Must See

Beijing

Beijing lies in the northwest of the North China Plain and from a tourist's point of view, is probably China's most interesting city. Among the city's historical and cultural highlights are the old city wall gates, the beautiful Beihai Park, traditional hutong alleys and courtyards and the 15th-century Temple of Heaven. There's also Tiananmen Square, the world's largest public square.

However, Beijing's crowning glory is the Imperial Palace Museum, otherwise known as the Forbidden City. It is China's largest and greatest surviving historical site, and was the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing emperors for 500 years, when ordinary mortals were forbidden to enter the palace.

Now open to the public, visitors may marvel at the fabulous halls, palaces and gardens. The complex extends over an area of 720,000 sq m and is surrounded by a 10 metre high wall and a 50 metre wide moat.

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall (known in China as Wanli Chang Cheng, or The Wall That Is Ten Thousand Li In Length) extends about 5,400 km (3,375 miles) in length, from the fortress Jiayuguan in the west to the fortress Shanghaiguan in the east. The wall averages 6-8 metres (20-26 feet) in height (rising to 16 metres (52 feet) in places) and is 6-7 metres (20-23 feet) wide at the top. However, due to its generally poor condition of much of it only some sections are open to visitors. Most visitors start at Badaling, 70 kilometres from Beijing, a restored stone and brick section standing 8 metres (26 feet) high.

Hangzhou

The tranquil town of Hangzhou (Hangchow) lies in the north of Zhejiang province, in the Qiantangjiang delta, about 40 km (25mi) west of Hangzhou Bay. Also known as 'Silk City', it is one of China's most beautiful towns, described by Marco Polo as "the most beautiful and magnificent city in the world", and in the words of the Chinese proverb ''In Heaven is Paradise, here on earth are Suzhou and Hangzhou''.

Popular with both Chinese and foreign tourists, its main attraction is the beautiful West Lake scenic area. It is one of the best towns for shopping, with silk being the local product. Other good buys include tea (particularly the famous Dragon Well tea (Longjing cha), which is hand-picked in this region twice a year); brocade; and scissors made by Zhang Xiaoquan.

Also of interest are the the tea museum (southwest of West Lake), where visitors can taste and buy tea; the silk museum (south of West Lake), which documents the 5,000-year history of silk production; and the pharmacy museum (Hu Qingye Tang), a museum for traditional Chinese medicine.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong lies on the coast of the South China Sea in the delta area of the Canton River, just to the south of the Tropic of Cancer. Popular with tourists and a major business centre, it has become an eclectic mix of skyscrapers, colonial buildings and traditional temples.

Inner Mongolia

The autonomous region of Inner Mongolia is located in the north of China along the borders with Russia and Mongolia. This region consists largely of steppeland and desert, and visitors may take a tour of the vast 'grass sea' of the region, setting off from Hohhot. Nomads on horseback pursue their age-old lifestyle and visitors can stay in their traditional yurts.

One of the best-preserved lamaseries in Inner Mongolia is The Willow Tree Monastery, situated 70 km (44 mi) northeast of Baotou. Built under the Kangxi Emperor (reigned 1661-1722), it was restored in 1749. The complex of 2,500 rooms house over 1,000 monks at one time, and covered an area of 50 acres. It includes some twelve temple buildings in which statues of Shakyamuni and other Buddhist saints are worshipped.

Lunan Stone Forest

The Stone Forest can be found 120 km (75 mi) southeast of Kunming in the district of Lunan. The forest consists of thousands of narrow, strangely-shaped rocks reaching up to a height of between 5 and 30 m (15 and 100 ft), scattered over an area of over 260 sq km (100 sq mi). A small portion of this area are open to visitors.

An excellent view of this natural wonder of the world may be found from the Summit View Pavilion (Wang Feng Ting). Look out for memorably-named rocks such as Camel Riding on Elephant, Ten Thousand Year Mushroom (10 m or 33 ft high), Rhinoceros Looking at the Moon, Mother and Son, Beautiful Maiden Ascending from the Water and Buddha Stone. A visit is particularly memorable at sunset, when the rock formations cast bizarre shadows.

