黄
Huangshan (Yellow Mountain)
黄山
Huangshan
The granite peaks that inspired Chinese landscape painting
Read moreMountains, Lakes, Grasslands & Deserts
Karst peaks rising from mist, alpine lakes that mirror the sky, grasslands rolling to the horizon and dunes that sing — China's wildest landscapes in four directions.
38 places in this guide · Hand-picked and verified
张
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park
张家界国家森林公园
Zhangjiajie
The sandstone pillars that inspired Avatar — and poets before it
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九
Jiuzhaigou Valley
九寨沟
Aba Prefecture
Turquoise lakes, waterfall terraces and Tibetan village life
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长
Three Gorges of the Yangtze
长江三峡
Chongqing–Yichang
The river gorge that shaped a nation's imagination
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鸣
Mingsha Mountain & Crescent Lake
鸣沙山·月牙泉
Dunhuang
Singing sand dunes around a crescent lake that has held water for 2,000 years
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巴
Badain Jaran Desert
巴丹吉林沙漠
Alxa
The world's tallest stationary dunes, hiding a hundred spring-fed lakes
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茶
Chaka Salt Lake
茶卡盐湖
Ulan
A mirror of salt and sky — walk onto the clouds of the Qinghai plateau
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呼
Hulunbuir Grassland
呼伦贝尔草原
Hulunbuir
China's great green sea — yurts, horses and herder country on the Mongolian border
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青
Qinghai Lake
青海湖
Qinghai
China's biggest lake — 3,200 metres up, ringed with yellow rapeseed in July
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喀
Kanas Lake
喀纳斯湖
Altay
An alpine lake that changes colour through the seasons — and keeps a 'lake monster' legend
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长
Changbai Mountain
长白山
Baishan
A volcanic crater lake on the North Korea border — clear-sky views are a win
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黄
Huangguoshu Waterfall
黄果树瀑布
Anshun
Asia's largest waterfall — and you can walk behind the curtain of water
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壶
Hukou Waterfall
壶口瀑布
Linfen / Yan'an
The Yellow River squeezed from 300 metres into a 20-metre gorge — yellow thunder
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稻
Daocheng Yading
稻城亚丁
Ganzi
Three sacred Tibetan peaks above 4,000 metres — the 'last pure land'
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洞
Dongting Lake
洞庭湖
Yueyang
China's second-largest freshwater lake, poetry made visible from Yueyang Tower
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鄱
Poyang Lake
鄱阳湖
Jiujiang
China's largest freshwater lake — and the winter home of nearly all the world's Siberian cranes
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太
Taihu Lake
太湖
Wuxi
The shallow giant that anchors Jiangnan's gardens, tea and water-town life
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五
Wudalianchi
五大连池
Heihe
Volcanoes that erupted 300 years ago, dammed into five lakes — and the coldest spring water you'll ever drink
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天
Tianchi Heavenly Lake
天山天池
Urumqi
The Queen Mother of the West's legendary bath, an hour from Urumqi
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纳
Namtso Lake
纳木错
Lhasa
Tibet's holy 'Heavenly Lake' at 4,718 metres, under the Nyenchen Tanglha glacier
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羊
Yamdrok Lake
羊卓雍措
Shannan
A 72-kilometre scorpion of turquoise holy water, an easy day from Lhasa
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梅
Meili Snow Mountain
梅里雪山
Deqin
The sacred, unclimbed 6,740-metre Kawagebo and its famous golden sunrise
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四
Four Girls Mountain
四姑娘山
Xiaojin
The 'Alps of the East': four snowy sisters a four-hour drive from Chengdu
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嵩
Mount Song
嵩山
Dengfeng
The Central Sacred Mountain, cradle of kung fu and of Chinese astronomy
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芦
Reed Flute Cave
芦笛岩
Guilin
Guilin's showpiece karst cave, glowing with stalactites under 1970s rainbow lights
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龙
Longqing Gorge
龙庆峡
Beijing
Beijing's emerald 'Little Lijiang' — boats by day, ice lanterns in winter
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雅
Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon
雅鲁藏布大峡谷
Nyingchi
The deepest canyon on earth, where the Tsangpo bends around a 7,782-metre peak
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东
Dongjiang Lake
东江湖
Zixing
Hunan's misty morning lake, where fishermen row into fog for the cameras
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武
Wulingyuan
武陵源
Zhangjiajie
The UNESCO umbrella over Zhangjiajie's pillar forests — four scenic zones, one pass
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