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2013년 9월 27일 금요일

천문학 사진사들의 2013년도 사진: Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2013


Gazing at the heavens

The Royal Observatory Greenwich's Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition highlights stunning pictures of the cosmos in five categories, with a couple of special prizes added in. More than 1,200 entries were received from 49 countries for 2013's contest. Here are the top images for 2013.

This photo by Ben Canales of the U.S., titled "Hi.Hello," was the runner-up for "Special Prize: People and Space." Appearing like a column of smoke rising from the horizon, a dark lane of dust marks the plane of the Milky Way.


Smoky vision

"Rho Ophiuchi and Antares Nebulae" by Tom O'Donoghue of Ireland was the runner-up in the Deep Space category. The smoky appearance of the dust clouds in this image is fitting, since the grains of dust which make up the nebula are similar in size to particles of smoke here on Earth.


Quadruple halo

"A Quadruple Lunar Halo" by Dani Caxete of Spain was "highly commended" in the Earth and Space category. Tiny ice crystals in the atmosphere, high above Earth's surface, refract the moonlight and create the beautiful halos seen in this ultra-wide-angle view.


Waxing crescent

"Waxing Crescent Moon" by 14-year-old Jacob Marchio of the U.S. was "highly commended" in the Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year category. The moon seems to be emerging from interplanetary darkness, and Marchio has captured the contrast between the dark lava-filled lunar "seas" and the mountainous southern highlands.


Floating metropolis

"Floating Metropolis - NGC 253" by Michael Sidonio of Australia was 'highly commended' in the Deep Space category. First discovered by astronomer Caroline Herschel in 1783, NGC 253 is a rare example of a "starburst galaxy," with new stars being formed at many times the rate in our own galaxy, the Milky Way. Its mottled appearance comes from extensive lanes of dust which thread through the galactic disk.


Golden Gate panorama

"Goodbye Sun, Hello Moon" by 10-year-old Ariana Bernal of the U.S. was the runner-up in the Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year category. The awesome scale presented in this image depicts three of the most significant objects in the Universe. The sun and moon, each seen on the horizon, play an important role to us on Earth. The third object is Earth itself, and here its land, sea and sky meet around San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.


Bright desert night

"The Windows District" by 15-year-old Eric Dewar of Canada was "highly commended" in the Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year category. By keeping the camera shutter open, Dewar gathers precious light, making the desert scenery seem as bright as day. But the stars in the blue sky give the game away, revealing that this dramatic photograph was actually taken in the middle of the night.


Space neighbors

"M81-82 and Integrated Flux Nebula" by Ivan Eder of Hungary was "highly commended" in the Deep Space category. Twelve million light years from Earth, M81 and M82 are galaxies with a difference. Close encounters between the two objects have forced gas down into their central regions. In M81, this influx of gas is being devoured by a supermassive black hole. In M82, the gas is fueling a burst of star formation that sends clouds of hydrogen (shown in red) back out into space.


The sky is falling

"Snowy Range Perseid Meteor Shower" by David Kingham of the U.S. was "highly commended" in the Earth and Space category. Kingham combines 23 individual stills to convey the excitement and dynamism of August's Perseid meteor shower.


Star cloud

"Omega Centauri" by Ignacio Diaz Bobillo of Argentina was "highly commended" in the Deep Space category. Omega Centauri is a globular cluster, a spherical cloud containing several million stars that is thought to have formed billions of years ago. The cluster was first noted by the astronomer Ptolemy almost 2,000 years ago and cataloged by astronomer Edmond Halley in 1677.
The 2013 Earth & Sky Photo Contest Winners
 

Icy visitor

"Icy Visitor" by Fredrik Broms of Norway was "highly commended" in the Earth and Space category. Like the snowy mountains in the foreground, the nucleus of Comet PanSTARRS is composed largely of ice and rock. The nucleus itself was just a few miles across, but as it neared the sun in early 2013, ice evaporating from the surface formed a tail of gas and dust hundreds of thousands of miles long.

Spectacular pairing

Comet PanSTARRS takes its place next to the waxing crescent moon in the skies over Los Angeles on March 12, 2013. The pairing of the comet and the moon made for one of the year's best opportunities for astrophotography.

Streaking over New Zealand

Minoru Yoneto captured this picture of Comet PanSTARRS shining over Queenstown, New Zealand, on March 2, 2013. The comet's tail has two components, consisting of glowing gas and shining dust. Yoneto told SpaceWeather.com that "it's a splendid appearance."

