Together in our group of six cars and with the help of two Chinese guides, we made it across the border from Mongolia to China!

Without our cars, it would be super easy. For stays up to 30 days, we wouldn’t even need a visa in advance. But with our cars, it was complicated, and that was the reason why Racki and I decided to go with a tourist agency for the first time ever. We paid $1400 for their help with entering, traveling through China, and exiting the country.

Before deciding to go to China, we did a lot of research, and our conclusion was that without a Chinese agency, it would be pretty much impossible. Maybe with Chinese friends who have lots of time there would have been ways, but not really.

So we went to the border, waited a lot, stood in a few lines, waited some more, and finally were able to leave the border area. But the process wasn’t finished yet.

Together with our guides, we went to the vehicle inspection department, where all vehicles longer than six meters had to be checked, along with a few other requirements.

In the end, the whole process took so long that we couldn’t finish it completely that day.

However, we did get Chinese SIM cards from a seller the agency had organized.

Together with our group and our primary guide, we went for a nice Chinese dinner. When we woke up in the parking lot where we had all stayed, a Chinese father and his son had parked their camper next to us.

They were driving through China and offering to draw small custom booklets for everyone. It was super sweet. We drew something on an A4 paper, which they scanned with an app and printed onto colored paper using a small portable printer.

It was super fun, and we were all happy with this surprising and wonderful first real interaction with Chinese locals.

After that, we went to the next department for another brief check of our cars’ VIN codes, and then the moment arrived: we all received our Chinese driver’s licenses and license plates!

Next stop: the supermarket. Compared to the supermarkets in rural Mongolia, Chinese supermarkets were something else entirely: clean, well-stocked, and filled with fascinating items, like these tiny soft drink bottles, …

…the typical bulk bags of rice (5kg+), …

…and even a bit of cheese.

The ATM was interesting as well: it locked Racki inside while dispensing the cash.

Everywhere we looked, there were cute things: cute people, cute cars, cute character illustrations on everything.

After getting the basics sorted out, we headed south. Our initial goal was to reach a location further south where it would be cooler and hopefully more relaxed.

We drove our first few kilometers on the Chinese expressways and it was… crazy! No potholes! Everything organized, everything logical. Unbelievable!

There were a few dinosaurs along the way, but hey, they were friendly.

We thoroughly enjoyed the smooth, relaxed driving, even though most of the Chinese cars overtaking us took videos of us—sometimes coming back around for a second video, waving, and smiling. We loved it. We felt genuinely welcomed.

And we found a wonderfully peaceful, secluded spot on a lush green meadow with pleasant temperatures and plenty of space.

After three nights, we moved on to our first real sightseeing stop in China.

We were certain that our time in China would be vastly different from the other countries we had visited, and this sightseeing spot proved it right away.

There were crowds of Chinese tourists visiting this famous volcanic crater area, where you could rent astronaut costumes and mini goats for photos.

Some went even further and brought their own aliens along.

In a way it was funny, because the crater wasn’t formed by natural forces—it was actually a former mining site.

After the crater, we went to the next larger city and visited its old town. It was beautiful.

There were countless Buddha statues in every color, size, and material imaginable.

Just like at the crater, you could rent costumes here, though these were very elegant traditional dresses. The lighting and scenery were absolute perfection for these outfits, and the Chinese tourists did their best to strike the right poses and gestures.

This time, we wanted a selfie too.

One of my favorites: carved out of wood.

And of course, as always, there were crowds of people around.

Beautiful architecture.

Thousands of bronze Buddhas.

We climbed a tower along with lots of other tourists.

The view overlooking the old town and the modern skyline surrounding it was incredible. And this wasn’t even one of China’s mega-cities—yet it still had millions of residents.

Right in front of the cultural site, there was even more commercial activity going on.

Every few meters we discovered something new. Something exotic.

There was a dance group led by a guy dressed up like a clown. The music was hilarious, and many of the locals joined in, having a blast.