The following article and golf course map references were compiled in 1997 and are to be updated. For golf map references please refer to the end of this article or the navigation list to your left.

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ucked away in southeast Asia, untouched over thousands of years by other nations, developing independent of outside influence, China cannot be considered as just another destination, its culture, cuisine and people present another world, it's unique. Whether you play golf or not this fascinating country should not be missed.

I always have a tingle of excitement whenever I visit a country for the first time, but I could not remember it being stronger than when we came into land at Beijing International Airport. China had to be different to anything I had experienced before - and it was.

The Beijing Golf Club

Evidence of six thousand years development exists everywhere taking you from the dawn of man to modern day China, vibrant, modernizing and even beginning to play golf. Chinese writing has changed little since it was first introduced some four thousand years ago, giving today's historians as easy insight into their ancestry long before most of today's religions and philosophies were even thought of. Our first evening took us to the Hong Bin Lou restaurant on the Old West Chang Street, which has a hundred and thirty year history, being established in the third year of the Xian Feng period of the Qing dynasty.

Everyone in China talks about time in periods and dynasties and once you have learnt a few it can sound quite knowledgable when you get home and drop them into the conversation. You may find food in China blander compared to a Chinese restaurant in your own country, this is basically because they use salt and pepper more sparingly than we do in the west. The average meal will cost you 40 Yuan (£3), but the more eye catching items can cost double this. If you are lovers of Chinese food, as we are, there is unlimited opportunity to sample the complete authentic Chinese kitchen that is made up by the four main regional dishes of Shandong, Sichuan, Zhejiang and Guangdong. Tipping is not always expected, offence is not taken if nothing is forthcoming, but a five to ten per cent on taxi fares and restaurant bills is not out of the ordinary and at the airport a tip of 5 Yuan per piece of luggage is the going rate.

The Great Wall of China

Golf in China is naturally in its infancy compared to most countries, but it has started and throughout the country there is a choice of over fifty courses. Most exist close to popular tourist areas and already such international names as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player have left their mark on China with courses they have designed, many more will undoubtedly follow. The Swedish car company Volvo has also given China its stamp of approval by sponsoring a Chinese Volvo Tour Event since 1995 which has become an ever growing attraction in the world's golfing calender.

Beijing Golf & Country Club

Slow pace country-life

Chinese caddies are mainly female

Visitors accounted for about twenty thousand rounds of golf a year and approximately thirty per cent of these are played by Europeans. The international language of golf is spoken by everyone and the joy and frustrations of playing the game are as eagerly discussed in a Chinese clubhouse over a drink as they are anywhere else in the world. With no lack of labour all courses have a large greens staff, often over two hundred workers and this is brought home when you see a fairway with fifty or sixty people sitting on it, digging out the weeds. If labour can do the job of a machine, it does.

From the Beijing Country Golf Club we visited the Beijing Golf Club, where the seventy year old head professional showed me the course and we played some holes. The weather was quite misty and humid, muffling noise and giving a sense of peaceful privacy as we walked the course. From the tee of the twelfth, a long par three, with most of the carry across water the Great Wall of China is visible on a clear day, but unfortunately not while we were there, I was more than pleased to make par, even though my first took me through the green; a hole to talk about back home.

Guang Xi Yin He golf course, a recent addition

Sights not to be missed while in Beijing are the Forbidden City, the Ming Tombs and the Great Wall of China; we saw all three. The Forbidden City was fascinating, a well presented narration by Roger Moore takes you through this world of the privileged and autocratic, showing the power that Chinese rulers had five hundred years ago. Historically the Ming Tombs too are interesting, although visually they offer little. When we went to see the first of the two great wonders of China, everything else is overshadowed. The Great Wall of China, the only man-made creation visible from space did not disappoint our expectations. Driving towards it from Beijing, the wall stretches away into the distance, up and over mountains, many so precipitous you would be on your hands and knees if you tried to walk it. The entry point to which we were taken was a well preserved section, steep in places but easily walkable. It was crowded with sightseers, although at the time we seemed to be the only foreigners. There are signs in Chinese and English requesting people to respect the wall and not deface it. The sign we saw was surrounded by initials carved in the stone on which the notices had been fixed. The Minorities Park in Beijing is also well worth a visit, as it depicts the life, cultures and buildings of the many minority groups living within China. At certain times there are performances of folk-singing and dancing of various ethnic peoples including the Tibetans, Taiwan Aboriginals, the Dongs and the Koreans. These are the only people to whom the "one child per couple" restriction, which is in force throughout China, does not apply. The lowering of the flag at sundown by the military in the huge Tian'anmen Square in the centre of Beijing was another sight we found impressive.

I must admit, both of us were a little worried about domestic flights in China, which is, apart from trains the other way that everyone travels. In fact we felt as secure in China as we do in Europe. Our aircraft was a brand-new Airbus 300, spotlessly clean with an efficient smiling crew providing very tasty Chinese meals and excellent service. We were being flown to Xi'an, which is in the Shaanxi province in the centre of China.