The Great Nebula

"The Great Nebula" by 15-year-old Samuel Copley of the U.K. was "highly commended" in the Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year category. The Great Nebula, also referred to as the Orion Nebula or M42, is found in the well-known constellation of Orion, just below the hunter’s belt. To the naked eye, the nebula looks like another star in Orion’s sword. However, Copley has shown there is more to it than meets the eye.


Saturn's glory

"Saturn at Opposition System" by Damian Peach of the U.K. was "highly commended" in the Our Solar System category. This incredibly sharp portrait brilliantly captures the jewel of our solar system, revealing the subtle banding around the orb that results from the planet’s weather.


Ring of fire

"Ring of Fire Sequence" by Jia Hao of Singapore was "highly commended" in the Our Solar System category. This composite image shows the progress of an annular solar eclipse in May 2013. Annular eclipses occur when the moon passes precisely over the sun, at a point in the moon's orbit when its angular size is not great enough to cover the sun's disk completely. The result is the "ring of fire" effect you see here. Close to the horizon, the distorting effects of Earth’s atmosphere can also be seen.


Green energy

"Green Energy" by Fredrik Broms of Norway was the runner-up in the Earth and Space category. The shifting northern lights can take on many shapes and forms as they are molded by Earth’s complex magnetic field. Sheets and planes of glowing gas appear to be twisted into a giant auroral vortex above Grøtfjord in Norway.


Graceful ballet of light

The northern lights dance over the Knik River near Palmer, Alaska, on Nov. 29, 2006.


Cosmic alignment

"Cosmic Alignment: Comet Lemmon, GC 47 Tucanae, and the SMC" by Ignacio Diaz Bobillo of Argentina was "highly commended" in the Our Solar System category. At a glance, this image may seem like a post-processed montage of objects from three separate images: Comet Lemmon, the globular cluster known as GC 47 Tucanae, and a satellite galaxy that is called the Small Magellanic Cloud. However, the truth is that they were all captured together, providing the viewer with an amazing view of our solar system, galaxy and universe.


Magnetic maelstrom

"Magnetic Maelstrom" by Alan Friedman of the U.S. was the runner-up in the Our Solar System category. This image captures rich details of sunspots and the surrounding solar surface. The darkest patches or "umbrae" in this image are each about the size of Earth, with the entire region of magnetic turmoil spanning the diameter of 10 Earths.


Dot on the sun

"Venus Transit, Foxhunter’s Grave, Welsh Highlands" by Sam Cornwell of the U.K. was the winner of the Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer. For those lucky enough to see it, the transit of Venus was one of the astronomical highlights of 2012. Cornwell used special photographic filters to capture the final moments of the transit through a gap in the clouds over Wales. Venus' dark spot can be seen just on the sun's upper right edge.


Stellar nursery

"The Trapezium Cluster and Surrounding Nebulae" by László Francsics of Hungary was honored as the Robotic Scope Image of the Year. The Orion Nebula, with the Trapezium Cluster at its heart, is often described as a "stellar nursery" because of the huge number of stars which are being created within its clouds of dust and glowing gas.


Celestial impasto

"Celestial Impasto: Sh2 - 239" by Adam Block of the U.S. was the winner in the Deep Space category. Structures like this often seem unchanging and timeless on the scale of a human lifetime. However, they are fleeting and transient on astronomical timescales. Over just a few thousand years, the fierce radiation from the stars in this nebula will erode the surrounding clouds of dust and gas, radically altering its appearance. The photo's title, "Celestial Impasto," refers to a painting technique in which the pigment is laid onto the canvas in thick smears.


Moon silhouettes

"Moon Silhouettes" by Mark Gee of Australia was the winner of the "Special Prize: People and Space." This is a deceptively simple shot of figures silhouetted against a rising moon. By photographing the people on the observation deck from a great distance, Gee has emphasized their tiny scale compared to the grandeur of our natural satellite.

The cross and the moon

The moon rises over Table Rock and its lighted cross in Boise, Idaho, on June 22.


Milky Way marvels

"The Milky Way Galaxy" by 14-year-old Jacob Marchio of the U.S. was the winner in the Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year. Marchio has focused on one of the most spectacular vistas looking toward the very center of the galaxy, capturing the glow of tens of billions of stars painting streaks of light across the sky. Dark lanes of dust and gas are seen in silhouette against the brilliance of the Milky Way’s dense bulge, while myriad clusters and star nurseries are sprinkled across the scene.


