China general Introduction to Must-Sees

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China has a large number of wonderful tour destinations including delicate water towns, imposing imperial palaces, splendid national cultural heritage and colorful folk custom. It will take years to visit all of these attractions, but it is fairly easily to tour the top attractions. Over years, TravelChinaGuide has handpicked many tour itineraries to cover these highlights throughout the country.

Beijing, Shanghai and Xian are the three major tourist cities. The well-know Great Wall, Forbidden City, Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven depict the long and colorful history of Beijing. The waning residential Beijing Hutongs have transformed into pedestrian streets with trendy shops and bars. Shanghai has become a worldwide metropolis in the last fifty years during last century. Fromthe Bund on the Huangpu River, you can see the city’s rapid development, demonstrated by the great changes on two banks. Xian should is the shining pearl on the Yellow River along which the ancient Chinese culture originated. The astonishing Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Emperor Qin Shihuang were excavated in this city and the famous Silk Road started here via brilliant Dunhuang to Europe thousands of years ago.

Winding through eleven provinces and cities, the Yangtze River is the longest river in China. A Yangtze River Cruise from Chongqing to Yichang will be an enjoyable holiday with endless green mountains. Comparatively, the picturesque Li River in Guilin is calmer, and the beautiful West Lake in Hangzhou is well cultivated. Various folk customs and landscapes also formed along these rivers. The cradle of the Yangtze River is on the mysterious Qinghai-Tibet Plateau where you could see the holy Potala Palace, snow-capped Mt. Everest and heavenly Namtso Lake. When the river reaches the lower Sichuan Basin, there are cute giant pandas and multicolored water of the Jiuzhaigou Valley. Mt. Huangshan situated at the down stream of the Yangtze River was included in the UNESCO’s World Cultural and Natural Heritage Site in 1990.