Foreign tourists visiting China might find many more alternatives for their travel destinations with the help of a recently published book, Scenic Splendor of China by Chinese National Geography magazine.
The book aims to expand people's understanding of the country's most beautiful places, and differs greatly from conventional wisdom.
"The book gives a fresh ranking of scenic spots in China, which are no longer restricted to more known tourist destinations such as Mount Taishan in Shandong Province and West Lake in Zhejiang Province, but cover a whole lot of different natural and cultural sceneries," said Li Shuanke, a general manager with Chinese National Geography.
The book lists 114 of the most beautiful places in 17 categories. These include more conventional classifications such as mountains, lakes, coastlines, waterfalls, forests, desserts, gorges, islands, grasslands, cities, countryside towns and villages.
But others fall into unusual classifications, such as the most beautiful caves, marshlands, Yadan (wind-eroded precipitous hillock) landforms, Danxia (red sandstone and conglomerate) landscapes, peak forests, and even glaciers.
Contradictory to the fact that China's national-level scenic areas are mostly located in the densely populated eastern part of China, most of the places mentioned in the book are located in the western part of the country.
Li explained that in the past, the scenic spots most familiar to the Chinese people are mostly associated with poems, paintings and legends about them.
For example, there are hundred of poems and literature works describing Mount Taishan and West Lake, which make them very famous among the Chinese. But this time, the criteria to judge the sceneries are more related to their geographical beauty than cultural fame.
"Scenic landscapes are (more likely) to be found in less populated areas," wrote Shan Zhiqiang, executive editor-in-chief at Chinese National Geography, in the preface to the book. "(These places are) remote from the attention of literati and artists of the past."
For example, the No 1 most beautiful mountain is Namjagbarwa Peak in Tibet Autonomous Region, and No 2 Mount Gongga in Sichuan Province, while the better-known Mount Qomolangma ranks No 3.
Kanas Lake in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Nam Co Lake in Tibet, which many people consider the most beautiful lakes in China, rank No 2 and No 3 in the most beautiful lakes ranking. Qinghai Lake in Qinghai Province is ranked No 1. West Lake comes as the 5th.
Glaciers in China have never been covered before as in this book, which lists six most beautiful glaciers in its ranking. Two of these are in Tibet, two in Xinjiang, and one each in Sichuan and Gansu.
Rongpo Glacier, ranked No 1, is located at the foot of Qomolangma. It is one of the world's most completely developed and best-preserved valley glaciers. Hailuogou Glacier in Sichuan, ranked No 3, has an ice waterfall that is 1,100 meters wide, with a drop of 1,080 meters.
The Shichahai area in Beijing is ranked in 5th place in the five most beautiful city districts ranking. Gulangyu, a beautiful islet dubbed "garden on the sea" in Xiamen, Fujian Province, ranks No 1 in the category, followed by Suzhou, a garden city in Jiangsu Province.
On the other hand, the texts are beautiful introductions to and descriptions of these beautiful places, written by professional journalists, expeditioners and mountaineers.
The ranking was done by nearly 100 experts, who include representatives from five professional Chinese geographical societies, and more than 10 academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The hardback version of the book, numbering 479 pages, contains several hundred photos, the work of more than 130 photographers.
In addition to its Chinese version, the book has been translated into English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Japanese, Korean and Russian.
(China Daily by Ye Jun March 1, 2007)
