Beijing
Stroll through the Forbidden City, once
the exclusive domain of the Imperial Family and their servants…walk the
length of Tian An Man Square, the largest
public gathering place in the world…take a day trip to the Great
Wall and the nearby Ming Tombs…walk through the hutongs
and take tea by the lake in Beihai Park,
one of Beijing's most scenic areas…take a daytrip to Chengde,
to see the Qing Imperial Summer Capital, or Datong,
to see the cave carvings.
Shanghai
Stroll along the Bund and visit the Children's
Palace…take a day trip to nearby Suzhou and Luzhi, with their
wealth of elegant gardens, traditional teahouses, pavilions, and canals.
In Guilin, take a cruise along the Li River
and visit Reed Flute Cave…climb Green
Lotus Peak for its unforgettable views in Yangshuo…sail through
the Three Gorges on a Yangtze River Cruise…in
Xian, see the impressive Terracotta Army…travel
to Jiayuguan, the western limit of the Great
Wall to see the fortress…in Dunhuang, check out the fine Buddhist
paintings and frescoes…explore the Flaming
Mountains and caves of Bezezlik in Turpan…drive to Urumqi via
the aptly named Heaven Lake…browse
for camels at the Sunday Market in Kashgar,
the most remote corner of modern-day China…in Chengdu, visit the Daoist
Qingyang Gong Temple…follow the network of paths at Emei
Shan, the sacred Buddhist Mountain…see the
largest Buddha in the country carved into the cliff face above the
Min River in Leshan…in Dali, take a
boatride to lakeside villages populated by Bai people…in Lijiang,
wander the lovely old part of town filled with canals and winding lanes…visit
the monasteries surrounding the village of Baisha
to explore their 600-year old wall paintings…in Xishuangbanna,
visit Kunming's Stone Forest, an ethereal karst formation dotted with temples
and walkways…cruise along the Mekong River
to the small towns of Menghai and Mengla…walk in quiet Gulang
Island, where cars and bicycles are banned.
