Kina

Known as the 'Vegas of China', Macau is indeed an epicentre of gambling and glitz. While luxury entertainment here is world-class, the city has much more to offer than that. Macau was a Portuguese colony for 300 years, a history marked by a cultural hybridity that manifests itself in all aspects of life: Chinese temples stand on maritime-themed Portuguese tiles; the sound of Cantonese permeates streets with Portuguese names; and when you're hungry, it could be Chinese dim sum, pastéis de nata (Portuguese egg tarts) or Macanese minchi (ground meat stir-fried with potatoes) that come to the rescue.

Kunming (昆明, Kūnmíng) has long been known as one of China’s most liveable cities. Known as the 'Spring City' for its equable climate, it remains a very pleasant place to kick back for a few days. For visitors who haven't succumbed to the laid-back attitude of the place, there are plenty of temples and national parks nearby to keep you busy during the day and a fair few craft breweries and cool bars to hold your attention at night.

The fertile Dunhuang (敦煌, Dūnhuáng) oasis has for millennia been a refuge for weary Silk Road travelers. Most visitors stayed long enough only to swap a camel; but some stayed, building the forts, towers and cave temples that are scattered over the surrounding area. These sites, along with some dwarfing sand dunes and desertscapes, make Dunhuang a magnificent place to visit.

The still fairly unknown Huanglong National Park (黄龙景区, Huánglóng Jǐngqū) is a stunning valley with terraces of coloured limestone ponds in blues, greens, oranges, yellows and white. The best time to come from is June to October, ideally during mild July and August. Outside of this period, lack of water in the pools significantly reduces the visual impact of the park.

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

Big, bold and beautifully barren, Qinghai (青海, Qīnghǎi), larger than any country in the EU, occupies a vast swath of the northeastern chunk of the Tibetan Plateau. As far as Tibetans are concerned, this is Amdo, one of old Tibet’s three traditional provinces. Much of what you’ll experience here will feel more Tibetan than Chinese; there are monasteries galore, yaks scattered across the hills by the thousands and nomads camped out across high-altitude grasslands.

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.

Yangshuo (阳朔, Yángshuò) is one of China's gold-ticket draws. The once-peaceful settlement is now a collage of Chinese tour groups, wide-eyed Westerners, construction and the glue that binds any tourist hot spot together – touts. Come evening, Xijie is all thumping music and bristling with selfie-sticks, but go up a few flights to a hotel rooftop bar and behold the ethereal beauty of the surrounding karsts, their peaks lit up by searchlights.

The remote highways running along the north of Kham can be used to exit the Tibet Autonomous Region into Qinghai, Sichuan, or as part of a long loop around Kham. At the time of writing only one route into Qinghai was open to foreign travellers: Hwy 109 (also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Hwy) running from Lhasa to Xining. As the railway covers the same route most people do not hire private vehicles for this section. A few hardy souls make the trip by bike, crossing into Tibet over the 5180m Tangu-la pass. Under current regulations, a guide still needs to accompany you and your bicycle in a support vehicle. Check out Bike China for more.

As the birthplace of Mao Zedong, Communist Party cadres might wax lyrical about the sacred standing of Hunan (湖南; Húnán) in the annals of Chinese history, but it's the province's dramatic scenery that is the real draw. A magnificent landscape of isolated mountain ranges and jagged peaks envelops more than 80% of the province. The most astonishing example is found at the phantasmagorical Zhangjiajie, one of China's most surreal national parks. Here, as in other parts of the province, geological marvels thrust up majestically from green vales fed by tributaries in the fertile Yangzi River basin.