China has many large and famous cities. Below is a list of the nine most important to travellers. Other cities are listed under their specific regional section. See the Dynasties and capitals section further down the page for a list of China's many previous capitals.

• Beijing (北京) - capital city, cultural center, and host of the 2008 Olympics
• Guangzhou (广州) - one of China's most prosperous and liberal cities
• Guilin (桂林) - popular destination for both Chinese and foreign tourists, sensational mountain/river scenery
• Hangzhou (杭州) - famously beautiful city, major center for the silk industry
• Kunming (昆明) - capital of Yunnan, gateway to the villages of the ethnic minorities
• Nanjing (南京) - a renowned historical and cultural city with many historic relics
• Shanghai (上海) - famous for its riverside scenery, China's largest city is a major commercial center with many shopping opportunities
• Suzhou (苏州) - "Venice of the East", old city, famous for canals and gardens
• Xi'an (西安) - terminus of the ancient Silk Road, and home of the terracotta warriors
  

Other destinations
Some of the most famous tourist attractions in China are:

• Great Wall of China (万里长城)
• Tibet
• Silk Road (丝绸之路)
• Hainan island, tropical paradise

China has dozens of UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Sacred sites
For sacred mountains, see the next section.

Mountains:
Several sites in China have famous Buddhist art:

• Yungang Grottoes (near Datong) in Shanxi Province - more than 51,000 Buddhist carvings, dating back 1,500 years, in the recesses and caves of the Yangang Valley mountainsides
• Mogao Caves (near Dunhuang) in Gansu province - art and manuscripts dating back to the 4th century
• Dazu Rock Carvings near Chongqing, dating from the 7-13th century
• Longmen Grottoes - near Luoyang, 5-10th century
  

  China (including Tibet) is home to many sacred mountains.

  The Five Great Mountains (五岳 wǔyuè), associated with Taoism:

  • Mount Tai (泰山), Shandong Province (1,545 meters)
  • Mount Hua (华山), Shaanxi Province (1,997 meters)
  • Mount Heng (Hunan) (衡山), Hunan Province (1,290 meters)
  • Mount Heng (Shanxi) (恒山), Shanxi Province (2,017 meters)
  • Mount Song (嵩山）, Henan Province, where the famous Shaolin Temple (少林寺) is located (1,494 meters)

  The Four Sacred Mountains (四大佛教名山 sìdà fójiào míngshān), associated with Buddhism:

  • Mount Emei (峨嵋山), Sichuan Province (3,099 meters)
  • Mount Jiuhua (九华山), Anhui Province (1,342 meters)
  • Mount Putuo (普陀山), Zhejiang Province (297 meters, an island)
  • Mount Wutai (五台山), Shanxi Province (3,058 meters)

  The three main sacred mountains of Tibetan Buddhism:

  • Mount Kailash, Tibet (5,656 meters), known as Gang Rinpoche in Tibetan, is also one of the holiest mountains in Hinduism and is visited by many Hindu pilgrims
  • Kawa Karpo
  • Amnye Machen

  There are also several other well-known mountains. In China, many mountains have temples, even if they are not especially sacred sites:

  • Mount Qingcheng (青城山), Sichuan Province
  • Mount Longhu (龙虎山), Jiangxi Province
  • Mount Lao (崂山), Shandong Province
  • Mount Wuyi (武夷山), Fujian Province, a major tourist/scenic site with many tea plantations
  • Mount Everest, on the Tibet/Nepal border, world's highest mountain
  • Mount Huang (黄山) (Yellow Mountain), in Anhui province, with scenery and temples
  • Mount Wudang (武当山), near Danjiangkou in Hubei, famous for kung fu
  • Changbaishan/Paektusan (Chinese:长白山 Korean:백두산), the most sacred mountain to ethnic Manchus and Koreans, located on the border with China and North Korea.