Beijing
With its skyscrapers and
relatively wealthy population, the capital encapsulates the best of
modern China but the past survives in some splendid imperial icons,
including the elegant palaces of the vast Forbidden City, and the
extraordinary, circular Temple of Heaven. Downtown, look for the
ever-dwindling number of hutongs, the narrow alleyways which makeup so
much of old Beijing. There are also China's foremost restaurants and
nightlife to take advantage of - everything from teahouse theatres and
acrobatic shows to clubs that only play deepest house. Within easy reach
of the capital you'll also find the imperial Summer Palace's spacious
and unpolluted parklands, and the stone guardians and chambers of the
Ming Tombs
The Great Wall
This
extraordinary feat of civil engineering was begun in the 5th century and
stretched 6000km across China. The most accessible of its remaining
sections are within easy reach of Beijing, including at very popular
Badaling and at less commercialized Simatai and Jinshanling
Xi'an
Made
rich by the old Silk Road trade, Xi'an was one of China's former
capitals. Its most famous sight is the Terracotta Army, life-sized
figurines guarding the tomb of the country's first emperor, Win Shi
Huang, but there's much more to Xi'an, including its two 1300-year-old
Tang pagodas, and the Neolithic remains at nearby Banpo. The famous kung
fu temple Shaolin Si, is within a day's journey to the east, near
Luoyang - packed with visitors, it's a major tourist trap, filled with
shops selling weapons and tracksuits, and with wushu students showing
off their skills.
The Li river
Looking
exactly like a Chinese scroll painting, a procession of tall,
wonderfully weathered limestone peaks flanks 85km of the Li River in
southwestern Guangxi province. Base yourself at either the package-tour
city of Guilin or the more mellow village of Yangshuo, then cruise
around or rent a bicycle and pedal off through the countryside.
Shanghai
With
over thirteen million residents, Shanghai is the world's most populous
city. It's buzzy, style-conscious nightlife is second only to Beijing's,
and the shopping is fantastic, with good bargains for tailor-made
clothes and plenty of glamorous malls to peruse. Though the city has few
unmissable sights, the beautifully presented Shanghai Museum offers the
perfect introduction to China's phenomenal artistic heritage. Shanghai
also sports pockets of impressive European ART Deco architecture along
its riverfront esplanade, a legacy of its time as a former colonial
concession, strategically close to the mouth of the Yangzi river.
Hong Kong
Hong
Kong's cityscape is one of the modern wonders of the world, best seen
at night while crossing the harbour on the Star Ferry, though taking the
famous tram up to Victoria Peak gives you another classic panorama.
Shopping is a major Hong Kong pastime, at the excessively glitzy
shopping malls, at the chaotic Temple Street Night Market and in the
more traditional Stanley Market. Hong Kong is also the place for
unrivalled dim sum brunches. Away from the commercial hub, the Ten
Thousand Buddha Monastery at Shatin offers fine temple statues and hill
views, and there's historic interest at the Qing dynasty walled village
of Kat Hing Wai. Or spend a day or two poking around the less-developed
outer islands, exploring Lantau's small beaches and wooded hills or
visiting the former Portuguese enclave of Macau
Three Gorges
The
latter stage of the 6400-kilometre-long Yangzi River, in Chinese, and
is still used as a transport artery. Catch a ferry through the Three
Gorges, between the Sichaunese city of Chongqing and Yichang in Hubei, a
three-day 250-kilometre journey past ancient towns, turbulent shoals
and spectacular cliff scenery, some of it under threat of submersion
from a massive and highly controversial dam project that's due to be
completed in 2009
Tibet
The "roof of the
world" is a place of red-robed monks and austere monastery complexes set
against the awe-inspiring vastness of the Tibetan Plateau. It's also
labouring under heavy-handed Chinese military rule, but even the Dalai
Lama, exiled in India, encourages people to visit and see the region
first-hand. Take your time and, after seeing the mighty Potala Place -
Tibet's foremost tourist sight - in the capital Lhasa, get out to
less-youristed monasteries at Shigatse and Gyantse. By 2008 access to
Tibet will be possible by what is set to be the spectacular
Qinghai-Tibet railway, the highest in the world. It will run over 1100km
from Golmud to Lhasa, nearly all of it at an altitude of 4000m or
above, using pressurized compartments to prevent altitude sickness.
Guangxi and Guizhou
The
rural regions of these provinces are among China's poorest, but it's
worth exploring the minority communities dotted throughout the
fabulously terraced mountains here, especially the Dong village of
Zhaoxing, in northern Guangxi. The Miao hilltribe settlements around
Kaili in Guizhou host riotous festivals through the year, featuring bull
fights, dancing, dragon-boat races and fantastic outfits.
Kashgar
An
oasis town in China's northwestern deserts, Kashgar is populated by
Muslim, Turkic-speaking Ulgir people. Its appeal is in its very
remoteness from the rest of China - and its Sunday Bazaar, an
Arabian-Nights style affair which draws 100,000 people, including
thousands from nearby Krygystan, Turkistan, Tajkistan and Pakistan, to
trade in everything from camels and carpets to plastic buckets
The Silk Road
Follow
the ancient Silk Road between China and Central Asia - a
3000-kilometre-long train and bus route from Xi'an to Kashgar. On the
way, you can take in remote sections of the Great Wall, the bird
watching lake Qinghai Hu, astonishing eight-century Buddhist cave art at
Dunghuang, the pleasant oasis town of Turpan and the scorching sands of
the Taklamakan desert.
Hangzhou and Suzhou
Once
a vital trade centre on the 1800-kilometre-long Grand Canal in eastern
China, Hangzhou is set around the famed beauty spot of Xi Hu, or West
Lake, ringed by pagodas and wooded, hilly parkland, its surface dotted
with fishing boats. It's also worth making the haul 60km north to
Suzhou, another canal city with a host of traditional Chinese gardens.
Changbai Shan nature Reserve
Set
right up on China's frontier with North Korea, Changbai Shan is hard to
reach even when the road opens in summer, but the rewards are the
stunning blue Tian Chi - "Heaven's Lake" - and the faint chance you may
spot Siberian tigers. More likely, you'll get to sample some of the rare
fungi and medicinal herbs which locals harvest here and serve up in
restaurants; Changbai Shan's ginseng is considered the best in China.
Yunnan in Sichuan
China's
mist varied region, these two provinces stretch from Tibet to the
steamy tropical forests of Xishuangbanna, and also share borders with
Laos, Vietnam and Burma. Top spots are Sichuan's holy mountain, Emei
Shan, where you can sleep and eat in the dozen or more Buddhist temples;
the Yunnannese town of Dali, with its ethnic Bai population and vivid
mountain and lake scenery; Lijiang, a delightful maze of cobbled lanes
and wooden houses, home to the Tibetan-descended Naxi people; and the
stark, dramatic scenery of Tiger Leaping Gorge, the deepest canyon in
the world, with a drop of 2.5 kilometres.
Chaozhou
A
self-consciously traditional town in southern Guangdong province,
Chaozhou has nineteenth-century streets and even older architecture,
including its city walls and beautiful Kaiyuan Temple, which make it a
pleasure to explore. Foodies will also need to try out Chaozhou's
restaurants, famed for their bitter, refreshing gongfu tea and
fruit-flavoured sauces.
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