Tourist resources in China can be divided into three main
groups: natural sites, historical and cultural sites and folk
customs.?
Natural Sites -- China's mountains, lakes, valleys, caves
and waterfalls?
Mount Taishan in the east, Mount Hengshan in the south, Mount
Huashan in the west, Mount Hengshan in the north, and Mount
Songshan in the center of China have been called the Five Sacred
Mountains since antiquity. Mount Taishan, which snakes through
central Shandong Province is admired by Chinese as paramount among
them. Another mountain celebrated for its beauty is Mount Huangshan
in southern Anhui Province, known for its graceful pines, unusual
rocks, cloud seas and hot springs.?
Jiuzhaigou, Huangguoshu Waterfalls, and Guilin are all located in
southwestern China. Jiuzhaigou in northern Sichuan Province is a
beautiful "fairyland valley" running over 40 km through
snow-covered mountains, lakes, waterfalls, and forest. The
Huangguoshu Waterfalls in Guizhou Province are a group of
waterfalls, 18 above-ground and four below, which can be heard from
five km away. The Lijiang River in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region
winds its way through karst peaks for 82 km between Guilin and
Yangshuo.?
On the plateau in northern China are many spectacular lakes. The
Tianchi (Heavenly Pool) in the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang
Autonomous Region is 1,980 meters above sea level. This 105-m-deep
lake is crystal clear, the high mountains surrounding it carpeted
with green grass and colorful flowers.?
Along the renowned Three Gorges of the Yangtze River are many
scenic spots and historical sites; the Qutang Gorge is rugged and
majestic, the Wuxia Gorge elegant, deep and secluded, the Xiling
Gorge full of shoals and reefs and rolling water. The Lesser Three
Gorges are lush with greenery, flanking water so clear you can see
to the bottom. The Three Gorges Dam built here is China's biggest
key hydro-power project.?
Historical and Cultural Sites
China's long history has left many cultural relics and the title of
"China Top Tourist City" has gone to the first group of 54 cities.
The Great Wall, a symbol of the Chinese nation, is also a prime
example of historical sites that have become major tourist
attractions. As the greatest defense-structure project in the
history of human civilization, it dates back more than 2,000 years
ago to the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States periods - huge
in its scale and grandeur, it rates as a world wonder. There are 10
sections of the Great Wall open to tourists, including the passes,
blockhouses and beacon towers at Badaling in Beijing, Laolongtou in
Hebei and Jiayuguan Pass in Gansu Province.
Grottoes filled with precious murals and sculptures are
concentrated along the ancient Silk Road in Gansu Province. The
best known are the Mogao Caves, a "treasure house of oriental art,"
with 492 caves with murals and statues on the cliff faces. There
are 45,000 sq m of murals and over 2,100 colorful statues, all of
high artistry and imagination. In the south, grotto art is
represented in Sichuan Province by the Leshan Giant Buddha, carved
into a cliff face. Seventy-one meters high and 28 meters wide, it
is the largest sitting Buddha in stone, showing the superb carving
skill of ancient craftsmen.?
The Shaolin Temple in Henan Province, the birthplace of Chinese Zen
Buddhism and famous for its Shaolin kungfu martial arts, dates back
to 495 A. D. Here can be seen the Ming period Five-Hundred-Arhats
Mural and Qing period Shaolin kungfu paintings. In central China's
Hubei Province, beautiful Wudang Mountain, with 72 grotesque peaks
in 30 sq km, is a sacred site of Taoism, which preserves China's
most complete, largest-scale and best ancient Taoist architecture.
In western Sichuan Province, Mount Emei, dotted with ancient
Buddhist temples and structures, is one of China's four holy
Buddhist mountains。
Most of China's 101 cities classified as famous historical and
cultural cities are over 1,000 years old. South of the Yangtze
River, Suzhou and Hangzhou, long known as "paradise on earth," are
crisscrossed with rivers, lakes, bridges, fields and villages, as
beautiful as paintings. Today's well-preserved ancient city of
Pingyao in central Shanxi Province was built in the Ming Dynasty
but was also the site of the Neolithic era Yangshao and Longshan
cultures, 5,000 to 6,000 years ago. Ancient Lijiang in Yunnan
Province is not only the center of Dongba culture of the Naxi
ethnic group but also a meeting place for the cultures of Han,
Tibetan and Bai ethnicities. Built in the Song Dynasty, this city
has many stone bridges, stone memorial arches and dwelling houses,
which provide precious materials for architectural history and can
be called a "living museum of ancient dwelling houses."
?
Folk Customs
The diverse cultures and life styles of China's 56 ethnic groups
are reflected in their festivals. The biggest Tibetan festival --
Shoton (Yogurt) Festival -- is also the setting for the Tibetan
Theatrical Festival, when for five days every summer Tibetan
theatrical groups perform and compete in the summer palace of the
Dalai Lamas. Another summer festival is the Nadam Fair in the
Mongolian grasslands, where attractions include wrestling, horse
racing and archery competitions.?
"March Street" celebrated by the Bai people in Dali, Yunnan
Province, is associated with the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy
suppressing a devil to help the Bai people. It became traditional
to burn incense and offer sacrifices to commemorate her virtues
every year and the festival has become a major annual gathering for
Bai commercial, cultural and sports activities.?
The Water-Sprinkling Festival of the Dai ethnic group in
Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, is a lively occasion taking place
in the spring. People chase and pour water (a symbol of good luck
and happiness) over each other, among other activities such as
dragon boat racing and peacock dance.??
Lugu Lake between Sichuan and Yunnan provinces has become a tourist
destination following the building of a new highway giving access
to this area. The matriarchal society of the 30,000 local Mosuo
people is noted for its "no marriage" traditions and is called the
last women's kingdom on the earth. Mosuo women, local dugout canoes
and undulating singing style are considered unique to Lugu Lake.
