“How hungry are you?” my interpreter and friend, Lillian, asked as the minibus headed back towards the city of Guilin, in China’s south-western Guangxi province.

It was post-SARS and I was in China for three months as presenter for a TV series being filmed by an all-Chinese crew for national TV channel CCTV-9. We had spent a gruelling day up in the mountain rice terraces of Longsheng, a couple of hours’ drive away, and I was starving. Without thinking, I replied: “I could eat a horse.”

They nodded understandingly…and that evening, we were tucking into horse flesh at one of the city’s horsemeat restaurants. Be careful what you wish for in China– they literally take you at your word.

Such food may not appeal to animal loving, squeamish Westerners like me, but in many parts of China it is the norm. Throughout that and later trips around China, I was offered (and it was rude not to accept) various other “exotic” dishes. Camel hump, chicken’s feet, sparrows, snakes, fried scorpions and silk worms on a stick – even a decapitated chicken’s head which, as guest of honour at an official reception hosted by the local Communist Party chief, I had to tackle while they looked on. After biting some skin off its face and quickly swallowing it without chewing, I smiled politely and pushed the plate away, saying: “Wo chi bao la,” or I am full. At which point the cameraman grabbed the bird by its cockscomb and dug out its eyes, slurping them down. They are a prized delicacy, apparently.

Another time, I and the male film crew members were served a special whisky while the women were given tea. Lillian refused my attempts to share some, eventually admitting it contained a special aphrodisiac ingredient meant only for men – dog’s testicles! Liquid Viagra, in other words. On a different trip, I misheard a menu translation at a traditional restaurant in Kunming, Yunnan province, and ordered what I thought were honeyed beans…only to be served a plate of fried honey bees! All of which demonstrates that, for the adventurous prepared to escape the well-trodden “Golden Triangle” itineraries – Beijing, Shanghai and Xi’an – when visiting China and explore off the beaten track, the experience is a world away from what we are used to.

regional cuisines

The Chinese love their food. They live to eat rather than eat to live, and the phrase “Chi fan le ma?” – meaning “Have you eaten?” – is used as a form of greeting. China has many different regional cuisines. Some, like in Sichuan, are very spicy. In the north, Mongolian hotpot helps fortify against the cold winters. The people of Cantonese capital Guangzhou, near Hong Kong, are renowned for their unusual tastes, as its Quingping Market underlines. Starfish, dried ants, bottled deer fawns – you will see all that and more. Even in Beijing, you can find bizarre foods. At Wangfujing Street’s night market, a short stroll from the Forbidden City, you can try the fried scorpions and silkworms. Beware the scorpions’ stingers, though. They hurt if you prick your lip on them, as happened to me. Thankfully, they are not venomous!

Most visitors to Beijing only see the most famous sights, which also include the Temple of Heaven and Great Wall. Explore beyond those and you can find many hidden delights, such as Beihai Park, where locals practice tai-chi in front of ornamental arches, or some of the few remaining traditional hutong neighbourhoods, through which you can take a pedicab tour. In the grounds around key monuments, you can see people playing traditional instruments or ancient board games, or practising calligraphy with giant paintbrushes on paving slabs.
At the Great Wall, you can escape the throngs by planning your trip in winter. It may be frigid, but you can walk the impressive ramparts in peace and often with clear-blue skies, even in normally-polluted Beijing.
Combine it with a visit to Harbin, in Heilongjiang province. China’s most northerly city, on the Russian border, every January it hosts the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival – one of the world’s foremost winter festivals, with stunning ice and snow carvings illuminated by dazzling colours at night. Attractions include the oniondomed Church of St Sophia, now a museum, and a Siberian tiger park.

Shanghai, famed for its space-age Oriental Pearl TV Tower and skyscrapers, has its hidden corners, too. Behind its famous waterfront area of colonial European architecture, The Bund, you will find glories including the historic, wooden Huxingting teahouse, on a lake in a pretty park. At Chinese New Year, it is decorated with traditional paper lanterns.

Visitors going to Xi’an for the Terracotta Warriors should venture around the city to see its impressive city walls, Big and Small Wild Goose Pagodas and the Muslim Quarter, with its Great Mosque. China’s capital for centuries, it was the starting point for the Silk Road.

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