592 Best Sights in China

Just east of Ocean Park is this lovely beach that sees fewer crowds than Repulse Bay, though weekends can get a bit more crowded. It's a good place to have a barbecue or swim under the watchful eye of a lifeguard. Leafy trees provide ample shade, and there's a great view of the Ocean Park cable car. To get here, take Bus 6, 6A, or 260 from Exchange Square Bus Terminus in Central. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: sunset; swimming; walking.

In "Temple of Earth Park," 105 acres of 16th-century green space, are the square altar where emperors once made sacrifices to the earth god, and the Hall of Deities. This is a lovely place for a stroll, especially if you're already near the Drum Tower or Lama Temple.

This is one of the largest mosques in all of China and illustrates the ethnic diversity of Xining. Built in the 14th century, its green and white dome and two tall minarets see some 40,000 to 50,000 people for Friday prayers. The streets around the mosque are a great place to wander and people-watch should you have some extra time.

This sizeable park is a slice of tranquility in an otherwise chaotic city. There are a number of well-maintained walking paths around the lake and throughout the park. If you're feeling intrepid, you can climb up to the top of 120-meter (390-foot) Mo Hill, where the air is cleaner and there's an expansive view of the lake. It's also possible to hire a taxi or golf cart to drive you to the lookout point (expect to pay around Y150 per hour). The park's East Lake is more than five times larger than Hangzhou's famous West Lake, and it's possible to hire small boats here (Y100-200 for a 45 minute ride depending on size). The park is a popular spot for families who come to stroll around the lotus ponds and, in spring, take photos under the cherry blossom trees.

Crunchy deep-fried scorpions and other critters are sold at the Donghuamen Night Market, at the northern end of Wangfujing's wide walking boulevard. We'll admit: this is more of a place to look at and perhaps photograph food rather than devour it. In addition to standard street foods, hawkers here also serve up deep-fried starfish, plus a variety of insects and other hard-to-identify food items. Most street-market food is usually safe to eat as long as it's hot. The row of stalls makes for an intriguing walk with great photo ops.

With instructions clearly spelled out in English, Double Rainbow Massage House provides an inexpensive introduction to traditional Chinese massage. Choose a masseur; state your preference for soft, medium, or hard pressure; then keep your clothes on for a 45- to 90-minute massage. There's no ambience, just a clean room with nine massage tables.

The life of Sun Yat-Sen, the revolutionary who helped overthrow the Qing dynasty in 1911 and usher in China’s first Republic, is examined in detail at this museum in the Mid-Levels. The building itself is a handsome colonial-era mansion that belonged to the brother of a prominent Eurasian businessman. Dr Sun spent significant time in Hong Kong, and you can follow in his footsteps by walking the Dr Sun Yat Sen Historical Trail, a self-guided tour available for free by downloading a smartphone app called iM Guide. The walk starts at Hong Kong University in Western and finishes in Central, stopping at 16 waypoints connected to Dr Sun.

The Dragon Boat Festival pits long, dragon-head boats against one another in races to the shore; the biggest event is held at Victoria Harbour. The festival commemorates the hero Qu Yuan, a poet and scholar who drowned himself in the 3rd century BC to protest government corruption. These days it's one big beach party. It's usually held in June.

This park is named for an ancient well whose water is considered ideal for brewing the famous local longjing (Dragon Well) tea. Distinguishing between varieties and grades of tea can be confusing for novices, especially under high pressure from the eager hawkers. It's worth a preliminary trip to the nearby tea museum to bone up on what's what. The highest quality varieties are very expensive, but once you take a sip you will taste the difference. Prices are intentionally high, so be sure to bargain.

This local spa chain has claimed the middle ground between expensive hotel spas and workmanlike blind-man massage parlors. Don the suede-soft treatment robes for traditional Chinese massage, or take them off for an aromatic oil massage. Dragonfly also has waxing and nail services.

According to legend, a traveling monk decided this setting would be perfect for a temple, but was disappointed to discover that there was no source of water. That night he dreamed that two tigers had ripped up the earth around him. When he awoke he was lying next to a spring. On the grounds is an intriguing "dripping wall" cut out of the mountain. Locals line up with jugs to collect the water that pours from its surface, believing that the water has special qualities—and it does. Ask someone in the temple's souvenir shop to float a coin on the surface of the water to prove it.

The largest of the Gelugpa monasteries was the residence for lesser lamas. Founded in 1416, it was enlarged in the 16th century by the Second Dalai Lama. By the era of the Fifth Dalai Lama it had become the largest monastic institution in the world, with 10,000 residents. During the Cultural Revolution it suffered only minimally, because the Army used the building as its headquarters and therefore didn't ransack it as much as other temples. The monastery was reopened in 1980, although the number of resident monks has been severely depleted.

