China is the world's most populous country, covering a vast area of the landmass of Asia. Over the past two decades It has a global economic power and has opened up to visitors who can enjoy a wide variety of walking routes in cities, countryside and mountains.
There are great contrasts between the dynamic 21st century cities and the more traditional rural towns and landscapes. These offer many different hiking experiences. You can find your own route around a city, aided by a map, whereas many hill climbs are along fixed hiking routes built for monks and pilgrims to reach religious locations.
The first four walking stories for China were provided by Catriona Llanwarne. Those from Yangshuo in Guangxi province, and Zhaoxing in Guizhou province, both in South-West China, give an impression of the more rural and traditional face of China today. They also draw attention to the remarkable landscape of that part of China. A third covers a hill in the central Chinese city of Chongqing, and a fourth comes from the tropical island of Hainan.
To find out more about Catriona's time in China as an English-language teacher in Chongqing in 2004-5, visit her weblog.
For locations of the stories in China, see the China Map.
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Beijing - Front Gate to Tiananmen Square
More China walks are being added from a holiday in 2005.
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