Destination: China
LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION
Itinerary: World Heritage Sites
China has 30 Unesco World Heritage Sites, Beijing alone has the Forbidden City at the heart of the capital, the Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven, and outside town, the Great Wall, the Ming Tombs and Eastern Qing Tombs.
En route to the Manchu Imperial Palace in Shenyang, stop off in Chengde to admire the Imperial Summer Villa and the Eight Outer Temples. The quaint walled town of Pingyao in Shanxi is a charming snapshot of old China. Also in Shanxi, the Yungang Caves have - like the Mogao Caves, Longmen Caves and the Dazu County grotto art - the most important array of Buddhist carvings in China. In Shandong, the Taoist mountain of Tai Shan and the hometown of Confucius, Quf, are places of national veneration. China's most picturesque peak is surely Huang Shan, but there are other mountains, including sacred Emei Shan and Qingchen Shan, and the European moods and charms of Lushan. The classic gardens of Suzhou are a picturesque tableau but if you want raw, rugged and scenic getaways, explore Jiuzhaigou, Wulingyuan, Huanglong or Wuyi Shan, although expect tourist hordes to accompany you. While Lijiang in Yunnan is gorgeous, the whole of Tibet to the northwest deserves to be a World Heritage Site; for now only the Potala Palace in Lhasa gets on the list.
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