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Bakha Gompa
On pretty Bakha Island, in the middle of the Parlung Tsangpo, sits Bakha Gompa, an 800-year-old Nyingma monastery which was once the seat of power in Powo (the traditional name of the once highly independent region bordering Kongpo). The monastery is home to 12 monks and is reputed
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Huāshān Cliff Murals
The enigmatic Huā Mountain Cliff Murals, 2000-year-old rock paintings of people and animals on sheer cliff faces, are the reason many people come to Guǎngxī. For several years now, conservation works have been carried out on the murals and portions of the cliff are covered by scaff
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Sīmǎtái
In Mìyún County (密云县, Mìyún Xiàn) near the far-flung town of Gǔběikǒu (古北口) near the Héběi border, the stirring remains at Sīmǎtái make for an exhilarating Great Wall experience. Built during the reign of Ming-dynasty emperor Hongwu, the 19km stretch is characterised by watchtowers
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Shǔnán Zhúhǎi National Park
Swaths of swaying bamboo, well-marked walking trails and a handful of charming lakes and waterfalls make south Sìchuān’s Bamboo Sea a worthwhile detour. There are more than 30 types of bamboo across this 120-sq-km national park and the scenery is gorgeous enough to have attracted m
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Phuntsoling Monastery
Phuntsoling Monastery, now home to 50 monks, was once the central monastery of the Jonangpa. This Kagyu sect is especially known for the examination of the nature of emptiness undertaken at the monastery by its greatest scholar, Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen (1292–1361). He was one of th
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Fragrant Hills Park
Easily within striking distance of the Summer Palace are Běijīng’s Western Hills (西山; Xī Shān), another former villa-resort of the emperors. The part of Xī Shān closest to Běijīng is known as Fragrant Hills Park. Beijingers flock here in autumn when the maple leaves saturate the hi
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Dōngyuè Temple
Dedicated to the Eastern Peak (Tài Shān) of China’s five Taoist mountains, the morbid Taoist shrine of Dōngyuè Temple is an unsettling, albeit fascinating, experience and one of the capitals most unique temples. An active place of worship tended by top-knotted Taoist monks, the tem
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Zhàoxīng
Perhaps the quintessential Dong village and packed with traditional wooden structures, several wind and rain bridges and five remarkable drum towers, Zhàoxīng is no longer the little-known paradise it once was. Its sheer uniqueness makes for a powerful draw, and the locals are cert
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Lhakhang Marpo
Also known as the Red Chapel, this large building was constructed around 1470. The beautiful murals were repainted around 1630, shortly before the fall of the Guge kingdom. The original chapel door, with its concentric frames and carvings of bodhisattvas, elephants and the syllable
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New Summer Palace
The New Summer Palace (Takten Migyü Podrang) in the centre of the park was built by the present Dalai Lama between 1954 and 1956 and is the most interesting of the Norbulingka palaces. You can only enter the walled complex from its east side. The first of the rooms is the Dalai Lam
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Abakh Hoja (Afaq Khoja) Mausoleum
On the northeastern outskirts of town is the Abakh Hoja Mausoleum, a 3-hectare complex built by the Khoja family who ruled the region in the 17th and 18th centuries. Widely considered the holiest Muslim site in Xīnjiāng, its a major pilgrimage destination and a beautiful piece of I
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Màijī Shān
The cliff sides are riddled with niches and statues carved principally during the Northern Wei and Zhou dynasties (AD 386–581), with later additions. Vertigo-inducing catwalks and steep spiral stairways cling to the cliff face, affording close-ups of the art. Within the hard-to-mis
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Hong Kong Disneyland
Ever since it claimed Hong Kong in 2005, Disneyland has served as a rite of passage for the flocks of Asian tourists who come daily to steal a glimpse of one of America’s most famous cultural exports. It’s divided into seven areas – Main Street USA, Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Adven
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Lóngmén Caves
The ravaged grottoes at Lóngmén constitute one of China’s handful of surviving masterpieces of Buddhist rock carving. A Sutra in stone, the epic achievement of the Lóngmén Caves was commenced by chisellers from the Northern Wei dynasty, after the capital relocated here from Dàtóng
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Bǐnglíng Sì
With its relative inaccessibility, Bǐnglíng Sì is one of the few Buddhist grottoes in China to have survived the tumultuous 20th century unscathed. Which is a good thing, as during a period spanning 1600 years, sculptors dangling from ropes carved 183 niches and sculptures into the
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Tiān’ānmén Square
Flanked by stern 1950s Soviet-style buildings and ringed by white perimeter fences, the world’s largest public square (440,000 sq metres) is an immense flatland of paving stones at the heart of Běijīng. If you get up early, you can watch the flagraising ceremony at sunrise, perform
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Lama Temple
This exceptional temple is a glittering attraction in Běijīng’s Buddhist firmament. If you only have time for one temple (the Temple of Heaven isn’t really a temple) make it this one, where riveting roofs, fabulous frescoes, magnificent decorative arches, tapestries, eye-popping ca
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Hóngcūn
Dating to the southern Song dynasty, the delightful village and Unesco World Heritage Site of Hóngcūn, 11km northeast of Yīxiàn, has crescent-shaped Moon Pond (月沼, Yuè Zhǎo) at its heart and is encapsulated by South Lake (南湖, Nán Hú), West Stream (西溪, Xī Xī) and Léigǎng Mountain (雷
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Riwoche Tsuglhakhang
Riwoche Tsuglhakhang was founded in 1276 by Sangye On, who relocated to Kham after the death of his master Sangye Yarjon (1203–72), the third leader of the Talung order. Riwoche started as an offshoot of Talung Monastery in Ü. Eventually it grew to eclipse its parent monastery and
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Wǔdāng Shān
Wǔdāng Shān attracts a diverse array of climbers, from Taoist nuns with knapsacks, porters shouldering paving slabs and sacks of rice, businessmen with laptops and bright-eyed octogenarians hopping along. It’s a grueling climb but the scenery is worth every step; plenty of Taoist t
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