Australian totality

"Corona Composite of 2012: Australian Totality" by Man-To Hui of China was the winner in the Our Solar System category. This image of a total solar eclipse in November 2012 is a demonstration of both precision timing and rigorous post-processing. It gives the viewer a window onto the elusive outer atmosphere of the sun – the corona.


And the winner is ...

"Guiding Light to the Stars" by Mark Gee of Australia was the winner in the Earth and Space category and the overall winner of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.The central regions of the Milky Way galaxy, 26,000 light-years from Earth, appear as a tangle of dust and stars in the central part of the image. Two even more distant objects are visible as smudges of light in the upper left of the picture. These are the Magellanic Clouds, two small satellite galaxies in orbit around the Milky Way.
Month in Space: August 2013


Odd couple

The European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope captured this view of a star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud, one of the Milky Way's satellite galaxies. This sharp image, released Aug. 7, shows two glowing clouds of gas. NGC 2014 (right) is irregularly shaped and red. Its neighbor, NGC 2020, is round and blue. These odd and very different forms were both sculpted by the powerful stellar winds thrown off from extremely hot newborn stars.


Space sayonara

A Japanese H-2B rocket carrying cargo for the International Space Station rises from its launch pad at the Tanegashima Space Center on Aug. 4. The rocket sent up an HTV cargo vehicle, known as "Kounotori," which means "stork." Kounotori 4's cargo included a small talking robot named Kirobo.


Arcing into the sky

The U.S. Air Force's Wideband Global Satcom (WGS-6) mission lifts off on a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Aug. 7. The rocket carried a communications satellite for the U.S. military and its partners, including Australia, which paid for the spacecraft and launch services.


Smiley face on the sun

An extreme ultraviolet image of the sun, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory on Aug. 21, seems to show a pair of dark eyes and a wry grin. The dark areas are called coronal holes. They're places where very little radiation is emitted, but they're also the main source of solar wind particles.


Star of wonder

An Aug. 19 image shows the newly discovered Herbig-Haro object HH 46/47, a newborn star with a large energetic jet. Part of the jet (shown here in orange and green) can't be seen in visible light due to dust and gas, while another part of the jet (in pink and purple) shines in visible light. The image was created by combining radio observations made by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, or ALMA, with visible-light observations from the European Southern Observatory's New Technology Telescop


Strange streak explained

An image from the Hubble Space Telescope, released on Aug. 8, shows a long ribbon of gas called the Magellanic Stream that stretches nearly halfway around the Milky Way. In this combined radio and visible-light image, the gaseous stream is shown in pink. The radio observations are taken from the Leiden/Argentine/Bonn Survey. The Milky Way is the light blue band in the center of the image. The brown clumps are interstellar dust clouds in our galaxy. The Magellanic Clouds, satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, are the white regions at bottom right.


Crater's edge

A frosty crater in Mars' northern hemisphere shows signs of gully activity, as seen in this image captured by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and published on Aug. 21. Changing gullies are more typically documented in Mars' southern hemisphere, where a greater thickness of carbon dioxide frost forms in the winter.


Colors of the sky

The aurora's green glow blends with the orange glow of light reflected off clouds to produce a colorful skyscape for late summer near Whitehorse in Canada's Yukon. Photographer Jonathan Tucker captured the scene on the night of Aug. 15-16.


Perfect for the Perseids

Hundreds of skywatchers enjoy the Perseid meteor shower early Aug. 12 near the town of Atalayita in the Canary Islands. Every year in August, Earth passes through the trail of debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle, creating the Perseid meteor display.
Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2012
 

Streaking over Wyoming

Astrophotographer Randy Halverson captured this shot of a Perseid meteor streak against the backdrop of the Milky Way in Wyoming's Red Desert on Aug. 11. For more of Halverson's work, check out DakotaLapse.com.


Floating on the job

Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin works outside the International Space Station during a nearly six-hour-long spacewalk on Aug. 22. Misurkin and Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin (out of frame) completed the replacement of a laser communications experiment with a new platform for a small optical camera system. They also installed some new spacewalk aids and inspected the station's antenna covers


Saturn's stormy hexagon

The weather forecast for Saturn's north pole: storms. Lots and lots of storms. In this picture, acquired by NASA's Cassini orbiter on June 14 and released on Aug. 5, the area around the hexagon-shaped cloud structure in Saturn's north polar region is filled with storms of many sizes.


