Golly, where to begin? Positively massive by every conventional measure, China not only has something for everyone, but everything for everyone – lots of it. Culture? It goes back over 5,000 years here. Landscape? Take your pick of mountains, plains, deserts, and rolling hills. Bustling urban centres? Over 20 million people live in Beijing alone. Diversity of experiences? Check out our roster of trips and start making a (very long) list. We guarantee you'll run out of time before China runs out of things for you to fill it with.
For centuries, China was a confusing collection of kingdoms and regions controlled by warlords. The imposing dynasties of yesteryear have controlled massive swaths of this land from Xinjiang to Tibet. The cultural advances and technological innovations of dynastic China are too numerous to even touch on here, but their legacies live on in the temples and palaces that dot the vast landscape, and in the very fabric of Chinese culture itself.
Change swept through China after World War II, when Mao Zedong's communist revolutionaries seized control and imposed strict control on virtually every aspect of civilian life. Through the years, China transformed itself into an industrial powerhouse and opened its arms (and its markets) to the world. The result: sprawling neon cities that stretch to the horizon and beyond, teeming with more people than you can imagine. In busy Shanghai and Beijing, modern life rubs up against remnants of the old days, offering an intriguing glimpse of the past within sight of the marvels of the modern age.