The monastery's most important building is the Tshomchen, whose vast assembly hall, the Dukhang, is noteworthy for its 183 columns, atrium ceiling, and ceremonial banners. Chapels can be found on all three floors, as well as on the roof. In the two-story Buddhas of Three Ages Chapel (Düsum Sangye Lhakhang), at the rear of the Dukhang on the ground floor, the Buddhas of past, present, and future are each guarded by two bodhisattvas.

First built in 1382, the Drum Tower (Gulou in Chinese) gives the central city district its name. In ancient times, drums housed inside were used to signal important events, from the changing of the night's watch to an enemy attack or the even greater threat of fire. Today just one drum remains.

Until the late 1920s, the 24 drums once housed in this tower were Beijing's timepiece. Sadly, all but one of these huge drums have been destroyed. Kublai Khan built the first drum tower on this site in 1272. You can climb to the top of the present tower, which dates from the Ming Dynasty. Old photos of hutong neighborhoods line the walls beyond the drum; there's also a scale model of a traditional courtyard house. The nearby Bell Tower, renovated after a fire in 1747, offers fabulous views of the hutongs from the top of a long, narrow staircase. The huge 63-ton bronze bell, supported by lacquered wood stanchions, is also worth seeing. In recent years, the authorities have demolished a number of historical hutong in this area, so don't be surprised if you come across serious signs of reconstruction around here.

This tower in Jinquanhu Park is the Dong people's gathering place for celebrations.

Originally built in 1384, this 111-foot-high Ming Dynasty building—which used to hold the alarm drums for the imperial city—marks the southern end of Xi'an's Muslim Quarter. Various ancient drums are on display inside the building, and concerts are given daily at 9:10, 10:30, 11:30, 2:30, 3:30, and 4:30. After passing through the tower's massive base, turn left down a small side street called Huajue Xiang to find everything from shadow puppets to Mao memorabilia—truly a souvenir heaven. After clearing that gauntlet, you'll find yourself deep inside the Muslim Quarter at the entrance to the Great Mosque.

This large yellow pavilion, complete with a medieval clock tower, was built in AD 821. Climb to the top for a bird's-eye view of the city. The tower marks the entrance to Gulou Pedestrian Street, lined with restored Ming Dynasty–style buildings. Here you'll find tiny shops, makeshift stalls, every kind of local snack imaginable, as well as, of course, McDonald's. It's an ideal spot for people-watching.

This museum is named for the famous poet Du Fu (AD 712–770) of the Tang Dynasty, whose poetry continues to be read today. A Manchurian, he came to Chengdu from Xi'an and built a small hut overlooking the bamboo and plum tree–lined Huanhua River. During the four years he spent here he wrote more than 240 poems. After his death the area became a garden; a temple was then added during the Northern Song Dynasty (960–1126). A replica of his cottage now stands among several other structures, all built during the Qing Dynasty. Some of Du Fu's calligraphy and poems are on display here.

The museum, which got shiny new digs in late 2013, displays objects recovered from nearby Silk Road fortifications such as reclining Buddhas, sumptuous wall paintings, and sculptures. If you've visited the Jade Gate or Yangguan Pass, you may enjoy seeing the treasures that were once hidden within their walls.

Although this road has been heavily restored, its architecture and general ambience takes you back in time to the 1930s, when the 1-km (½-mile) lane was a favorite haunt of writer Lu Xun and fellow social activists. Bronze statues of those literary luminaries dot the lawns between the villas and row houses whose ground floors are now home to cafés, antiques shops, and art galleries. As the street takes a 90-degree turn, its architecture shifts 180 degrees with the seven-story stark gray Shanghai Duolun Museum of Modern Art.

The narrow East Lake runs along the base of a rocky bluff rising up from the rice paddies. The crazily shaped cliffs were used as a rock quarry over the centuries, and today their sheer gray faces jut out in sheets of rock. You can hire a local boatman to take you along the base of the cliffs in a traditional black awning boat for around Y50.

Named after the Great Wall's eight strategic passes, this scenic area lies in-between Taiping and the Huiquan Cape. Sometimes referred to as "Little Switzerland," the grounds of more than 200 European-style villas are landscaped with pine, ginkgo, and peach trees. The serene No. 2 bathing beach and Granite Mansion are also here.

