The top 5 places to tour in China

5. West Lake in Hangzhou

Hangzhou is well known as paradise on earth in China, due to its amazingly crafted landscape. The west lake was created during the Chinese’s love affair for creating park-style gardens for recreation. The lake is a place of serenity where the chaos of urban life can be left behind.

“I'd have to say I was truly surprised at how much I enjoyed my time there. First, I should note that I do like to walk/jog/hike and this lake did not disappoint.”

Bring your camera as there are many buildings, temples, gardens, lotus fields, and of course beautiful lake scenes. If you don't want to walk that much, you can rent bikes, hire a little mini-cart, or rent a boat.

4. The Bund, Shanghai

Your visit to Shanghai will never be complete without photo shots taken at the Bund. The view is impressive from both sides, and it boasts one of the most recognisable symbols of architecture in all of Shanghai.

“There's no way to explain why you "should" go to the Bund. You just should. It's iconic. I have fond memories of heading there during four consecutive spring seasons, walking the length of it”.

The Shanghai Bund has many historical buildings which line the Huangpu River. Many of which housed bank and trading houses from the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Italy, Russia, Germany, and Japan.

3. Giant Pandas in their hometown of Chengdu.

We all know how globally loved the Panda is, and nowhere more so than their hometown of Chengdu. Many places in China have zoos where Giant Pandas live, but there’s no place better to see them.

“…so close to the pandas, you get to see the babies in the nursery so cute. There were 6 aged around 2 all playing together in an enclosure, brilliant.”

There are three separate places to see the Pandas close up: the Dujiangyan Panda Valley, the Bifengxia Panda Base, and finally the Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Center.

Inside the breeding and research centre, you can see that the panda base is set in a forest of bamboos with over 40 pandas either resting in their enclosures, on treetops or at the resting places.

2. The Li River in Guilin

The picturesque landscape along the Li River has been captured in many paintings in the last few hundred years. Now it is one of the most popular places for photos

The river is 83 kilometres long between Guilin and Yangshou. The view is littered with views of startling cliffs, steep hills, and farming villages.

“We visited Guilin specifically to take this river cruise and we were rewarded with breath-taking views of the unusually steep, tree covered mountains and the lush green countryside.”

America’s National Geographic Magazine named The Li River as one of the "World’s Top Ten Watery Wonders”

1. The Terracotta Army in Xi'an

The Terracotta army was discovered in 1974 by local farmers in Xian digging for a new water well. For centuries, occasional reports mentioned pieces of terracotta figures and fragments of roofing tiles, bricks and chunks of masonry. This prompted archaeologists to investigate, revealing the largest figurine group ever found in China.

The significance of it is its representation of the army of China, which was victorious when the country was warring for approximately 250 years from 475–221 BC and led to a unified China.

“This is a "must see". It is incredible for its vastness, the attention to detail in each figure and battle formation, the restoration process and the fact that much of the site still remains unexcavated. Even the museum is interesting – and I don't really like museums!”

No one has ever come to a conclusion as to why it was built, decide for yourself when you come to see it.

A variety of China tours are on offer, most of which include these popular destinations as just a small part of the entire trip.