Blue moon

A full moon sets over Forest Park in Portland, Ore., on Aug. 21. This was considered a "blue moon" because it was the third of four full moons in the summer season. Such an occurrence happens only once in a ... well, you know.


Dream Chaser in the air

Sierra Nevada Corp.'s Dream Chaser test spacecraft dangles in the air at the end of a helicopter cable during a "captive carry" flight test on Aug. 22 over NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California. Sierra Nevada is developing the space plane with NASA's help, in hopes that it will someday be used to carry astronauts and cargo to and from the International Space Station.


Practice for splashdown

Sailors assigned to the amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington practice bringing an Orion space capsule into the ship's well deck on Aug. 13, as part of NASA's first key Orion stationary recovery test at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia. NASA is partnering with the U.S. Navy to develop procedures to recover the Orion capsule and its crew after splashdown.


'Stork' makes delivery

An Aug. 9 picture from the International Space Station shows the Japanese robotic cargo spaceship HTV-4, also called Kounotori 4 ("White Stork' in Japanese), caught by the Canadian robotic arm during its docking at the station. The cargo craft was launched into orbit atop a Japanese H-2B rocket several days earlier.


Under a turning sky

Star trails form over yurts, the traditional nomad felt tents, in a long-exposure picture taken on Kazakhstan's mountainous Assy plateau, about 2,500 meters (8,202 feet) above sea level, on July 31. Modern farmers follow the centuries-old nomadic tradition of relocating from settlements to the plateau to tend their livestock for the summer season.

Planetary trio

Three planets - Jupiter (top), Venus (lower left) and Mercury - are revealed after sunset above the round domes of the telescopes at the European Southern Observatory's La Silla Observatory in northern Chile on May 26.

Manhattanhenge

The sun is framed by the skyscrapers on either side of New York's 42nd Street on May 29, in a phenomenon known as "Manhattanhenge." Twice a year, in May and July, the setting sun aligns perfectly with the city's street grid

Alpine observatory

A long-exposure photo shows star trails whirling around one of the antennas at IRAM's observatory in the French Alps in June. The stars turn around the celestial north pole during the course of the night.

Galactic twins

The galaxy pair known as MRK 1034 lies in the constellation of Triangulum, as seen in a Hubble Space Telescope image released June 24. The two galaxies, named PGC 9074 and PGC 9071, are close enough to one another to be bound together by gravity, although no gravitational disturbance can yet be seen in the image. These objects are probably only just beginning to interact gravitationally

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Slideshow

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Slideshow #2

Extreme Astronomy -- Seeing Stars -- amazing Documentary in HD

2013년 9월 26일 목요일

중국의 절경 40: 40 Beautiful places to visit in China

Almost all of us are familiar with China's great man-made attractions.
The Forbidden City in Beijing. The Terracotta Warriors of Xi'an. Shanghai's skyscraper forest in Pudong.
For a country of its massive size and varied geography, however, it's surprising how relatively few people outside China appreciate the extent of the country's other attractions, many of them natural wonders to rival any in the world.
Is it possible to limit a list of China's superlative attractions to a mere 40?
Not really.
But a photo memory card goes only so far.
And, as this gallery illustrates, it's impossible to stop clicking once you get a camera in front of some of China's most beautiful places to visit.
The list is in alphabetical order. 
Have you come across a spot even more stunning on your China travels? Let us know where it is and what it's like in the comments section below.

1. Anhui: Hongcun Ancient Village (安徽宏村)

Reliable muse for generations of artists.
The 900-year-old village of Hongcun has long drawn in-the-know Chinese visitors, who love its tranquil vibe and distinctive architecture.
The striking Huangshan mountain backdrop (see No. 2) doesn't hurt, either.
Its classic structures, Moon Lake and picturesque locals have been an inspiration for art students for decades.
Walking the narrow lanes paved with quartzite and seeing farmers working in rice fields, with the reflection of ancient houses in the lake, should provide enough material to get you started on your own visual masterpiece.
Admission: RMB 104 (US$16)
Hongcun Village is roughly 70 kilometers northwest of the city of Huangshan in Anhui Province. Major cities connected to Huangshan Airport by direct flights include Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xi'an.

