Kina

The New Territories offer much cultural and natural interest. Ancient walled villages (Sha Tau Kok, Sheung Shui, Fanling, Yuen Long), wetlands teeming with birds and aquatic life (Yuen Long), temples (Tsuen Wan, Sha Tin, Fanling), a solid museum in Sha Tin, and generous expanses of unspoiled country are just some of its attractions. Notably, Sai Kung Peninsula has fabulous hiking trails, delicious seafood and attractive beaches. And, of course, there's the awe-inspiring Hong Kong Unesco Global Geopark.

Combining fresh sea air and dashing good looks, Qīngdǎo (青岛) – the name means 'Green Island' – is a rare modern city that has managed to preserve some of its past while angling a dazzling modern face to the future. Its blend of concession-era and modern architecture puts China’s standard white-tile and blue-glass developments to shame. The winding cobbled streets, colonial German architecture and red-capped hillside villas are captivating and there's so much to enjoy in the city’s diverse food scene, headlined by the ubiquitous home town beer Tsingtao. Meanwhile, the seaside aspect keeps the town cooler than the inland swelter zones during summer, and slightly warmer in winter.

Visst kan man längta ut i världen för att se nya saker – men Kinas nya turistattraktion är kanske inget för den som är rädd för höjder eller tvivlar på karusellers säkerhet. Då njuter man nog inte!

Rising from the subtropical and temperate forests of northwest Hunan, Zhangjiajie (张家界; Zhāngjiājiè) has a concentration of quartzite-sandstone formations found nowhere else in the world. Some 243 peaks and more than 3000 pinnacles and spires dominate the scenery in this Unesco-protected park. If caught in the right light or when the early-morning mountain mist rolls in around them, the effect is otherworldly.

Zhūhǎi (珠海) is close enough to Macau for a day trip without any maniacal driving. Never too hot or too frosty, Zhūhǎi is the just-right popular Chinese getaway – especially in summer – with plenty of seaside glitz. Yet it remains laid-back, and what helps it really shine is the natural beauty of its gardens and an attractive, relatively clean port.

Chengdu (成都, Chéngdū) is no great draw when it comes to major tourist sites, yet this is one of the few super-sized Chinese cities that most visitors do end up enjoying. There's a relaxing teahouse culture – favorite local institutions have been serving the same brews for generations; a lively nightlife that mixes craft beer bars and super-hip clubs with Sichuan opera shows; and delicious food that is famous for its heat, history and variety even in cuisine-rich China, and is very much a point of pride: Chengdu is, after all, Unesco's first-ever City of Gastronomy. Oh, and as if that's not enough, this is the place to come to see China's cutest residents – the giant pandas.

Despite being a popular destination with domestic travelers, Guizhou (贵州, Guìzhōu) remains largely unknown to travelers outside China – and what a travesty of justice. The province has two of the country's largest and most spectacular natural features – a waterfall and a cave – while outside the capital, Guiyang, it's pretty much green hills and valleys, flowing rivers and limestone formations to the horizon.

A cool, misty retreat from Sichuan basin’s heat, Emei Shan (峨眉山; 3099m) is one of China’s four sacred Buddhist Mountains (the others being Putuo Shsn, Wutai Shan and Jiuhua Shan. This excludes sacred Buddhist mountains in the Tibetan regions). A farmer built the first Buddhist temple near Jinding summit in the 1st century. That temple stood until it was gutted by fire in 1972, and many of the more than 150 temples on the mountain suffered fires or looting over the centuries but around 30 have been maintained and restored in various degrees. Reconstructed in the 9th century, Wannian Temple is the oldest surviving temple on the mountain.

Vagabonds guide till vad du inte får missa i Hongkong. Tips på hotell, restauranger och sevärdheter.

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