August 31, 2026 — 4:00amThe noodle soup I sit down to eat in a Shanghai restaurant is one of the best I’ve ever had. Full of fresh herbs and tender spicy lamb, it also represents a personal triumph of sorts. You see, I am flying solo in this city of nearly 30 million and, frankly, a bit nervous. The last time I travelled alone to what I regard as “a challenging destination” was as a backpacker 40 years ago. I’m out of practice at being out of my comfort zone.Paying for stuff was the first mental hurdle. I buy a bottle of water using Alipay, China’s “super app” (that does a zillion other things than just pay for goods and services) in a 7-Eleven, and it all works easily. A nearby eatery displays huge, colourful photos of its fare. I point at that delicious lamb soup and, before you can say “open sesame”, I’ve Alipayed it with my phone. Anxiety melts away.Like Sydney’s Vivid light show every night of the year: the Shanghai skyline.
Getty ImagesMy time alone soon ends as I join an Intrepid, eight-day “Highlights of China” tour. I’m en route to Europe, breaking my journey with the brisk tour that acquaints me with one of the world’s cultural, historical and political behemoths.Our group of 15 comes from almost every Anglophone country. Aboard bullet trains and buses, we will cover some serious territory in this vast country, from Shanghai travelling north-west to Xi’an and finally heading further north to Beijing.Gavin Lee, our guide, is a local who polished his English-language skills with a stint in Africa. He seems nonplussed as the group vents about troublesome e-sims and apps.Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletterGet exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.China as a destination can often be perplexing for Western tourists and is part of the reason I chose to travel with a tour company. Pre-tour we are instructed to download AliPay and WeChat apps so we can link our credit card, yet one rebel in our cohort brings an enormous wad of yuan, which is also readily acceptable by merchants, as it turns out.A tourist takes in the view over Shanghai’s Huangpu River.iStockOur first night together is an optional dinner in a mediocre tour-anointed restaurant and a cruise, which is also optional but sensational. We cruise along the Huangpu River, lined on one side by illuminated colonial-era structures along the Bund and on the other by futuristic skyscrapers in Shanghai’s financial district. It’s like Sydney’s annual Vivid festival but switched on every night.A group of us heads out the next night for dinner at Jia Jia Tang Bao one of Shanghai’s most famous xiao long bao (soup dumplings) restaurants, followed by drinks at Cloud Nine, the bar at the top of the Grand Hyatt Shanghai, which is in the 87-floor Jin Mao Tower. We’re off to a good start.Leaving one of China’s most modern cities, we board a G-Series train that takes us 1500 kilometres to the ancient city of Xi’an in China’s north-western province of Shaanxi. After passing through a stringent security check at Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station (in China even bags are screened for a subway trip), it’s a comfortable five-hour, 40-minute journey, at up to 350 km/h and with full meals available on board.Far from Shanghai’s glittering cosmopolitan feel, this city – once the starting point for the Silk Road – feels more dusty and interesting. Xi’an is fortified by an ancient wall on which people stroll or cycle and is home to the AD 652 Buddhist Giant Wild Goose Pagoda and a busy, touristy Muslim quarter.The Terracotta Army attracts a crowd, but remains a must-see.
