Kina

China’s largest tropical island boasts all the balmy weather, coconut palms and gold-sand beaches you could ask for. Down at Sanya it’s see-and-be-seen on the boardwalks or escape altogether at some of Asia’s top luxury resorts. Thatched huts and banana pancakes haven’t popped up anywhere yet, but there’s a hint of hipness coming from the east-coast beachside towns, and the budding surf scene is helping to spread the gospel of chill out.

På söndagen den 26 januari gick Utrikesdepartementet ut med en avrådan från icke-nödvändiga resor till Hubei-provinsen på grund av utbrottet av coronavisuset. Dessutom avråder man besök till marknader i Kina där djur förekommer.

Shenyang (沈阳, Shěnyáng) is a provincial capital on the rise. Its sleek metro hums beneath wide boulevards and contemporary glass monoliths, while an underrated Imperial Palace and tomb complex – sadly overlooked by all bar the history buffs – lies at either end of its park-lined urban centre.

Guangxi's second-largest city, Guilin (桂林, Guìlín) has the hallmarks of most Chinese megalopolises, but it feels much more relaxed given its spectacular setting among the jagged-peak limestone karsts that surround it. It was China's first city to develop tourism after 1949, and for decades, children's textbooks proclaimed 'Guilin's landscape is the best under heaven' (桂林山水甲天下). It was the darling of Chinese politicians, the star city proudly presented to visiting dignitaries. Today Guilin's natural endowments still amaze, yet, thanks to imperfect urban planning, there is a pervasive feeling that the city is past its prime.

Locked away in the westernmost corner of China, closer to Tehran and Damascus than to Běijīng, Kashgar (喀什; Kāshí) has been the epicentre of regional trade and cultural exchange for more than two millennia.

Wedged into Hubei's southwestern border region is a picturesque tableau of crumpled green mountains and terraced tea fields, as well as the occasional giant cliff face that's high enough to catch a rock climber's eye. Seat of the Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Enshi is a low-key town whose main claim to fame is the Grand Canyon. OK, not that Grand Canyon, but instead a swath of impressive cliffs that tower over some lovely countryside below.

Tibet’s second-largest city and the traditional capital of Tsang province, Shigatse (གཞི་ཀ་རྩེ་; 日喀则; Rìkāzé) is a modern, sprawling city, with wide boulevards humming with traffic. As you drive in across the plains, the sight of the Potala-lookalike Shigatse Dzong, high on a hilltop overlooking the town, will probably fire your imagination, but the fort is empty and most of what you see dates from a 2007 reconstruction. It is Tashilhunpo Monastery that is the real draw here. Since the Mongol sponsorship of the Gelugpa order in the 17th century, Tashilhunpo has been the seat of the Panchen Lama, the second most important spiritual figure in Tibetan Buddhism after the Dalai Lama.

Coiling its way through 23 degrees of longitude, the Great Wall (长城, Chángchéng) stands as an awe-inspiring monument to the grandeur of China’s ancient history. With sections dating back 2000 years, the wall (or, more accurately, walls, because they belong to several different eras) wriggle haphazardly from their scattered Manchurian remains in Liaoning province to wind-scoured rubble in the Gobi desert and faint traces in the unforgiving sands of Xinjiang. Interspersed with natural defences (such as precipitous mountains), the Great Wall can be visited in 15 Chinese provinces, principalities and autonomous regions, but nowhere is better than Beijing for mounting your assault on this most iconic of bastions.

The southern district is not only a showcase of history – Pok Fu Lam has the island's last surviving village alongside vestiges of a Victorian dairy – but Aberdeen and Ap Lei Chau are also the homes of Hong Kong's fisherfolk, and as such, offer wonderful seafood and boat rides. In addition, Ap Lei Chau has great shopping, and Wong Chuk Hang, contemporary art. The south is also Hong Kong Island's backyard playground, from beaches and seaside dining, to a waterfront bazaar and an amusement park.

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