make the senses reel. There is something more: the sheer scale of the landscape, the character in the faces of the old people, the vibrancy of the street markets.

This was the trip which myself, now 41, and my dad Stan, 70, both from Darlington, had always wanted to make, and spurred by a sneaking suspicion that we were not getting any younger, we began scouring the brochures.

We decided at the outset on a tour: in a country like China with its bewildering bureaucracy and baffling language, it is the best way to guarantee that you see the sights with the minimum of inconvenience.

In the end we plumped for Thomas Cook's ten day Highlights of China tour, our decision influenced by the door-to-door service which the company offers, a comfortable car taking you from your doorstep to the airport, and home again. Too good to be true? That's what I thought until the car turned up.

A ten-hour Air China flight from Heathrow later - across Scandinavia, Russia, the southern fringes of Siberia and Mongolia and the Gobi Desert, offering stunning views from 36,000 feet - and we were in Beijing.

The thing to remember is that for all its 1.3 billion people and powerful army, China is an emerging country and although it has made rapid strides over the last decade, it is still a poor nation.

Because the standard of living is low you get a lot for your money: included in our price were international flights, top-class hotels, rail travel, two internal flights, a number of Chinese banquets and a show, as well as a lot of the tips.

We were lucky, the other people on our trip were terrific company, our tour manager, the excellent Yasser from Peterborough was a marvel, and the local guides were, by and large, helpful and informative.

But for all that, tours can be strictly controlled affairs, so it's a good idea to take advantage of what free time there is and plunge into the streets to experience the real China. Early morning is a good time because the people come out and dance and practise their sword dancing in the squares.

You will find the people friendly - they welcome visitors faltering attempts at speaking Chinese - although you do need to be prepared for them to stare at you out of curiosity, and for the somewhat guttural spitting. Also be prepared for some of the public toilets and the relentless hawkers trying to sell you cheap watches.

But things are changing and nowhere is the western influence felt more than Beijing, which is increasingly like any other big city in the world with its McDonald's, KFCs and even, for goodness sake, nine Pizza Huts. This is a double-edged sword because something of essential China is being lost: the magic is under threat.

There's no such danger on the Great Wall of China, as long as McDonald's doesn't open a burger joint there. The wall is truly breathtaking and was the main reason we went - Dad had always wanted to stand on the Great Wall and his dream had captivated me for years.

It did not disappoint and although the wall was thronged with tourists, that did not detract either because it offered a glimpse of what it was like in past centuries, a colourful, bustling thoroughfare.

Unfortunately, those same crowds detract from the Forbidden City in Beijing, but try to close the hubbub out and you will be rewarded with a remarkable experience.

From Beijing we took a train journey through the mountains to the city of Chengdu. Here was real China, much less western, strongly Mongolian and blessed with beautiful Buddhist temples. The most stunning was Puning where we were privileged to witness local women worshipping, their song haunting and enthralling.

The tour was peppered with visits to temples and pagodas, each one richly evocative, but nothing could have prepared us for the final highlight, the Terracotta Warriors, not far from Xian.

They are a true wonder, the lines of carved statues standing where they were uncovered when a farmer fell through a hole in the ground. They take the breath away.

Away from the known wonders, everyday China is also magical. From endless flatlands to snow-capped mountains with soaring eagles, from busy city streets with hordes of bicycles, to rural villages clinging onto the hillsides, it leaves you smitten.

Yes, China has problems. Its human rights are poor, its animal rights are appalling and there is widespread poverty, but the country is throwing off the shackles of Communism and developing rapidly.

I had to think long and hard about going to China, aware like all of us of the way human and animal life seem to be cheap (I donate to an organisation which campaigns to free bears from the country's horrendous bile extraction farms) but in the end I am glad I went.

Not just because it allowed father and son to experience the trip of a lifetime and realise a dream, but because China is changing. The people talk freely about the decline of Communism and the tolerance of religions, and there is clear evidence that more and more of them are breaking free of the rules which restricted how they live and work.

Tourism may threaten the magic places of our planet but the more China opens up and the more people visit, the more light they shine into the country's darkest recesses.

Tourists can act as a force for change but care is needed: McDonald's apparently already has permission to open a further 100 burger joints and as one person on our tour said: "So much has changed in ten years that in another ten years, you will not recognise China."

I am not sure. I suspect that may be true of Beijing and the other big cities but away from the urban centres, life will go on much as it has for centuries, perhaps a little less harsh, but still distinctly Chinese. A true wonder indeed.

TRAVELFACTS

Tour operator: Thomas Cook, Darlington (01325) 553000

Cost: £1,175 per head for ten days

Flying with Air China, Beijing (010) 66016667

Hotels: Beijing: Radisson SAS, 6A East Beisanhuan Road, Chaoyang District 100028 Tel: (86) (10) 6466 3388

Chengdu: Mountain Villa Hotel, 127 XiaoNanMen (no phone number available)

Xian: Hyatt, 158 Dongda Street, Xian 710001, Tel: (86) (29) 769 1234