Beijing
Beijing City is an independently administered municipal district. She is situated in the northeastern part of China at an elevation of 43.5m above sea level. The climate in Beijing is of the continental type, with cold and dry winters and hot summers.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong consists primarily of Hong Kong Island, Lantau Island, Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories as well as some 260 other islands. The Kowloon Peninsula is attached to the New Territories to the north, and the New Territories spans northwards eventually connecting with mainland China across the Sham Chun River (Shenzhen River).
Karakoram Highway
The Karakoram Highway (KKH) is the highest paved international road in the world. It connects China and Pakistan across the Karakoram mountain range, through the Khunjerab Pass, at an altitude of 4,693 metres (15,397 feet). It connects China's Xinjiang region with Pakistan's Northern Areas and also serves as a popular tourist attraction.
Macau
The Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) is a part of China’s territory. It is located on the Southeast coast of China to the western bank of the Pearl River Delta. Bordering on Guangdong Province, it locates 60km from Hong Kong and 145km from the city of Guangzhou.
Nanjing
Lies on the south bank of the Yangtze River, Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province, is one of the most delightful of Chinese cities. Known as the Capital City of Six or Ten Dynasties in China's history, it has a brilliant cultural heritage.
Shanghai
Shanghai, Hu for short, is situated on the estuary of Yangtze River of China. It is the largest industrial city in China. Covering an area of 5,800 square kilometers (2,239 square miles), Shanghai has a population of 18.7 million, including 2 million floating population.
Xi’an
Xian, the eternal city, records the great changes of the Chinese nation just like a living history book. Called Chang'an in ancient times, Xian is one of the birthplaces of the ancient civilization in the Yellow River Basin area of the country.
Great Wall of China
The Great Wall was the greatest manmade military defense structure in ancient China. At that time, walls were built by some warring states to protect their own territories
Army of Terracotta Warriors
The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses are the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century. Work is ongoing at this site, which is around 1.5 kilometers east of Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum, Lintong County, Shaanxi Province. It is a sight not to be missed by any visitor to China.
Forbidden City
Lying at the center of Beijing, the Forbidden City, called Gu Gong in Chinese, was the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Now known as the Palace Museum, it is to the north of Tiananmen Square. Rectangular in shape, it is the world's largest palace complex and covers 74 hectares.
Grand Buddha
The Leshan Giant Buddha is a statue of Maitreya (a Bodhisattva usually represented as a very stout monk with a broad smile on his face and with his naked breast and paunch exposed to view) in sitting posture. The Buddha is located to the east of Leshan City, Sichuan Province, at the confluence of three rivers, namely, Min River, Qingyi River, and Dadu River.
Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve
It is said that if there should be wonderlands on the earth, Jiuzhaigou Valley must be one of them. There is no equal elsewhere that has sceneries and fables of dreamlike eloquence, or natural purities like a fairyland as Jiuzhaigou Valley.
Tai Shan
The leader of the 'Five Sacred Mountains', Mt. Tai is located in the center of Shandong Province, lying across the cities of Tai'an, Jinan and Zibo. Its main peak, Jade Emperor Summit, which is within Tai'an City, is about 1532.7 meters (5,029 feet) high.
Yungang Caves
Yungang Grottoes, one of the three major cave clusters in China, punctuate the north cliff of Wuzhou Mountain, Datong. The area was excavated along the mountain, extending 1 km (0.62 miles) from east to west, revealing 53 caves and over 51,000 stone statues.
Time Zone
China is 8 hours ahead of GMT (+8 GMT)
Population
Hundreds of ethnic groups have existed in China throughout its history. The largest ethnic group in China by far is the Han. This group is diverse in itself and can be divided into smaller ethnic groups that share some traits.
Transport
Despite over 115 ports of entry and exit, most visitors to China travel via Hong Kong, Shanghai or Beijing. Long distance buses are one of the best means of getting around on the ground; they're frequent and cheap. An even better mode is the train, which reaches into every province (including Tibet from July 2006) along a 52,000km (32,311mi) network.
Currency and credit cards
For most travellers plastic should do the job, with ATM locations growing surely but steadily in the more sizeable cities. The Bank of China issues RMB bills in denominations of one, two, five, 10, 20, 50 and 100 yuan.
Dress Code
In winter, most parts of China would be in a cold spell , especially more so in the northern part . So it is advisable to wear layers of garments, normally, thermal or silk underwear with a sweater and padded jacket outside. Padded jackets and wool lined boots are one of the best buys in China, you could easily buy one when you need. For travel during spring or summer, your clothing should be casual and designed for comfort, without being too revealing. Take light cotton clothes that are easily washed and not too delicate. Trousers are still necessary for women traveling to China, since many temples are forbidden to those who wear skirts.
Safety and security
People visiting or residing in China are advised to take the normal safety precautions travellers take when in any foreign country. Specifically, travellers should remain aware of their surroundings and of events that are happening around them. Travellers should respect local police requirements to avoid travel in some areas.