Kina

Idag lever Sandy Stadelmann, 29, sin dröm som resevloggare och digital nomad. Men vägen för att hamna där har inte varit spikrak. – Jag har verkligen kämpat stenhårt för att kunna göra det här, säger hon. 

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.

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.

Stadsbiblioteket i Tianjin Binhai är en fröjd för ögat. De futuristiska lokalerna spänner över en yta av 33 700 kvadratmeter och huserar över 1,2 miljoner böcker.

Mongolia. The name alone stirs up visions of nomadic herders, thundering horses and, of course, the warrior-emperor Genghis Khaan.

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.

Overlapping much of the historic Tibetan region of Kham (ཁམས་), eastern Tibet is the face you never knew Tibet had: a land of raging rivers and deep gorges, immense pine forests and azalea-filled meadows, outspoken monks and rebel nomads. It is here that the plateau begins its descent towards the subtropical Sichuan basin, and the landscapes represent both extremes: you can drive over a scrubby high mountain pass dusted with snow and a few hours later be sliding your way through rainforest on a mud-bath road. Chances are you’ll be the only traveler in sight.

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.

An off-limits border area for more than 60 years, Sha Tau Kok Village (沙頭角), which lies 11km northeast of Fanling, was sealed off from the rest of Hong Kong in 1951 following the communist takeover of China. While access to the border town itself is still restricted to local residents, the 400 hectares of land – and the patchwork of villages that it contains – to the west and southwest have been partially open since 2012.

The historical province of Tsang (གཙང) is either the first or last place that most travelers experience in Tibet, and the setting for two of Asia's great mountain drives: to far western Tibet and across the Himalaya to Nepal. The great overland trip across Tibet – from Lhasa along the Friendship Hwy to the Nepali border via Gyantse, Shigatse and Mt Everest Base Camp – goes straight through Tsang, linking most of Tibet's highlights on one irresistible route. Along the way is a scattering of atmospheric Tibetan monasteries and historic towns, an adventurous detour to the base of Mt Everest and multitudes of snowy peaks and moonlike landscapes to behold. Dozens of smaller monasteries just off the highway offer plenty of scope to get off the beaten track and experience an older Tibet.