Southeast China: An Underrated Deep-Travel Destination Through Foreign Eyes
As a foreign teacher who has lived in China for three years, I am often asked by friends back home, “Where should I travel in China?” My answer is always somewhat unexpected: skip the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, and head southeast. Here, you will discover another China—not the imposing ancient empire found in textbooks, but a gentle, vibrant world filled with poetry, tradition, and everyday life.
Fujian: Cultural Codes Between Mountains and Sea
Fujian is my top recommendation for foreign friends. It encapsulates much of what foreigners imagine when they think of “traditional China,” yet constantly overturns those expectations in surprising ways.
Gulangyu in Xiamen is my suggested first stop. No cars are allowed on this World Heritage-listed island. Winding alleyways, colonial-era villas, and piano music drifting from open windows have earned it the nickname “Piano Island.” To foreign visitors, however, it feels more like a living architectural museum. Minnan red-brick ancestral houses stand alongside European-style arcades and balconies, telling the story of the complex history of this former treaty port. As you wander along quiet flagstone paths, you begin to understand why so many foreign missionaries and merchants once chose to settle here.
Yet it is Fujian’s tulou that truly captivated me. When I first saw photographs of these massive circular rammed-earth buildings, I thought they looked like some kind of modern art installation. Standing before the “Four Dishes and One Soup” tulou cluster in Tianluokeng, Nanjing County, the experience is impossible to convey through photographs alone. The Hakka people built these remarkable communal fortresses from earth and timber, creating structures large enough to house entire clans.
Step inside Yuchang Building, and its five-storey wooden structure unfolds layer upon layer. After more than 300 years, it still stands firm. A German companion of mine once marvelled at this architectural wisdom: “European castles were built for defence. These were built for communal living.”
If you love tea, Wuyi Mountain is unmissable. Drift along the Jiuqu Stream on a bamboo raft, with steep Danxia rock formations rising dramatically on both banks. Raft guides point out ancient hanging coffins tucked into the cliff faces. On land, visit the Da Hong Pao scenic area to see the famous mother bushes growing in rocky crevices. Tea harvested from these historic plants was once reserved for imperial use.
In Wuyi’s tea plantations, you can also join local tea farmers in shaking and rolling fresh leaves, experiencing the journey from tea field to teacup firsthand. It is an intimate experience that is difficult to find elsewhere in China.
Guangdong: More Than Just Food
If Fujian feels poetic, Guangdong is raw, direct, and full of energy.
Zhujiang New Town in Guangzhou reminds me of Dubai or Singapore. In just two decades, what was once largely undeveloped land has been transformed into a forest of skyscrapers. Canton Tower, CTF Finance Centre, and Guangzhou International Finance Center pierce the skyline. What makes Guangzhou special, however, is the old-town fabric hidden behind this glass-and-steel cityscape.
Shamian Island is a fascinating place to begin. This small island on the Pearl River was divided into British and French concession areas for nearly a century. Its preserved European architecture gives many foreign visitors a curious sense of familiarity—perhaps the closest they will come to feeling “at home” in Guangzhou.
But step off Shamian and into Qingping Market, and that feeling disappears instantly. Stalls piled with traditional medicinal herbs, sacks of dried ingredients, and the mingled aromas of herbal medicine and seafood create a completely different atmosphere. This is old Guangzhou in one of its most vivid forms.
The city’s Taoist temples are among my favourite corners of Guangzhou. Far quieter than the crowded Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, some of these centuries-old temples are filled with the drifting smoke of incense. Elderly men sit playing chess, while volunteers hand out free herbal tea. The atmosphere feels less like that of a tourist attraction and more like the beating heart of an established neighbourhood.
Small Towns in Zhejiang: Another Version of “China’s Speed”
When foreign friends ask what China’s “development” really looks like, I do not take them to Lujiazui in Shanghai. I take them to Anji.
This small county in northern Zhejiang was once known for poverty. Today, it is widely associated with China’s philosophy that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.” This is not merely an empty slogan. Anji offers a striking example of how ecological preservation and modern development can coexist.
I remember hearing the story of Singaporean visitor Li Wanxin. She spent six days among Anji’s tea-covered hills and painted a picture that later won an award at a competition held at the Louvre, changing the course of her life. She described Anji as “special” because its natural beauty coexists seamlessly with modern amenities. Bus drivers are willing to help foreign visitors, while homestay neighbours may invite guests into their homes for a meal.
Shoreu Village in Shitang, Wenling, is another delightful surprise. Its colourful houses face the sea, and at sunset the entire village seems to catch fire. The flower-boat parade along Luqiao’s Shili Ancient Street gave me my first real glimpse into Jiangnan folk traditions. Light boats drift slowly along the river, boatmen sing folk ballads, and crowds on the banks cheer spontaneously. There is no elaborate stage and no ticket required—life itself becomes the performance.
Practical Tips for Foreign Travellers
Regarding visas, China’s 240-hour visa-free transit policy can make a multi-city journey through parts of southeast China highly convenient for eligible travellers. If your itinerary and entry arrangements meet the relevant requirements, you can enter through an eligible port and continue your journey by high-speed rail. The high-speed rail experience is an attraction in itself.
For example, the journey from Shanghai to Xiamen takes just over five hours on some services. Outside the window, the scenery gradually changes from the waterways and rice fields of Jiangnan to the rolling tea-covered hills of southern Fujian.
For payments, Alipay and WeChat Pay now support many foreign bank cards, making everyday transactions considerably easier for international visitors. Nevertheless, I still recommend carrying some cash. A British colleague of mine once tried to buy handicrafts in Shoreu Village, only to discover that an elderly vendor accepted cash only. It may well have been the vendor’s first transaction with a foreign visitor, and neither of them wanted to miss the moment.
As for language, English is widely spoken in major southeastern cities, but translation apps can become your lifeline once you reach smaller towns. In Anji, a bus driver once used a translation app to tell me which stop offered the best views of the surrounding tea mountains. Those slightly awkward, technology-mediated exchanges often stay in my memory far longer than smooth conversations in English.
Why Southeast China?
After three years of living in China, I have come to understand something: many foreign travellers come to China seeking something different. Yet the most meaningful differences are not necessarily found in polished tourist attractions. They can be found in the mountains and rivers, the daily rhythms of local life, the rituals of tea, and the sheltered courtyards of tulou.
Southeast China may lack the grandeur of the Great Wall or the awe-inspiring presence of the Terracotta Army. But it reveals another side of the country: gentle and understated, profound without being overwhelming, and modern while maintaining an intimate connection with the land and its traditions.
For foreigners hoping to truly see China rather than simply visit its most famous landmarks, the southeast may not be the most obvious choice. Yet it may well be one of the most rewarding—and authentic—ways to experience the country.
