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Sleeping for free in Shangri-La
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 | While Shangri-La is a very common name for luxurious hotels in the world, most of you have no ideas of the origin of this name. However, it is an incredible place to visit, which I would consider at the main monastery of Free Tibet. There is no Free Tibet in reality, but the Western part of Sichuan, next to Tibet, offers the same features, through its grasslands, monks, moutains. And Shangri-La is the equivalent of Lhassa's main temple, but in a place you can visit quite easily if we compare with the situation in the Tibetan province. Nevertheless, like all the other chinese touristic places, the ticket is expensive, about 20 euros, for only sightseeing, even it the place is unique. But if you're interested into saving some coins, and even having a beautiful camping stay, instead of going straight to the entrance of the park, you can take the road going left, following some hills. The security may warn you that's it's forbidden, but the road is not private, it belongs to the village. So just walk there, and when you'll see a kind of garden with wooden fences, pass the door, and climb up the hill almost straight. Reaching the top, you'll find another hill ahead, and a wall delimitating the field's limits. Follow this wall to the right, and climb the second hill. The marvellous scenic view over Shangri-La will be worth your 30 minutes walk. Then you can go down to visit it very easily, without being noticed as some tourists will go up, to take a picture from where you arrived.
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Kaiping diaolou |
 | Unique in the world, the Kaiping Diaolou are a family of villages in china, will fortified watchtowers around. Hundred of them can be seen in this part of the country, if you lose yourself in the countryside. Some of them are really remote, while the most famous, and probably almost intact one are in few villages with untouched architecture. Almost every village needs an official ticket to enter each area. With lotuses, rice fields, and traditional houses around, this is a picturesque place to visit if you are in Guangzhou province. | | Price :Between 8 and 12 euros for each site
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Sayram lake |
 | China is a beautiful country, but every sightseeing spot has a ticket. This one doesn't, and it is definitly worth a visit, almost in Kazakhstan, surrounded by moutains, horseriders, sheeps. The water is so clear and clean that you think you can see each of your town even when your feet can't touch the bottom of the lake anymore | | Price :Free | |
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Tagong village |
 | Probably not the best of the Sichuan province, but quite an authentic one that can be randomly chosen on the road to Tibet or back to Chengdu. Grasslands, plenty of monks, and temples surrounded by hills and snowy mountains. | | Price :Free | |
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