Inner Mongolia: Singing Sand Bay
The sand is singing, but what’s the song? Singing Sand Bay, aka Yinken Sand Bay, is a 110-meter-high dune, 50 kilometers from Baotou, a major city of Inner Mongolia. Sliding off a 45-degree angle, the wind here is said to sing in soft whispers.
Batou can be reach from many major cities in China by air, including Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou。
Jiangsu: Brahma Palace
Feng shui and Buddhism have deep influences on China. Both can be found at Brahma Palace. Beneath the foot of Little Lingshan Mountain, and near Taihu Lake and the 88-meter-tall Lingshan Giant Budda, the palace epitomizes Chinese feng shui – it’s surrounded by mountains and water, portending both good fortune and health.
Built for the Second World Buddhism Forum in 2009, the Buddhist theme park is filled with luxury, with gold and glamor gilding many surfaces.
Major cities connected to Wuxi Airport by direct flights include Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou.
Jiangxi: Mount Lu
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996,Lushan National Park, with its centerpiece of Mount Lu, is more than a tourist attraction. It’s a cultural and spiritual symbol of China. Upward of 1,500 famed painters and poets from various periods of ancient and modern China – Li Bai of the Tang Dynasty and Xu Zhimo in 1920s, to name two – have traveled here to be inspired by Lu. Masterpiece poems are engraved in calligraphy on the mountain cliffs.
The nearest traffic hub is Mount Lu Airport. It’s about 10 kilometers away. Major cities connected to Mount Lu Airport by direct flights include Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Jiangxi: Wuyuan
“One of the most beautiful rural areas in China.” That’s how Wuyuan (a small county located at the junction of Anhui, Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces in eastern China) is best known. Colorful blossoms and a relaxed, countrified pace attract hundreds of thousands of visitors each spring.
The nearest traffic hub in Wuyuan County is Jingdezhen, a major city in Jiangxi Province. It’s about 98 kilometers away. Major cities connected to Jingdezhen Airport by direct flights include Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.
Jilin: Heaven Lake, Changbai Mountain
The vodka-clear Heaven Lake is said to resemble a piece of jade surrounded by 16 peaks of the Changbai Mountain National Reserve, near the border of North Korea. With an average depth of 204 meters, it’s the deepest lake in China.
This is also a hot spot for water monster fans – in the last two decades China travelers have reported accounts of a lake creature as long as 20 meters. Sunny days here are rare. July to September is the best time to visit. Even then, it can be chilly and wet.
The nearest traffic hub to Heaven Lake is Changbai Mountain Airport. It’s about 60 kilometers away. Major cities connected to Changbai Mountain Airport by direct flights include Beijing, Shanghai and Shenyang.
Liaoning: Benxi Water Cave
Stalagmites and stalactites? You never know when those school lessons will come in handy. Exploding with color, the Benxi Water Cave was formed more than five million years ago. Today its main sections are a “drought cave” and a “water cave.”
A dramatic array of stalagmites and stalactites are covered in vibrant greens, yellows and reds. The water cave contains the world’s longest underground river at 5.8 kilometers. Of this, only 2.8 kilometers are accessible by boat.
The drought cave is rather small. Only 300 meters are open to the public. The temperature in the cave remains a constant 10°C. Sweaters and pants are highly recommended.
Liaoning: Golden Pebble Beach National Resort, Dalian
Along 30 kilometers of Golden Pebble Beach (it’s also known as the Jinshitan Scenic Area) just outside downtown Dalian, ancient rock formations have been twisted by time and elements into bizarre replicas of animals – camels, monkeys, tigers, even dinosaurs.
The largest is a 40-meter-high rock named after a “dinosaur who explores the sea.” It’s said to resemble a giant dinosaur bathing in the sea.
Golden Pebble Beach is in the northeast of Dalian City. It can be reach by Dalian’s light rail which runs regularly
Ningxia: Sand Lake
More than 1 million migrating birds of various species stop over at this wetland in Ningxia twice a year (April-May, September-October). The rest of the year, around 200 species of birds call the wetlands home, including a large number of protected species, such as black cranes and the Chinese merganser.
The area is also the reported habitat of giant salamanders that grow as long as 1.6 meters. Desert, water and reed mashes blend in this 80-square-kilometer area, which forms a unique geographic phenomenon called sand lake (“sha hu” in Mandarin).
Sand Lake is 56 kilometers north of Yinchuan, the provincial capital of Ningxia. Buses are available daily between Sand Lake and Yinchuan’s North Gate Bus Terminal.
Qinghai: Qinghai Lake
China’s largest inland saltwater lake. This view is one of the great draws of Qinghai Province in China’s far northwest every June and July. The lake sits 3,205 meters above sea level and is a three-hour bus ride from the nearest traffic hub of Xining. Few tourists make it to this part of China to enjoy this oil painting of a scene, not counting packs of mad cyclists who come for Tour de Qinghai Lake International Cycling Race every summer.
Tour companiesin Xining organize trips to Qinghai Lake. Buses bound for Qihai Lake are available every morning (7:45 a.m.) from Xining Train Station.
