Discover Hidden Gems Across China

The only trading post on the ancient Tea Horse Road that remains physically unchanged since the Ming Dynasty. Stone-paved streets, weathered shopfronts, and a slow daily rhythm make it feel lived-in rather than staged — especially compared with nearby Dali or Lijiang.

Pingyao was one of China’s most important financial centers, enclosed by a 6-kilometer city wall that still defines its Ming-era street grid. In its narrow backstreets, former draft banks and underground vaults remain, where silver was once stored and transferred.

A UNESCO-listed nature reserve on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, known for its tiered travertine waterfalls and high-altitude karst lakes. The exceptionally clear water, shaped by mineral deposits, reveals submerged tree trunks and layered limestone terraces in shifting shades of blue and green.

This UNESCO-listed village features a 14th-century water system that flows past every doorstep in an "ox-shaped" layout. The historic white-washed residences are famous for their still-water reflections in the central Moon Pond.

Fujian Tulou are UNESCO-listed earthen buildings with circular walls up to 3 meters thick, originally designed for defense. Each tulou could house over 300 people from the same clan, with shared kitchens and halls inside.

Home to the real-life inspiration for the floating mountains in Avatar, this forest contains over 3,000 massive sandstone pillars. It is a world-class nature park where you can ride the world’s tallest outdoor lift to look straight down into vertical canyons.

A riverside maze of Ming-dynasty stilt houses and stone alleys built right over the emerald Tuo River. It is the best place to see the iconic "Old China" look that most big cities have lost.

A UNESCO-recognized landscape where thousands of limestone spires drop straight into emerald rice paddies. It remains China’s original backcountry mecca, famous for world-class karst climbing and bamboo rafts drifting down the Yulong River.