Where do Chinese people like to vacation in China? - Part II

Here are the rest of top 10 domestic destinations in China:

5. Guilin city (桂林山水) - During a visit to China former U.S. President Bill Clinton said "No place in China is more evocative of the beauty of your country than Guilin." Two crystal-clear rivers flow through the city, encircled by mountains with unusual and bizarre rock formations and caves. (Previous Post on Guilin)

4. Jiuzhaigou (九寨沟), Sichuan - The place is dotted with more than 100 gorgeous lakes, which differ from others by having a high concentration of calcium carbonate, so that the lakebeds and embankments are all covered with crystals. The water is so clear that the bottom is visible despite depths of several dozen meters. Waterfalls are the essence of the scenery in Jiuzhaigou. They are created between lakes on different levels with water flowing down the cliffs covered with trees.

(Photo courtesy of www.worldinterestingfacts.com)

3. Yellow Mountain (黄山), Anhui - this mountain was listed as one of the World Natural and Cultural Heritages in 1990. Yellow Mountain is characterized by the four wonders: odd-shaped pines, grotesque rock formation, seas of clouds and crystal clear hot springs. Because of its mists and clouds, natural scenery in the area changes beyond prediction. (Previous Post on Yellow Mountain)

(Photo courtesy of www.chinatownconnection.com)

2. Sanya (三亚), Hainan - The city is located at the southern most tip of Hainan Island to the West of Hong Kong. Sanya has 19 bays and over 40 inlets lying along a 209 km coast line. It is often refer to as the "Hawaii of the East". It is China's idyllic island paradise!

(Photo courtesy of www.worldsbestbeachtowns.com)

1. Lijiang (丽江), Yunnan - With the Jade Dragon Mountain as backdrop, the Lijiang Old Town has adapted itself harmoniously to the natural scenery. Lijiang maintains an ancient water-supply system of great complexity and ingenuity that is still functioning effectively. (Previous Post on Lijiang)

Earthquake Stricken Yushu (玉树) Looking to Rebuild

The 6.9 magnitude earthquake that stuck Yushu in Northwest China's Qinghai province on April 14th has been devastatingly. It has so far killed almost 2000 and over 12,000 injured or missing. This region of China is in a not only remote and very rugged terrain, but also poor. However, this tragedy can give this area an opportunity to rebuild itself or even reinvent itself.

(Photo courtsey of Getty)

An eco-tourism plateau city is expected to be built in the future, even as relief work is still ongoing, Beijing News reports today. An overall plan for the reconstruction is expected to be handed in by the province to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development for approval on April 26. A disaster assessment report for the April 14 earthquake will be done by April 20 to guide the region’s post-disaster reconstruction work, the newspaper said, citing the Qinghai seismological bureau.

Largely inhabited by Tibetans, Yushu is situated on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau with most of the region 4,000 meters (13,123 feet) above the sea level. It is the fountainhead of the Yangtze River, the Yellow River and the Lancang River. Ravines and valleys have been cut by the rivers in southeastern Yushu.

Another famous Chinese city has successfully rebuild itself after an earthquake. Situated in the northwest plateau in Yunnan (Heavenly Yunnan), the city of Lijiang ("the Beautiful River") got its name from its position at the middle reaches of the beautiful Jinsha River. In 1996 February 3, a 7.0 Richter scaled earthquake hit Lijiang. It took 200 lives and injured 14,000 more. Surprisingly, the city's oldest treasure, the Old Town mostly remain intact. The provincial government decided not to restore the damaged high rise buildings; instead, they were reconstructed as traditional single family dwellings after the quake. The city was given a urban make over to develop into a major tourist destination. Many say the earthquake gave Lijiang a fresh start and the reconstruction played a major role in the city achieving the designation by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

(Photo courtsey of www.studyincn.com)

We all hope the eco-tourism plan will do the same for the city of Yushu and its people.

Heavenly Yunnan (云南省)

About four years ago, I had the opportunity to travel to one of China's most beautiful areas - Yunnan Province. The literal translation of Yunnan is South of the Clouds. Geographically, China is shaped like an chicken. Yunnan with Kunming as its capital city is located on the back tummy of the chicken close to the Vietnamese and Laos border.

I flew to Kunming from Shanghai in early April. While the rest of the country was still a little cool, Kunming was already refreshingly warm and late spring-like. We hopped on a mini van for a 90km drive outside of Kunming to our first stop - the Stone Forest. The term "the Stone Forest" suggests that it is a forest made up of stones. It began to take shape about 270 million years ago. Groups of gray-black stone peaks, and stone pillars rise abruptly, pointing to the sky, like a very dense forest just as its name infers. Animals, plants, and even human figures can be found here. Some are elegant, some are rugged, and each is lifelike with its own distinguishing characteristics.

After a full day touring this natural wonder, we hopped back on the mini van and began our long drive towards Lijiang. This is a very mountainous part of the China situated on a plateau at an elevation of 2,600m. Charming villages in the valley, tiered farmland, lush vegetation and tribe villagers walking along the highways all made the winding drive very interesting and scenic. I did have to adjust to the altitude. But the light headache was gone after a good night of sleep and a lot of water.

With the Jade Dragon Mountain as backdrop, the Lijiang Old Town has adapted itself harmoniously to the natural scenery. Lijiang maintains an ancient water-supply system of great complexity and ingenuity that is still functioning effectively. Lijiang is heavily populated by people of Naxi nationality and they loved to dance. The highlight of the trip for me was dancing with the Naxi people in the town square after night fall.

It is said man has conquered Mount Everest, yet Jade Dragon Snow Mountain which is much shorter can never be conquered by man. The top of the mountain is covered in black loose pebbles which makes any climbing tools impossible to grip onto. I missed the opportunity to climb part of the Mountain. The lift was under maintenance. But the Chinese has a saying about traveling somewhere they love: "leaving here with a regret only means now you have an excuse to visit here again soon." I loved Kunming and I am definitely coming back!