The Terracotta Warriors of Xi'an

The now world famous terracotta army was discovered purely by chance only twenty years ago on the outskirts of Xi'an. This lovely city was once the capital of China, from where the first emperor, Qin Shihuang ruled the country. Before he came to power the various provinces were constantly warring. The Great Wall of China was fragmented, various sections having been built by the individual provinces to keep out warriors from the north. Qin Shihuang united the provinces, brought peace to the land and joined up the Great Wall of China, giving it an uninterrupted length of six thousand five hundred kilometres from the Jiayuguan Pass in the west to the Bohai Sea in the east. This silent eight thousand strong army which guards the emperor's tomb was hand-made with terracotta. At one time the warriors stood resplendent in full colour, most of which has now faded to nothing, even so they proudly stand in formation with the flanks facing outwards and the rearguard in position. Within the army itself are all ranks and specialized divisions including cross-bowmen, charioteers, spearmen and even the HQ staff. Infantry men to officers are distinguishable not only by their differing uniforms, but also the way their hair is fashioned; faces and sizes are as varied as you would find in any army; horses, chariots and drivers all form an integral part of this army that has been on duty for over two thousand years. They stand life size, weighing approximately three hundred kilos each. But it is the sheer numbers that make this discovery so outstanding, well deserving its title of the eighth wonder of the world.

Traders outside Warriors Museum

The army is now protected by magnificent buildings erected around them. Only about ten per cent of the soldiers have been restored, many having suffered damage when the roof protecting them collapsed with age. The work left could, I estimate, take at least another hundred years. A host of traders selling replica models and souvenirs against whom you can test your bargaining powers await your exit. If they accept your offer quickly you have paid too much and if you walk away and they don't come after you, you have offered too little. It's an amusing experience.

In the evening we were taken to a show at "Dynasty", in the centre of Xi'an. It was excellent value at 350 yuan (£27), including dinner and a most professional show of dancing, singing, with delightful stage effects and brilliant costumes. The house was packed with all nationalities who enthusiastically showed their appreciation.

A recent China golf project

Mission Hills

Lunch was yet another gourmet experience of raw lobster with fire sauce and duck web feet to name but two that stand out in my mind from a wide variety. After lunch we played a leisurely eighteen holes over this very pleasant course, but it was getting hot.

The further south we had travelled the warmer and more humid the weather, thankfully everywhere was air-conditioned.

We all hear so much of the political problems between China and Hong Kong, but these are not apparent at lower levels as housewives journey into Shenzhen from Hong Kong for cheaper vegetable shopping, conversely there are many commuters who work in Hong Kong, yet live in Shenzhen; it could not be more friendly.

The 18th at Mission Hills

Hainan Island

In the morning we were taken to see the Honichi Golf Club, a twenty seven hole layout with an approach to greens keeping I had not come across before.

The club had in effect twenty seven greens keepers with staff, responsible for their own individual hole. It seemed to work perfectly.

At lunch, unexpectedly we were served San Miguel beer, my favourite drink in Spain. I then realized it was not so surprising as San Miguel began its life in the Philippines and is drunk throughout southeast Asia, it was nice to know sales had penetrated China!

We visited Sand River, a nine hole floodlit layout and golf academy about to be opened by its designer Gary Player. Gary has also designed a further eighteen holes at Sand River that should be open in about a year.

Deserted beach on Hainan Island

The next day we flew to the island of Hainan in the South China Sea, a little smaller than Taiwan, but nowhere near as developed. It is planned to turn the island into a tourist paradise, which will include seventeen golf courses, hotels, apartments, theme parks and a casino located on a small island a few hundred metres off-shore, which had already been purchased by the American company that will be developing it. As we pulled up outside the Tide Huandao Hotel in Haikou, the island's capital, a very impressive sikh in traditional attire opened the door and we were led into yet another luxury hotel.
Hainan Island is the only place in China where you can hire a car, being of manageable size and you cannot get lost - even though you cannot read the signs. It has a population of seven million compared to twenty million in Taiwan. It is also known as the Coconut Island as tons of them are harvested each year and lay around in piles everywhere costing next to nothing. From Haikou we moved to the South China Hotel in Sanya, a lovely family hotel overlooking the South China Sea, where we were able to receive the BBC world service on television, giving us the opportunity to catch up with the world's news, although at most of our stops there was CNN news available. There is one subject which bears comment and a little warning to travellers in China. Many restaurants have quite unpleasant sanitation, so be warned and if you are away from your hotel for some time, carry an emergency kit. For the good of tourism pressure must be brought to bear on restaurants and other public places by insisting that until they have clean, functioning sanitation they will not be recommended by the tourist board. A similar situation had existed in Spain when we first moved there twenty five years ago. Over the years with the increase in tourists, restaurants learnt that people tend to judge kitchens by their toilets until nowadays virtually every restaurant in Spain is the same as anywhere else in Europe, clean and hygienic. The Chinese authorities are aware of the situation and in fact there is now a minister in charge of making improvements. It can only be hoped that it won't be too long before, flushed with success, he puts the lid on the problem!

Apart from that, neither my wife nor I could speak more highly of the country, its people, the hospitality we received, its beautiful countryside and above all its fascinating history. We'll most certainly return and recommend a visit to everyone. Unfortunately this has had to be but a brief outline of our travels and experiences. There was much more, but lack of space limits us. Personally the wealth of memories are endless and range through eating hedgehog to witnessing the Chinese mania for Karaoke, spending time listening and talking to aspiring opera singers to an interview with the China Daily News.

If your journey to China gives you as much pleasure as ours did, you will be most fortunate. Our travels had come to an end. We had entered at Beijing, and we were now flying from Hainan to Hong Kong for the return flight to London, much wiser and more knowledgable about a country we never dreamed of seeing.

Hongkong, end of the journey

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