The old Paris of the Orient is today more like the New York of the China Coast. Truly, it retains plenty of reminders of its century as an open, international city, where merchants, missionaries, scholars, adventurers and other opportunists came to try their luck. The grand old banks, hotels and shipping offices still dominate one bank of the Huangpu River, but directly opposite is Pudong, the new Shanghai, where Asia's new 'Wall Street' is developing.

GETTING THERE

The Chinese capital ranks with the great cities of the world and embodies the heritage of a 5,000-year old civilization, with masterpieces of Ming Dynasty architecture and such historic sites as the Great Wall and Ming Tombs. Today, the municipality is also a dynamic modern metropolis and headquarters for business corporations.

GETTING THERE

Brwose by selecting your target city:

• Beijing
• Guangzhou 
• Hong Kong
• Lijiang
• Shanghai
• Shenzhen
• Yangshuo

If you want to know a city we have not listed, please let us know.

The official language of China is Putonghua (people's language), also known as Mandarin. Local dialects, like Cantonese and Shanghainese are also spoken. In major cities there are English-speaking staff in the hotels, and people will often approach you to practies their English. In many placese streets names are in pinyin, romanized versions of the Chinese, which makes it easy to get around with a map.

Try a few phrases of Putonghua:

Before You Go...

Know more about one of the seven wonders in the world.

The Great Wall of China (Chang Cheng)

A comprehensive introduction to the Great Wall with many sections...

Conserving the Great Wall

Built to defend the Middle Kingdom from Mongol attack, the Great Wall north of Beijing is now under modern attack, from hordes of environmentally-unaware day trippers...

Selected top attractions in China.

• The Great Wall
• The Yangtze River
• The Potala Palace

"As a travel destination China offers
an endless diversity of historical and architectural masterpieces
and impressive natural landscapes.
It is home to one of the world's longest continuous civilizations, with
a rich heritage of art, architecture and language.
It is a land of picturesque rural landscapes, crowded urban cityscapes and