Lonely Planet China Read online

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  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 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).

  Bādálǐng Great Wall | FEIYUEZHANGJIE/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

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  The Bund, Shànghǎi

  More than just a city, Shànghǎi is the country’s neon-lit beacon of change, opportunity and modernity. Its sights set squarely on the not-too-distant future, Shànghǎi offers a taste of all the superlatives China can dare to dream up, from the world’s highest observation deck to its fastest commercially operating train. Whether you’re just pulling in after an epic 44-hour train trip from Xīnjiāng or it’s your first stop, you’ll find plenty to indulge in here. Start with the Bund, Shànghǎi’s iconic riverfront area.

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  The Lí River & Cycling Yángshuò

  It’s hard to exaggerate the beauty of Yángshuò and the Lí River area, renowned for classic images of mossy-green jagged limestone peaks providing a backdrop for tall bamboo fronds leaning over bubbling streams, wallowing water buffaloes and farmers sowing rice paddies. Ride a bamboo raft along the river and you’ll understand why this stunning rural landscape has inspired painters and poets for centuries. Another popular way to appreciate the scenery is a bike tour along the Yùlóng River.

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  Dūnhuáng

  Where China starts transforming into a lunar desertscape in the far west, the handsome oasis town of Dūnhuáng is a natural staging post for dusty Silk Road explorers. Mountainous sand dunes swell outside town while Great Wall fragments lie scoured by abrasive desert winds, but it is the magnificent caves at Mògāo that truly dazzle. Mògāo is the cream of China’s crop of Buddhist caves, and its statues are ineffably sublime and some of the nation’s most priceless cultural treasures.

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  China’s Cuisine

  Say zàijiàn (goodbye) to that Chinatown schlock and nǐhǎo (hello) to a whole new world of food and flavour. For Peking duck and dumplings galore, Běijīng's a good place to start, but you don't have to travel far to find that China truly is your oyster, from the liquid fire of a Chóngqìng hotpot to the dainty dim sum of Hong Kong. You’ll see things you’ve never seen before, eat things you’ve never heard of and drink things that could lift a rocket into orbit.

  Dim sum, Hong Kong | NIPON LAICHAROENCHOKCHAI/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

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  Hiking Lóngjĭ Rice Terraces

  After a bumpy bus ride to northern Guǎngxī, you’ll be dazzled by one of China’s most archetypal and photographed landscapes: the splendidly named Lóngjǐ (Dragon’s Backbone) Rice Terraces. A region that's a beguiling patchwork of minority villages and layers of waterlogged terraces climbing the hillsides, you’ll be enticed into a game of village-hopping. The most invigorating walk between Píng’ān and Dàzhài villages offers the most spine-tingling views. Visit after the summer rains when the fields are glistening with reflections.

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  Terracotta Warriors

  Standing silent guard over their emperor for over two millennia, the terracotta warriors are one of the most extraordinary archaeological discoveries ever made. It’s not just that there are thousands of the life-sized figures lined up in battle formation; it’s the fact that no two of them are alike – each one is animated with a distinct expression. This is an army and one made up entirely of individuals. Gazing at these skilfully sculpted faces brings the past alive with a unique intensity.

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  Zhāngjiājiè

  Claimed by some to be the inspiration behind Pandora's floating mountains in the hit film Avatar, Zhāngjiājiè's otherworldly rock towers do indeed seem like they come from another planet. Rising from the misty subtropical forests of northwest Húnán, more than 3000 karst pinnacles form a landscape so surreal it is, arguably, unmatched by any other in China. Raft along a river, hike to your heart's content, walk along a petrifying glass walkway, or just spend hours filling up the memory card on your camera.

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  French Concession, Shànghǎi

  The French Concession is Shànghǎi sunny-side up, at its coolest, hippest and most alluring. Once home to the bulk of Shànghǎi’s adventurers, revolutionaries, gangsters, prostitutes and writers – though ironically many of them weren’t French – the former concession (also called Frenchtown) is the most graceful part of Pǔxī. The Paris of the East turns on its European charms to maximum effect here, where leafy streets and 1920s villas meet art deco apartment blocks, elegant restaurants and chic bars.

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  Huángshān & Hui Villages

  Shrouded in mist and light rain more than 200 days a year, and maddeningly crowded most of the time, Huángshān has an appeal that attracts millions of annual visitors. Perhaps it’s the barren landscape, or an otherworldly vibe on the mountain. Mist – a fickle mistress – rolls in and out at will; spindly bent pines stick out like lone pins across sheer craggy granite faces. Not far from the base are the perfectly preserved Hui villages including Xīdì and Hóngcūn. Unesco, Ang Lee and Zhang Yimou were captivated – you will be too.

