China’s Top 10 Attractions
The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall of China
I’d like to visit all these places some time in the future!
(info from news.com.au)
The 71m high Leshan Giant Buddha
The Great Wall
Like the Eiffel Tower in Paris and New York’s Empire State Building, you can’t go to China without setting foot on this man-made wonder – a series of interconnecting walls stretching almost 9000km from east to west. One of the closest access points to the Great Wall is at Badaling, about 50km from Beijing.
Qufu
The birthplace of Confucius, in Shandong Province, has historic palaces, temples and cemeteries – many of them linked to the Chinese philosopher. They include the Cemetery of Confucius, the Temple of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion, where the direct descendants of Confucius lived.
Hanging Temple
The temple was built 1500 years ago into the side of a cliff near Mt Heng, 65km from the city of Datong. It contains Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian elements.
Leshan Giant Buddha
This 71m high statue carved out of the cliff face is the largest stone Buddha in the world. It is at the confluence of the Minjiang, Dadu and Qingyi rivers.
Jiuzhaigou Valley
Known for its lakes and waterfalls, the valley is a World Heritage Site and home to the endangered giant panda.
Mogao Caves
Also known as the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, they are located in the Gansu Province at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road. Originally places of meditation, they contain examples of Buddhist art spanning 1000 years and form a system of 492 temples.
Song Mountain
The 1500m peak on the Yellow River is one of the Five Sacred Mountains of Taoism and home to the Shaolin Temple, which is considered the birthplace of Zen Buddhism.
Genghis Khan’s Mausoleum
The real burial site of the Mongolian hero has never been found. Built in the traditional Mongol style in the mid-1950s, the mausoleum is located 115km north of Yulin, in Inner Mongolia, and houses a collection of relics.
Wolong National Nature Reserve
This 200,000ha protected area in the Qionglai Mountains in Sichuan Province was established in the early 1960s and it is home to more than 150 endangered giant pandas and more than 4000 other species, including red pandas and golden monkeys.
The Forbidden City
Sitting in the middle of Beijing, it was the Chinese imperial palace and the home of emperors for almost 500 years from the Ming Dynasty.
