Lonely Planet Best of China

China. The name alone makes you want to get packing. It's going places, so jump aboard, go along for the ride and see where it's headed.

China is vast. Off-the-scale massive. A riveting jumble of wildly varying dialects and climatic and topographical extremes, it's like several different countries rolled into one. Take your pick from the ethnic mix of the southwest, the yak-butter illuminated temples of Xih, a journey along the dusty Silk Road or getting into your glad rags for a night on the Shnghi tiles. You're spoilt for choice: whether youre an urban traveller, hiker, cyclist, explorer, backpacker, irrepressible museum-goer or faddish foodie, Chinas diversity is second to none.

And few countries do the Big Outdoors like the Middle Kingdom. China's landscapes span the range from alpha to omega: take your pick from the sublime mist-wreathed peaks of Hungshn or the impassive deserts of Gns, island-hopping in Hong Kong or biking between the fairy-tale karst pinnacles around Yngshu. Swoon before the rice terraces of the south, take a selfie among the gorgeous yellow rapeseed of Shxin or hike the Great Wall as it meanders across mountain peaks. Get lost in green forests of bamboo or, if you really want to show off to your friends back home, hike through one of the world's deepest and most dramatic canyons Tiger Leaping Gorge in Ynnn.

Its all there, ready and waiting.

Bijng is China's supreme historic capital

It's so modern in parts it's easy to forget this ancient capital was home to Mongol, Ming and Manchu emperors. Few cities can boast a history so dramatic or turbulent as Bijng: repeatedly razed and restored to reassert its authority as capital of a land that is today home to almost 1.4 billion people and with the Forbidden City at its heart, Bijng is the must-see city in China.