and sunrises, misty clouds, evocative pine trees, hot springs and high-quality green teas. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a popular tourist destination. Like Guilin in south-central China, Yellow Mountain has been the subject of countless landscape paintings and poems. A number of guesthouses and small restaurants are dotted among the peaks. Travelers can either take trams to the top of these or go the old-fashioned way, walking up some of the 60,000 stairs carved into the rock in the Yellow Mountain area.
SUN YAT-SEN MAUSOLEUM
THE SUN YAT-SEN MAUSOLEUM
The mausoleum of the father of modern China, Sun Yat-sen (1866–1925), is located on the outskirts of the city of Nanjing in Jiangsu Province, in an area called Purple Mountain. The mausoleum complex covers 20 acres (8 ha) and was completed in 1929. The complex consists of arched gateways, characters carved on stone tablets and an impressive series of stairways and platforms that lead to the actual tomb, which is a combination of Chinese and Western architecture. Inside the tomb building is a large marble statue of Sun Yat-sen dressed in traditional long robes. There are several other ceremonial buildings in the area, all located in a beautiful forested area to the east of Nanjing. The tomb of the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty is located nearby. This makes a pleasant excursion outside the hectic city.
BEIJING’S TEMPLE OF HEAVEN
The Temple of Heaven in Beijing is a complex of religious buildings used by the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies and prayers to heaven to ensure a good harvest. It was constructed in the early 1400s, at the same time the Forbidden City was built. The central building in the complex, a circular three-tiered structure, is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. It is built entirely of wood with no nails. The other important structure is a large circular altar called the Circular Mound Altar. It consists of a large three-tiered circular platform with a round stone in the center. The emperor would stand on this stone to offer prayers for good weather and a good harvest.
THE KARST MOUNTAINS OF GUILIN
The city of Guilin in south-central China lies on the banks of the Li River. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions in all of China and has been the subject of countless Chinese landscape paintings for thousands of years. People flock here to see the natural and strange beauty of the karst mountain formations. These steep, jagged limestone peaks loom over the city and the surrounding countryside. The area also has an abundance of caves and sinkholes. It is popular to take a boat down the Li River to view the karst hills and the peaceful countryside and small villages in the area. Most river cruises begin in Guilin and end in the backpackers’ haven of Yangshuo. Here you will find all kinds of small shops and Western cafés and bars.
Fisherman using cormorants to catch fish in the Li River.
SUZHOU, CHINA’S VENICE
Suzhou is a major city located in Jiangsu Province, between Taihu Lake and the Yangtze River, about 60 miles (100 km) west of Shanghai. This ancient city was originally founded in 514 BCE. It is often referred to as the ‘Venice of the East’ because 42 percent of the city is covered by water. The city is divided by China’s Grand Canal from north to south, an artificial canal built in the 6th century to link Hangzhou with Beijing. Many small canals criss-cross the city. But Suzhou is most widely known as a centerpiece of the Chinese Classical Garden. Originally, there were hundreds of gardens but now only 69 remain, some of them over a thousand years old. The gardens of Suzhou have been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The gardens contain a mixture of hills, ponds, bridges, terraces, corridors and pagodas. Marco Polo described Suzhou as one of the most beautiful cities in China. Suzhou is also known for its whitewashed houses that line the canals.
BEIJING’S SUMMER PALACE
Located 9 miles (15 km) northwest of central Beijing, the Summer Palace, another World Heritage Site, is a vast grouping of lakes, gardens and palaces that began as a royal garden for the emperor and his family during the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912). Royalty often took refuge here during the hot summer months. The largest and best preserved royal park in China, it is divided into four areas: Court Area, Front Hill Area, Rear Hill Area and Lake Area. The main attraction is Kunming Lake and the Front Hill Area where beautiful pagodas and towers are built on the side of a hill overlooking the lake.
The white marble Yudai (Jade Belt) Bridge in Beijing's Summer Palace.
Traveling by canal in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province.
THE BUDDHIST GROTTOES OF DUNHUANG
The Mogao Caves or Grottoes, also known as the ‘Caves of the Thousand Buddhas’, are located in northern Gansu Province in western China, along the ancient Silk Road route. The caves form the largest, best preserved and longest used depository of Buddhist art in the world. They were dug and stocked with Buddhist art and scriptures from 366 CE until the 14th century. Of the caves, 492 have been preserved along with 2,000 painted murals and sculptures. In 1900, a Taoist priest discovered a walled-off cave that contained a treasure trove of manuscripts, including 1,110 bundles of scrolls and 15,000 paper books dating from the 4th to the 11th centuries. These documents were written in a number of languages, including Chinese, Tibetan, Uyghur, Sanskrit, Sogdian and the obscure Khotanese, all languages important along the ancient Silk Route that connected China with Central Asia.
The Big Wild Goose Pagoda in the Ci’en Buddhist Temple complex in Xi’an.
BIG WILD GOOSE PAGODA
The Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the most famous landmark in Xi’an City in Shaanxi Province, was built in 652 during the Tang Dynasty. It sits within the Ci’en Buddhist Temple complex, which consists of numerous buildings and courtyards. One of the largest Buddhist temples in the area, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda was originally built to house Buddhist relics taken from India by the early Chinese Buddhist pioneer Xuan Zang, who became the first abbot of the temple. His travels to India inspired one of China’s most famous novels, Journey to the West. The pagoda has seven stories (originally five) and stands 211 feet (64 m) high. Visitors can climb the narrow stairway to the top.
A pathway on sacred Mount Emei in western Sichuan Province.
MOUNT EMEI
Mount Emei is one of China’s four sacred Buddhist mountains and is regarded as a place of enlightenment. It has been an important Buddhist site for hundreds of years. It rises to 10,167 feet (3,099 m) in western Sichuan Province. There are footpaths up the mountain and numerous teahouses and guesthouses along the way. Many of the Buddhist monasteries also have basic lodging. There are also cable cars to the top. Over a hundred Buddhist temples and monasteries dot the mountain. It is very popular to be on the summit for the spectacular sunrise and to view the sea of misty clouds below. It is about a two-hour train ride from Chengdu. Though you can reach the summit in a day, you really need three days to fully explore the mountain. Popular sites to visit are the Golden Summit, Baoguo Temple, Wan-nian Monastery and Jiu Lao Cave.
THE YANGTZE RIVER AND THE THREE GORGES
The Yangtze is the world’s third longest river and the longest in China. The Three Gorges, along the middle reaches of the Yangtze, are one of China’s top scenic destinations. The