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Moller House
One of Shànghǎi’s most whimsical buildings, the Scandinavian-influenced gothic peaks of the Moller House could double as the Munsters’ holiday home. Swedish owner and horse-racing fan Eric Moller owned the Moller Line. Previously home to the Communist Youth League, the building now
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Dzong Kumbum Caves
To visit the separate Dzong Kumbum cave complex you really need to spend the night in the valley. Make your way back to Ngadrak village and drive 6km to a parking lot, from where its an hours walk (gaining 400m) to the main cave entrance. There are four main caves here. The main ca
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Central Market
Central Market (c 1938), built in the Bauhaus style, used to be one of Asias premier food markets. Housewives and cooks would come as far as Happy Valley to shop. After the war, there were lines here whenever horsemeat was on sale. In 1967 the then governor crowned it the ‘biggest
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Yuen Yuen Institute
Stuffed with vivid statuary of Taoist and Buddhist deities plus Confucian saints, the Yuen Yuen Institute, in the hills northeast of Tsuen Wan, gives a fascinating look into Hong Kongs tripartite religious system. The main building is a replica of the Temple of Heaven in Běijīng. O
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Shepeling (Simbaling) Monastery
This ruined monastery towers over the town from its dramatic hilltop position. In 1949 the Swami Pranavananda described this Kagyud monastery, which housed 170 monks, as the biggest in the region. The monastery’s treasures allegedly included one testicle of Indian invader Zowar Sin
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Pak Tai Temple
This colourfully restored temple from 1783 is the epicentre of the annual Cheung Chau Bun Festival in late April or early May. The most important and oldest temple on the island, it is dedicated to the Taoist deity Pak Tai, the ‘Supreme Emperor of the Dark Heaven’, military protect
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Dōng’ān Mén Remains
In two roadside pits, a couple of metres below the road surface on the north and south side of the crossroads here, are the remains of the once magnificent Dōng’ān Mén – the east gate of the Imperial City – as well as parts of the imperial city wall and parts of a bridge that used
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Middle Road Children’s Playground
Accessible via a sweep of stairs from Chatham Rd South, this hidden gem atop the East Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station has play facilities, shaded seating and views of the waterfront. On weekdays it’s the quiet backyard playground of the residents nearby, but on weekends it’s filled with
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Badain Jaran Desert
The remote but stunning Badain Jaran Desert is a mysterious landscape of desert lakes, Buddhist temples and towering dunes. The dunes here are the tallest in the world, some topping 380m (the same height, incredibly, as the Empire State Building). The closest town in the region, Āl
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Northern Wei, Western Wei & Northern Zhou Caves
These, the earliest of the Mògāo Caves, are distinctly Indian in style and iconography. All contain a central pillar, representing a stupa (symbolically containing the ashes of the Buddha), which the devout would circle in prayer. Paint was derived from malachite (green), cinnabar
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Confucian Temple
This 18th-century walled temple is now a middle school.
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Jìngcí Temple
The serene yet monastically active Chan (Zen) Jìngcí Temple was originally built in AD 954 and is now fully restored. The splendid first hall contains the massive, foreboding Heavenly Kings and an elaborate red and gold case encapsulating Milefo (the future Buddha) and Weituo (prot
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Mùtǎ Tower
Built in 1056, this impressive five-storey tower is the world’s oldest and tallest (67m) wooden pagoda. The clay Buddhist carvings it houses, including an 11m-high Sakyamuni on the 1st floor, are as old as the pagoda itself. Due to its fragile state, visitors can no longer climb th
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Gāo Temple
One of the more extraordinary temples you’ll find in China, this eclectic shrine has at various times catered to the needs of Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. It’s still a funky mishmash of architectural styles, but the revitalised Buddhist deities have muscled out the original T
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Tengchen Monastery
On a hillside about three kilometres west of town, this interesting Bön monastery is home to more than 200 monks, and is made up of two separate institutions. The main building, founded in 1110, has an impressive assembly hall and upper-floor chapel. Bön deities include Tonpa Shenr
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Zhang’s House
To the south of the Twin Bridges, this beautiful 70-room, three-hall structure was built in the Ming-era and bought by the Zhang clan in early Qing times as their residence. There’s an opera stage to keep the ladies entertained (they were not supposed to leave home or seek entertai
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Yúlín Grottoes
About 180km south of Dūnhuáng, the 40-plus caves of the Yúlín Grottoes face each other across a narrow canyon. It’s intriguing to observe the original carved interior tunnels that formerly connected the caves. The interior art spans a 1500-year period, from the Northern Wei to the
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St Ignatius Cathedral
The dignified twin-spired St Ignatius Cathedral (1904) is a major Xújiāhuì landmark. A long span of Gothic arches, its nave is ornamented on the outside with rows of menacing gargoyles; note how the church spires find reflection in much of the more recently built local architecture
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Mèngdá Nature Reserve
This nature reserve is home to a tiny lake that is sacred for both Salar Muslims and Tibetan Buddhists, and is much hyped locally. The road to the reserve – which follows the coppery-green Yellow River as it cuts its way through a fantastically scenic gorge of rust-red cliffs – is
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Maritime Silk Road Museum of Guǎngdōng
Sitting right on Shílǐ Yíntān (十里银滩) beach, this museum is purpose-built to house an 800-year-old Song-dynasty shipwreck that was wholly salvaged near the island. The remains of the 30m-long merchant vessel (Nanhai No 1; 南海一号), and much of the 70,000 pieces of merchandise on board,
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