Although China has hurled itself head-first into the 21st century, there are still pockets of the country where life hasn’t changed much in hundreds of years. That means that your Chinese visa can take you through time as well as space-just include one or more of these 4 places on your itinerary:

Qian Nian Yao Zhai

Over 1,000 years old, Qian Nian Yao Zhai is the largest remaining enclave of the Yao minority group in China. The “Yao” are actually a collection of different but loosely related traditional cultures, usually characterized by colorful clothing and either red or black turbans. This village of 200 people offers a glimpse into what their lives were traditionally like before they began to disperse. (via Bootsnall)

Tianluokeng

Tianluokeng is a fortress-like village built in the “tulou” style of the Hakka people. Large, extremely strong communal homes built from earth shelter and protect up to 80 families each. The unique buildings have been standing for up to 700 years.

Duolun Lu in Shanghai

Located in the Hongkou District of Shanghai, Duolun Lu is a street where cars are not allowed to go, and where the historic buildings still have the same atmosphere and charm as they did in the 20′s and 30′s. Although the street is technically supposed to be protected, the New York Times notes that in Shanghai this often doesn’t mean much, and this unique neighborhood may soon become a casualty of China’s march toward modernity.

Xidi and Hongcun

Located in Anhui province, Xidi and Hongcun are textbook-perfect examples of traditional Chinese feudal communities, so much so that they were named UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2000.

To visit China, you will need a Chinese visa. To learn more about getting a tourist visa for China, see Chinese Visa Requirements for Tourists. Remember, RushMyTravelVisa can help you with the application process and expedite your paperwork so that you get your visa as quickly as possible.

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Chengdu, China, is already quite famous for its giant panda sanctuary. However, the Chinese government would like to boost tourism to the region and apparently those pandas, as adorable as they are, are not drawing enough tourists. So, what is China’s solution? Smurfs!

Yes, those little blue mushroom-dwellers are getting a new lease on life: in China. The Wall Street Journal reports:

The beloved, animated blue creatures — famous for their white caps, cheery theme song, and proclivity for using the name of their race as a verb — are moving to Chengdu, where development firm Chengdu Teda Sino-Europe Construction and Smurf-brand owner IMPS plan to open a Smurf theme park, according to a report from DTZ Asia Property Market Update.

With investment of 20 million yuan, or about $2.9 million, the theme park is set to open in three to five years, according to DTZ. It’s part of a bigger plan to build tourism in Chengdu, where pandas are one of the biggest attractions.

Why the Smurf theme? Apparently the Smurfs are experiencing a bit of a revival in pop culture, with a new live action/animated movie starring Neil Patrick Harris set to come out next year, when it will no doubt appeal to the usual “Smurfs” demographic of really young children and really stoned young adults. If you fall into the latter group, consider yourself warned: The Department of State says that “Chinese law enforcement authorities have little tolerance for illegal drugs and periodically conduct widespread sweeps of bar and nightclub districts, targeting narcotics distributors and drug users.”

To visit China, you need a passport valid for at 6 months past the day you plan to arrive in China and a valid Chinese tourist visa, also known as an “L” visa. You need to apply for your visa in advance, as you will not be allowed into the country without one. For more information on how to apply, see Chinese Visa Requirements for Tourists.

RushMyTravelVisa makes applying for a Chinese visa quick and painless. We walk you through the application process and expedite your application with the Chinese Embassy for super-fast processing.

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For most of us, traveling overseas means budgeting carefully to contain costs. However, if you just won the lottery or are otherwise lucky enough to have money to burn, you might be interested in Gadling’s write up of China’s newly re-opened luxury hotel. The Peace Hotel, which just opened its doors back up after a 3-year, $64 million renovation, has rooms that start at $340 per night and go up to $1000 per night. Splurge on rooms here, at you can walk in the footsteps of former US Presidents Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter and silent-film legend Charlie Chaplin, all of whom stayed here often in the past.

Rooms and suites feature amenities like walk-in closets, luxury bathrooms, flat-screen CDs, powder rooms and in some cases, even dining suites so you can entertain guests in style. Sure beats staying in a Motel 6!

Luckily, if you’d like to see Shanghai and don’t have $340+ for a room in the Peace Hotel, there are plenty of other, cheaper rooms available in the city. A quick search at Yahoo Travel, for example, showed rooms available as low as $24 per night, although around $100 per night seemed average for most of the well-respected, global hotel chains.

No matter where you’re staying in Shanghai or how much your spending, you will need to apply for a China visa before you leave the US. If you’re traveling as a tourist, see China Visa Requirements for Tourists for more information on how to apply.

If you’re going to be in China on business, the requirements to get a visa are slightly different- see Getting a Chinese Visa for a Business Trip for more information.

Whether you’re traveling to China for business or pleasure, RushMyTravelVisa can help you get the documents you need to travel. When you apply through us, your professional visa specialist will walk you through the application process, helping you avoid common errors that could hold up your application. Then, we expedite your visa with the Chinese embassy for the fastest possible processing.

Apply for your China visa today!