A contender for the title ‘China’s Greatest View’ has to be the panorama of jagged peaks, boulder-strewn snowfields and waterfalls surrounding Tian Chi Hu, a spectacular crater lake on the border of North Korea. Filling a windswept caldera,…

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Framed by the rippled slopes of the Yunshan Mountains, the magnificent Imperial Mountain Resort in Chengde, 155 miles (250km) north of Beijing on the banks of the Wulie River, served as a summer season retreat for the Manchu emperors. The…

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On the western edge of Sichuan’s Red Basin, Chengdu is the largest city in Western China, with an ultra-modern, high-rise centre that belies its role as a regional capital for over 4,000 years. Brocaded silk from here found its way to the b…

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Some of the highest dunes in western China – in fact the entire world – lie a short ride south of Dunhuang. Nestled at their foot is a small, half-moon-shaped lake, next to which a Buddhist shrine sits amid the incongruous greenery – one of…

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Set amid breathtaking scenery on the shores of shimmering Erhai Lake, Dali is the China of the imagination – where pagoda towers nose above skylines of clay-tile roofs, and ancient cobbled streets are framed by willow trees and a serene bac…

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One of the great wonders of ancient China lies hidden among the hills around Dazu, 125 miles (200km) east of Chengdu. Excavated between the 9th and 13th centuries AD, the UNESCO listed cave sculptures here are regarded as the high-water mar…

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The region stretching north and east of the Great Wall towards the steppes of Inner Mongolia was traditionally the domain of the Manchu hordes whom the wall was intended to keep out. By the 1640s, however, the Manchus were too powerful to b…

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The other standout sacred site around Chengdu is Emeishan, the highest of China’s Four Sacred Mountains of Buddhism, which looms above the Dadu and Mu River confluence, 75 miles (120km) outside the city. A total of 76 Qing and Ming monaster…

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Comprising over 800 buildings ranged around a series of vast paved courtyards, Beijing’s Gugong, or ‘Imperial Palace’, formed the nerve centre of the Ming and Qing empires. For the five centuries during which it was in use, this magnificent…

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Seated imperiously, hands on knees, gazing at eternity through half-lidded eyes, the Giant Buddha of Leshan – or ‘Dafo’ as he’s known locally – was carved in the early 8th century from a red sandstone cliff overlooking the confluence of the…

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Featured on ancient scroll paintings, Ming porcelain vases and the modern 20-Yuan note, the karst mountains of Guangxi province rise at surreal gradients from the limpid green waters of the Li River – a landscape that has for centuries epit…

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The city of Guiyang accommodates all travellers as there is plenty to see and do. Great for relaxing in is the riverside area and the local teahouses. In terms of shopping, there are plenty of shops amongst maze-like streets, delicious stre…

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