Lhasa
The main assembly hall (Tsogchen) is the largest of Sera’s buildings and dates to 1710. The central hall is particularly impressive and is noted for its…
Must-see attractions in China
Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall
The Bund & People's Square
Set over five levels, this modern museum covers Shanghai's urban planning history, tracing its development from swampy fishing village to modern-day…
Beijing
Originally built in 1271 under the reign of Kublai Khan, the serene Miaoying Temple slumbers beneath its astonishing high dagoba, the tallest in China. A…
Sichuan
Unaffected by the earthquakes that have so impacted nearby Jiuzhhaigou National Park, the lesser known but almost equally gorgeous Huanglong National Park…
Shanxi
At the base of Spirit Vulture Peak (灵鹫峰, Língjiù Fēng), Tayuan Temple is the most prominent landmark in Wutai Shan and virtually all pilgrims pass through…
Hangzhou
The lush, green scenery around this tea village up in the hills southwest of West Lake makes for a wonderful break from the bustle of Hangzhou. Visitors…
Guangxi
Located 15km northwest from Leye is this geopark famous for its sinkholes set amid an environment of karst landforms, caves and underground rivers. From…
Sichuan
Relive your childhood palaeontology fantasies at this spectacular dinosaur museum. It was the first museum of its kind in China and is arguably one of the…
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The waters of sacred Nam-tso, the second-largest salt lake in China, are an almost transcendent turquoise blue and shimmer in the rarefied air of 4730m…
Sichuan
Considered by many the most beautiful of the three valleys in the Four Sisters Mountain area, Haizi Valley's eponymous lakes and majestic views of the…
Jiangxi
This tree-lined street, and the pathways that branch off it, form a kind of porcelain-production arts district, which is a centre for contemporary…
Henan
This superb but little-visited museum has three main exhibits: 20 reconstructed tombs (spanning five main dynasties, or over 1000 years), re-created using…
Beijing
A highlight of a visit to the Ming Tombs is to walk the Shen Dao, or Spirit Way, a funerary avenue that plots a sombre course to Cháng Líng, the earliest…
Zhejiang
Oddly overlooked by most visitors, this 400m stretch of 100 (or so) wooden row houses, flanking a narrow canal, is Nanxun's most charming spot. The…
Shenyang
This impressive palace complex resembles a small-scale Forbidden City. Constructed between 1625 and 1636 by Manchu emperor Nurhachi (1559–1626) and his…
Anhui
When its granite peaks and twisted pines are wreathed in spectral folds of mist, the idyllic views of Huangshan (黄山; Huángshān) easily nudge it into the…
Shanghai Museum of Public Security
French Concession
This offbeat and macabre museum over three floors details how the Chinese authorities keep control. Display cases depict the illicit activities local cops…
Yulongsi Valley & Mt Gongga Shan
Set at an altitude of 3941m and cut off from the outside world by winter snows for months on end, the Gongga Monastery (also known as the Minya Konka…
Eastern Tibet
Eastern Tibet is blessed with many beautiful lakes but this is arguably the best of the lot. Draksum-tso, and particularly its monastery island, is a…
Beijing
Remodelled in 2019, UCCA remains the finest contemporary-art gallery in 798, and a contender for the best in the country. Many global art superstars have…
Datong
Housed in a contemporary building inspired by a dragon totem, this wonderful museum is chock-full of relics – religious, funereal, military, imperial and…
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A 4km drive north of the turn-off to Taklung brings you to Sili Götsang, an amazing eagle’s-nest hermitage perched high above the main road, home to 10…
Sichuan
Surrounded by the mud-brick buildings belonging to the smaller of Ganzi's two Tibetan quarters, this 13th-century temple's two dimly lit halls (one…
Hong Kong
This arts and lifestyle hub occupies the multistorey modernist building complex of the old married police quarters (c 1951). Dozens of small galleries and…
Datong
Yong‘an Temple at the foothills of Heng Shan (恆山) only unlocks its halls when there are visitors and for a good reason – this poised and serene 13th…
The Bund & People's Square
Housed in the magnificent former Royal Asiatic Society building (1932) – once Shanghai's first museum – this world-class gallery behind the Bund focuses…
Wan Chai & Northeast Hong Kong Island
Hop on a tram bound for North Point, and past Fortress Hill you’ll turn into a narrow street teeming with market stalls and old tenement buildings. This…
Pingyao
A good place to start your Pingyao experience is the magnificent city walls; they date from 1370 and are among the most complete in the nation. At 10m…
French Concession
Design junkies and history buffs will love this vast collection of original posters from 1950s, ’60s and ’70s China, stored in the basement of a…
Jiangxi
The jewel in the crown of Jiangxi's wéi lóng wū, this fascinating, 350-year-old, four-storey structure is the tallest of a number of crumbling old…
Chengdu
This Tang dynasty monastery is dedicated to Wenshu (Manjushri), the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, and is Chengdu’s largest and best-preserved Buddhist temple…
Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence
Wan Chai & Northeast Hong Kong Island
Housed in a coastal fort (c 1887) that guarded the eastern sea entrance into Hong Kong harbour (via the narrow Lei Yue Mun Channel), this excellent museum…
Macau
St Joseph’s, which falls outside the tourist circuit, is Macau’s most beautiful model of tropicalised baroque architecture. Consecrated in 1758 as part of…
Hunan
The old town can be visited in half a day, and undulates in a delightful, higgledy-piggledy, often steep, maze of narrow stone-flagged alleys and lanes…
Aberdeen & South Hong Kong Island
Young Master Ales has moved to a new street-level location in Wong Chuk Hang. Merchandise is sold in the front, while at the back, the brewing system,…
Hangzhou
The serene yet monastically active Chan (Zen) Jingci Temple was built in AD 954 and has been fully restored. The splendid first hall contains the massive,…
Qingdao
For a self-serving introduction to China’s iconic beer, head to the original and still-operating brewery. On view are old photos, preserved brewery…
Liaoning
Most visitors to Lushun head straight for the notorious prison that, from 1902 to 1945, housed more than 450,000 war prisoners captured by the Russians,…
Yuen Long
Hong Kong's first-ever heritage trail features historic buildings belonging to the Tangs, the first and the most powerful of the 'Five Clans'. Highlights…
Tibetan Culture & Medicine Museum
Xining
Exhibitions in the north hall focus on Tibetan medicine, astronomy and science. Many visitors come for the 618m-long thangka scroll in the south hall –…
