Kina

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.

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.

Lamma, Hong Kong's laid-back "hippie island," is easily recognizable at a distance by the three coal chimneys crowning its hilly skyline. The chimneys stand out so much because Lamma, home to 6000 or so, is otherwise devoid of high-rise development. Here it's all about lush forests, hidden beaches and chilled-out villages connected by pedestrian paths. You won't see any cars here, but be prepared for spotting the odd snake.

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.

When its granite peaks and twisted pines are wreathed in spectral folds of mist the idyllic views of Huangshan (黄山, Huángshān; literally 'Yellow Mountain') easily nudge it into the select company of China’s top 10, nay, top five, sights. Legions of poets and painters have drawn inspiration from Huangshan’s iconic beauty. Yesterday’s artists seeking an escape from the hustle and bustle of the temporal world have been replaced by crowds of tourists, who bring the hustle and bustle with them: the mountain is inundated with tourist traffic at choke points, so the magic can rapidly evaporate, especially during holiday periods and weekends. But Huangshan still rewards visitors with moments of tranquillity, and the unearthly views are simply breathtaking.

From ancient walled capital to showpiece megacity in barely a century, Beijing (Běijīng, 北京), spins a breathless yarn of triumph, tragedy, endurance and innovation.

How popular is this time-locked place? Lijiang’s (丽江, Lìjiāng) maze of cobbled streets, rickety (or rickety-looking, given gentrification) wooden buildings and gushing canals suck in over eight million people a year. So thick are the crowds in the narrow alleys that it can feel like they've all arrived at the same time.

Ü (དབུས་) is Tibet’s heartland and contains almost all the landscapes you’ll find across the plateau, from sand dunes and meandering rivers to soaring peaks and juniper forests. Due to its proximity to Lhasa, Ü is the first taste of rural Tibet that most visitors experience, and you can get off the beaten track surprisingly easily here. Fine walking opportunities abound, from day hikes and monastery koras (pilgrim circuits) to overnight treks.

The gleaming manifestation of China's economic miracle, Shēnzhèn (深圳) has risen from the marshy Pearl River Delta into one of the world's most mega megacities in less time than it took London's St Paul's Cathedral to be built. Millions of migrants have been drawn to its golden gates from the Chinese countryside since the 1980s; now, Shēnzhèn attracts high-flying tech graduates and global corporations.

Here is proof, should you need it, that Qinghai has incredibly diverse landscapes: an alpine forest located 100km northeast of Xining with an elevation that spans 2200m to 4000m. Within are farming communities, ranging mountain goats, family restaurants, birch forests, waterfalls, lakes and plenty of hiking opportunities. The national park is popular with Xining folk seeking a weekend retreat, so go during the week for the optimum experience.