Sights in China
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Chóngshàn Temple
Lovely and cool in summer, the double-eaved wooden hall in this Ming temple contains three magnificent statues: Samantabhadra (the Bodhisattva of Truth), Guanyin (the Goddess of Mercy with 1000 arms) and Manjusri (the Bodhisattva of Wisdom with 1000 alms bowls). The hall at the rear is in the first stages of a rebuild. The entrance is down an alley off Dilianggong Jie behind the captivatingConfucian Temple, the main hall of which has been converted to a museum to the Shāndōng sage.
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Chóngxǐ Pagoda
Facing the river is this nine-storey Song-style pagoda. From the top there are terrific views of the river.
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City Mosque
There are several mosques in town. The most active of them, City Mosque , is on the western outskirts about 3km from the town centre.
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City Parks
Strolling around willow-filled parks can be a pleasant escape from Jǐ'nán's foot-numbing distances. The most central include the sprawling Bàotū Spring Park, Black Tiger Spring and Five Dragon Pool Park. The Five Dragon Pool Park offers a lovely study in local life: residents practise calligraphy on stone steps with water, others sing Chinese folk songs and there are more than a few taichi enthusiasts.
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City Tower
Tallest building in the old town. Climb its smooth stone steps for fine views over Píngyáo's magnificent rooftops and inspect its ragged and forlorn shrine to a severe-looking Guandi.
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City Wall
One or two isolated sections of Xīníng's old city wall still remain, the most accessible being a short stretch on Kunlun Zhonglu.
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City Wall
About 1km north of Folded Brocade Hill is the East Gate (东镇门; Dōngzhèn Mén), a part-reconstructed gateway flanked by crumbling sections of the original Song-dynasty city wall (城墙; chéng qiáng). Take bus 1, 2 or free bus 51 and get off at Dōngzhèn Lù, then turn right down the road of the same name. Alternatively it's a short walk or cycle north along the riverbank, just east of the entrance to Folded Brocade Hill. The gate lies on the northeast edge of Mùlóng Lake Park, which houses a pretty reconstruction of a Song-dynasty pagoda (木龙塔; Mùlóng Tǎ) and is a picturesque setting for Chinese classical music performances, held at 8pm every evening.
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City Wall
Wander along Fènghuáng's restored salmon-pink city wall with its defensive aspect along the southern bank of the Tuó River. Halfway along its length, the North Gate Tower (北门城楼; Běimén Chénglóu) is in a tragic state of neglect, downtrodden and scratched with names, but it remains a magnificent structure. While perusing this area, look up at the distinctive roof ridges on buildings above – many adorned with carvings of creatures and fish – which are far better preserved than much at ground level.
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City Wall
The ramparts of Cháozhōu's old city wall古城;gǔ chéngoffer great views of the city, running along the river for almost 2.5km and interrupted by four ornate fortifications, including Guǎngjì Gate Tower, which displays the history of the construction of Guǎngjǐ Bridge.
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City Walls
Part of Zhèngdìng's main street (Yanzhao Dajie) has been restored and is now a pleasant stretch of traditional Chinese roofing, brickwork and willows called the Zhèngdìng Historical Culture Street (正定历史文化街; Zhèngdìng Lìshǐ Wénhuà Jiē). At the southern end of the street is Chánglè Gate, also known as Nánchéngmén or South Gate. The original wall (which dates back to the Northern Zhou) was made up of an outer wall (yuèchéng) and an inner wall (nèichéng), with enceintes (wèngchéng), and had a total length of 24km. You can climb onto Chánglè Gate, where there is a small exhibition. Extending away from the gate to the east and west are the…
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City Walls
Jīmíngyì's walls still stand, although sections have collapsed. Ascend the East Gate for fine views of the town, surrounding fields and Jiming Mountain (鸡鸣山; Jīmíng Shān) to the north. Across town is the West Gate; the Temple of the Town Gods (城隍庙; Chénghuáng Miào), overgrown with weeds and in ruins, stands nearby. There are a few intriguing Qing caricatures of Yuan-dynasty crime fighters remaining on the chipped walls. The largest and oldest temple in the area is the Temple of Eternal Tranquillity (永宁寺; Yǒngníng Sì), located 12km away on Jīmíng Mountain.
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City Walls
A good place to start is the magnificent city walls, which date from 1370. At 10m high and more than 6km in circumference, they are punctuated by 72 watchtowers, each containing a paragraph from Sunzi's The Art of War. Part of the southern wall, which collapsed in 2004, has been rebuilt, but the rest is original. Píngyáo's city gates (城门; chéngmén) are fascinating and are some of the best preserved in China; the Lower West Gate (also called Fèngyì Mén, or Phoenix Appearing Gate) has a section of the original road, deeply grooved with the troughs left by cartwheels (also visible at the South Gate).
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City Walls
The oldest part of Zhàoqìng is surrounded by its old city walls (古城; gǔ chéng), complete with fortifications. River View Tower to the southeast houses the Zhàoqìng Museum, with exhibits of ink stones and boring illustrations of Zhàoqìng's revolutionary history. To its northwest is the Cloud-Draped Tower.
