Kina

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.

Hekou (河口, Hékǒu) is a small town set along the Yuanjiang River across from Vietnam. Decent transport connections mean there are few reasons to linger, but it's a pleasant enough place to spend the night before or after using the only border crossing for travelers heading directly between Yunnan and Vietnam.

A zip – and an entire world – away from Shanghai, well-irrigated Jiangsu (江苏, Jiāngsū) spills over with as much charm and history as the waters that flow through its shimmering canals. The province, which owed its historical wealth to silk and salt production, boasts the Grand Canal as well as elaborate waterways that thread through this Yangzi River (Cháng Jiāng) region. It’s known throughout China for its cute canal towns, enchanting gardens and sophisticated opera and folk arts.

China's largest province, Xīnjiāng (新疆) is the homeland of the Muslim Uyghurs and a fast-changing region where ancient and modern clash against each other in surprising ways. High-speed railways cross the Martian landscapes linking cities in hours rather than days, and the regional capital Ürümqi is a forest of high-rise apartments and glass skyscrapers; while in parts of the Silk Road oases of Kashgar, Hotan and Turpan, life goes as it has for centuries, based around the mosque, the tea house and the bazaar.

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.

Wedged between high, glacial mountain peaks on the northern side of the Chola Mountains is the vast monastery and shedra (Buddhist college) complex of Dzogchen (竹庆寺; Zhú Qìng Sì), one of the most important seats of the Nyingma (Red Hat sect). Exploring this massive and ever-expanding complex of temples, prayer halls, stupas and meditation retreats alone could keep you busy for a day or three, but there's more to Dzogchen than spirituality. With snow capped mountain peaks on one side and rolling grasslands with wandering yaks and nomads on the other there's plenty of scope here for several days of exciting walking.

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.

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.

Mohan (磨憨, Móhān) is the first (or last) taste of China for travellers headed from/to Laos via the border crossing at Botan. It's a laid-back place set around two long main streets, with little in the way of sights.

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.