The must-try activities in China

WELL- I could write a book - long book- regards those questions. I started coming to China in 2006- but I can tell you that China has changed a whole lot since then.
EVERYONE who responds to Her post will write something different- I can assure you. So, by no means take what I say as the Only Truth! ha ha ha. Everyone has their own version.
WHAT TO SEE:
Well, like I said- I could write a book on that one question. Are you the type of person who is happy being herded around like a bunch of stupid sheep in a barely running hot bus- to all the usual tourist traps.
Or are you like me and have to go everywhere the tourists DO NOT go, as a rule. I like ANCIENT villages- and not the tourist fake villages they build with residents wearing all the latest fashion gear and an i-phone in each hand. I mean the remote villages where OX plow the rice paddies and basically nothing has changed in hundreds of years.
One time I was invited to Chongquing (largest city in the world) on business- and these people were showing me around all the fancy modern places and all the big restaurants and I was really getting bored, to say the least! I mean.... I have lived and worked in- and visited most of the countries of the world- and I LOVE 6 star hotel living--  so Chongquing was just another London or Paris to me. One of the business ladies on the 3 day, at breakfast, took me aside and said: "I can see that you are not happy, what is wrong, is it the hot food",,,, to which I replied without thinking - "NO- Everything is fine and the hotel buffet breakfast is fantastic - BUT I WANT TO SEE the real; China- not all this fake copied stuff that is rotting and falling apart (I am an engineer also) before they finish building it---- "  and before I could finish she quickly RAN OFF and came back with the 4 businessmen, who looked absolutely OFFENDED and shocked. She had obviously translated what I had said to them; and one man replied: "WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO SEE OLD CHINA? Everyone is chasing the American Dream and wants money and a new villa and big car. Nobody cares about the OLD CHINA anymore- everyone is moving to the big cities"!  There was more discussion in Chinese- and the lady came back to me and said that one of the older gents came from a very small remote farming area and he was ashamed of his childhood and the area where he lived- and he was shocked that anyone- especially a foreigner - would want to see this old life. I SAID in reply--  I would love to go there and "I" will pay for everyone- to which they refused- of course!
The next morning I was waiting at the hotel doors with my hiking boots on and then I was surprised when a police car pulled up and told me to GET IN!  I was scared because I was alone there. But the men were government connected and they wanted me to feel special- so they sent the police car. Then we travelled 2 hours outside Chongquing city and soon the roads became dirt trails. Then we came to the end of the road LITERALLY- and the others were waiting there. Then we started walking and for 4.5 hours we went deeper into the mountains and there was just a trail; no one lived there? Then all of a sudden we came over this mountain and before me was a tapestry of beautiful rice paddies. Then we started walking another hour through the rice paddies on the skinny mud walls. Then we crossed over another small mountain and I saw all the ancient houses spotted all over the mountain sides. I did not know it but they had sent a person ahead to tell the farmers a foreigner was coming.
We went to the old guys GRANDFATHERS house- and his grandparents looked like they were 120 years old. We had fantastic pu-er tea and then I saw some young people chasing the ducks so I went out to help and look around. They caught 4 ducks and proceeded to kill them for lunch!!! There were about 20 ladies there now who had walked over from neighboring mountains. The farmers had HAND MADE CLOTHES and shoes-- and of course there was no electric or phones or anything there. The lady showed me one side of the mountain where all the tombs were- and she was explaining how old they were & who they were. Some were from the ancient Dynasty eras.
At lunch I heard most everyone's stories and they were fantastic. I estimated that at least 80% of the old people had been born there; grew up there- and had never been into the nearest village- let alone the big cities!  No TV of course- so they had no concept of the world outside. Some asked how I got to China- and was my home far away. They thought I came on a boat!
SUCH GENUINE PEOPLE- untouched by the fake modern world.
BUT WHAT HIT ME MOST-- was that they all seemed perfectly happy and contented. The elderly grandmothers complained that some of the young kids ran away to the big city and never came back. WHAT A SHAME.  I could live the rest of my days in a place like that! But Sadly- I had to "GET BACK TO WORK" and the life that I knew.

BACK TO REALITY! YES- you could literally live 20 years in China and go somewhere different EVERY WEEKEND and still, you would not even see half of China. China has 56 distinct cultures- so that means different foods- clothing- houses - dances- etc..... SO OF COURSE you must plan your visit to China.

STILL on my bucket list of things to do before I die is go live in a TUOLOU -- I know I spelled it wrong- but you know- the ROUND HOUSES wherein a 100 people live.  So Cool!
And I want to spend a week in a WATER VILLAGE. They are ancient towns built all of wood and they are usually located on a canal- and famous for tea houses- etc......
And I want to tour YUNNAN!

SO MUCH TO DO- so little time.
Now I live in shenzhen and I explore the beaches & the restaurants (WAGGAS restaurant of course!) and the city and the parks and without a doubt it is my favorite city. But every once in awhile I have to go see something ancient!
I lived in Renhe town in Guangzhou years ago and I used to walk out into the countryside and discover the ancient temples and houses- so cool!

As I said. You literally need to compile a BOOK with lots of photos - on every single area of China- BEFORE it is all gone and they build more ghost cities!

Q: What are the activities everyone must try at least once in China?
A: Go visit and eat at a local's home; try square dance; wear cheong-sam; eat local cusine.

What are the activities that one should partake in if they want to discover the local culture?
A: The best way to learn the local culture is to  learn some Chinese, then you can watch the news report, visit museums and talk with local people.

Are there any activities that are characteristic of China?
A: Yes, celebrations of Chinese festivals like the upcoming dragon boat festival and others you can find online, playing Chinese chess, mahjong and other card games.

Wonderful story kristovvv. I think you where brave to take initiative to open their eyes. Many people in China actually does not know how the rest of the world look like and are convinced that what they've seen on tv is the reaIity. I also experienced this shame for old culture amongst people in China. I often heard similar expressions like "no that is old stuff..." "that is nothing to see" and so on. I am also interested in this culture and where actually able to get some chineses to show me some museums in cities like Wuxi and souzho.  The museum in Lingshan where very exciting. with a Buddha you could see far away. I think we saw this statue nearly an hour before we arrived at the place. I took some pictures>>>.  Another exciting showroom or, type of, museum was the city of three kingdoms>>>, I would also suggest visiting some of the colourful markets down here.  But beware. If you would like to buy something then take an inhabitant with you or you'll get cheated. I would also suggest learning chinese when you get here. I tried learning sopme when I spent a month here but I discovered I'll need, at least, one year to manage.
Other things to do could be trying some of the restaurants down here. I suggest downloading something like google translate or Isay on your phone so you are able to read the menues or understand the staff. I wrote some good applications and free courses on https://wuxi-city.com/culture/language.php and https://wuxi-city.com/culture/android.php
I also suggest get a friend or two down here because language, culture and habits are very different from our west cultures. could save you a lot of trouble. I wish you all a nice trip.