What to see in China: 10 must-sees
Discover what to see in China: 10 must-see destinations, from Great Wall of China to Forbidden City. Predominantly natural and UNESCO heritage; each entry includes the best time to visit and the link to its official source.
Natural(4)
Visit Guilin and glide down the river, where 83 kilometers of karst hills have inspired Chinese painters for 1,000 years. This landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2014, gathers more than 100 limestone peaks rising like fingers over the green plain. The river winds between rice paddies and villages, and traditional bamboo rafts take a 4-hour ride along its waters. Around every bend new rock formations, waterfalls and small river villages appear, showing rural life in Guangxi much as it continues today.
Cycle downhill from the village into the Li River valley, where karst hills rise among rice paddies flooded with green reflections. Ride some of the 1,000 kilometers of trails that link hamlets, farmland and viewpoints over the limestone formations typical of Guangxi. Stop at the terraces to watch farmers at work, cross stone bridges between settlements and look for cormorants and waterbirds along the banks. The route mixes easy cycling with breaks at waterside terraces, away from traffic and noise.
Look out over Everest's North Summit, the highest point on Earth at 8,849 meters above sea level, on the Tibetan flank of the range. From Rongbuk Base Camp you will see walls of snow, ice and rock that have drawn mountaineers for 70 years, ever since the first British expeditions of the 1920s. The north route requires special Tibet permits and rigorous acclimatisation because of the extreme altitude. Between glacial crevasses and seracs, some visitors spot alpine choughs, while wind lashes the summit almost all year round.
Cruise Hangzhou's West Lake by boat, in Zhejiang, where stone bridges, pagodas and willows have inspired Chinese painters for centuries. UNESCO inscribed it in 2011 for uniting gardens, temples and hills into a balanced ensemble. Walk the Su Causeway at dawn, visit Lingyin Temple among carved rocks, and climb the Longjing tea hills to see the terraced plantations. Signposted paths skirt the water and let you watch herons and lotus flowers in bloom.
UNESCO Heritage(3)
Ascend the largest structure ever built by human hands, where 21,196 kilometers of stone and brick stretch from the Gobi Desert to the sea — a barrier that shielded the Chinese Empire from invasions for 2,000 years. A UNESCO site since 1987, the Great Wall was built by the Qin, Han and Ming dynasties between the 3rd century BC and the 17th century AD, and today preserves spectacular sections at Badaling, Mutianyu and Jinshanling, where trails wind through mountains that look as if an artist had drawn them.
Step inside the vast palace where 9,999 rooms, timber palaces and gardens form a complex that housed 24 emperors over 500 years. A UNESCO site since 1987, the Forbidden City covers 72 hectares where the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Court of Ultimate Harmony and the Imperial Garden make up a compound of 1,000 buildings. Frescoes, golden thrones and gardens narrate 500 years of imperial history.
Take in the old town of Lijiang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997, where canals thread between stone houses and curved roofs inherited from Naxi culture. Walk its cobbled streets at the foot of Jade Dragon Mountain and listen for traditional music still ringing in the squares. This corner of Yunnan keeps an exceptional testimony to a civilisation, with century-old bridges and a water system that still supplies the courtyards of its homes.
City(2)
Ride through Beijing's hutongs by bike and you will understand how this capital of 20 million people, with 3,000 years of history, goes about its life. Set aside one day for the Forbidden City with its nearly a thousand imperial buildings, and another for the Great Wall, reachable from the city in just over an hour. As evening falls, try lacquered duck at the Wangfujing night markets before heading back to the skyscrapers of Guomao.
Immerse yourself in Shanghai, China's most populous city with 24 million people, where the Bund lines up colonial buildings facing the towers of Pudong, dominated by the Shanghai Tower on the skyline. Walk the old lanes around Yu Garden, cross the nearby canals and try xiaolongbao at the Wujiang Street markets. A metro that never sleeps, Buddhist temples next to shopping malls and Nanjing Road lit up at night sum up the journey from fishing village to financial capital of Asia.
Archaeological Site(1)
Discover the 8,000 terracotta warriors of the first Chinese emperor, Qin Shi Huang, each with unique features that tell the story of an army meant to conquer the world. The warriors, unearthed in 1974 by a farmer digging for water, are arranged across three pits of 14,000 square meters, where more than 8,000 figures 1.8 meters tall form an army that guards the emperor in the afterlife. Pit 1 is the largest, with 6,000 warriors in formation, while Pit 2 holds warhorses, chariots and infantry soldiers. The adjoining museum keeps pieces of bronze, jade and ceramics that show the wealth of the Qin Empire.
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