China Destination Guides
Beijing
China's capital and the host city of the 2008 Olympic Games. Beijing is a treasure trove of Chinese culture: The Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the Great Wall, museums, parks, temples and stunning modern art and architecture.
Shanghai
Shanghai - known as "The Head of the Dragon" for its leading role in China's economic miracle - has much to see: the historic skyscrapers of The Bund, Yu Garden, The French Concession area plus a ride on the world's fastest passenger train.
Changsha
Changsha is the capital of Hunan Province and has been an important commercial and political center since before the Qin dynasty (221-207 BCE).
Chengde
The former Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) resort of Chengde, about 230 kilometers from Beijing in northeastern Hebei Province, makes a great weekend getaway from the Chinese capital.
Chengdu
Chengdu, the capital of the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan, is now a bustling international metropolis of more than ten million people, making it China's fourth largest city.
Chongqing Hot Springs
Thanks to ample geothermal resources and a typically lush local landscape, Chongqing is one of the best places to embrace China's venerable hot spring culture. In 2012, FEMTEC - the World Federation of Hydrotherapy and Climatotherapy - held its annual conference in the city, awarding it the title "Global Capital of Hot Springs".
Dali
The picturesque town of Dali in southwest China's Yunnan Province is one of those places, like Yangshuo and Lijiang, which has really taken Western backpacker culture to heart.
Dalian
Dalian in Liaoning Province is China's most northerly ice free port and a major center for both commercial and passenger shipping.
Dandong
Dandong is China's gateway to North Korea and vice versa. The only railway connection between Beijing and Pyongyang and the main truck route runs across the Yalu River bridge connecting the two countries.
Datong
Datong in Shanxi Province near the border with Inner Mongolia has some fascinating and picturesque ancient sites, remnants of the city's glory days as the capital of two dynasties.
Dunhuang
Dunhuang in China's Gansu province was on the ancient Silk Road, and is famous for its Mogao Caves and sights in the surrounding Gobi Desert, including the Echoing Dunes.
Guangzhou (Canton)
Feel the modern buzz of the Pearl River Delta metropolis of Guangzhou (Canton) and experience the preserved, old colonial atmosphere of Shamian Island.
Guizhou
Located in southwest China, Guizhou Province is a less well-known travel destination for many visitors to China, but offers spectacular scenery and a vibrant ethnic culture.
Hangzhou
Hangzhou, the capital of eastern China's bustling Zhejiang Province, has beautiful scenery and plentiful attractions.
Harbin
Situated in northeastern China, Harbin is the country's northernmost provincial capital and famous for its annual Ice and Snow Festival.
Hong Kong
As China's "Oriental Pearl" or the "Wall Street of Asia", Hong Kong today remains a bustling metropolis of dazzling and unique contrasts.
Huang Shan
Huang Shan (meaning Yellow Mountain in Chinese) is actually a series of 77 mountain peaks in eastern China's Anhui Province and a UNESCO World Heritage listed site with China's best scenery.
Jiuzhaigou
Just inside Sichuan's northern border, and jewel in the crown of China's national parks, Jiuzhaigou is the region's biggest attraction.
Kaifeng
Known in Chinese as the "Capital of Seven Dynasties", Kaifeng is a sleepy, enchanting city, yet to be remolded by the breakneck development which epitomizes much of China today.
Kashkar
The legendary city of Kashgar, self-styled "crown jewel" of the Silk Road, sits on the western edge of Xinjiang's baking Taklamakan Desert.
Kunming
Widely hailed as the "City of Eternal Spring", Kunming is a sun-kissed metropolis, nestling at 2000 meters among lakes and terraced hillsides of tea and tobacco.
Lake Karakul
The journey to Karakul Lake from Kashgar is a high point, both literally and otherwise, for many who visit south-west Xinjiang. At 3600m, this lake is breathtaking in more ways than one, although with a little planning the changeable weather and altitude will not affect your enjoyment of this spectacular region.
Lhasa
Lhasa, capital of the mountainous region of Tibet (or "Xizang" in Chinese) means "Land of the Gods", and sits in a valley adjacent to the Kyichu (Lhasa) River.
