Brazilian travel vlogger Marina Guaragna has hailed China as an ideal travel destination after spending a month exploring the country, where she marveled at delicious food, fascinating landscapes, the hospitality of locals, and the modern conveniences.
China is abuzz with tourists during the National Day holiday from October 1 to 7, particularly thanks to its 72/144-hour visa-free transit policies, which cover as many as 54 countries.
Guaragna was among the many foreign nationals enjoying visa-free travel to China. During the trip with her husband, she visited many places across the country including bustling metropolis of Shanghai, Hong Kong and Shenzhen, as well as ancient capitals such as Beijing and Xi'an.
"I think it's really hard to say that I have one favorite city because I really love every city we've been to, but I think if I had to say one, I would say Xi'an. I wasn't expecting that I would love so much this city, but it has everything I love. I love the people there, I love the food. There is a lot of street food. I love the culture, I love the buildings and people. So I think it's my favorite," Guaragna recalled.
During her stay in Beijing, Guaragna spent two unforgettable days on the magnificent Great Wall, an experience she described as "one of the most amazing things" she's ever done in her life.
Guaragna also emphasized how convenient it is to travel in China with the help of many digital solutions such as mobile payment apps.
"And I really think that traveling in China is really easy. I think it's maybe one of the easiest countries to travel I've ever been to. The system integration is amazing, you can do everything in applications. You can rent a bike to cycle around the city, you can order food, you can pay online, you can pay everything in the application, so you don't even need to go to the ATM. It's really easy to book everything you need or to buy everything you need or to travel around cities and inside cities," she said.
She praised the efficiency of transport, ranging from high-speed trains to easily accessible bicycles.
"You can just get it (high-speed train) and you manage to go for long distance in a short time. Distances that in another country you'd take eight hours, here you can do it in two hours. When we were in the town, we just took the bicycles everywhere because it's easy to ride and there is always space for the bicycles in the roads. Or when we travel for long distance, we just take subway or train and it's really fast, super easy and we can understand everything and go easily anywhere," said Guaragna.
Safety was another highlight of her experiences in China. Guaragna felt secure going out alone at any time, even at night.
"One more thing that I love about China is the safety. I can go out anywhere, anytime. I go walking at night, I take a cab or just go walk for long distance, and I really feel safe anywhere, anytime. I walk around with my cell phone, with my equipment and my camera, everything, and nothing happened here. Even as a woman, I really feel really, really safe. And I feel safe about the country, about the people," she said.
In summary, Guaragna highlighted the many aspects that make China a fantastic destination.
"First, there is good food and authentic food, you can find it everywhere for affordable prices. There is a lot of street food. People here are amazing, are happy people. You really feel welcome. It's so easy to travel around. Trains, transport, apps, everything helps you. There are beautiful landscapes, the nature, the cities, the safety. I think there is everything you need for a trip," she said.
China has everything you need for tourist trips: Brazilian travel vlogger
