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Alessandro Palombo (@thealepalombo), an Italian married to a Beijing-born…

2026-08-02 · 18:06 UTC ·@thealepalombo ·1 min read

Brief

Alessandro Palombo, an Italian married to a Beijing-born Chinese partner, posted a China 101 thread (2026-08-02) based on their international experience. He recommends beginning a first trip in Beijing and Shanghai, postponing Shenzhen, avoiding peak summer/winter, allowing more than a week, and highlights China’s unexpectedly high-value luxury at lower cost.

Why it matters

Alessandro Palombo (@thealepalombo), an Italian married to a Beijing-born Chinese, published this China first-trip 101 on 2026-08-02 and draws on both authors' international experience (his wife studied in the US and worked in Hong Kong).

Key details

  • Practical advice: start a first China trip in Beijing and Shanghai, leave Shenzhen for a second trip, do not treat China as a one-week destination, and avoid peak summer and peak winter weather.
  • Author claim and call-to-action: China offers 'luxury better than Dubai' at a fraction of the cost; Palombo asks readers to follow @thealepalombo and repost the thread.
Source evidence

Thank you for reading!

For more posts and insights like this, follow @thealepalombo

And repost this to share with your audience:

Alessandro Palombo (@thealepalombo)

I'm Italian. My wife is Chinese, born in Beijing.

Many of you have asked how to visit China for the first time. So we sat down and prepared this 101: which cities, in what order, and how to do a first trip properly.

We are both international. She studied in the US and worked in Hong Kong, then Europe. I've lived in more countries than I can count. We know well what most of you will look for in this trip: this is the advice we give our closest friends.

The short version: start with Beijing and Shanghai, leave Shenzhen for a second trip, and don't treat China as a one-week destination. And mind the weather: avoid peak summer and peak winter.

The good news: you are going to luxury you have probably never seen, better than Dubai, at a fraction of the cost.
Thread 🧵

— https://nitter.net/thealepalombo/status/2083977352460267624#m