2. Anhui: Mount Huangshan (安徽黄山)

Mountain romance.A UNESCO World Heritage Site set amidst “the loveliest mountains of China,” Mount Huangshan, aka Mount Yellow, is a once-in-a-lifetime trek for many Chinese.
The 1,863-meter mountain is renowned for its oddly shaped pines, spectacular rock formations, hot springs and seas of misty and melancholy clouds.
A trip here provides a mountain of feeling.
Admission fee: RMB 230 between March 1-November 30, RMB 150 between December 1-February 28,
Major cities connected to Huangshan Airport by direct flights include Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xi'an.

3. Fujian: Mount Wuyi (福建武夷山)

Confucian beauty.A major landmark in southeast China and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Mount Wuyi was the setting for the development and spread of neo-Confucianism, influential in East Asia since the 11th century.
Bamboo raft drifting in the Nine Bend River (lower gorge) is a popular activity among visitors.
The two-hour, eight-kilometer trips provide grand views of Mount Wuyi. It's the best way to take in the serene beauty of the smooth peaks and clear water.
Admission: RMB 140 for Mount Wuyi park, RMB 100 for bamboo raft drifting.
Mount Wuyi is about 350 kilometers northwest of Fuzhou, the provincial capital of Fujian. Major cities connected to Fuzhou Airport by direct flights include Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Xi'an.

4. Fujian: Xiapu Mudflat (福建霞浦)

As beautiful as a water-and-ink painting. That's no coincidence.Yes, a humble mudflat is a favorite destination of Chinese photographers.
A small region along the southeast China coastline, Xiapu nevertheless has the largest mudflat in the country, encompassing 40 square kilometers and more than 400 kilometers of coastline.
Along its tiger-striped beaches, bamboo structures and poles, buoys and fishing vessels provide human counterpoints to the area's natural beauty.
Admission fee: Free
The nearest hub of Xiapu Mudflat is Fuzhou, provincial capital of Fujian. It's about 175 kilometers away.
Major cities connected to Fuzhou Airport by direct flights include Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xi’an.

5. Gansu: Echoing Sand Mountain and Crescent Lake, Dunhuang (甘肃省敦煌市鸣沙山和月牙泉)

Gobi adventure.
Nope, this isn't a mirage -- it’s a real scene found in the vast Gobi desert in northwest China.
Echoing Sand Mountain is a series of dunes surrounding Crescent Lake. Named for its distinctive shape and aural characteristics, its echoes can be heard as the wind blows over the dunes.
Visitors ride camels up the dunes, which rise to 250 meters.
With gardens blooming on its banks, Crescent Lake offers a lovely visual counterpoint to all that sand.
Admission: RMB 120 during peak season (May 1-October 31) and RMB 60 in low season.
Echoing Sand Mountain and Crescent Lake is six kilometers south of Dunhuang.
China Southern operates a daily return flight between Xi'an Xianyang Airport and Dunhuang Airport. Air China flies between Beijing and Dunhuang once a day.

6. Guangdong: Fortress Towers, Kaiping (广东开平雕楼)

40 China beautiful places -- fortress towerMany overseas Chinese are originally from Kaiping. Why leave such beauty?
Erected mostly in the early 20th century, the fortress towers at Kaiping were built by famously outbound Kaipingers, who brought home the many architectural styles they saw abroad, including Islamic, Roman and even ancient Greek.
The towers were built as a display of wealth, and as a practical way of protecting locals from war and theft.
Approximately 1,800 fortress towers still stand amid Kaiping’s vast rice fields.
Kaiping is located 130 kilometers southwest of Guangzhou, the provincial capital of Guangdong. 
Regular buses are available between Kaiping Bus Terminal and various long-distance bus terminals in Guangzhou. Direct buses and ferries are available between Kaiping and Hong Kong.

7. Guangxi: Yangshuo (广西阳朔)

40 China beautiful places -- yangshuoVillage life is art.
When the Chinese long for views of the nation’s most scenic hills and rivers, they book a bamboo-boat cruise in Yangshuo.
The riverside town in southern China is most famous for its karst hills and traditional fishing-village lifestyle.
Downtown is touristy.
Visitors can rent bikes and head to the countryside to find a more calming scene: bamboo boats chugging along the river, fishermen setting out with cormorants, farmers toiling in fields with lush peaks soaring high above.
Most travelers reach Yangshuo from Guilin. Buses bound for Yangshuo leave every 15 minutes from Guilin Bus Station on Zhongshan Lu and Guilin South Railway Station. The journey takes around 90 minutes and the fare is about RMB 15 per person. 

