Index
China’s 5A Scenic Areas (5A 景区)
China grades its tourist sites from A to 5A, and 5A is the top grade. The rating covers a defined area, which can be one mountain, one temple compound, or a whole river valley, so the sites below vary in size more than the shared label suggests.
There are 153 pages here, grouped by region and then by province. Each one covers what is on the site, how long it takes, how to reach it, and when to go.
5A is a rating, not a kind of place, so what sits under it varies. For what the grades mean and what a ticket actually covers, see parks and scenic areas; for the walled towns among them, old towns.
19 pages
North China (华北)
Beijing (北京)
- Forbidden City (故宫)A Government and a Household, in That Order
- Temple of Heaven (天坛)Where the Emperor Had to Get It Right
- The Great Wall at Badaling and Mutianyu (八达岭·慕田峪长城)The Restored End of the Wall
- Ming Tombs (明十三陵)Thirteen Tombs, One Excavation, and a Policy
- Old Summer Palace (圆明园)A Garden Kept as Its Own Ruin
- Prince Gong’s Mansion (恭王府)Built by the Richest Official, Inherited by the Man Who Cleaned Up
Hebei (河北)
- Chengde Mountain Resort (避暑山庄)The Qing Empire’s Second Capital
- Baiyangdian (白洋淀)A Wetland That Dried Out and Was Refilled on Purpose
- Western Qing Tombs (清西陵)Where the Qing Buried the Emperors Who Would Not Lie Together
- Mount Baishi (白石山)A Forest of Marble, Three Walkways High
- Eastern Qing Tombs (清东陵)Five Emperors, and a Vault You Can Walk Into
- Wahuang Palace (娲皇宫)The Goddess Who Patched the Sky
- Shanhai Pass (山海关)The Gate That Was Opened From the Inside
- Jinshanling Great Wall (金山岭长城)The Wall Without the Handrails
Shanxi (山西)
- Yungang Grottoes (云冈石窟)A Cliff Where a Style Changed
- Mount Wutai (五台山)Five Flat Summits, and Two Buddhisms
- Pingyao Ancient City (平遥古城)The Town That Ran China’s Money, Then Ran Out of It
- Hukou Waterfall (壶口瀑布)The Yellow River Through a Spout
Inner Mongolia (内蒙古)
- Ejina Desert Poplar Forest (额济纳胡杨林)A Desert Forest That Exists by Allocation
6 pages
Northeast China (东北)
Liaoning (辽宁)
- Red Beach, Panjin (盘锦红海滩)Not a Beach, and the Red Is Not Sand
Jilin (吉林)
- Changbai Mountain (长白山)A Volcano With a Border Across the Top
- Puppet Palace of Manchukuo (伪满皇宫)A Palace Built to Be Looked At
Heilongjiang (黑龙江)
- Wudalianchi Volcanic Lakes (五大连池)The Lava Dammed a River and Made Five Lakes
- Beiji Village, Mohe (北极村)The Top of the Country
- Jingpo Lake (镜泊湖)A Lake Held In by Lava
38 pages
East China (华东)
Shanghai (上海)
- Oriental Pearl Tower (东方明珠)The Tower That Was Built Before the District
Jiangsu (江苏)
- Zhouzhuang (周庄)The Canal Town Tourism Found First
- Tongli (同里)A Garden Built by a Man Who Had Just Been Sacked
- Lake Tai at Wuzhong (吴中太湖)Suzhou’s Back Garden Is a Very Large Lake
- Confucius Temple and Qinhuai Riverside, Nanjing (南京夫子庙秦淮风光带)A Temple, an Exam Hall and a Lit River
- Purple Mountain, Nanjing (南京钟山)Three Tombs, Six Centuries Apart
Zhejiang (浙江)
- Qiandao Lake (千岛湖)A Lake From 1959, With Two Towns Underneath
- Yandang Mountain (雁荡山)The Inside of a Collapsed Volcano
- Mount Tiantai (天台山)Where a School of Buddhism Was Assembled
- Xitang (西塘)A Kilometre of Roof Over the Waterfront
- Wuzhen (乌镇)A Canal Town, Run as One Business
- Hengdian World Studios (横店影视城)A City Built From a Painting
- Nanxun (南浔)Where the Silk Money Went
- Mount Putuo (普陀山)The Sacred Mountain That Is an Island
Anhui (安徽)
- Mount Huangshan (黄山)Granite, Pine and Cloud
- Xidi and Hongcun (西递宏村)Two Villages the Money Left Behind
- Mount Jiuhua (九华山)The Mountain of the Bodhisattva Who Stayed
- Mount Tianzhu, Anqing (天柱山)The Mountain That Lost Its Title
- Tiantangzhai (天堂寨)A Ridge That Is Three Boundaries at Once
Fujian (福建)
- Gulangyu (鼓浪屿)No Cars, and a Skyline Across the Channel
- Mount Qingyuan (清源山)A City’s Gods, Cut Into the Hill Behind It
