For world travelers who covet seeing the most mesmerizing and awe-inspiring sites on the planet, China may not necessarily be the country that springs immediately to mind. But outside of its crowded cities, the country is filled with amazing scenery. In fact, it's so vast that it'd be almost impossible for a tourist to see every single site in China capable of taking their breath away. Your eyes will be wowed and your soul touched at what you'll witness.
The first place visitors to China should make sure they see is Potala Palace in Tibet. While the palace isn't part of the country's natural landscape, it's one of the world's greatest architectural wonders. Potala Palace is one of the most exclusive tourist destinations in China, with a limited number of tourists admitted each day. The palace is 13 beautiful stories built right into a mountainside. Inside, you'll find over 1,000 rooms that once acted as the home of the Dalai Lama and the political and religious center of Tibetan Buddhism. It's a truly magnificent site both inside and outside.
The Potala Palace
To see more natural beauty, one place to visit is Benxi Water Cave, which is home to the world's longest underground river. Less than two miles of the river is accessible, and of that only a few hundred yards is open to tourists, but the parts tourists can see are stunning. In addition to a dazzling collection of stalagmites and stalactites, the cave is bursting with color, as green, yellow, and red paint all the walls of Benxi Water Cave in a way that is mesmerizing.
The Benxi Water Caves
Another gorgeous site that includes water is Huangguoshu Waterfall, which is the highest waterfall in Asia at more than 250 feet down. Nicknamed the "Yellow Fruit Tree," the waterfall can be viewed from nearly every possible angle, including above and below, making it easy for tourists to see and astonish at its beauty. When the water is at its peak flow in the middle of the summer, the site of Huangguoshu is equally amazing as any other waterfall in the world.
The Huangguoshu Waterfall
The Yuanyang rice terraces are one of the most unique sites in the world. Terraces have been carved into the slopes of Ailao Mountain that will fill with water and reflect everything around them, from the sky and the clouds to the rice plants and algae. The result is a spectacular display of color that is almost impossible to replicate in any other landscape. The view is surreal and something tourists have to see to believe.
The Yuanyang Rice Terraces
One final place in China that offers beautiful scenery is the Guangxi region in the southern part of the country. Tourists often overlook this region when visiting China, but there's so much to see that a traveler could dedicate an entire trip to the Guangxi region and not run out of places to see. There are picturesque villages that look like they belong in a painting, tranquil rivers of blue and green to traverse, rock paintings on vertical cliffs that have been around for over 2,000 years, and so much more. There's so much to see and the beauty of the entire region will leave you mesmerized.
All photo credits courtesy of Wikipedia.