Beijing (北京) is the capital of the most populous country in the world, the People's Republic of China. It was also the seat of the Qing dynasty emperor until the formation of a republic in 1911, so it has rich historical sites, and important government institutions.

The city is well known for its flatness and regular construction. There is only one hill to be found in the city limits (in Jingshan Park to the north of the famous Forbidden City). Like the configuration of the Forbidden City, Beijing has concentric "ring roads", which are actually rectangular, that go around the metropolis.

The International Olympic Committee has decided that Beijing will serve as the host city for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, the Summer Olympic Games of 2008.

Guangzhou (广州 Guǎngzhōu or just simply GZ) is the capital of Guangdong Province in Southern China and has a population of over 10 million (The official registered population is 7.3 million, with over 3 million unregistered residents). It is adjacent to Hong Kong and Macau. In the era of tea clippers, Guangzhou was known in the West as "Canton". The food and the language of the area are still known as "Cantonese", and the airport code is CAN.

While Guangzhou is not usually high on the list of Asian tourist destinations, it is amazing how much the city actually has to offer.

Guilin (桂林) is a city in Guangxi, China.

Guilin has become more of a new residential construction area and small manufacturing area than a tourist destination over the past few years, except for the river and city-moat/artificial lake area in the center of town. Guilin itself is pretty enough, but from the tourist point of view the main reason for going to Guilin is to get to Yangshuo, the even more scenic town downriver.

Apparently it was a strong communist stronghold during the revolution and even had more residents back then, but recently the population may have increased. There are several non-Han cultural groups in this area

Hangzhou (杭州 Hángzhōu;) is in Zhejiang Province, China.

Famed for its natural scenery, Hangzhou and its West Lake (西湖 Xī Hú) have been immortalized by countless poets and artists. The city was the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty from 1127 until the Mongol invasion of 1276, during which time the city's population is estimated to have been as high as one million, making it the largest city in the world. Even Marco Polo claimed to have passed through, calling it "beyond dispute the finest and the noblest in the world".

With the gradual silting up of its harbor much of the city's trade and industry passed to nearby Shanghai, but the city still has a bustling population of 1.7 million and ranks as one of China's most popular tourist attractions.

Shanghai (上海 Shànghǎi), with a population of more than 16 million (of which nearly 4 million are non-residents), is one of the most populous and most developed cities in the People's Republic of China.

Shanghai was the largest and most prosperous city in the Far East during the 1930s, and remained the most developed city in Communist China. In the 1990s Shanghai again became an attractive spot for tourists worldwide.

Shanghai is a fascinating mix of East and West. It has historic shikumen houses that blended the styles of Chinese houses with European design flairs, and it has one of the most rich collections of art deco buildings in the world. Because there were so many Concessions to western powers during the turn of the 20th century, at times the city has the feel of Paris or Montreal, while Tudor style buildings give a German flair, and the 1930s buildings put you in New York or Chicago.

In the beginning of the 1990s, the Shanghai government launched a series of new strategies to attract foreign investments. The biggest move was to open up Pudong, once a rural area of Shanghai. The strategies succeeded, and now Pudong has become the financial district of Shanghai, with a lot of skyscrapers.

Xian (西安 Xī'ān), or officially, Xi'an, pronounced roughly she-ahn, is an historic city in Shaanxi Province, China.

Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province, with a 3,000-year history, was known as Chang'an in ancient times. For 1,62 years the city has been capital for 13 dynasties, and a total of 73 emperors ruled here. With so much history within the ground the city lies upon, it's no wonder that there are so many historical ruins and, in the museums, cultural relics. It's hard to believe that before the lifes of Christ, Mohammad, and Siddhartha, Xi'an was a world class city and already influencing the world outside of The Great Wall of China.

As the eastern terminus of the Silk Road, traders from far and wide brought goods and ideas for sale and took goods and ideas back with them to their communities. In the present times, not much of its former glory remains within the city due to warfare and constant political changes throughout the ages. Most visitors find Xian a rather grimy industrial city.

The Great Wall of China (长城 Chángchéng) can be visited at many places along its length of several thousand kilometers. Its condition ranges from excellent to ruined and access from straightforward to quite difficult.

The most popular sites can be visited in one day starting from Beijing.

• Badaling is nearest Beijing, most crowded and touristy.

• Mutianyu is also close to Beijing but slightly less crowded than Badaling. It has a ski lift to get onto the wall and a wheeled toboggan ride down on a metal track. Fun though a bit misplaced.

• Jinshanling is a bit farther from Beijing than other sections, but the extra time it takes to get there is rewarded with a very significant reduction in crowding and tourist traps. Services are also limited, however; make sure you bring your own supply of water and extra film.

• At Shanhaiguan, the wall juts out into the sea. To get there from Beijing takes about 3 hours by train. The most authentic part of the wall is at Simatai; the wall here is of original construction unlike Badaling. It is 80 miles north east of Beijing, and being quite a distance from Beijing there are not enormous crowds of hapless tourists.

Be aware of bus scams that may ruin your day. You may want to bring a jacket against the wind or cold in the chillier season - in the summer you will need lots of water, there are plenty of vendors at the most visited sections.

Tibet (Classical Tibetan: Bod; Lhasa dialect: Pö; Chinese: 西藏, Xīzàng) is an autonomous region of China.

Entering Tibet you feel as though you've entered an entirely different world. As much as the Chinese government pushes forward with its campaign of cultural assimilation, Tibetans try to preserve their unique heritage.

Some areas which are not part of the Tibetan Autonomous region — parts of Qinghai, the Kham region of Sichuan, and parts of Yunnan — are Tibetan in history, culture and language. Often living side by side with the Tibetans in Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan are Chinese and other ethnic minorities who are as indigenous as other inhabitants.

The southern gate of the Forbidden City, known as Tian'an'men, after which the square is named

Locals on the run outside the Grandview Plaza in Tianhe District. In the background is the 80-story CITIC Plaza.

Looking down from Diecai Shan

View over West Lake

The skyline of Pudong

The Terracotta Warriors

Great Wall of China at Badaling