Kina

While the full 40km or so of coastline dedicated to tourism is usually referred to as Sanya, the region is actually made up of three distinct zones. Sanya Bay is home to the bustling city center and a long stretch of beach and hotels aimed at locals and mainland holidaymakers. Busy, cheerful Dadonghai Bay, about 3km southeast, beyond the Luhuitou Peninsula (鹿回头岭, Lùhuítóu Lǐng), is where most foreign travelers stay. A further 15km east, at exclusive Yalong Bay, the beach is first-rate, as is the line of plush international resorts.

The fertile Dunhuang (敦煌, Dūnhuáng) oasis has for millennia been a refuge for weary Silk Road travelers. Most visitors stayed long enough only to swap a camel; but some stayed, building the forts, towers and cave temples that are scattered over the surrounding area. These sites, along with some dwarfing sand dunes and desertscapes, make Dunhuang a magnificent place to visit.

Guiyang (贵阳, Guìyáng) is an unpretentious, relatively youthful provincial capital under seemingly continual construction. While it may not leap out at the traveler, there are some interesting sights and affordable fine hotels, and the city's location makes it a perfect base for exploring the surrounding southern countryside, especially Huangguoshu Falls, the villages around Kaili, and historic Zhenyuan.

It's fitting that an ancient form of opera and magic called biànliǎn (face-changing) originated here, for Sichuan (四川, Sìchuān) is a land of many guises. Capital Chengdu shows a modern face, but just beyond its ring roads you'll find a more traditional landscape of mist-shrouded, sacred mountains, and a countryside scattered with ancient villages and cliffs of carved Buddhas.

Hekou (河口, Hékǒu) is a small town set along the Yuanjiang River across from Vietnam. Decent transport connections mean there are few reasons to linger, but it's a pleasant enough place to spend the night before or after using the only border crossing for travelers heading directly between Yunnan and Vietnam.

Yellow Mountain, Kina – så vackert att varje försök att fotografera blir lite av ett fiasko.

I sommar får Sverige för första gången en direktlinje till Shanghai i Kina. Det är flygbolaget China Eastern som kommer att flyga till staden från Arlanda fyra gånger i veckan.

Guǎngzhōu (广州), once better known internationally as Canton, has been China's busiest trading centre for centuries. Despite breakneck redevelopment up to and after the 2010 Asian Games, much of the metropolis still hums along at a pleasantly sedate pace, where narrow, leafy streets conceal temples and mosques, pockets of colonial-era heritage, traditional dim-sum eateries, distinctive qílóu shophouses and Lǐngnán architecture. Equally, you can embrace modernity via the 21st-century architectural landmarks of the showpiece Zhūjiāng New Town, such as the late Zaha Hadid's Opera House and the slim-waisted Canton Tower, rising up over the Pearl River, which cuts a lazy swathe through the city.

145 meter högt och 125 meter i diameter. Megakonstruktionen i den kinesiska staden Weifang är tänkt att öppna för allmänheten inom kort och är det högsta ekerlösa pariserhjulet i världen.

Datong (大同, Dàtóng) today is fascinating, and charming to boot. Come nighttime, the old-town sensations – with red lanterns swinging in the breeze and wind chimes tinkling on the illuminated city walls – evoke Datong's past glories as an ancient capital. No matter that most of this has been recreated from scratch: an estimated ¥50 billion has been ploughed into a colossal renovation of the old quarter. The city wall has been rebuilt in its entirety, enclosing a retinue of renovated (or newly built) sights. But it's beyond the wall where Datong really comes into its own. The town is the gateway to the awe-inspiring Yungang Caves, one of China’s most outstanding Buddhist treasures, as well as a launchpad to the photogenic Hanging Monastery, the world’s oldest wooden pagoda, crumbling earthen sections of the Great Wall and onward trips to sacred Wutai Shan.