By Brian Johnston
MOUNT EMEI
One of the least known of China's sacred Buddhist mountains lies deep in southwest Sichuan Province. Spend two or three overnights in monasteries to hike the trails through a scroll painting come to life: mountain scenery, ancient temples, humpback bridges and pine forest. On the sunny summit you can throw your shadow across the cloudbanks below. Nearby Leshan, a colourful market town, features a colossal eighth-century Buddha 71 metres high, carved out of a cliff beside the MinRiver. A long staircase descends by the side of the Buddha to its toes, each eight metres long. See tsichuan.com
KAIFENG
Small-town charm and impressive history combine in Kaifeng, capital of the Northern Song Dynasty and the world's largest city a millennium ago. Fan Pagoda, built in 997, is its oldest building. This Henan Province town is dotted with other temples and pavilions; the Pavilion of the Jade Emperor features carved kangaroos leaping amongst mythical Chinese animals. Faux Qing-era Bookshop Street is great at night, when a street market erupts and food stalls dish up dumplings, noodles and the local speciality, river crab with chilli. There's also a pleasant theme park that recreates a Song Dynasty town, peopled with costumed craftsmen. See visithenan.org
CELESTIAL MOUNTAINS
In Xinjiang Province, China's share of the massive Central Asian Tian Shan range features high glaciers and scenic alpine lakes that give way to valleys forested in wild walnut and apple trees. At Heaven Lake a volcanic caldera cupping blue waters is surrounded by snow peaks. Near Turpan, in contrast, the mountain range peters out in the Flaming Mountains, where volcanic colours and shimmering heat give the illusion that the hills are on fire. This is a great destination for adventurous travellers, who can journey from high peaks to deserts in vast depressions that lie below sea level. See amazingxinjiang.com
XISHUANGBANNA
The south-west corner of Yunnan between Burma and Vietnam is home to two-dozen ethnic minorities (especially the million-strong Dai) whose traditional attire brings splashes of colour to the open-air markets of local towns. Xishuangbanna has a growing reputation within China as a tropical holiday destination, and is often compared to northern Thailand, with which it has cultural links. The New Year Water Splashing Festival, accompanied by fireworks and dragon-boat races, is very enjoyable. Densely forested hills are dotted with Buddhist temples, and remote valleys protect an incredible biodiversity that includes China's last remaining elephants and tigers. See en.ynta.gov.cn
DAZU
An estimated 50,000 stone carvings dating from the ninth to the thirteenth centuries are scattered at 40 locations around this small town two hours from Chongqing. They're the best preserved but probably least known of China's four great Buddhist cave sites; many of the sculptures retain their original gaudily painted surfaces. At Beishan, overhanging rock has preserved emperors, monks, pagodas, dainty temples, tiny phoenixes and exotic birds. At nearby Baodingshan, the centrepiece is the enormous and serene 30-metre Sleeping Buddha at the moment of entering nirvana. The surrounding countryside features splendidly tiered rice terraces and plunging valleys. See tourdz.gov.cn
HUANGGUOSHU WATERFALLS
Asia's largest waterfalls – a series of nine cascades over two kilometres in the southern province of Guizhou – are a creation of the Baishui River near Guiyang. Visitors can admire them from the riverbanks and viewing platforms, and some wade across the shallows of Rhinoceros Pool to see the falls from behind at Water Curtain Cave. Rainbows thrown up by the spray during the day are matched by colourful illuminations at night. The wider scenic area has numerous smaller waterfalls, as well as karst rock formations and caves, and four underground rivers. See eguizhou.gov.cn
Brian Johnston travelled as a guest of the China National Tourism Organisation and various hotels and tourism operators in China.
See also: 20 things that will shock first-time visitors to China
Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter
Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.