China

Ancient, vast, evolving and exciting, home to the world’s oldest civilisation, China is a country of contrast. Its cultural monuments are unsurpassed: The Great Wall of China dating back 2500 years and built to keep out the marauding hordes, the Forbidden City of the Chinese Emperors, Tiananmen Square in Beijing, the largest square in the world and the Terracotta Warriors of Xi’an are amongst the countless wonders.

Visit the Silk Road which began in Xi’an and led north-west through the narrow Gansu Corridor, with its steep, rocky mountains and breathtaking legacy of Buddhist art, on to China’s far west of deserts, oases and mosques. Or admire wonderful scenery on a leisurely cruise down the mighty Yangze River, passing through the natural wonder of the Three Gorges with their majestic cliffs and sheer peaks.

From the traditional charm of rural Yunnan Province where time appears to have stood still to the modern high rises and 24 hours neon of Hong Kong and Shanghai, China will never cease to surprise you.