budget travel asia

China (中国 Zhōngguó)[1], officially known as the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国 Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó) is a vast country in Eastern Asia (about the same size as the United States of America) with the world's largest population.

With coasts on the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, in total it borders 14 nations. It borders Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam to the south; Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to the west; Russia and Mongolia to the north and North Korea to the east. Only Russia has more land borders in Asia.

Cities

China has many large and famous cities. Below is a list of the nine most important to travelers in mainland China. Other cities are listed under their specific regional section. See the Dynasties and capitals section further down the page for a list of China's many previous capitals.

* Beijing (北京) - capital city, cultural center, and host of the 2008 Olympics
* Guangzhou (广州) - one of most prosperous and liberal cities in the south of China near Hong Kong
* Guilin (桂林) - popular destination for both Chinese and foreign tourists, sensational mountain/river scenery
* Hangzhou (杭州) - famously beautiful city, major center for the silk industry
* Kunming (昆明) - capital of Yunnan, gateway to the villages of the ethnic minorities
* Nanjing (南京) - a renowned historical and cultural city with many historic relics
* Shanghai (上海) - famous for its riverside scenery, China's largest city is a major commercial center with many shopping opportunities
* Suzhou (苏州) - "Venice of the East," old city, famous for canals and gardens
* Xi'an (西安) - terminus of the ancient Silk Road, capital of China during the Western Han and Tang Dynasties, and home of the terracotta warriors

You can travel to many of these cities using the lovely new fast trains. In particular, the Hangzhou - Shanghai - Suzhou - Nanjing line is a convenient way to see some historic areas.
[edit] Other destinations
The skyline of Pudong, Shanghai
The skyline of Pudong, Shanghai

Some of the most famous tourist attractions in China are:

* Great Wall of China (万里长城)
* Tibet (西藏)
* Silk Road (丝绸之路)
* Hainan island, tropical paradise (海南)
* Yangtze River (Three Gorges) (三峡)

China has dozens of UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Sacred sites

For sacred mountains, see the next section.

Several sites in China have famous Buddhist art:

* Yungang Grottoes (near Datong) in Shanxi Province - more than 51,000 Buddhist carvings, dating back 1,500 years, in the recesses and caves of the Yangang Valley mountainsides
* Mogao Caves (near Dunhuang) in Gansu province - art and manuscripts dating back to the 4th century
* Dazu Rock Carvings near Chongqing, dating from the 7-13th century
* Longmen Grottoes - near Luoyang, 5-10th century

Mountains

China (including Tibet) is home to many sacred mountains.

The Five Great Mountains (五岳 wǔyuè), associated with Taoism:

* Mount Tai (泰山), Shandong Province (1,545 meters)
* Mount Hua (华山), Shaanxi Province (1,997 meters)
* Mount Heng (Hunan) (衡山), Hunan Province (1,290 meters)
* Mount Heng (Shanxi) (恒山), Shanxi Province (2,017 meters)
* Mount Song (嵩山）, Henan Province, where the famous Shaolin Temple (少林寺) is located (1,494 meters)

The Four Sacred Mountains (四大佛教名山 sìdà fójiào míngshān), associated with Buddhism:

* Mount Emei (峨嵋山), Sichuan Province (3,099 meters)
* Mount Jiuhua (九华山), Anhui Province (1,342 meters)
* Mount Putuo (普陀山), Zhejiang Province (297 meters, an island)
* Mount Wutai (五台山), Shanxi Province (3,058 meters)

The three main sacred mountains of Tibetan Buddhism:

* Mount Kailash, Tibet (5,656 meters), known as Gang Rinpoche in Tibetan, is also one of the holiest mountains in Hinduism and is visited by many Hindu pilgrims.
* Kawa Karpo
* Amnye Machen

There are also several other well-known mountains. In China, many mountains have temples, even if they are not especially sacred sites:

* Mount Qingcheng (青城山), Sichuan Province
* Mount Longhu (龙虎山), Jiangxi Province
* Mount Lao (崂山), Shandong Province
* Mount Wuyi (武夷山), Fujian Province, a major tourist/scenic site with many tea plantations
* Mount Everest, on the Tibet/Nepal border, world's highest mountain
* Mount Huang (黄山) (Yellow Mountain), in Anhui province, with scenery and temples
* Mount Wudang (武当山), near Danjiangkou in Hubei, famous for kung fu
* Changbaishan/Paektusan (Chinese:长白山 Korean:백두산), the most sacred mountain in the world to ethnic Manchus and Koreans, located on the border with North Korea.

Revolutionary Pilgrimage Sites

* Shaoshan (韶山) - Mao Zedong's hometown (Hunan)
* Jinggangshan (井冈山) - The first CCP rural base area after the 1927 crackdown by the KMT (Jiangxi)
* Ruijin (瑞金) - Seat of the China Soviet Republic from 1929 to 1934 (Jiangxi)
* Zunyi (遵义) - Site of the Zunyi Conference where Mao Zedong joined the Politburo Standing Committee (Guizhou)
* Luding (泸定) - Site of a famous forced crossing of a high mountain river (Sichuan)
* Yan'an (延安) - Primary base area for the Communist Party from 1935 to 1945 (Shaanxi)

Itineraries

Some itineraries cover trips that are entirely within China:

* Two weeks to a month in China
* A week near Hong Kong
* Along the Yangtze river
* Along the Yellow river
* Along the Grand Canal
* Overland Kunming to Hong Kong
* Yunnan tourist trail
* Overland to Tibet
* Long March

Others are partly in China:

* Europe to South Asia over land
* Overland from Singapore to Shanghai
* Silk Road - ancient caravan route from China to Europe
* Karakoram Highway - Western China to Pakistan through the Himalayas
* On the trail of Marco Polo