A country · 762 places · 32 regions

China, all of it.

762 curated places across 32 regions — photographed, mapped, and noted with the season each is best in.

Potala Palace, China
Potala Palace · via Wikimedia Commons

The 4 biggest regions — Beijing, Yunnan, Shanghai and Sichuan — read below as chapters, with 28 more waiting past them.

Chapter I · Beijing · 118 places

Beijing

A historic zoo in western Beijing dating to the Qing dynasty, best known internationally for its giant pandas. Traditional garden landscaping surrounds the older enclosures.

Tiger Leaping Gorge, Chinavia Wikimedia Commons

Chapter II · Yunnan · 47 places

Yunnan

One of the deepest river gorges in the world, Tiger Leaping Gorge runs for 16 kilometres where the Jinsha River is compressed between the Jade Dragon and Haba snow ranges. The two-day high trail hugs cliff faces several hundred metres above the water and passes through Naxi minority villages. The gorge earns its name from a mid-river boulder where, by legend, a tiger escaped hunters.

✦ April to June and September to November · $

Chapter III · Shanghai · 43 places

Shanghai

The financial district on the eastern bank of the Huangpu River presents one of the most striking modern skylines in Asia, anchored by the Shanghai Tower, Jin Mao Tower, and the distinctive pearl-sphere form of the Oriental Pearl Radio and Television Tower. The Bund promenade on the western bank offers the classic across-river vantage. Blue-hour photography from the Bund captures both the lit skyline and its reflection in the river.

Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Chinavia Wikimedia Commons

Chapter IV · Sichuan · 39 places

Sichuan

A conservation facility on the northern outskirts of Chengdu dedicated to the captive breeding and research of giant pandas and red pandas. The base houses several dozen giant pandas across enclosures designed around naturalistic bamboo forest habitats. Pandas are most active in the morning hours when feeding takes place, making early arrival the preferred strategy for observation and photography.

✦ Year-round; mornings preferable · $$

Every place in China

762 places, one country.