- Mount Wuyi (武夷山)Seen From a Raft, Written On From the Bank
- Mount Taimu (太姥山)Granite Stacked Into Caves
- Three Lanes and Seven Alleys, Fuzhou (三坊七巷)The Street That Produced Modern China
- Fujian Tulou (福建土楼)Villages That Are One Building
Jiangxi (江西)
- Mount Lu (庐山)A Town on Top of a Mountain
- Mount Sanqing (三清山)Granite That Came Apart Into Columns
- Guifeng Danxia (龟峰)The Danxia Site Everyone Drives Past
- Tengwang Pavilion (滕王阁)Rebuilt Twenty-Nine Times for One Piece of Writing
- Mount Longhu (龙虎山)Red Towers, a River, and the Home of a Daoist Lineage
- Wugong Mountain (武功山)A Mountain You Come to Sleep On
- Jingdezhen Ancient Kiln (景德镇古窑)Where the Word China Comes From
- Mingyue Mountain (明月山)Plank Walkways Above the Cloud Line
Shandong (山东)
- Mount Tai (泰山)A Mountain People Have Been Writing On
- Mount Lao (崂山)Granite That Ends in the Yellow Sea
- Liugong Island, Weihai (刘公岛)Where a Bought Navy Was Lost
- Tai’erzhuang Ancient City (台儿庄古城)Flattened in 1938, Rebuilt After 2008
- Confucius Temple and Cemetery, Qufu (曲阜三孔)A Teacher Housed Like an Emperor
23 pages
Central China (华中)
Henan (河南)
- Shaolin Temple and Mount Song (嵩山少林)Eight Monuments, and the Place They Called the Middle
- Longmen Grottoes (龙门石窟)Where the Court Carried On After 494
- Yuntai Mountain (云台山)A Gorge You Walk Inside
- Qingming Riverside Garden (清明上河园)A Painting, Built at Full Size
- Red Flag Canal (红旗渠)A Canal Cut Along a Cliff by Hand
- Mangdang Hills (芒砀山)Tombs Cut Into a Hill on the Flat
- Mount Chaya (嵖岈山)A Pile of Granite on a Flat Plain
Hubei (湖北)
- Yellow Crane Tower (黄鹤楼)A 1985 Building That a Poem Keeps Alive
- Qingjiang Gorge (清江画廊)A Reservoir Gorge in Tujia Country
- Three Gorges Dam and Qu Yuan’s Home (三峡大坝·屈原故里)The Other Answer to the Same River
- Xiling Gorge Village (三峡人家)A Gorge Village, Built to Be Looked At
- Enshi Grand Canyon (恩施大峡谷)A Path Bolted to a Limestone Wall
- Shennong Stream (神农溪)A Side Stream of the Yangtze, Entered by Wooden Boat
- Tenglong Cave (腾龙洞)Where a River Goes Underground
- Shennongjia (神农架)A Place Administered as a Forest
- Red Cliffs Battlefield (赤壁)The Battle Is Certain, the Address Is Not
- Wudang Mountains (武当山)A Mountain an Emperor Built to Prove a Point
Hunan (湖南)
- Wulingyuan, Zhangjiajie (武陵源)One Ticket, Two Opposite Rocks
- Mount Heng, Nanyue (南岳衡山)The Southern Peak, and a War Cemetery
- Yueyang Tower and Junshan Island (岳阳楼·君山岛)The One of the Three That Is Really Old
- Yuelu Academy (岳麓书院)A School That Never Stopped Being a School
- Dongjiang Lake (东江湖)The Fog Comes Out of a Power Station
- Langshan (崀山)Rock Towers Standing in Rice Fields
10 pages
South China (华南)
Guangdong (广东)
- Hailing Island (海陵岛)A Song Shipwreck, Raised in One Piece
- Mount Xiqiao (西樵山)A Dead Volcano Above the Factories
- Kaiping Diaolou (开平碉楼)Built With Money Earned Abroad
- Mount Danxia (丹霞山)The Hill the Whole Landform Is Named After
Guangxi (广西)
- Li River (漓江)The View on the Twenty-Yuan Note
- Detian Falls (德天瀑布)A Waterfall With an International Border in It
- Weizhou Island Volcanic Coast (涠洲岛)Read the Eruptions in the Cliff
- Huangyao Ancient Town (黄姚古镇)An Old Town People Still Live In
Hainan (海南)
- Daxiao Dongtian, Sanya (大小洞天)A Daoist Grotto-Heaven on a Rocky Coast
- Wuzhizhou Island (蜈支洲岛)A Well-Run Leisure Island, Sold as a Desert One
31 pages
Southwest China (西南)
Chongqing (重庆)
- Dazu Rock Carvings (大足石刻)A Sermon Carved as a Comic Strip
- Wulong Karst (武隆喀斯特)Holes Where the Cave Roof Came Down
- Lesser Three Gorges (巫山小三峡)A Side River With Coffins in the Cliffs
- Baidicheng and Qutang Gorge (白帝城 · 瞿塘峡)The View on the Ten Yuan Note
Sichuan (四川)
- Mount Qingcheng and Dujiangyan (青城山·都江堰)A Waterworks From 256 BC That Still Has a Job
- Langzhong Ancient City (阆中古城)A Town Laid Out by Geomancy, Lit Like a Fairground
- Mount Emei (峨眉山)2,600 Metres of Mountain, Most of It Forest
