What’s up guys, My name is Ryan and I want to show you some of the most impressive places in China, so here is my Chinese top 10! Where do I even start, China is one incredible country, home to some of the world’s most fascinating landscapes! When you look at China from a map, you realize how massive it is.
It shares its borders with 14 different countries which is more than any other place on earth. China’s landscapes range from the Himalayas to the oddly shaped Karst Mountains! I really enjoyed making this video and I can’t wait to share with you some places the outside world rarely sees.
Let’s start this video off in the magical mountains of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. Hope I said that right. Now located in Hunan Province, this forest is home to some of the world’s most bizzare scenery.
The park is full of these rock pillars that ascend from the forest floor, they are covered in lush vegetation and often misty clouds adding to their magic. These rock pillars are the inspiration behind the floating mountains in the movie Avatar. One of the most notable features of the park is the Hallelujah mountain, it's the tallest pillar in the park with a height over 3500 feet.
To get around the park you can take a cable car, or do plenty of hikes around these majestic mountains! Afterwards, we're going to head over to the province of Sichuan ! Located in southern China, Sichuan is an incredible province home to some of the country’s best scenery.
One thing in particular that I love about Sichuan are the mountains, they remind me of the Italian dolomites and honestly these mountains rival the beauty of European alps! Just absolutely incredible! Almost feels like your in Switzerland or something.
Some impressive mountains include Mount Siguniang which is about 5 hours outside Chengdu. There’s also the Genyen Massif in Litang County. Which hosts some of the world's most unexplored peaks!
I just want to drive around exploring all of the mountain and wild terrain here. Another incredible mountain location is Daocheng and Yading, it's considered to be the ancient heartland of Shangri-la! You can visit the Yading Nature Reserve to marvel at alpine lakes and towering peaks.
Aside from mountains, Sichuan is home to the world’s tallest stone buddha statue with a height of 71 meters! The province is also where some of the last wild pandas roam in the lush Minshan mountains. One last place in Sichuan is the Jiuzhai Valley National Park, and it's famous for having the most beautiful waters in all of china!
I’d love to come here in the fall to experience the autumn colors! Sichuan is an incredible province! After were going to head over to neighboring Tibet.
Located in south western China, Tibet is this plateau, and its the highest region in the world with an average height of 14,000 feet. It's home to some of the world’s tallest mountains including Mount Everest. I think one incredible place I want to go in Tibet is Sepu Kangri, it features this enormous glacier, and its this perfectly shaped triangle mountain right at the base of two glacial lakes!
I guess you could call it the Matterhorn of China! Honestly Tibet is such an incredible destination that I believe deserves more recognition! Afterwards, let's head over to the city to visit Shanghai!
Located right on the central coast next to the Yangtze river, Shanghai is China's biggest city with a population around 25 million. It's a global center for finance, education and trade. One thing I love about Shanghai, is the waterfront along the river.
You can walk along it and just marvel at Shanghai’s skyscrapers! The tallest building in the city is the Shanghai Tower, with a height of 2073 feet it's the second tallest building in the world! Now after Shanghai, we're going to head over to the Yellow Mountains.
Also called Huangshan, the Yellow Mountains are a set of peculiarly shaped granite peaks famous for its mystical views and sunrises. Now the mountain range is located about a 5 hour drive from Shanghai making it a very popular destination. These mountains have been a source of artists and poets for thousands of years with over 20,000 poems written about them.
It’s Just unfair how beautiful these mountains are! Afterwards, we're going to head to the Great Wall of China! This may be the most notable feature of China and with reason!
When I think of the Great Wall of China, I imagine one giant wall that stretches across the country, but it's actually a series of walls that were built by different dynasties as far back as the 7th century bc. The walls that are most famous and recognizable today are the walls that were built by the Ming dynasty during the 14th century, which are located about two hours outside of Beijing! Now in total, there are over 13,000 miles of walls across China, making it one of the greatest architectural feats in human history!
The walls were used to help protect against invaders such as the Mongols, but it also had other uses like managing immigration and taxing goods that passed through on the silk road! The cost of the wall is unknown but it's believed that hundreds of thousands of people died during the making of it! It really is a crazy piece of human history!
After we're going to head to the province of Xinjiang. Located in north western China, Xinjiang is China's largest province. The area is truly massive, it borders eight countries such as Russia and Pakistan.
The landscape of Xinjiang varies from towering mountains to open grasslands. One of the more peculiar places is the Tarim Populus Euphratica Forest. It's this forest full of ancient trees on the edge of Taklamakan Desert.
It doesn’t look real, it reminds me of those water filled sand dunes over in Brazil. Truly such a bizarre location. Now another one of my favorite places in the province is the Tian Shan Mountains.
They are a mountain range located not just in China but also in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. They boast some insane terrain with two peaks over 7000 meters. Another incredible feature of northwest China is the Yardang Landform Groups.
They are some of the most peculiar shaped rock formations I’ve seen. They’re unique shape is due to millions of years of wind erosion. Pretty cool if you ask me!
Afterwards, we're going to visit Luoping! Located in the province of Yunnan, Luoping is famous for its yellow canola fields that surround the limestone mountains! Every spring the fields turn a striking yellow color creating a one of a kind landscape!
The area around Jinji Peak is home to isolated peaks surrounded by canolas and it's just one of my favorites. You can also visit the Niuji Luosi field which is just this terraced garden full of terraced flowers! The best time to come and see the fields in bloom is around late January into early april.
Also in the area is the home to incredible waterfalls such as Jiulong Falls! Now for our last destination, we are going to visit the province of Guangxi, located in southern China on the Vietnam border. This place is incredible!
When I imagine China, this is the type of landscape I imagine. Lush valleys, vast cave systems, and mountains that look like they are from a Dr Seuss book! One of my favorite places in the province is Yangshuo.
Located near the city of Guilin, Yangshuo is an incredible area I want to visit most! The area is full of the iconic Karst mountains. Throughout the province there are thousands of these unique shaped mountains which are made from Eroded limestone, and I think they are so fascinating!
Anyways, I just want to take a boat down the Li river and explore all that Yangshuo has to offer! Another incredible place in Guangxi is Mount Danxia. It’s home to these insane mountains that I’ve never seen anything like!
So many unique formations that rise out of the lush jungle floor, just another jaw dropping spot in China! Well that is it for my china top 10! I’m barely scratching the surface and there’s so many more unknown places to visit in this insane China!
Let me know where your favorite place is in China in the comments below! I also have a relaxation channel where I post hour long films with calming music to bring some peace and nature in your life. I did a film on China that I think you’ll enjoy!
You can find me on Instagram and Tiktok @shirley. films - it's Ryan and we will see you later!