8. Guizhou: Huangguoshu Waterfall (贵州黄果树瀑布)

Not just big, it's ultra-accessible.
The highest waterfall in Asia, majestic Huangguoshu "Yellow Fruit Tree" Waterfall plunges a dramatic 77.8 meters across a 101-meter-wide span.
It's one of a handful of mammoth waterfalls in the world that's accessible for viewing from almost any angle -- from above, below, front, back, left or right.  
The best visiting season is June to August, when the water reaches a peak flow of 700 cubic meters per second.
Admission fee: RMB 180 between March 1-October 31; RMB 160 between Novermber 1-February 28
The nearest traffic hub to Huangguoshu Waterfall is Huangguoshu Airport. It's about six kilometers away. Major cities connected to Huangguoshu by direct flights include Beijing and Guangzhou.

9. Hainan: Guanyin Statue (海南南山海上观音像)

40 China beautiful places -- nanshanPilgrimage to China’s bikini-clad island.
Look beyond the beaches of Sanya to find the world’s largest Guanyin statue, erected near Nanshan, China’s southernmost mountain.
The story goes that the three-sided statue faces mainland China, Taiwan and the rest of the South China Sea -- meaning that the bodhisattva blesses not only China, but the whole world.
At 108 meters tall, the figure was raised and enshrined in 2005 and is one of the tallest statues on the planet.
Admission: RMB 150
The Guanyin Statue is located within Hainan’s Nanshan Culture Tourism District, which is some 40 kilometers from downtown Sanya. Shuttle buses are available between Yalong Bay and Nanshan.

10. Hainan: Yalong Bay (海南省亚龙湾)

40 China beautiful places -- yalong bayHeaven for beach and water sports lovers.
Hainan delivers the best tropical setting in China. Yalong Bay is the pinnacle of the resort getaway.
The 7.5-kilometer crescent beach is the most popular and developed stretch of Hainan’s southern coastline.
It provides all the quintessential experiences of a Southeast Asian holiday, with as many luxury hotels as palm trees -- more than 20 international luxury hotels line the beach of Yalong Bay.
The beach is also a haven for water sports warriors, including surfers who sometimes ride uncrowded waves all day.
If you visit in July, August, October or during Spring Festival, you'll be surrounded by Chinese families, mostly sporting old-school swimsuits.
Yalong Bay is 28 kilometers southeast of Sanya. Sanya Airport operates flights to all major Chinese cities, as well as nine international cities including Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul.

11. Hebei: Chengde Mountain Resort/Rehe Palace  (河北承德避暑山庄/热河行宫)

The four-star stay for Chinese emperors.
UNESCO World Heritage Site, this mountain resort was once a summer palace used by Qing Dynasty emperors on holiday.
Delicate gardens and a 70-meter pagoda remain.
Lush grasslands, marvelous mountains and tranquil valleys still make it a cool place to avoid the heat. 
Admission fee: RMB 120
Shuttle buses depart from Beijing to Chengde hourly during the day, ticket is RMB 50

12. Heilongjiang: Saint Sophia Cathedral, Harbin  (黑龙江省哈尔滨市圣索非亚大教堂)

40 China beautiful places -- harbinChina meets Russia.
The largest Orthodox church in East and Southeast Asia stands in China’s most Russian-accented city, Harbin.
Russian expats built the 54-meter-tall, 721-square-meter neo-Byzantine structure in the early 20th century as a spiritual symbol for the local Orthodox community after the Russian-Japanese War.
The church was used as a warehouse by the Communist Party for about two decades and is now a state-run museum showcasing the city’s architecture, art and heritage.
Admission: RMB 15
88 Xiulong Jie, Daoli District, Harbin, Heilongjiang 黑龙江省哈尔滨市道里区透笼街88号

13. Henan: Longtan Valley (河南龙潭大峡谷)

Nope, you're not in Utah. It's Henan.This 12-kilometer, U-shaped valley marked by a stripe of purplish red quartz sandstone has earned the name, “The No.1 Valley of Narrow Gorges in China."
Its steep cliffs, lush vegetation and jagged valley attract sightseers from all over China.
Admission: RMB 70
The nearest traffic hub to Longtan Valley is Luoyang, a major city in Henan Province. It's about 60 kilometers away. Major cities connected to Luoyang Airport by direct flights include Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong.

