By the iL Compass team | 20 years of crafting journeys across China Most first-time visitors start with Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai. But if you are drawn to mountains, rivers and open skies, southern China offers some of the most…
By the iL Compass team | 20 years of crafting journeys across China China is five time zones wide, with thousands of years of history, regional cuisines that barely resemble one another, and landscapes ranging from karst peaks to desert…
By Tanya, Travel Expert at IL Compass On September 25, a message arrived from a traveler asking if I could plan a Zhangjiajie trip for two families. The catch was that they wanted to land on September 30, right when…
By Tanya, Travel Expert at IL Compass Some messages make my day before I’ve even finished my coffee. This one arrived a month before July and started with a simple “Bonjour, I’m Léa.” Léa was planning a trip to China…
China can feel like a lot for a first-time visitor. The country is huge, the culture is rich and layered, and a few everyday things work very differently from what you are used to. But with some preparation, it is…
China is one of the most cashless societies in the world. Locals pay for everything with a quick scan of a QR code, from a bowl of noodles to a metro ticket. For years, this left foreign visitors stuck at…
China is huge. It spans frozen northern plains, subtropical river valleys, and snow-capped mountains, so there is no single “best” time to visit. The right month depends on where you are going and what you want to do. That said,…
It is one of the first questions we hear from first-time visitors: “Is China safe?” The short answer is yes. For the vast majority of travellers, China is a very safe destination. Violent crime against tourists is rare, cities are…
China runs on your phone. Hailing a taxi, paying for noodles, buying a metro ticket, and finding your way through a hutong all happen through apps. That might sound intimidating, but with a little preparation, it makes travelling here smoother…
Chengdu · Lijiang · Dali | 10 Days, 9 Nights | A Flexible Reference Itinerary Southwest China is where the country feels most colorful. In Chengdu, giant pandas nibble bamboo and teahouses hum with unhurried conversation. In Lijiang, cobbled lanes…