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Climbing Wǔdāng Shān
The mountain attracts a diverse array of climbers: Taoist nuns with knapsacks, workers shouldering paving slabs and sacks of rice, businessmen with laptops and bright-eyed octogenarians hopping along. Take bus 2 (Y2) or pedicab (Y2) from Taihe Lu to the main gate (山门口; Shān Ménkǒu) and ticket office. The bus ticket you must buy with your admission gives you unlimited use of shuttle buses (from 6am to 6.30pm). Note that everything added together (including buses and temple tickets) will cost you Y245; presumably this funded the construction of the expensive-looking ticket hall. The ticket-checking guards in black quasi-military outfits and red berets are curious in such a…
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Cǎohǎi Lake
Cǎohǎi Lake has a fragile history, having been drained during both the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution in hopes of producing farmland. It didn't work and the lake was refilled in 1980. Government tinkering with water levels in ensuing years impacted the local environment and villagers' livelihoods; officials have since enlisted locals to help with the lake's protection in an effort to remedy both problems. The 20-sq-km freshwater wetland has been a national nature reserve since 1992, but many environmental problems remain.
Black-necked cranes are the main attraction, but among the other 180 or so protected bird species are black and white storks, golden…
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Coloane
A haven for pirates until the start of the 20th century, Coloane considerably larger than Taipa, is the only part of Macau that doesn't seem to be changing at a head-spinning rate, which is a relief.
All buses stop at the roundabout in Coloane Village on the western shore, which overlooks mainland China across the water. The main attraction in the village is the Chapel of St Francis Xavier, built in 1928 and which contains a relic of the saint's arm bone. The village has some interesting temples, including the Tam Kong Temple, where you'll find a dragon boat made of whale bone. To the north of the village on Estrada da Lai Chi Vun are photogenic old junk-building sheds…
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Colonial Macau Historic
From Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro, follow Calçada do Tronco Velho to the Church of St Augustine, dating from 1814. Facing the church is China's first Western theatre, the Dom Pedro V Theatre. This 19th-century pastel-green building is not open to the public. Next you will see the Church of St Lawrence with its magnificent painted ceiling. Walk down Travessa do Padre Narciso to the pink Government House, originally built for a Portuguese noble in 1849 and, for now, headquarters of the Macau SAR (Special Administrative Region) government. The oldest section of Macau is a short distance southwest of here, via the waterfront promenade Avenida da República. Along this stretch…
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Communist History Sites
Zūnyì's CCP sights have had some serious facelifts – as has the neighbourhood surrounding them, with much being knocked down to 'recreate' what it looked like in the 1930s .
There are a dozen or so spots to see, but only a few are truly worthwhile. Admission is free to all of them, but you'll need to show your passport to get a ticket from the office by the Zūnyì Conference Site.
The Zūnyì Conference Siteis hands down the most-visited attraction and by far the most comprehensive. Set in a colonial-style house, there are rooms filled with CCP memorabilia, lots of photo exhibits (check out the floppy hair Mao was modelling back in the early 1930s), details about the…
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Confucian Temple
Píngyáo's oldest surviving building is Dàchéng Hall (大成殿; Dàchéng Diàn), dating from 1163 and found in the Confucian Temple (文庙; Wén Miào), a huge complex where bureaucrats-to-be came to take the imperial exams.
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Confucian Temple
This 18th- century walled temple, the twin roofs of its Dàchéng Hall rising up almost clawlike, is now a middle school.
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Confucius & Chénghuáng Temples
In the heart of the old town, the tranquil Confucius Temple is the pick of the sights in Hánchéng itself. The dilapidated Yuan, Ming and Qing buildings could do with a fresh coat of paint, but there's a half-moon pool, towering cypress trees and glazed dragon screens. The city museum holds peripheral exhibits in the wings.
At the back of the Confucius Temple is the Chénghuáng Temple, in a lane lined with Ming-dynasty courtyard houses. There has been a temple here since the Zhou dynasty, but the whole site has undergone extensive renovation in recent years. The main attraction is the Sacrificing Hall, with its intricate roof detail, where gifts were offered to the gods…
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Confucius Temple
Meandering along the baked-mud-wall warren of Jīmíngyì's courtyard houses takes you past scattered temples, including this simple Ming-dynasty temple which, like many Confucius temples, also doubled as a school.
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Confucius Temple
Massively restored; take bus 60 from 7 February Sq.
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Cow Street Mosque
Dating back to the 10th century, this Chinese-styled mosque is Běijīng's largest and was the burial site for several Islamic clerics. Surrounded by residential high-rises, the temple is pleasantly decorated with plants and flourishes of Arabic. Look out for the main prayer hall (only Muslims can enter), women's quarters and the Building for Observing the Moon (望月楼; Wàngyuèlóu), from where the lunar calendar was calculated. Dress appropriately (no shorts or short skirts).
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Dai Minority Park
This was once the part of town that everyone came to this region to experience – especially for its classic temples and Dai families hosting visitors in their traditional homes. (It's now the aforementioned 'theme park'.) Tourists can spend the night in villagers' homes and partake in water-splashing 'festivals' twice a day. Despite the artificial nature of it all, some travellers have loved the experience.
For wonderful scenery along rivers and rice paddies, travellers recommend heading to the south of town, crossing the Mekong by ferry (Y2 with a bike), and then heading left (east). The last ferry returns at 7pm.
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