  Mist on Huángshān | PAVEL ILYUKHIN/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

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  Cruising up Victoria Harbour

  A buzzer sounds, you bolt for the gangplank. A whistle blows, your boat chugs forward. Beyond the waves, one of the world’s most famous views unfolds – Hong Kong’s skyscrapers in their steel and neon brilliance, against a backdrop of mountains. You’re on the Star Ferry, a legendary service that’s been carrying passengers between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula since the 19th century. Ten minutes later, a hemp rope is cast, then a bell rings, and you alight. At only HK$2, this is possibly the world’s best-value cruise.

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  Hiking in Jiǔzhàigōu National Park

  Exploring the forested valleys of Jiǔzhàigōu National Park – past bluer-than-blue lakes and small Tibetan villages, in the shadow of snow-brushed mountains – was always a highlight of any trip to Sìchuān province, but the excellent ecotourism scheme in the restricted Zhārú Valley means travellers can hike and camp their way around this stunning part of southwest China. Guides speak English and all camping equipment is provided, so all you need to bring is your sense of adventure and a spare set of camera batteries.

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  Fènghuáng

  Houses perched precariously on stilts, ancestral halls, crumbling temples and gate towers set amid a warren of back alleys full of shops selling mysterious foods and medicines – it’s enough on its own to make the ancient town of Fènghuáng an essential stop. Add in the seductive setting on either side of the Tuó River and the chance to stay at an inn right by the water, and you have one of the most evocative towns in the land.

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  The Silk Road

  There are other Silk Road cities in countries such as Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, but an impressive length of the historic route runs through China, dotted with west and northwest China's pervasive Muslim heritage and fragments from
earlier Buddhist civilisations along its trail. You may not be setting off on horse or camel-back from Xī'ān, but hopping on a bus still allows you to follow the route as ancient traders once did – mile by mile, town by town, dune by dune. Far-off Kashgar is the ultimate Silk Road town and remains a unique melting pot of peoples.

  Grand Sunday Bazaar, Kashgar | KEREN SU/GETTY IMAGES ©

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  Píngyáo

  Time-warped Píngyáo is a true gem: an intact, walled Chinese town with an unbroken sense of continuity to its Qing dynasty heyday. Píngyáo ticks most of your China boxes with a flourish: imposing city walls, atmospheric alleys, ancient shopfronts, traditional courtyard houses, some excellent hotels, hospitable locals and all in a compact area. You can travel the length and breadth of China and not find another town like it. Step back in time and spend a few days here – it's unique.

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  Yúngāng Caves

  Buddhist art taken to sublime heights, these 5th-century caves house some of the most remarkable statues in all of China. Carved out of the harsh yellow earth of Shānxī and surrounded by superb frescoes, the statues inside the caves represent the highpoint of the Tuoba people’s culture and draw on influences from as far away as Greece and Persia. Marvel at how the pigment clinging to some of them has miraculously survived 1500-odd years, and admire how sacred the statuary remains to Buddhist worshippers today.

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  Tiger Leaping Gorge

  Picture snowcapped mountains rising on either side of a gorge so deep that you can be 2km above the river rushing across the rocks far below. Then imagine winding up and down trails that pass through tiny farming villages, where you can rest while enjoying views so glorious they defy superlatives. Cutting through remote northwest Yúnnán for 16km, Tiger Leaping Gorge is a simply unmissable experience. Hikers returning from the gorge invariably give it glowing reviews.

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  Běijīng’s Hútòng

  To get under the skin of the capital, you need to get lost at least once in its enchanting, ancient alleyways. Hútòng are Běijīng’s heart and soul; it’s in these alleys that criss-cross the centre of the city that you’ll discover the capital’s unique street life. Despite its march into the 21st century, Běijīng’s true charms – heavenly courtyard architecture, pinched lanes and a strong sense of community – are not high-rise. It’s easy to find that out; just check into a courtyard hotel and true Běijīng will be right on your doorstep.

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  Karakoram Highway

  The Karakoram Highway is one of the most dramatic roads in the world, linking the ancient Silk Road city of Kashgar with Pakistan over the Khunjerab Pass. A trip here takes you past soaring snowcapped peaks, plate glass lakes backed by sand dunes and verdant valleys where yaks and horses graze and lonely yurts dot the horizon. Even if you don’t plan to continue into Pakistan, journeying to the town of Tashkurgan will easily rank as one of your most extraordinary experiences in China.

