Kina

Gingerly stepping along a trail swept with scree to allow an old fellow with a donkey to pass; resting atop a rock, exhausted, looking up to see the snow-shrouded peaks, then down to see the lingering rays dancing on the rippling waters a thousand metres below. That pretty much sums up Tiger Leaping Gorge (虎跳峡, Hǔtiào Xiá), long one of the great treks of southwest China. Add in modern development, power lines and water pipes that follow the high trail, and a few stretches of road walking: this is no longer wild nature, but the views are still grand and it's still worth the trip.

Many visitors only pass through handsome Nanjing (南京, Nánjīng; literally 'Southern Capital') when traveling from Shanghai to Beijing (or vice versa), but the capital of Jiangsu, lying on the lower stretches of the Yangzi River, boasts a rich and impressive historical heritage. It's also one of the best-looking cities in China.

In many ways, Nanning (南宁, Nánníng) is a typical provincial capital with few sights of note, but many of its streets are lined with trees and shaded with a bountiful canopy of leaves, affording welcome shade. It’s also a relaxing and friendly place to recharge your batteries before leaving for, or returning from, Vietnam. It makes for a refreshingly non-touristy destination and one where you'll eat well and get local cultural insights. Nanning's brilliant metro system helps to tame the town's distances.

History and hedonism run side by side in Liáoníng (辽宁). Walled Ming dynasty cities rub up against booming beach resorts, while imperial palaces sit in the centre of bustling modern cities. Nothing quite captures the fun and distinction, however, as much as seaside Dàlián, with its golden coastline and summer beer festival, and former battlegrounds where Russian and Japanese armies wrestled for control of the region in the early 20th century. In Dāndōng, regional tensions of recent history are causing some spine-tingling at the border with North Korea. The Yālù River here brings you within glimpsing distance of the hermit kingdom from a boat deck or halfway across a bridge.

The original city core and the sole part of Shanghai to pre-date the 1850s, the Old City (上海老城厢; Shànghăi Lăo Chéngxiāng) is a favourite with visitors hoping to glimpse ‘traditional’ China. Many of the older buildings have been replaced with modern apartment blocks, but there are still more temples here than in the rest of the city combined, and pockets are impregnated with atmosphere and shabby charm.

Är du ett fan av vinter, is, snö och gillar häftiga upplevelser? Då kanske det känns lockande att besöka Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival i Kina.

North of Myanmar and Laos, Xishuangbanna (西双版纳, Xīshuāngbǎnnà) is the Chinese approximation of the original Thai name of Sip Sawng Panna (12 Rice-Growing Districts). Better known as Bǎnnà, the area has become China’s mini-Thailand, attracting tourists looking for sunshine, water-splashing festivals and jungle treks. Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, as it is known officially, is subdivided into the three counties of Jinghong, Menghai and Mengla.

Fotografierna av den kinesiska landsbygden lockar fotofantaster från hela världen. Staden Xiapu har blivit en av landets mest virala destinationer. Men allt är iscensatt!

Vast, thinly populated and with an average altitude of over 14,764 ft (4500m), western Tibet (Ngari, མངའ་རིས་) is a rough and ready frontier occupying one of the remotest corners of Asia. For most travelers the main attractions of what is likely to be a two- or three-week overland trip are the almost legendary destinations of Mt Kailash and Lake Manasarovar. Indeed, many of the Tibetan and Indian pilgrims you meet on this road have been planning a visit all their lives.