Mogao Grottoes, known as a “treasure house of ancient Chinese art”, were first cut in 366 on Singing Sand Mountain southeast of Dunhuang county, Gansu province. The honeycomb-like grottoes, running 1,600 meters in length and 50 meters in height, include 700 caves. Some 492 of the caves have superb murals and colored statues executed through 11 dynasties and kingdoms including the Northern Wei (386-534), Western Wei (535-536), Northern Zhou (557-581), Sui (581-618), Tang (618-907), Five Dynasties (907-960), Northern Song (960-1127), Western Xia (1038-1227) and Yuan (1271-1368). The gorgeous murals of totaling 45,000 square meters and the over 2,500 life-like sculptures capture various aspects of ancient Chinese life such as hunting, farming, cloth spinning and weaving, transportation and communication, battles, dance and music, house construction, weddings and funerals. They embody both traditional Chinese styles and the characteristics of Indian and Persian art.

Mawangdui is located on the eastern out-skirts of Changsha city, 4 kilometers away from the center of the city. Formerly there was a saddle-shaped mound, where it was said that King Ma Yin of the Chu State in the Five-Dynasty period was buried and hence the name of Mawangdui (the Burial-Mound of King Ma). Between 1972 and early 1974, three Han dynasty tombs were excavated here and the place became world-known for its abundant cultural relics and the well-preserved female corpse. They are of great value in studying the politics, economy, culture, military affairs and science of the early Han dynasty. The three Han tombs at Mawangdui were immense. The occupant in Tomb No.1 was the wife of Li Cang, chancellor to the Prince of Changsha and Marquis of Dai. Li Cang himself was in Tomb, No. 2 and his son in Tomb No.3. Unearthed from the Tombs are more than 3,000 pieces of cultural relics including books copied on silk, painting at silk, bamboo slip, lacquer ware, embroidery and silk fabrics, wooden figurines pottery agricultural and livestock products, and traditional Chinese medicinal herbs. Now they are all displayed in the Museum of Hunan province.

Taohuayuan (Fairy land of Peach Blossom Park), known as the south gate of the Wulingyuan scenic area, is situated near the Shuixi Town 15 km west of the seat of Taoyuan county. Hunan province. It is an old and mystical park with green pines and bamboos in it, deep and quiet, beautiful and enchanting. A story has it that Tao Yuanming (365 - 427), the Eastern Jin dynasty poet, visited here and wrote the “Notes on the Land of Peach BIossom”, bence the park and its name. In the park a mernorial hall was built with a name after Tao Yuanming. Pavilions were also constructed along the river and each got a name from Tao Yuanming’s other prose and poems. Peach trees are planted both on the hillsides and the river banks. When spring comes, peach trees are in full blossom and form a delightful contrast with the running water as if it were fairyland. Therefore it has been highly praised by visitors who come domestic and abroad out of admiration for its particularly fine scenery.

The Great Wild Goose Pagoda was built at the suggestion of the famous Tang monk, Xuan Zang . He had studied Buddhism in India for many years and brought back 600 volumes of Buddhist scriptures. The pagoda was intended to store these valuable scriptures. It is 64 meters in height with seven stories, entirely built of grey bricks. Its simple and unsophisticated architecture style is impressive and typical of the architecture of the Tang dynasty.

Mount Emei is also a rich natural museum. Some 3,000 varieties of plants including the rare dove tree, fir plants more than 60 sorts of the azalea, one of the three most famous flowers, in the world, can be round. In addition to the rare animals, such as the lesser panda, serow, silver pheasant, leaffaded butterfly and bearded frog, the most attractive animals are the monkeys. They often cane and go on the winding corridors of the temples or on the small paths in the forest near the “Heavenly Abode of the Nine Immortals” and the “Elephant Pool Monastery”. They beg for food from the passers-by, then chase each other and play with visitors. There the tourists soon forget their weariness and their pleasure is redoubled.

Yueyang Tower stands magnificently on the west gate of the Yueyang city wall, looking down at Dongting Lake. It is listed along with the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan, Hubei province and Prince Teng Pavilion in Nancharg, Jiangxi province as one of the three most outstanding towers in south China in history. It has a glazed yellow roof resembling the helmet of a general. Four huge nanmu columns each with a diameter of 50 centimeters stand on the floor to bear the entire weight of this 19-meter-high, three storeyed tower with eaves flying upward on four sides. Not a single nail or beam was used in its construction. Viewed from mid-lake, it seems to be right over the water surface. Many ancient scholars were attracted to climb it in appreciation to compose poetry and write prose, enjoying great popularity. In his 364-character prose “Notes on Yueyang Tower”, which was praised to be profound and powerful through the ages, Fan Zhongyan, the Song dynasty writer, wrote about the tower in a way that further spread its fame.

In winter Harbin is covered with snow everywhere and offers typical northern scenery. It is a good time for a trip there. The city attracts visitors particularly for its ice and snow festival. The festival usually opens in the first lunar month which normally begins in late January or early or mid-February of the solar year. Ice is carved into all kinds d images such as buildings and animals. When night falls, colored lights are turned on to enhance the beauty of the ice sculptures.

Jinan, the capital of Shandong province, is called the “city of springs”. An ancient saying about Jinan is: “Springs and willows are found in every courtyard.” The major water attractions are Spurting Spring, Black Tiger Spring, Pearl Spring and Five Dragon Pool. Spurting Spring, in the city’s center, and the largest in Jinan, shoots water up day and night from three points so pure and refreshing that it has the reputation of being the “Number One Spring under Heaven”.

Wulingyuan is also a green treasury and a natural zoo. Over 97.7% of Zhangjiajie is clad with vast expanse of primitive sub-forests. There are 191 species of forest trees alone. Suoxiyu has 89 families of wooden plants with 570 species, of which are rare species including dove tree, ginkgo, spruce, etc… There are quite a few exotic flowers too, such as unique lobster flower, giant mountain lotus, and all sorts d azalea, iron plum and orchid. Flowers are in blossom all the year round with fragrance spread all over.

According to a preliminary survey, hundreds of species of animals are found in Wulingyuan. Among them are rare animals like rhesus, civet, giant salamander and pangolin; some 20 rare birds like tragopan, golden pheasant, red - billed leiothrix, etc ..

Artificially dammed, Treasure Peak Lake is situated at the summit of a hill 70 meters above ground level, just looking like a beautiful master piece of traditional Chinese painting, which integrates a view of the lake and hills with primitive beauty. After climbing up along a 331 - stair set of steps chiseled into the stone, tourists reach atop the dam, where they can enjoy the unique views of the lake: the precipice nearby makes them shrink back at its sheerness; the strange peaks in the distance are reflected in the green water which ripples with breeze; Mandarin ducks often appear sporting on the water with other water birds. To boat on the lake as if to tour in a picture or above cloud. Hence the lake is also known as “Lake Yaochi on Earth” .