China

• China has many provinces and megacities, not to mention smaller cities, so unless you have weeks or months to explore, it’s better to limit yourself to a certain region e.g. Pearl River Delta
• Each province has its distinctive culture. The culture and language of Guangdong, for example, is very different to that of Beijing. The sights will be very different too.
• Cultural sights are to be found in every city, every village, usually village halls and temples. Examples of very distinctive villages include the Tulou of Fujian and Lijiang, Yunnan.
• Provinces and regions with substantial non-Han population, e.g. Tibet, have substantially different cultural and natural sights from central and coastal China.
• In central coastal China, e.g. around Shanghai, Hangzhou and Suzhou, the canals and gardens are a definite must-see. Water culture is important in this part of China.

• Spa
• Drama, with different styles e.g. Peking opera, Cantonese opera
• Hiking
• Drink tea in a teahouse

The staple food is rice in the south, noodles in the north. Potatoes are also widely produced and consumed.

There are a lot of different cuisines throughout China. Peking cuisine, Teochew cuisine and Guangdong cuisine, of course, are all very different. For example, dim sum (small portions of steamed food and snacks) are distinctive of Guangdong cuisine.

Pork, chicken and duck are common meat in many Chinese cuisines, in addition to fish in the coastal areas. Mutton is especially to be found in Inner Mongolia.

The easiest way to find vegan food is to find Buddhist restaurants in the cities and around monasteries. Note that Chinese vegan and vegetarian food differs a lot from that of Western countries, with a heavy emphasis on imitation meats mostly made of tofu.

• Handicraft
• Tea
• Snacks (but pay attention to the biosecurity laws of your country, so don’t bring meat or fresh vegetables)