Hangzhou
One of China's most popular tourist destinations, Hangzhou appears to be just another Chinese city when you arrive but by the time you reach West Lake it seems a different world entirely. Of course, the famous Leifeng Pagoda is a great place to go for a view of the whole lake and the surrounding hills and city. Afterwards, the Tea Museum, the Chinese Medicine Museum and Qifeng Old Street, which has a bustling tourist market and a host of Chinese medicine shops, are worth visiting as well.
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Suzhou
After a mercifly short journey on a usualy very packed train, the first sight to greet you in Suzhou will probably be the rubble and cranes of a massive construction site opposite the station. But don't get disheartened - this isn't a fair representation of what to expect from the rest of Suzhou.
After a selection of warm, freshly baked local pastries and you'll be ready for a busy day of sightseeing. Check out the quaint canal streets on the outskirts of town, the Silk Museum and the nearby North Pagoda, but don't forget to leave time for one of the numerous, strangely-named, traditional gardens, such as the Garden for Lingering In or the famous Garden of the Master of the Nets.
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Huangshan
You can spend a day or two climbing the Huangshan (Yellow) Mountains, but there's also a day or two's worth of sightseeing in the surrounding area. The main attractions are the Huangshan Grottoes and the ancient villages and if you stay in nearby Tunxi, you'll be about half an hour to an hour away from both.
It's recommended that you climb up the mountains' eastern side and come down the western side because the western side is steeper (it takes longer to reach the more scenic peaks.) The unique Huangshan Grottoes are worth a visit too, as unlike most caves, which are formed by water erosion, these ones are man-made. The ancient villages are the real must-see though, because the surrounding rice fields and the villagers' old fashioned way of life are such a contrast to Shanghai.
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Putuoshan
The island of Putuoshan is a five hour trip from the centre of Shanghai on a surprisingly comfortable ferry. Not too comfortable is the 110rmb fee they charge for landing on the dock though. A key destination for tourists and those interestested in Buddhist history and culture, Mount Putuo is considered one of the four sacred mountains. In keeping with this buddhist herritage, the area is covered in buddhists temples and monostaries. Key among them is one of the largest Buddhist academic institutes in
China, where many young scolars travel great distances to study, and the Puji Temple, which dates back to 916 A.D.
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Tongli
Tongli is just a day trip and staying overnight would be unnecessary unless you wanted to take in the sights at a very leisurely pace. Buses that run between Suzhou and Tongli are frequent, quick and easy to get, but the 80rmb entrance fee is a little frustrating, as it limits some of the things you can see if you're on a budget. You can cheat the fare by taking a road to the west of town, but this isn't likely to work if you're in a group.
The main streets of the old town are really crowded and very tourist-orientated, but just a quick turn off on to a smaller side-street and you can sense what it might have been like once upon a time, when Tongli was still a secret alternative to Suzhou. Tongli is also home to China's official Sex Museum, which has it's own a statue park and is definitely worth a look. (Coming Soon)
Hainan
The reason most people go to Hainan is enjoy its warm weather on the beaches, the best of which is in the south, around Dadonghai and Yalong Bay in Sanya. If you tire of sunbathing you can hire a jet ski, go scuba diving or parasailing, or take a dip in an outdoor hot spring ¨C try the pool which contains little black fish that eat ("kiss") the dead skin off your body.
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Sheshan
Coming Soon
