Lonely Planet Discover China

This is China

The central civilisation of the Far East and historically the dominant culture of the region, China is a travellers treasure box: colossal palaces, sacred mountains, cliff-top temples, roaring metropolises, spectacular scenery and much, much more. A nation enjoying an exuberant and energetic coming of age, China is the country everyones talking about.

China is modernising at a head- spinning pace. But the slick skyscrapers, Lamborghini showrooms and Maglev trains are little more than dazzling baubles. Lets face it: the worlds oldest continuous civilisation is bound to pull an artefact or two out of its hat. You wont bump into history at every turn, but travel selectively and rich seams of antiquity crowd around. Tumbledown chunks of the Great Wall, creaky historical residences, mist-wreathed and temple-strewn mountains, quaint villages and delightful water towns make travel in China both unique and astonishing.

China is vast. So you must get outside: island-hop in Hong Kong, size up awesome sand dunes in Gansu, trace the Great Wall as it meanders across mountain peaks, sail through awesome river gorges or cycle through otherworldly landscapes of karst peaks in Yangshuo. Ponder the desiccated enormity of the northwestern deserts and the preternatural mists of Chinas sacred mountains. Hike into a landscape richly flecked with seasonal shades, from the crimson leaves of autumn maples to the colourful azaleas of spring Huangshan or the ice-encrusted roofs of mountaintop Buddhist temples.

China is food obsessed. Treat yourself and swap local Chinatown menus for the lavish Middle Kingdom cookbook: sample Peking duck, gobble down Lanzhou noodles, sweat over spicy Sichuan dishes, and dont forget whats cooking in Chinas frontier lands an excuse to get off the beaten path. Impress your friends as you ganbei (down-in-one) the local firewater, sip a beer in a slick Beijing bar or survey the Shanghai skyline through a raised cocktail glass. Culinary exploration is the most enticing aspect of Middle Kingdom travel: youll return with stimulated taste buds and much-cherished gastronomic memories.

Zhuang girl, terraced rice fields, Guangxi ()
KEREN SU/GETTY IMAGES

Chinas Top Experiences

Great Wall

Spotting it from space is both tough and pointless: the only place you can truly put the Great Wall ( ) under your feet is in China. Select portions of the Great Wall according to taste: perfectly chiselled, dilapidated, stripped of its bricks, overrun with saplings, coiling splendidly into the hills or returning to dust. The fortification is a fitting symbol of those perennial Chinese traits: diligence, mass manpower, ambitious vision and engineering skill (coupled with a distrust of the neighbours).

SEAN CAFFREY/GETTY IMAGES

Forbidden City

Beijings enormous palace ( ) is the be-all-and-end-all of dynastic grandeur, with its vast halls and splendid gates. No other place in China teems with so much history, legend and good old-fashioned imperial intrigue. You may get totally lost here but youll always find something to write home about. The complex ranks among Chinas top three sights, boasting one of the lands most attractive admission prices and almost infinite value-for-money sightseeing.

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Ancestral home of Peking duck and a tantalising smorgasbord of Chinese and international food. ()