On the banks of the river in the southern part of the city, Elephant Trunk Hill takes its name from a rock formation arching into the water like the trunk of an elephant. Nearby is a grotto covered in poetic inscriptions inspired by the beauty of the place, some by the greatest poets of the Song Dynasty.

The 10,000-foot-high Emeishan (literally translated as Lofty Eyebrow Mountain) in southern Sichuan is one of China's holiest Buddhist pilgrimage sites. The temples here survived the Cultural Revolution better than most others in China, due in part to courageous monks. Still, of the hundreds of temples that once were found here, only 20 remain. Today it is one of the better-known tourist attractions in the country.

A bamboo walking stick is very useful when ascending the mountain. It's also a good way to scare off the fearless gangs of Tibetan macaques that inhabit the area.

Emin Minaret is Turpan's most recognizable image, often featured in tourist brochures. Built in 1777, it commemorates a military commander who suppressed a rebellion by a group of aristocrats. The 141-foot conical tower is elegantly spare, with bricks arranged in 15 patterns. A spiral staircase leads to the top of the minaret, but has been closed to tourists for safety reasons since the 1990s. This complex lies 4 km (2½ miles) from the city center at the southeast end of town. To get here, head east on Laocheng Xi Lu and follow the signs to turn right outside of town.

Almost any street off Fuxing Lu will bring you to the shore of Erhai Lake. from which you can marvel at the looming Cangshan peaks. You may catch a glimpse of fishermen with teams of cormorants tied to their boats. In good weather, ferries are a wonderful way to see the lake and the surrounding mountains. The ferries cost between Y30 and Y70 (depending on your ability to bargain). More interesting—and cheaper—is hiring fishermen to paddle you wherever you want to go. Boats depart from the village of Zhoucheng.

Parallel to Tung Choi Street Ladies' Market, this street is sneaker central, lined with shoe shops selling some brands you know and lots more you don't. If you're not sporty, the stretch between Mongkok Road and Nullah Road offers cheap versions of the latest clothing fashion trends.

The stunning works of Buddhist mural art at Fahai Temple, 20 km (12 miles) west of the central city, are among the most underappreciated sights in Beijing. Li Tong, a favored eunuch in the court of Emperor Zhengtong (1436–49), donated funds to construct Fahai Temple in 1443. The project was highly ambitious: Li Tong invited only celebrated imperial and court painters to decorate the temple. As a result, the murals in the only surviving chamber of that period, Daxiongbaodian (the Mahavira Hall), are considered the finest examples of Buddhist mural art from the Ming Dynasty. Sadly, statues of various Buddhas and one of Li Tong himself were destroyed during China's Cultural Revolution.

The most famous of the nine murals in Mahavira Hall is a large-scale triptych featuring Guanyin (the Bodhisattva of Compassion) and Wenshu (the Bodhisattva of Marvelous Virtue and Gentle Majesty) in the center, and Poxian (the Buddha of Universal Virtue) on either side. The depiction of Guanyin follows the theme of "moon in water," which compares the Buddhist belief in the illusoriness of the material world to the reflection of the moon in the water. Typically painted with Guanyin are her legendary mount Jin Sun and her assistant Shancai Tongzi. Wenshu is often presented with a lion, symbolic of the bodhisattva's wisdom and strength of will, while Poxian is shown near a six-tusked elephant, each tusk representing one of the qualities that leads to enlightenment. On the opposite wall is the Sovereign Sakra and Brahma mural, with a panoply of characters from the Buddhist canon.

The murals were painted during the time of the European Renaissance, and though the subject matter is traditional, there are comparable experiments in perspective taking place in the depiction of the figures, as compared with examples from earlier dynasties. Also of note is a highly unusual decorative technique; many contours in the hall's murals, particularly on jewelry, armor, and weapons, have been set in bold relief by the application of fine gold threads.

The temple grounds are also beautiful, but of overriding interest are the murals themselves. Visitors stumble through the dark temple with rented flashlights (free with your ticket). Viewing the murals in this way, it's easy to imagine oneself as a sort of modern-day Indiana Jones unraveling a story of the Buddha as depicted in ancient murals of unrivaled beauty. Fahai Temple is only a short taxi ride from Beijing's Pingguoyuan subway station.

Originally built in the 3rd century AD, the temple was the site of an amazing find during renovations in 1981. A sacred crypt housing four of Sakyamuni Buddha's finger bones was discovered to hold more than 25,000 coins and 1,000 sacrificial objects of jade, gold, and silver. Many of these objects are now on display in the on-site museum. The temple is in Famen, 125 km (80 miles) west of Xi'an.