China Destinations

From fishing village to megacity in 40 years, where Huaqiangbei’s electronics markets sell robot dogs beside stalls steaming river snails with chili. The Ping An Finance Centre’s knife-edge silhouette pierces clouds above Dapeng Fortress’s crumbling Ming-era walls.

• Must Eat: Chaoshan beef hotpot
• Must See: OCT Loft creative park
• Must Do: Light show at Shenzhen Bay

China’s imperial heart pulses through the Forbidden City’s vermilion gates and along the Great Wall’s dragon-back ridges. At dawn, watch mist rise from Houhai Lake as elderly locals perform tai chi beside converted courtyard cocktail bars. The hutongs whisper history – follow the scent of roasting chestnuts to hidden siheyuan homes where artisans practice cloisonné and peking opera makeup.

• Must See: Hall of Clocks in the Forbidden City
• Must Eat: Imperial-style beggar’s chicken
• Must Do: Nighttime rickshaw tour of illuminated hutongs

Neon-kanji dreams cascade down Nathan Road as double-decker trams rattle past dai pai dongs serving perfect wonton noodle soup. Escape to Lantau’s fishing villages where stilt houses perch above turquoise waters, their wooden sampans bobbing beside the Tian Tan Buddha’s serene gaze.

• Must See: PMQ creative hub’s designer studios
• Must Eat: Pineapple buns with butter at Kam Wah Cafe
• Must Do: Night market bargaining in Temple Street

Avatar’s floating mountains emerge from sea-like clouds, their quartzite pillars draped in vines. Glass-bottomed bridges span dizzying chasms where macaques chatter in the mist.

• Must See: Yuanjiajie’s pillar forest
• Must Eat: Tujia smoked pork
• Must Do: Bailong Elevator ride

Dawn transforms granite peaks into an ink-wash painting as pines twist from crevices like calligraphy strokes. Hongcun’s Ming-era canals reflect moon gates and arched bridges in perfect symmetry.

• Must See: Bright Summit sunrise
• Must Eat: Bamboo shoot dishes
• Must Do: Overnight at summit hotel

Terraced fields cascade down to Miao villages where silver-headed women sing ancient ballads. Huangguoshu Falls’ thunder echoes through caverns hung with stalactites like dragon teeth.

• Must See: Qingyan Ancient Town
• Must Eat: Sour fish soup
• Must Do: Minority festival homestay

Where Song Dynasty poets once drifted in painted boats through mist-wrapped lotus ponds, now silk-clad influencers pose by West Lake’s willow-fringed shores. The air hums with dragonwell tea steam from Ming-era teahouses, while bamboo forests whisper secrets along ancient stone pathways to hidden temples.”

• Must See: Lingyin Temple’s 470 Buddhist rock carvings
• Must Eat: Beggar’s Chicken (clay-baked with lotus leaves) at Lou Wai Lou
• Must Do: Dawn rowboat ride on West Lake, just like Marco Polo

Ming-era banking hub where red lanterns glow above vaults storing silver sycees. Shadow puppet masters perform in Qing Dynasty theaters while locals snack on pingyao beef in cobbled alleys.

• Must See: Rishengchang Exchange Museum
• Must Eat: Fried oat noodles
• Must Do: Courtyard homestay

Longmen Grottoes’ 100,000 Buddhas gaze serenely across the Yi River. Peony blossoms drown the city in fragrance each April, when Shaolin monks demonstrate kung fu moves honed over centuries.

• Must See: White Horse Temple
• Must Eat: Water banquet
• Must Do: Kung fu lesson

Willow-draped canals and the Ming Tombs’ stone elephants speak of dynasties past, while the Presidential Palace’s clocks remain frozen at the moment of revolution. At night, Qinhuai River lanterns reflect in duck blood soup bowls at 24-hour eateries.

• Must See: Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall
• Must Eat: Salted duck at Jinling Restaurant
• Must Do: City wall bike ride at sunset

A labyrinth of moon gates and crooked canals, where scholars once penned verses in UNESCO-listed gardens’ jade pavilions. Silk threads still gleam in hidden embroidery workshops, while nighttime Pingjiang Road glows with paper lanterns reflecting off black-tiled roofs—time suspended between water, poetry, and the scent of osmanthus cakes.”

• Must See: Master of Nets Garden’s “borrowed scenery” illusions
• Must Eat: Squirrel-shaped Mandarin fish (sweet-and-sour crisp!) at Songhelou
• Must Do: Kunqu Opera performance in a Ming Dynasty courtyard

Fiery hotpot cauldrons bubble beside tranquil teahouses where locals play mahjong. At dawn, pandas munch bamboo while chefs prepare mouth-numbing mapo tofu with 20-year-old peppercorns.

• Must See: Jinli Ancient Street
• Must Eat: Dandan noodles
• Must Do: Sichuan cooking class

Dim sum carts clatter past lychee wood roast geese hanging in shop windows. The Pearl River reflects Canton Tower’s kaleidoscopic light show as night markets fry oyster omelets on every corner.

• Must See: Chen Clan Ancestral Hall
• Must Eat: Wonton noodle soup
• Must Do: Morning tea ceremony

Portuguese azulejos meet gilded dragon gates in this former colonial outpost turned gaming mecca. Follow the scent of pasteis de nata to family-run bakeries, then lose an afternoon in the Moorish barracks’ shadow playing fan tan with elderly locals.

• Must See: Mandarin’s House complex
• Must Eat: Portuguese-style African chicken
• Must Do: Taipa Village food crawl