Getting Oriented

Stretching from Hebei, which is culturally and geographically Northern China, to the more refined province of Jiangsu, Eastern China is accessible thanks to a well-developed tourist infrastructure. All four provinces have air and rail links to the major transport hubs of Beijing and Shanghai. As you travel from north to south, you'll have a chance to judge for yourself whether Chinese stereotypes are accurate: Northerners are viewed as typically taller with light skin, and are thought to be very fond of wheat-based foods like noodles and bread. Southerners, on the other hand, are thought of as shorter and darker, and rice is their staple. This vague cultural border lies somewhere between Beijing and Shanghai.