14. Hubei: One Incense Pillar, Enshi Canyon (湖北恩施大峡谷一柱香)

40 China beautiful places -- enshiSplendid splinter.

This is not the profile of Beaker the Muppet’s giant Chinese cousin; it’s a karst pillar standing between the cliffs and peaks of the 108-kilometer-long Enshi Canyon, China’s answer to the Grand Canyon.
This incense stick-shaped structure is 150 meters tall, but only four meters wide, making it incredible that it stands at all, let alone that it's survived several major earthquakes.
Local legend holds that the pillar is a piece of incense given by a deity to the ingenious Tujia people. The residents could light it in times of disaster and the deity would descend to help.
Admission: RMB 120
Enshi is approximately 230 kilometers west of Yichang, site of the Three Gorges Dam, and 530 kilometers west of Wuhan, the provincial capital of Hubei.
Flights are available to Yichang twice a week (40 minutes) and to Wuhan twice a day (80 minutes). 

15. Hubei: Shennongjia (湖北神农架)

40 China beautiful places -- shennongjiaPopular destination for Bigfoot believers.
More than 400 people claim to have seen a Bigfoot-like creature among the lush vegetation of Shennongjia over the past century, yet no hard evidence has been found to prove the "yeti's" existence.
The 3,200-square-kilometer nature reserve also purports to be “the only well-preserved sub-tropical forest ecosystem in the world's mid-latitudes,” with more than 5,000 species of animals and plants.
It’s home to snub-nosed or golden monkeys (金丝猴), a rare and protected species in China.
Admission: RMB 100
Wuhan is the nearest major city and traffic hub to Shennongjia. From Wuhan's long-distance bus station at Xinhua Lu, take the daily coach to Xingshan County (兴山县). Then transfer to a mini-bus from Xingshan to Shennongjia. 

16. Hunan: Fenghuang (湖南凤凰)

40 China beautiful places -- fenghuangNo modernization, just relaxation.
These stilted houses are the dream lodgings of Chinese art and literature lovers.
Every year, armies of young backpackers flock to the ancient town of Fenghuang (which literally means "Phoenix") for its rich Miao and Tujia ethnic culture. 
Many also come to pay homage to celebrated Chinese writer Shen Congwen (沈从文), whose novel “Frontier City” put the 1,300-year-old town in limelight.
Fenghuang maintains its original layout and architecture, with around 200 residential buildings, 20 streets and 10 winding alleys, all of which date as far back as the Ming dynasty.
Admission: RMB 148
Fenghuang is 430 kilometers west of Changsha, the provincial capital of Hunan.
Long-distance buses are available four times a day from West Changsha Bus Terminal to Fenghuang Bus Terminal for RMB 130. The journey takes nearly four hours. 

17. Hunan: Zhangjiajie (湖南张家界)

40 China beautiful places -- zhangjiajie"Avatar" inspiration: the real floating mountains.
The giant quartz sand pillars of Wulingyuan are said to have been the inspiration for James Cameron's floating mountains on the planet Pandora in his Oscar-winning movie “Avatar.”
In reality, the Wulingyuan area in Zhangjiajie, a city in Hunan Province in southern China, is home to more than 3,000 of these stone columns.
The tallest pillar in the stone forest stands more than 400 meters high.
Wulingyuan authorities have renamed one of the pillars “Mount Hallelujah,” the name of the main floating peak on Pandora.
Admission: RMB 248
Zhangjiajie is about 320 kilometers northwest of Changsha, Hunan’s provincial capital and the region’s main traffic hub. 
Trains and direct flights are available between Zhangjiajie and many Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

18. Inner Mongolia: Singing Sand Bay (内蒙古响沙湾)

The sand is singing, but what's the song?Singing Sand Bay, aka Yinken Sand Bay, is a 110-meter-high dune, 50 kilometers from Baotou, a major city of Inner Mongolia.
Sliding off a 45-degree angle, the wind here is said to sing in soft whispers.
Admission: RMB 120
Batou can be reach from many major cities in China by air, including Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou 

19. Jiangsu: Brahmā Palace (江苏梵宫)

Buddhist bling.
Feng shui and Buddhism have deep influences on China.
Both can be found at Brahmā Palace.
Beneath the foot of Little Lingshan Mountain, and near Taihu Lake and the 88-meter-tall Lingshan Giant Budda, the palace epitomizes Chinese feng shui -- it's surrounded by mountains and water, portending both good fortune and health.
Built for the Second World Buddhism Forum in 2009, the Buddhist theme park is filled with luxury, with gold and glamour gilding many surfaces.
Admission fee: RMB 210
Major cities connected to Wuxi Airport by direct flights include Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou.