Shanghai

Shanghai (meaning 'over the sea') is situated 1,460 km (906 mi) away from Beijing and can be reached from there by a 2 hour flight. The city is the largest in China, and is the centre of the nation's trade and industry. In this frenetic city, visitors can experience the contrast between the soaring skyscrapers and the European-style Bund waterfront, along with the delights of the Yuyuan Gardens Bazaar (a warren of lanes and stalls housing the Temple of the City God) and the tiny Yuyuan Gardens. These gardens, situated to the north east of the old town, cover an area of over 20,000sq m. Outside the garden, the popular Huxin Ting Tea-House can be found in the centre of the lake, reached from the bank by a zig-zag bridge.

Silk Road

The ancient Silk Road trading route wound its way through Central Asia and the Middle East from Xi'an to the Caspian and Mediterranean seas, bringing Buddhism and Islam into China, and linking Xi'an with such cities as Istanbul, Rome and Venice.

Some of major highlights include the Buddhist grottoes at Dunhuang, which contain paintings from the Northern Wei period (386-534), the Tang period (618-907) and the period of the Five Dynasties (907-960); the ruins of Jiaohe city near Turpan, which are the remains of a 2,200 year city, razed to the ground in the 14th century by Genghis Khan's armies; and Kashgar's lively Sunday market, where visitors may find traditional craftwork, such as carpets, embroidery and musical instruments.

Suzhou

Located south of the river delta of the Chiangjian on the eastern bank of the Taihu Lake in the southeast of Jiangsu province, Suzhou is an hours train ride from Shanghai (16 from Beijing). The 2,500-year-old town is known as the 'Venice of the East', due to its many canals that flow through the city. Its streets lining the Grand Canal and famous water gardens are a delight, and its gardens such as the Humble Administrator's Garden and the Garden of the Master of the Nets have also earned it the name 'Heaven on Earth'.

Suzhou has long been one of the most important centres of the Chinese silk industry, and visitors should look out for exquisite Suzhou silk fabrics and embroidery.

Terracotta Warriors

In March 1974, when digging wells near Xi'an, farmers found some clay pieces, which led to the most important archaeological find of the last few decades: the Terracotta Army. The 6,000 life-size statues were distributed over three large underground platforms, guarding the First Emperor's tomb (Emperor Qin Shi Huang Di, who first united China in 200 BC). Originally, the warriors stood in vast underground chambers with wooden ceilings; however, in 206 BC, the grave was plundered, and the rebels smashed the figures and burned down the chambers. The re-assembly of the figures has formed one of the most difficult tasks for archaeologists today.

Wulingyuan Scenic Area

The main attraction of Hunan province is the Wulingyuan Scenic Area, a national park located 300 km (186 mi) west of Changsha. This UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site is characterised by dense forest and bizarre steep sandstone rock formations which covers almost the entire area. The park has three parts: the Suo Xi Gorge, the Mountains of the Heavenly Son (Tian Zi Shan) and the nature reserve Zhang Jia Jie.

Yangtze River

The Yangtze, known in China as Changjiang (Long River), is over 6,000 km (3,700 mi) long, making it the longest river in China and the third longest in the world, after the Amazon and the Nile. It flows from west to east through eight provinces and divides China into northern and southern halves.

The most beautiful section of the Yangtse is probably the 200 km (125 mi) stretch between Fengjie (a small town 260 km east of Chongqing) and Yichang in the province of Hubei. On this stretch, from west to east, one behind the other, lie the three picturesque gorges known as Qutang, Wu and Xiling. A sight-seeing tour of the Three Gorges and the cultural and historical monuments can be made only by boat.

Yellow Mountains

Visitors can enjoy breathtaking views among the craggy, cloud-clad peaks of the sacred Huang Shan region of Anhui province, surrounded by paddy fields and villages. These mountains, located 150 km (93 mi) south of Wuhu, have 72 peaks; the highest being Lianhua at 1,860 m (6,104 ft). Many Chinese artists have included the mountains in their paintings (Wushan Painting) and the flora and fauna of the area, largely unspoiled, is also unique.