Here Are the Most Beautiful Places in China

The travel magazine Chinese National Geography published their definitive list yesterday of China’s most beautiful locales. The endeavor lasted 8 months and involved collaboration with 34 media organizations across the country.

In the article, scenic shots are broken up into eight categories: lakes, waterfalls, mountains, villages, canyons, caves, grasslands, and deserts; and these categories each have a poetic introduction for the reader.

Domestic tourism is a massive industry in China, generating more than 5 billion RMB (nearly 700 million USD) in income in 2018, which represents an increase of over 12 percent from 2017, according to China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. In 2018, Chinese domestic travelers are estimated to have made more than 5.5 billion trips.

But enough talk. You want to see the pictures. Here are just some of the locations featured in Chinese National Geography‘s roundup.

Qinghai Lake

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Evening summer sky along Qinghai Lake (Tso Ngonpo), the largest lake on the Tibetan Plateau. The lake is 150 kilometers west of the city of Xining and lies at an elevation of 3200 meters/10,500 feet. The area around the lake is home to Tibetan nomads and their yak and sheep herds.

A post shared by Jamin York | Himalaya Journey (@thelandofsnows) on Aug 30, 2017 at 8:50am PDT

Tiger Leaping Gorge

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High above the Tiger Leaping Gorge (虎跳峡) in China’s western province of Yunnan not far from Lijiang. It’s considered one of the deepest if not actually the deepest canyon in the world. We decided to hike the middle section from the Halfway Guesthosue to Tina’s Guesthouse before descending to the bottom of the gorge. . . . . . . . . #china #yunnan #tigerleaping #tigerleapinggorge #bergwelten #halfwayguesthouse #tinasguesthouse #snowjademountain #虎跳峡 #tigerleaping #jadedragonsnowmountain #visityunnan #lijiang #beautifulyunnan #beautifullijiang #modernoutdoors #wildernessculture #mountain_world #raw_community_member

A post shared by Ｃｈｒｉｓ (@architexas) on Sep 30, 2019 at 9:32pm PDT

Honghehani

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🇨🇳 Южно-восточная китайская провинция Юньнань славится своими невероятно красивыми рисовыми плантациями. Хунхэ-Хани – это зеркальные каскады полей, причудливо-изогнутых и разноцветных словно мозаика, спускающихся со склонов гор Айлао к берегам Красной реки. – #хунхэхани #юньнань #айлао #китай2018 #китай🇨🇳 #рисовыеполя #рисовыеполя🌱 #рисовыеплантации #рисрастет #рис #китайскийрис #рисовые #honghehaniriceterraces #honghehani #riceplant #chinarice #china🇨🇳 #bumtv_1

A post shared by Bumtv_1 (@bumtv_1) on Dec 15, 2018 at 9:15pm PST

Lake Nam

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Horses and yak graze near the shore of Namtso Lake, the largest in the Tibetan Autonomous Region and highest in the world at 15,479 ft. This natural, salt lake is sacred to the Tibetans and is accessible by road from Lhasa. I get to travel to some pretty amazing places but without organizations like @nature_org working hard to protect them, that just wouldn’t be possible. This upcoming Earth Day, let’s help @nature_org stand up for nature—and inspire others—by entering the Nature Conservancy’s “What’s Your Nature?” Photo Contest. #lake #Namtso #lakenam #lakeNamtso #Tibet #Lhasa #China #photocontest #earthday @natgeo @natgeocreative @natgeotravel @supchinanews @thephotosociety @thesilkroadjourney @natgeo.media

A post shared by Michael Yamashita (@yamashitaphoto) on Apr 18, 2017 at 8:21am PDT

Huanglong Cave, Zhangjiajie

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Just vistit this nice #cave #dragoncave #zhangjiajie #china #traveltheworld #earth_shotz #earthescape #yellowdragoncave #huanglongcave

A post shared by mihai (@razvmih) on Sep 20, 2019 at 6:04am PDT

Taklamakan Desert

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Photo by Michael Yamashita @yamashitaphoto. Here’s the cover image of my book, Marco Polo. Camels crossing the Taklamakan Desert, Gansu, China. For my Italian friends, I will be opening an exhibit on Marco Polo at Museo d’Arte Orientale in Torino, Italy on December 18. #Taklamakan #Desert #Camels #Gansu #China #MarcoPolo #SilkRoad @theimagereview @thephotosociety @natgeocreative

A post shared by National Geographic (@natgeo) on Dec 12, 2014 at 6:54am PST

Detian Waterfall

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Probably the most beatiful waterfall I've ever seen. Spending last days of 2018 in Vietnam and then heading to new country. 😏Where are u guys gonna spend last days of 2018? . Asi jeden z nejhezčích vodopádu, co jsem kdy viděl. A dost mě překvapilo potom co jsme dorazili na místo, že jsme byli skoro sami. Posledních par dni budu trávit ve Vietnamu a potom hurá do nový destinace. Kde budete trávit posledních par dni? . #vietnam #vietnamdestinations #bangioc #bangiocwaterfall #detianwaterfall #china #jordhammondsundays #visitchina #earth_pix #dronefootage #dronestagram

A post shared by @ hoanslife on Dec 30, 2018 at 5:54am PST

Huangshan

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The huangshan scenic area in autumn is cool and pretty. Many tourists climb the mountains to enjoy the beautiful scenery. #huangshan #huangshanmountain

A post shared by 黄山Mount Huang (@huangshan__travel) on Oct 7, 2019 at 2:30pm PDT