Eagerly assuming its place among the
world's top travel destinations, even more so since Beijing took
centre stage at the 2008 Olympics, China is an epic adventure. From
the wide open and empty panoramas of Tibet to the push and shove of
Shàngh journey through this colossus of a country is a mesmerising
encounter with the most populous and perhaps most culturally
idiosyncratic nation on earth. The sheer diversity of China's
terrain takes you from noisy cities fizzing with energy, to
isolated mountain-top Ming-Dynasty villages where you can hear a
pin drop. Pǔdōng's ambitious skyline is a triumphant statement
but it couldn't be further from the worldly renunciation acted out
in Tibet's distant monasteries.