China Guide: Cities, Mountains, Heritage and Culture

A guide to China for travellers who want to understand what they are looking at: every province, every city, and the mountains, rivers, monuments and traditions worth planning a trip around. Each entry tells you what it is, what to see, what to eat, when to go and how to get there.

Themes 87

Provinces 34

All 34 province-level divisions: 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities and 2 special administrative regions, plus Taiwan, China.

北京市běi jīng · BeijingThe capital — imperial palaces, museums and the Great Wall 天津市tiān jīn · TianjinThe port for Beijing, with concession-era streets and serious breakfast culture 河北省hé běi · HebeiMountain passes, imperial summer palaces and the Great Wall's best stretches 山西省shān xī · ShanxiChina's timber temples and merchant mansions 内蒙古自治区nèi měng gǔ · Inner MongoliaGrassland, desert and Mongolian culture 辽宁省liáo níng · LiaoningManchu palaces, a coastline and the northeast's industrial spine 吉林省jí lín · JilinRime ice, Changbai Mountain and Korean-Chinese country 黑龙江省hēi lóng jiāng · HeilongjiangChina's far northeast — ice cities, forests and the Amur 上海市shàng hǎi · ShanghaiThe most cosmopolitan city, and the best introduction to modern China 江苏省jiāng sū · JiangsuClassical gardens, canal towns and the old southern capitals 浙江省zhè jiāng · ZhejiangWest Lake, tea hills and the canal's southern end 安徽省ān huī · AnhuiYellow Mountain, Huizhou villages and the tools of Chinese literacy 福建省fú jiàn · FujianHakka roundhouses, tea cliffs and the medieval maritime Silk Road 江西省jiāng xī · JiangxiPorcelain, a mountain of poets and China's most literary pavilion 山东省shān dōng · ShandongConfucius, a sacred mountain and the best beer in China 河南省hé nán · HenanThe cradle of Chinese civilisation — three ancient capitals and the earliest writing 湖北省hú běi · HubeiThe Yangtze's middle reach — the Three Gorges and a great bronze age 湖南省hú nán · HunanChilli, a 2,000-year-old tomb and the sandstone pillars of Zhangjiajie 广东省guǎng dōng · GuangdongCantonese food, two of China's biggest cities and a long tropical coast 广西壮族自治区guǎng xī · GuangxiThe karst landscape of Guilin and China's largest minority group 海南省hǎi nán · HainanChina's tropical island — beaches, rainforest and coconut country 重庆市chóng qìng · ChongqingA mountain city of two rivers, hotpot and a wartime capital 四川省sì chuān · SichuanPandas, hotpot, teahouses and the gateway to the Tibetan plateau 贵州省guì zhōu · GuizhouMinority villages, karst waterfalls and the coolest summer in the south 云南省yún nán · YunnanRice terraces, snow mountains and the greatest ethnic diversity in China 西藏自治区xī zàng · TibetThe Potala Palace, high plateau and the roof of the world 陕西省shǎn xī · ShaanxiThe terracotta army, a complete Ming wall and the start of the Silk Road 甘肃省gān sù · GansuThe Hexi Corridor — Silk Road caves, desert and Tibetan grasslands 青海省qīng hǎi · QinghaiThe source of the great rivers, salt lakes and Tibetan monasteries 宁夏回族自治区níng xià · NingxiaWhere the desert is irrigated by the Yellow River — and Western Xia tombs 新疆维吾尔自治区xīn jiāng · XinjiangSilk Road oases, the Taklamakan and the highest mountains in the west 香港特别行政区xiāng gǎng · Hong Kong, ChinaA harbour city of Cantonese food, hiking and verticality 澳门特别行政区ào mén · Macao, ChinaFour centuries of Portuguese-Chinese layering, and a unique cuisine 台湾省tái wān · Taiwan, ChinaA province of mountains, night markets and one of the world's great museums

Cities 359

Every prefecture-level division in the country — cities, autonomous prefectures, leagues and prefectures — 337 on the mainland plus 22 in Hong Kong, China, Macao, China and Taiwan, China. County-level cities directly administered by a province are not listed separately; they appear under their prefecture.

China Guide: Cities, Mountains, Heritage and Culture

Themes 87

Mountains · 名山 20

Rivers and Lakes · 江河湖海 20

Heritage and Monuments · 古迹古建 29

Culture and Traditions · 文化传统 18

Provinces 34

Cities 359

北京市 běi jīng 1

天津市 tiān jīn 1

河北省 hé běi 11

山西省 shān xī 11

内蒙古自治区 nèi měng gǔ 12

辽宁省 liáo níng 14

吉林省 jí lín 9

黑龙江省 hēi lóng jiāng 13

上海市 shàng hǎi 1

江苏省 jiāng sū 13

浙江省 zhè jiāng 11

安徽省 ān huī 16

福建省 fú jiàn 9

江西省 jiāng xī 11

山东省 shān dōng 16

河南省 hé nán 17

湖北省 hú běi 13

湖南省 hú nán 14

广东省 guǎng dōng 21

广西壮族自治区 guǎng xī 14

海南省 hǎi nán 4

重庆市 chóng qìng 1

四川省 sì chuān 21

贵州省 guì zhōu 9

云南省 yún nán 16

西藏自治区 xī zàng 7

陕西省 shǎn xī 10

甘肃省 gān sù 14

青海省 qīng hǎi 8

宁夏回族自治区 níng xià 5

新疆维吾尔自治区 xīn jiāng 14

香港特别行政区 xiāng gǎng 1

澳门特别行政区 ào mén 1

台湾省 tái wān 20