China

A coastal region whose rhythm moves from Hangzhou Bay into green terraces, river towns and lake gardens.

Shanghai's waterfront promenade along the Huangpu River, lined with 52 buildings in a range of colonial-era architectural styles; across the river, the Pudong financial district skyline provides the defining urban contrast of modern China.

The imperial palace complex of the Ming and Qing dynasties in central Beijing, completed in 1420; the world's largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures, now the Palace Museum.

A 13,000-mile chain of fortifications across northern China, begun before the Qin dynasty and rebuilt repeatedly; the best-preserved sections near Beijing draw millions of visitors each year.

The 83-kilometre river corridor between Guilin and Yangshuo in Guangxi province, famous for its karst tower formations rising directly from the water; designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014.

The funerary art of the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, buried c. 210 BCE and discovered in 1974 near Xi'an — approximately 8,000 ceramic warriors, horses and chariots arranged in battle formation.

A 2,600-hectare national park in the Wulingyuan scenic area of western Hunan province, famous for its 3,000-plus quartz-sandstone pillar formations covered in subtropical forest; the geological inspiration for the floating Hallelujah Mountains in the film Avatar.