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  Labrang Monastery

  If you can’t make it to Tibet, visit the Gānsù province town of Xiàhé, a more accessible part of the former Tibetan region of Amdo. One moment you are in Han China, the next you are virtually in Tibet. Here, Labrang Monastery attracts legions of suntanned Tibetan pilgrims who perambulate single-mindedly around the huge monastery’s prayer-wheel-lined kora (pilgrim path). As a strong source of spiritual power, the monastery casts its spell far and wide, and with great hiking opportunities plus an intriguing ethnic mix, it’s a fascinating corner of China.

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  Yuányáng Rice Terraces

  Hewn out of hills that stretch off into the far distance, the rice terraces of Yuányáng are testimony to the wonderfully intimate relationship the local Hani people have with the sublime landscape they live in. Rising like giant steps, the intricate terraces are a stunning sight at any time of year. But when they are flooded in winter and the sun’s rays are dancing off the water at sunrise or sunset, they’re absolutely mesmerising and some of the most photogenic spectacles that China has to offer.

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  Grand Buddha, Lè Shān

  You can read all the stats you like about Lè Shān’s Grand Buddha statue – yes, its ears really are 7m long! – but until you descend the steps alongside the world’s tallest Buddha statue and stand beside its feet, with its toenails at the same level as your eyes, you can’t really comprehend just how vast it is. Still not impressed? Consider this, then: the huge stone statue was carved painstakingly into the riverside cliff face more than 1200 years ago.

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  Fújiàn's Tǔlóu Roundhouses

  Rising up in colonies from the hilly borderlands of Fújiàn and Guǎngdōng, the stupendous tǔlóu roundhouses house entire villages, even though occupant numbers are way down these days. The imposing and well-defended bastions of wood and earth – not all circular it must be added – can be most easily found in the Fújiàn counties of Nánjìng and Yǒngdìng. Do the right thing and spend the night in one: this is a vanishing way of life, the pastoral setting is quite superb and the architecture is unique.

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  Mystic Tài Shān

  A visit to China just isn’t complete without scaling a sacred mountain or two, and antediluvian Tài Shān in Shāndōng province is the granddaddy of them all. Climb the Taoist mountain and you’ll live to 100, they say, even if you feel you are going to drop dead with exhaustion on the gruelling Path of 18 Bends (lightweights can hitch a ride on the cable car instead). The views are outstanding and with Tài Shān’s mountainous aspect in the east, summit sunrises are the order of the day.

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  Yangzi River Cruise

  Snow melting from the world’s ‘third pole’ – the high-altitude Tibet–Qīnghǎi plateau – is the source of China’s mighty, life-giving Yangzi. The country’s longest river, the Yangzi surges west–east across the nation before pouring into the Pacific Ocean. It reaches a crescendo with the Three Gorges, carved out through the millennia by the inexorable persistence of the powerful waters. The gorges are a magnificent spectacle and a Yangzi River cruise is a rare chance to hang up your travelling hat, take a seat and leisurely watch the drama unfold.

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  Diāolóu in Kāipíng

  If you only have time for one attraction in Guǎngdōng, Kāipíng’s diāolóu should be it. Approximately 1800 outlandishly designed watchtowers and fortified residences are scattered higgledy-piggledy in the farmland in Kāipíng, a town not far from Guǎngzhōu. These sturdy bastions built in the early 20th century may not be what you’d typically expect in the Middle Kingdom, but they inspire awe with their eccentric fusion of foreign and domestic architectural styles. Greek, Roman, Gothic, Byzantine and baroque – you name it, they’ve got it.

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  Mt Kailash, Western Tibet

  Worshipped by more than a billion Buddhists and Hindus, Asia’s most sacred mountain rises from the Barkha plain like a giant four-sided 6714m-high chörten (stupa). Throw in stunning nearby Lake Manasarovar and a basin that forms the source of four of Asia’s greatest rivers, and it’s clear that this place is special. Travelling here to one of the world’s most beautiful and remote corners brings a bonus: the three-day pilgrim path around the mountain erases the sins of a lifetime.

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  Lhasa

  The holy city of Lhasa is the perfect introduction to Tibet, and just arriving here can make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. The spectacular prayer halls of the Potala Palace, the medieval Jokhang Temple and the monastic cities of Drepung and Sera are the big draws, but don’t miss the less-visited chapels and pilgrim paths. The whitewashed alleys of the old town hold the real heart of the Tibetan quarter, and you could spend hours here wandering around backstreet handicraft workshops, hidden temples and local teahouses.