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Rawaq (Rawak) Stupa
This 9m-tall ruin is the largest of the southern Silk Road stupas yet discovered. Built between the 3rd and 5th centuries for a wealthy Khotanese monastery, it might have been visited by the Chinese monk Faxian in 401AD on his way to India. It was certainly explored by archeologist
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St Joseph’s Church
Erected by the French in 1917, this Catholic church is the largest church in Tiānjīn and its fine brick exterior is a marked contrast to the shopping malls surrounding it. Inside, it’s rather more decorative than most Chinese churches. English Mass is at 11.30am on Sundays.
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Old Rutok
Lovely white-painted traditional Rutok huddles at the base of a splinter of rock, atop which is Rutok Monastery , flanked at both ends of the hill by the crumbling, but still impressive, ruins of Rutok Dzong . From here, you can see the reservoir below and Pangong-tso in the distan
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Old Wan Chai
The area around Queens Rd E(Wan Chai metro station, exit A3) is filled with pockets of local culture that are best explored on foot. The historic Blue House is a prewar building with cast-iron Spanish balconies reminiscent of those found in New Orleans. Conservationists love it; te
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Jīnshāgōu Nature Reserve
This reserve was established to protect the alsophila ferns that grow in abundance here. Its also the site of a bamboo forest, known as the Bamboo Sea , where you can trek through bamboo groves in almost total isolation. The paths get very slippery when wet and there are lots of mo
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Tashi Dor Monastery
There are two separate monastery buildings. The first is smaller but more atmospheric and features a statue of Luwang Gyelpo, the king of the naga (snake spirits). Pilgrims test their sin by lifting the heavy stone of Nyenchen Tanglha, the mountain deity who resides in the nearby p
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Song Qingling’s Former Residence
Built in the 1920s by a Greek shipping magnate, this quiet building became home to Song Qingling, wife of Dr Sun Yatsen, from 1948 to 1963. Size up two of her black limousines (one a gift from Stalin) in the garage and pad about the house, conjuring up sensations of yesteryear from
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Tangboche Monastery
A minor site thought to date back to 1017, Tangboche Monastery is about 15km southwest of Tsetang on the way to Chongye. Atisha, the renowned Bengali scholar, stayed here in a meditation retreat. The monastery’s murals, which for most visitors with an interest in things Tibetan are
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Song Qingling Mausoleum
Despite the hard-edged communist layout, this green park is good for a stroll. Song Qingling, wife of Dr Sun Yatsen (co-founder of the Republic of China), is interred in a low-key tomb here. She is memorialised in the Song Qingling Exhibition Hall (宋庆龄陈列馆; Sòng Qìnglíng Chénlièguǎn
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Folk House
This well-rounded historic residence also serves as an art gallery, entertainment centre and teahouse. Originally the home of the Qing bureaucrat Gao Yuesong, it’s a fine example of a courtyard home and has been tastefully restored. There are reception rooms, bedrooms, servants’ qu
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Wang Family Courtyard
More castle than cosy home, this Qing-dynasty former residence is grand and has been very well maintained (note the wooden galleries still fronting many of the courtyard buildings). Its sheer size, though, means that the seemingly endless procession of courtyards (123 in all) becom
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Temple of Ancient Monarchs
Constructed in 1530 as a twin of a temple built in Nánjīng in the 14th century, this rarely visited ancestral temple was reopened in 2004 after extensive renovations. It had spent the past 80-odd years housing various locals schools, having been abandoned after the fall of the Qing
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Memorial Hall of The Nánjīng Massacre
In the city’s southwestern suburbs, the unsettling exhibits in the Memorial Hall of the Nánjīng Massacre document the atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers against the civilian population during the occupation of Nánjīng in 1937. They include pictures of actual executions – man
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Lao She Museum
Brimful of uncomplicated charm, this renovated courtyard house off Dengshikou Xijie was the home of Lao She (1899–1966), one of Běijīng’s best-loved 20th-century writers. The life of Lao She – author of Rickshaw Boy and Tea House, and former teacher at London’s School of Oriental a
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Tung O Wan
Long coveted by developers as a prime location for new condos and marina facilities, unspoiled Tung O Wan is still holding out against the might of the property dollar thanks to the combined resistance of local residents and environmentalists from other shores. Ringed by a long san
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Fūzǐ Temple
The Confucian Fūzǐ Temple, in the south of the city in a pedestrian zone, was a centre of Confucian study for more than 1500 years. But what you see here today are newly restored, late-Qing-dynasty structures or wholly new buildings reconstructed in traditional style. Today the are
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City Wall
On the northern shore of Róng Lake , and strikingly illuminated at night, the South Gate (南门; Nán Mén) is the only surviving section of the original Song-dynasty city wall (城墙; chéng qiáng ). The area is abuzz with activity and is a good place to watch locals practising taichi, cal
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Shànghǎi Post Museum
This fascinating museum in the stunning Main Post Office building explores postal history in imperial China, which dates back to the 1st millennium BC. The system used an extensive pony express to relay messages; Marco Polo estimated there were 10,000 postal stations in 13th-centur
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Lu Xun Park
Particularly photogenic in spring and summer when the trees are in blossom, Lu Xun Park is one of the city’s most pleasant green spaces. Here youll find elderly Chinese practising taichi or ballroom dancing, and even retired opera singers testing out their pipes. It’s a big shame a
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Kora Path
Drigungs hour-long monastery kora is worth a stroll for its fine valley views. A side trail leads from a gate to the dürtro . This is the holiest sky burial site in the Lhasa region – people travel hundreds of kilometres to bring their deceased relatives here. Tourists are no longe
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