Kina

Běijīng's breadbasket, Héběi (河北) is a slow-moving panorama of grazing sheep, brown earth and fields of corn and wheat. Cosmopolitan Tiānjīn (天津) may put on a dazzling show, but the true charms of this region are its time-worn, earthy textures and its deep-rooted historical narrative.

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.

Fantastical mountainscapes and well preserved villages make Anhui (安徽, Ānhuī) the perfect antidote to the brashness of China’s larger cities. The main attraction is unquestionably Huangshan, a jumble of sheer granite cliffs wrapped in cottony clouds that inspired an entire school of ink painting during the 17th and 18th centuries. But the often overlooked peaks of nearby Jiuhua Shan, where Buddhists bless the souls of the recently departed, have a hallowed aura that offers a strong contrast to Huangshan’s stunning natural scenery.

With its raw terrain of dusty plains and stark mountains, sliced in two by the Yellow River, there's a distinct Grapes of Wrath feel to Ningxia (宁夏). Outside the cities is a timeless landscape where farmers till the hard yellow earth just like their ancestors did.

Det är dags att åka till Hongkong innan staden helt och hållet uppslukas av fastlands-Kina. Men var finns metropolens själ? Vi söker bland häxor, hästar, spansk gin och pirater.

Home to the wondrous Harbin Ice & Snow Festival, and the world's largest indoor ski facility, the capital of Heilongjiang (哈尔滨; Hā’ěrbīn), located on the Songhua River, is a stylish city and a highlight of any trip through Dongbei.

Once a frontier town, Fenghuang (凤凰; Fènghuáng) marked the boundary between the Han civilisations of the central plains and the Miao (苗), Tujia (土家) and Dong (侗) minorities of the southwest mountains. Protective walls went up in the Ming dynasty, but despite the implications Fenghuang prospered as a centre of trade and cultural exchange. Its diverse residents built a breathtaking riverside settlement of winding alleys, temples and rickety stilt houses, which these days attract tourists by the bucketload. Do try to stay overnight – the town is bursting with accommodation options, and the sight of an illuminated Fenghuang at night is quite awesome.

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.

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.

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.