China

Mt. Laozhai is an approximately 220m karst peak in the village of Xingping. It overlooks a dramatic bend in the Li River, showing off some of Guilin Province’s most classic landscapes. Xingping is best reached from the well-known tourist town of Yangshuo (阳朔) either by rafting down the Li River or by a 1+ hour bus. You can also raft down the river halfway from the town of Yangdi (杨堤乡) to Nine H...

The Forbidden City is the incredible palace of the Ming Dynasty. It housed the Chinese government for almost 500 years and is located in the middle of Beijing. The palace is massive and extremely unique. Visiting the palace gives you a sense of how developed the Chinese culture was even hundreds of years ago.The entire palace covers 180 acres and will take you a few hours to get through. When ...

The 2nd most visited section of the Great Wall of China, Mutianyu is a beautifully restored and a relatively accessible spot of the wall. Located 43 miles from Beijing, it can take between 1 ½ to 2 hours to drive to the entrance. Note that you’ll have to park slightly away from the actual entrance and take a bus up to the gate once parked. Be prepared as the area surrounding the entrance of the...

Constructed during the Ming Dynasty in 1368 CE, the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall is famous for its many watchtowers and stunning vistas as the rest of the wall stretches out to the east and west. On a clear night, it's possible to see the milkyway. One of the best times to go is in April when the trees are blooming and the landscape comes alive!The hike is not too strenuous, but there ...

The terraced fields of Longji offer some of the most spectacular scenery in China. Located 62 miles north of Guilin, the terraces take about 2.5 hrs to get to by car from the Guilin airport. The drive twists through some beautiful scenery itself before reaching the village of Ping’an.The rice terraces at Longji, also known as Dragon’s Backbone, date back over 500 years ago. The village itself f...

The Li River has a long history of Cormorant Fishing. Set amongst Karst Mountains, the city of XingPing (39 miles from Guilin & 15.5 miles from Yangshuo), is the perfect setting to see this beautiful and ancient method of fishing.To get to Xingping, you have a couple options via highways and main roads, as its 39 miles from Guilin & 15.5 miles from Yangshuo. However, the best route is ...

Mount Gonga is located on the western side of Sichuan Province, approximately 330km from Chengdu. The trek around its western face follows major river valleys and traverses one pass over 4900m (highest point). In its entirety, the trek takes five to six days to complete and is entirely above 3000m. The closest major town and best access point to the route is Kangding (康定). Kangding is a bustlin...

This is a really nice section of the Great Wall that is much less known than many other parts. You are likely to hike here and find yourself the only one on the wall. Some parts are completely overgrown, you have to bushwack through the growth on top of the wall to go ahead and stairs are dangerously crumbling, other parts have been fully restored.Practically, if you want to do it entirely on y...

About 100km and a 1.5 hour ride from the city of Lijiang in Yunnan Province, the Tiger Leaping Gorge cuts between Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and Haba Snow Mountain. The upper route takes around 8-10hrs to hike in full, but most people split the hike up in two days staying at one of the many local guesthouses in between. The route is famous for its stunning cliff-face views, and is one of the bes...