China's imperial jewel in the crown is of course Beijing. It has been the capital of China for around 500 years and is home to sights such as the Forbidden City, the off-limits palace of Ming and Qing emperors, their eunuch servants, princesses and harems.The Summer Palace in Beijing was established in the late Qing period, but is also a major attraction. Beijing is the starting point for China's most famous imperial legacy - the Great Wall. The wall can easily be viewed from many places, but most visitors approach it from Beijing.

China's sacred mountains have been pilgrimage destinations for centuries and all have well marked trails to the summits. More often than not there are stairways carved into rock faces, and sights en route include poems and inscriptions and numerous temples. The chief attraction is, inevitably, sunrise at the summit, where camera-toting crowds gather to gaze on the, sea of clouds'. The most popular mountains with foreign visitors are Huangshan, Taishan and Emeishan.

The Grand Buddha at Leshan (Sichuan Province) is the largest buddha in the world. At 71m high and carved into a cliff face overlooking the meeting of the Dadu and Min rivers.

China's most famous collection of European architecture is lined up facing the sea on the Bund in Shanghai. Xiamen (Fujian Province) has one of China's most charming collections of colonial architecture, on Gulangyu Island. The fact that there are no motorized vehicles on the small island makes this one of the only places in the country where it is possible to take peaceful walks and appreciate the buildings at leisure.

Re-trace the footsteps of Marco Polo along the Silk Road. In China’s deep south why not make the most of some of the best hiking and biking routes in the world through the stunning Guilin Mountains, scenery that the term ‘picture postcard’ does not even begin to do justice to!

In China you will find locals that genuinely enjoy meeting visitors from around the world. Whether you come to China for the thrill of mountain biking through paddy fields or to immerse yourself in traditional tea culture, the one constant is that the opportunities for genuine interaction with the Chinese people will leave a lasting positive impression.

China isn't a country - it's in way one’s own world. From shop-till-you-drop metropolises to the epic grasslands of Inner Mongolia - with deserts, sacred peaks, astounding caves, and imperial ruins - China is land of cultural and geographic schisms.