Where to Go in China

China's capital for most of the past 800 years, Beijing is where imperial history meets 21st-century ambition.

The eastern terminus of the Silk Road and capital of 13 dynasties, Xi'an is home to the legendary Terracotta Army.

China's most cosmopolitan city — colonial-era Bund waterfront, futuristic Pudong skyline, and hidden lane houses.

The karst limestone landscapes along the Li River have inspired Chinese landscape painting for a thousand years.

Home of the giant panda, fiery Sichuan cuisine, and China's most relaxed teahouse culture.

Towering sandstone pillars rising from misty valleys — the real-world inspiration for the floating mountains in Avatar.

The roof of the world — ancient monasteries, turquoise lakes, and views of Mount Everest from the north side.

China's most diverse province — 25 ethnic minorities, spring-like weather year-round, and landscapes from tropical to alpine.

The ancient trade route through deserts, oases, and bazaars — from Xi'an to Kashgar.

China's ice city — the world's largest ice sculpture festival and Russian-influenced architecture.

East meets West — Victoria Peak, dim sum, colonial Portuguese architecture, and the world's best skyline.

Where Marco Polo declared 'the most beautiful city in the world' — West Lake's misty shores, ancient tea villages, and serene beauty that has inspired Chinese poets for a millennium.

Venice of the East — ancient canal towns, UNESCO classical gardens, and the silk capital of China for over 500 years.

China's ancient southern capital — where Ming emperors ruled, Sun Yat-sen's mausoleum stands, and the City Wall has survived 600 years.

China's most painted mountain — granite peaks rising from a sea of clouds, twisted pines clinging to cliffs, and sunrises that have inspired artists for a thousand years.

China's best-preserved walled city — a Ming Dynasty time capsule where bank vaults, courtyards, and lantern-lit lanes survive unchanged.

Capital of 13 dynasties and home to the Longmen Grottoes — 100,000 Buddhist carvings in a river cliff face spanning 500 years.

The Silk Road's greatest oasis — where the Mogao Caves hold 1,000 years of Buddhist wall art and Crescent Lake shimmers in the desert.

China's southern gateway and culinary capital — where Cantonese cuisine was perfected over 2,000 years and dim sum is a daily ritual.

From fishing village to megacity in 40 years — China's Silicon Valley, a playground of theme parks, and the world's hardware capital.

China's most livable coastal city — colonial Gulangyu Island, subtropical beaches, and Minnan seafood on a palm-lined harbor.

The river city at the heart of China — where the Yangtze meets the Han, cherry blossoms blanket university campuses, and hot dry noodles are a religion.

China's mountain city and the cyberpunk capital of the Yangtze — a vertical megacity of neon, cliffs, and the world's spiciest hotpot.

The City of Eternal Spring — mild weather year-round, 1,900m altitude, and the gateway to Yunnan's ethnic minority heartland.

An ancient Bai minority town between Erhai Lake and the Cangshan mountains — pagodas, Tie-Dye cloth, and a bohemian traveler scene.

A UNESCO Naxi minority old town of waterways, wooden houses, and snow-capped Jade Dragon Snow Mountain — China's most romantic destination.

Tibetan culture without the Tibet permit — monasteries, yak pastures, and 3,200m altitude on the Yunnan-Tibet frontier.

China's Hawaii — tropical beaches, palm trees, and the only place in the country where you can swim year-round.

China's seaside city with German DNA — red-roofed villas, the original Tsingtao Brewery, and beaches on the Shandong coast.

China's northeastern Riviera — a coastal city of bays, Russian-Japanese architecture, and the country's best seafood.

The world's most inland major city — capital of Xinjiang, where Uyghur culture meets Han China on the Central Asian frontier.

China's most Central Asian city — a Silk Road trading post where Uyghur culture thrives in mud-brick alleys and the Sunday bazaar.

China's hottest city and sweetest grapes — Flaming Mountains, ancient underground water channels, and Silk Road ruins in a desert basin.

The gateway to the Silk Road and the home of beef noodles — a river city squeezed between mountains on the upper Yellow River.

A UNESCO valley of 100 turquoise lakes, multi-tiered waterfalls, and Tibetan villages — arguably China's most beautiful natural site.

Home of the world's largest Buddha statue — a 71-meter stone colossus carved into a river cliff where three rivers converge.

One of China's Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains — cloud seas, ancient temples, and a golden summit at 3,079m where sunrise breaks through the clouds.

The birthplace of Tai Chi and China's most sacred Taoist mountain — ancient temples, martial arts, and misty peaks in Hubei.

A UNESCO landscape of red sandstone cliffs, tea terraces, and river bends — the birthplace of oolong tea in Fujian.

China's greatest river journey — through the Three Gorges, past cliff shrines, and across the world's largest dam.

China's ancient northern frontier — 1,500-year-old Buddhist cave art, the Hanging Temple on a cliff, and a volcanic landscape.

A prosperous Taihu Lake city — ancient canal districts, silk heritage, and cherry blossoms rivaling Japan's best.

China's capital of spicy food and nightlife — Mao's hometown, 2,000-year-old Han tombs, and a food scene that never sleeps.

Beijing's neighbor with its own personality — colonial concessions, the world's largest Ferris wheel, and breakfast dumplings worth the trip.

The Song Dynasty capital that was — a city of imperial ruins, Jewish heritage, and the world's most famous painted scroll.

The most revered of China's Five Sacred Mountains — 72 emperors climbed it to perform heaven sacrifices, and 6,660 stone steps lead to the summit.

China's No. 1 water town — 900-year-old stone bridges, canal-side Ming houses, and the view that launched a thousand postcards.

An ox-shaped Ming Dynasty village near Huangshan — white walls, black tiles, and a reflecting pond that mirrors the sky.

A 1,300-year-old Miao minority town on the Tuojiang River — stilt houses, stone bridges, and mist that inspired Shen Congwen's novels.

The gateway to Tibet and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau — a multicultural frontier city of Tibetan monasteries, Muslim mosques, and high-altitude lakes.