There’s an entire laundry list of technological innovations that the Chinese developed centuries before the West, including porcelain, silk, the compass, paper and gunpowder.

Another area in which the Chinese beat the west was music, via an instrument called the bianzhong.

Bianzhong bells are made of bronze and were developed at least 3600 years ago in ancient China. Because of their unique shape, each bell can produce two different tones, depending on where the musician strikes them. A full set of 65 bells can play a complete 12 tone scale – another capability that the Chinese developed over 2,000 years earlier than Europeans.

In the entire world, only one of these ancient instruments remains intact. In fact, their existence was basically forgotten until 1978, when a set of Bianzhong bells was discovered during the excavation of the tomb of the Marquis Yi of Zeng. These enormous, ornate bells have been dated to 433 BC. Despite being well over 2,000 years old, they are in pristine condition and still playable.

Bianzhong bells are huge instruments that were generally played by multiple musicians. In fact, per Wikipedia, one rack of bells on the Bianzhong of Marquis Yi is 7.48 meters long by 2.65 meters wide. The other rack is 3.35 meters long by 2.73 meters wide. Environmental Graffiti says that the entire instrument weighs more than 4 tons!

Y0u can see this impressive instrument on display at the Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan. However, before you plan a trip to China, brush up on China visa requirements to ensure you have the right documents. (more…)

The Silk Road may get all the glory, but there’s another, lesser-known Chinese trade route that’s no less interesting to explore. The “Tea-Horse Road”  once carried tea from China to Tibet, where the Chinese traded it for tough Tibetan horses.

The original trail was incredibly difficult and rough, and yet Chinese tea porters made the journey with packs of tea on their backs that weighed more than they did.  National Geographic travel writer Mark Jenkins recently traveled what remains of the  Tea Horse road, and found some elderly Chinese porters who were willing to talk about their days hauling tea. The traditional tea porter song that they sang for him illustrates how hard the work was:

Seven steps up, you have to rest.

Eight steps down, you have to rest.

Eleven steps flat, you have to rest.

You are stupid, if you don’t rest.

Nowadays, most of the trail itself is gone, either paved or left to fall to ruin. However, the places where the road once stopped are interesting enough to make a Tea Horse Road itinerary more than worthwhile.  Potential tea horse road destinations could include the tropical rainforests of Xishuangbanna; Pu’er, the home of highly esteemed Pu’er tea; laid-back Dali; and Llhasa in Tibet.  Several Chinese tour operators run Tea Horse Road-themed tours; hitch a ride with them or create your own itinerary.

To travel the Tea Horse road, you’ll need a valid passport and a Chinese visa.  You must apply for your Chinese visa and have it hand before you leave the United States. If you’re traveling as a tourist, see Chinese Visa Requirements for Tourists for more details.

Also, keep in mind that you need a permit to visit Tibet and even then will only be allowed in certain areas. In addition, if your itinerary takes you through other countries on the way to China, you may need visas for those countries as well.

RushMyTravelVisa can research your itinerary to ensure you have the correct paperwork. Plus, we’ll help you apply for any visas you may need and expedite them with the appropriate embassy or consulate for the fastest possible processing.

Apply for your Chinese visa today!

A favorite haunt of backpackers, hippies and other bohemian types, Dali is like China’s answer to Goa, the “hippie mecca” of India. Centuries ago, this small city was the capital of the kingdom of the Bai, one of China’s many ethnic minorities. They still live here today, and if you visit the shores of Lake Erhai on one side of the town, you can watch Bai fishermen catch fish the traditional way, with specially trained water birds called cormorants. However, these days the Bai are joined by a blend of young Chinese students, artists, musicians and hippified Westerners, all in Dali to chill out and enjoy the city’s laid-back, artsy  vibe.

On the Western side of the city, the Cangshan mountains provide a stunning backdrop and endless opportunities for exploration. According to the Guardian, if you go into the mountains you’ll find “esoteric temples, guesthouse retreats, hot springs and even a secret monastery of kung fu monks.”

One item that you’ll need to get your hands on before you visit is a Chinese tourist visa, or “L” visa. Without the visa, you won’t even be allowed to leave the United States. Here’s what you need to get the visa:

• One completed Chinese visa application
• Your US passport,. You’ll need at least one blank page in the back for the visa, and your passport must have an expiration date at least 6 months in the future. Before you apply for your Chinese visa, add passport pages or renew your passport if necessary.
• A copy of your passport’s information page. This is the page that has your name, birthday and other personal information on it.
• On the application, glue or staple one recent passport photo.

If you are leaving within the next 7 days, include a copy of your travel itinerary. This will allow your Chinese visa to be expedited.

RushMyTravelVisa can make getting a Chinese visa a much faster and less stressful experience. When you apply through us, your visa specialist will assist you with your application and answer any questions you might have, so you don’t have to worry about making a mistake that could delay your application. Then, we deliver your Chinese visa application to the appropriate embassy or consulate for the fastest possible processing.

Apply for your Chinese visa today!

The Silk Road- the name brings to mind the slippery feel of silk fabric, the taste of spice, and the incense-like smell of opium smoke. For centuries, these goods and many others traveled the Silk Road, a series of routes connecting China with Europe, and the region of Xinjiang was at the heart of it all.

Now, you can tour both Xinjiang itself and the surrounding desert. Dan Levin, a travel writer for the New York Times, did just that recently, staying in the city of Kashgar for a few days and then riding a camel through the forbidding Taklamakan desert.

He writes:

“Travelers who retrace the Silk Road in Xinjiang find that despite the flood of economic development, much of this remote province remains a world apart from China. In the towns and villages along this ancient trade route few people speak Mandarin, and the traditions of their ancestors — whose kingdoms have been swallowed by the sands — live on in faith and food.”

If exploring Xinjiang sounds like your cup of tea, autumn is the best time to go, according to TravelChinaGuide. This is when you’ll have the best weather, without the extreme fire and ice of winter and summer.

Before you leave, you’ll need to apply for a Chinese visa. Chinese tourist visas are available from Chinese embassies and are referred to as “L” visas. Depending on your travel needs, you can apply for a single-entry Chinese visa valid for 3-6 months, a double-entry visa valid for 6 months or a multiple-entry visa valid for 6 months.

Either what you need to apply for a Chinese tourist visa:

• A Chinese visa application
• Your passport, which will need to be sent to the embassy along with your application. Your passport must expire no sooner than 6 months in the future, and it must have at least one blank page in the back. If it expires prior to 6 months or it’s too full, you will need to get a passport renewal or add pages before you apply for the visa.
• A clear copy of your passport’s information page (the page with your name, date of birth, etc on it)
• One passport photo glued or stapled to the application.

If you are leaving within the next week, you can expedite your visa by including a copy of your itinerary.

RushMyTravelVisa can help you get your Chinese visa, as well as any other visas required for your journey. Some countries require you to get a visa even if you’re just stopping in the airport, so we research your itinerary to make sure you have all the documents you need. We’ll also help you with the application, reducing the chance of common mistakes that can hold things up. Finally, we’ll expedite your visa for the fastest possible processing.

Apply for your Chinese visa today!