- Leshan Giant Buddha (乐山大佛)A Buddha Built to Fix a River
- Jianmen Pass (剑门关)One Gap in a Very Long Wall
- Jiuzhaigou Valley (九寨沟)UNESCO World Heritage
- Huanglong (黄龙)A Staircase of Limestone Pools, at Altitude
- Hailuogou Glacier Park (海螺沟)A Glacier That Ends in the Forest
- Yading Nature Reserve (稻城亚丁)Three Peaks, and the Walk Up to Them
Guizhou (贵州)
- Huangguoshu Falls (黄果树瀑布)The Waterfall You Can Walk Behind
- Fanjingshan (梵净山)A Pinnacle With Two Temples and a Cleft Between Them
- Zhenyuan Ancient Town, Guizhou (镇远古城)A Garrison on the Road to Yunnan
- Hundred-Li Rhododendron Forest (百里杜鹃)Three Weeks of Flowers, and Then Nothing
- Zhijin Cave (织金洞)Learn to See Past the Floodlights
- Chishui Danxia (赤水丹霞)A Red Amphitheatre With a Waterfall In It
- Zhangjiang, Libo (荔波樟江)Which of These Waterfalls Did People Build
- Qingyan (青岩古镇)A Garrison Built Out of the Hill Behind It
Yunnan (云南)
- Pudacuo National Park (普达措)Lakes and Meadows at Three and a Half Thousand Metres
- Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (玉龙雪山)A Glacier You Reach by Escalator and Queue
- Old Town of Lijiang (丽江古城)A Town That Was Rebuilt Into a Heritage Site
- Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple (崇圣寺三塔)Three Towers That Outlived Everything Around Them
- Puzhehei Karst Lakes (普者黑)Karst Cones Standing in a Wetland
Tibet (西藏)
- Potala Palace (布达拉宫)A Government Building That Is Also a Reliquary
- Jokhang Temple (大昭寺)The Building Lhasa Is Arranged Around
- Pagsum Lake (巴松措)The Part of Tibet With Trees
- Tashi Lhunpo Monastery (扎什伦布寺)A Monastic Town Built Into a Hillside
- Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon (雅鲁藏布大峡谷)A River Turning a Corner Around a Mountain
26 pages
Northwest China (西北)
Shaanxi (陕西)
- Terracotta Army (秦始皇兵马俑)The Guard, and the Tomb Nobody Has Opened
- Huaqing Palace (华清池)Hot Springs, a Tang Palace, and a December Morning in 1936
- Xi’an City Wall and Stele Forest (西安城墙 · 碑林)A City Wall You Can Ride All the Way Round
- Daming Palace (大明宫)The Palace That Is Now a Lawn
- Mount Taibai (太白山)The High Point of the Line That Divides China
- Famen Temple (法门寺)The Tower Fell and a Tang Crypt Opened
- Mount Hua (华山)One Block of Granite, and No Easy Way Up
Gansu (甘肃)
- Jiayu Pass (嘉峪关)Where the Great Wall Stops
- Zhangye Danxia (张掖丹霞)Striped Hills, and What the Light Does to Them
- Mount Kongtong (崆峒山)Where the Yellow Emperor Went to Ask
- Maijishan Grottoes (麦积山石窟)Modelled in Clay, Not Carved in Stone
- Mingsha Dunes and Crescent Lake (鸣沙山月牙泉)A Spring in a Dune Field, Kept Alive on Purpose
Qinghai (青海)
- Qinghai Lake (青海湖)A Salt Lake at 3,200 Metres That Is Getting Bigger
- Kumbum Monastery (塔尔寺)A Great Gelug Monastery, and No Permit Needed
Ningxia (宁夏)
- Zhenbeibu Western Film Studio (镇北堡西部影视城)Two Frontier Forts That Became a Film Studio
- Shuidonggou (水洞沟)Where Chinese Palaeolithic Archaeology Started
- Shapotou (沙坡头)Where the Desert Reaches the Yellow River
Xinjiang (新疆)
- Heavenly Lake of Tian Shan (天山天池)The Other Heavenly Lake
- Kanas Lake (喀纳斯)A Long Way to Go for Three Weeks of Colour
- Koktokay Geopark (可可托海)A Geopark Built Around a Mine
- Nalati Grassland (那拉提)Grass and Spruce, and a Road Through Both
- Kashgar Old City (喀什噶尔老城)An Oasis Town Where the Two Silk Roads Meet Again
- Kalajun Grassland (喀拉峻)Summer Pasture in the Ili Valley
- Bayanbulak Grassland (巴音布鲁克)A River That Cannot Go Straight
- Pamir Plateau, Taxkorgan (帕米尔旅游区)The Road onto the Roof of the World
- Urho Yardangs (乌尔禾世界魔鬼城)Wind-Carved Ground on the Junggar Basin
Work Out Which of These You Actually Want
Most of these sites take a full day once travel at either end is counted, and a few of them take three. Tell our local team your dates and how you like to travel, and they will say which ones fit the route and which ones are better left for another trip.