伊春市

Why this place

Yichun is in the middle of the Lesser Khingan forest and was for decades China's timber capital, until logging was banned and the city had to reinvent itself. It is now about forest parks, summer coolness and the massive granite formations of Tangwang River.

What to see

• Tangwang River Stone Forest — huge granite pillars in forest, one of China's best unknown landscapes
• Wuying National Forest Park, prime mixed forest of larch and birch
• The Khingan forest railway and the old logging towns

What to eat

• Forest food — mushrooms, ferns, pine nuts and wild berries
• Northeast stews and cold noodles

Best time

June–September; late September for autumn colour