Lijiang
Lijiang is one of the highlights of any tour of southwest China's Yunnan Province.
Macau
Macau's colonial heritage adds a touch of the exotic to this glitzy, booming southern Chinese enclave.
Moganshan
Moganshan is a delightful highland retreat known for its fresh air, bamboo and bai cha tea just two and a half hours by car from Shanghai and nearer still to Hangzhou.
Nanjing
Sun Yat-sen, widely revered as the "Father of Modern China", asked to be buried in Nanjing (Nanking), and wandering the city's leafy, blossom-laden avenues, it's not hard to see why.
Nanning
Nanning, capital of the southern Chinese province of Guangxi, is a clean, attractive, modern city with a sub-tropical climate. Bordering Vietnam to the south, and close to Hong Kong, Macau and Guangzhou, Nanning's attractions and reasonably priced hotels make it a comfortable and convenient place to spend a couple of days en route to south-east Asia or other southern Chinese locations.
Nanxun
Situated east of Huzhou in northern Zhejiang Province, charming Nanxun is one of many "Venetian-style" water towns on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
Pingyao
Pingyao with its city wall, charmingly rustic inhabitants and traditional Shanxi food make this remarkably well-preserved, former merchant town an increasingly popular travel destination.
Qingdao
The city of Qingdao in Shandong Province, formerly known as Tsingtao, compares with Dalian as one of northeast China's most beautiful coastal resorts.
Qinghai
The place known today as Qinghai remains a frontier, a place of transition between contrasting ways of life, civilizations and landscapes. Find out more about Qinghai's attractions: Dongguan Grand Mosque, Ta'er Monastery and Longyangxia Scenic Region.
Qufu
Located in eastern China's Shandong Province, Qufu is the birthplace of the philosopher Confucius.
Shanxi
While Shanxi Province is richly endowed with cultural and scenic attractions, few overseas visitors venture beyond Pingyao, Datong or Tai Shan.
Shaoshan
Shaoshan, a small hamlet 90 km southwest of Changsha the capital of Hunan Province, is the birthplace of Mao Zedong.
Shenyang
Shenyang is the capital and industrial center of Liaoning Province in China's north-east. The city itself has an urban population of more than 6 million, the Greater Shenyang Metropolitan Area, however, stretching far beyond the city limits, is home to 23 million people.
Shenzhen
Located north of Hong Kong in mainland Guangdong Province, Shenzhen's brief but intense history has seen it grow from a backwater village into a potent symbol of China's newfound wealth and economic muscle.
Suzhou
Suzhou in Jiangsu Province west of Shanghai near Tai Hu Lake, dates back to the 6th century BC and was a prosperous town on the Grand Canal during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), as the city's prized silk was exported north.
Tianjin
Tianjin - also known by the Chinese as the "Shanghai of the North" - has a venerable and colorful history, but a proximity to Beijing means it has long played second fiddle to its larger neighbor in the tourist stakes.
Urumqi
Xinjiang is a land of extremes. It is the largest and driest Chinese region, containing the Earth's hottest place, coldest place, longest inland river and lowest marsh.
Xiamen
Recently voted China's cleanest city, Xiamen (meaning "Gate of China") is located on the southeastern coast of Fujian Province. Dating back to the Song Dynasty, most of Xiamen (aka Amoy) is actually on an island, linked to the mainland by several suspension bridges.
Xi'an
Capital city to 13 imperial dynasties, Xi'an, formerly known as Chang'an, was a key city on the Silk Route connecting Asia with Europe.
Xinning
Perched on the eastern edge of the high-altitude Tibetan Plateau, Xining tempts visitors with its mesmerizing melting pot of cultures and cuisines. Often overlooked by those en route to Lhasa and Tibet, today this burgeoning western Chinese city of over 2 million people has more than enough sights to keep travelers entertained for a weekend or more.
Yangshuo
Located in southern China's Guangxi Province, the region around Yangshuo contains some beautiful rural and mountain scenes.
Zhuhai
Zhuhai is a pleasant coastal city located in Guangdong Province, southern China.
China Attractions
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