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Tiger Mountain Great Wall
About 20km northeast of Dāndōng, this steep, restored stretch of the wall, known as Tiger Mountain Great Wall, was built during the Ming dynasty and runs parallel to the North Korean border. Unlike other sections of the wall, this one sees comparatively few tourists. The wall ends
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Xīnlù Hǎi
It is said King Gesars beloved concubine Zhumu was so taken by these stunning turquoise-blue waters that her heart fell in. This now holy glacial lake, 13km southwest of Mǎnígāngē is still awe inspiring. The water is frigid and the surface freezes solid from September through March
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Kōngtóng Shān
Kōngtóng Shān is one of the 12 principal peaks in the Taoist universe. It was first mentioned by the philosopher Zhuangzi (399–295 BC), and illustrious visitors have included none other than the Yellow Emperor. Numerous paths lead over the hilltop past dozens of picturesque (though
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Front Gate
Front Gate actually consists of two gates. The northernmost is the 40m-high Zhèngyáng Gate (正阳门城楼; Zhèngyáng Mén Chénglóu), which dates from the Ming dynasty and which was the largest of the nine gates of the Inner City Wall separating the inner, or Tartar (Manchu) city from the ou
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Jiǔménkǒu Great Wall
In a mountain valley 15km north of Shānhǎiguān stretches the only section of the Great Wall ever built over water. Normally the wall stopped at rivers, as they were considered natural defence barriers on their own. At Jiǔménkǒu Great Wall, however, a 100m span supported by nine arc
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East Nanjing Road
Linking the Bund with People’s Square is East Nanjing Rd, once known as Nanking Rd. The first department stores in China opened here in the 1920s, when the modern machine-age – with its new products, automobiles, art deco styling and newfangled ideas – was ushered in. A glowing for
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Ming Tombs
The Ming Tombs are the final resting place of 13 of the 16 Ming emperors (the first Ming emperor, Hongwu, is buried in Nánjīng, which means ‘Southern Capital’ and was the first capital of the Ming dynasty). Billed with the Great Wall as Běijīng’s winning double act, the imperial gr
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Èrlángjiàn Scenic Area
The closest Qīnghǎi Lake tourist spot to Xīníng, this site 150km west of town consists of a Chinese-style sightseeing village backing on to the shores of the lake. A long pier allows you to walk out over the calm waters, and on a clear day there are glorious views of the surroundin
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Potala Kora
The pilgrim path that encircles the foot of the Potala Palace makes for a nice walk before or after the main event. Budget around half an hour; longer if you stop for tea. The exit from the Potala conveniently deposits you on the northern side of the kora path. From the large weste
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Avenue of the Stars
One of the finest city skylines in the world has to be that of Hong Kong Island, and the promenade here is one of the best ways to get an uninterrupted view. It’s a lovely place to stroll around during the day, but it really comes into its own in the evening, during the nightly Sym
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Jīnshānlǐng
The Jinshanling Great Wall, near the town of Gǔběikǒu, marks the starting point of an exhilarating 10km hike to Sīmǎtái . The adventure – winding through stunning mountainous terrain – takes around four hours as the trail is steep and parts of the wall have collapsed, but it can be
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Losana Buddha Statue Cave
The most physically imposing and magnificent of all the Lóngmén caves, this vast cave was carved during the Tang dynasty between 672 and 675; it contains the best examples of sculpture, despite evident weathering and vandalism. Nine principal figures dominate: the 17m-high seated c
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Zhàozhōu Bridge
China’s oldest-standing bridge has spanned the Jiǎo River (Jiǎo Hé) for 1400 years. In Zhàoxiàn County, about 40km southeast of Shíjiāzhuāng and 2km south of Zhàoxiàn town, this is the world’s first segmental bridge (ie its arch is a segment of a circle, as opposed to a complete se
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Ming City Wall Ruins Park
This slice of restored Ming Inner City Wall runs along the length of the northern flank of Chongwenmen Dongdajie and is attached to a slender strip of park. Its all that is left of the original 24km-long city wall, which started being demolished in the 1960s to make room for new ro
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Nam
The waters of sacred Nam-tso, the second-largest salt lake in China, are an almost transcendent turquoise blue and shimmer in the rarefied air of 4730m. Geographically part of the Changtang Plateau, the lake has an incredible location, bordered to the north by the Taángǔlā Shān ran
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Nánpǔtuó Temple
This Buddhist temple complex on the southern side of Xiàmén is one of the most famous temples among the Fujianese, and is also considered a pilgrimage site by dedicated followers from Southeast Asia. The temple has been repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt. Its latest incarnation dates
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Chongye Burial Mounds
The tombs of the Tibetan kings at Chongye represent one of the few historical sites in the country that give any evidence of a pre-Buddhist culture in Tibet. Accounts of the location and number of the heavily eroded mounds differ. All said and done, the faint mounds of earth are so
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Chairman Mao Memorial Hall
Mao Zedong died in September 1976 and his memorial hall was constructed on the southern side of Tiān’ānmén Sq soon afterwards. This squat, Soviet-inspired mausoleum lies on Běijīng’s north–south axis of symmetry on the footprint of Zhōnghuá Gate (Zhōnghuá Mén), a vast and ancient p
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Wǔdāng Lamasery
Lying on the pilgrim route from Tibet to Outer Mongolia, this handsome, Tibetan-style monastery saw considerable foot traffic from the time of its establishment in 1749. At its height it was the largest monastery in Inner Mongolia, housing 1200 monks belonging to the Gelugpa sect o
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Zhāngbì Underground Castle
This 1400-year-old network of defence tunnels are the oldest and longest series of such tunnels in all China. Built at the end of the Sui dynasty and stretching underground for 10km, they were never employed for their intended use against possible attack from Tang-dynasty invaders
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