20. Jiangxi: Mount Lu (江西庐山)

A dream of a swim in a sea of clouds.A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996, Lushan National Park, with its centerpiece of Mount Lu, is more than a tourist attraction.
It's a cultural and spiritual symbol of China.
Upward of 1,500 famed painters and poets from various periods of ancient and modern China -- Li Bai (李白) of the Tang Dynasty and Xu Zhimo (徐志摩) in 1920s, to name two -- have traveled here to be inspired by Lu.
Masterpiece poems are engraved in calligraphy on the mountain cliffs.
Admission fee: RMB 135 between December 1 and March 31; RMB 180 between April 1 and November 30.
The nearest traffic hub is Mount Lu Airport. It's about 10 kilometers away. Major cities connected to Mount Lu Airport by direct flights include Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

21. Jiangxi: Wuyuan (江西婺源)

Where time moves S-L-O-W-L-Y.
“One of the most beautiful rural areas in China."
That's how Wuyuan (a small county located at the junction of Anhui, Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces in eastern China) is best known.
Colorful blossoms and a relaxed, countrified pace attract hundreds of thousands of visitors each spring.
Admission fee: RMB 180 for five days.
The nearest traffic hub in Wuyuan County is Jingdezhen, a major city in Jiangxi Province. It's about 98 kilometers away. Major cities connected to Jingdezhen Airport by direct flights include Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.

22. Jilin: Heaven Lake, Changbai Mountain (吉林长白山天池)

The Loch Ness of China.
The vodka-clear Heaven Lake is said to resemble a piece of jade surrounded by 16 peaks of the Changbai Mountain National Reserve, near the border of North Korea.
With an average depth of 204 meters, it's the deepest lake in China.
This is also a hot spot for water monster fans -- in the last two decades China travelers have reported accounts of a lake creature as long as 20 meters.
Sunny days here are rare. July to September is the best time to visit. Even then, it can be chilly and wet.
Admission fee: RMB 168
The nearest traffic hub to Heaven Lake is Changbai Mountain Airport. It's about 60 kilometers away. Major cities connected to Changbai Mountain Airport by direct flights include Beijing,Shanghai and Shenyang.

23. Liaoning: Benxi Water Cave (辽宁本溪水洞)

Stalagmites and stalactites? You never know when those school lessons will come in handy.
Exploding with color, the Benxi Water Cave was formed more than 5 million years ago. Today its main sections are a "drought cave" and a "water cave."
A dramatic array of stalagmites and stalactites are covered in vibrant greens, yellows and reds.
The water cave contains the world's longest underground river at 5.8 kilometers. Of this, only 2.8 kilometers are accessible by boat.
The drought cave is rather small. Only 300 meters are open to the public.
The temperature in the cave remains a constant 10 C. Sweaters and pants are highly recommended.
Admission fee: RMB 195
Return trains from Shenyang, provincial capital city to Benxi every hour from 3 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day, ticket prices from RMB 15

24. Liaoning: Golden Pebble Beach National Resort, Dalian (辽宁金石滩)

A huge adorable dinosaur explores the sea.
Along 30 kilometers of Golden Pebble Beach (it's also known as the Jinshitan Scenic Area) just outside downtown Dalian, ancient rock formations have been twisted by time and elements into bizarre replicas of animals -- camels, monkeys, tigers, even dinosaurs.
The largest is a 40-meter-high rock named after a "dinosaur who explores the sea." It's said to resemble a giant dinosaur bathing in the sea.
Admission fee: RMB 100
Golden Pebble Beach is in the northeast of Dalian City. It can be reach by Dalian's light rail which runs once every 20 minutes between 6 a.m.-6:30 p.m.

25. Ningxia: Sand Lake (宁夏沙湖)

40 China beautiful places -- shahuChina's top spot for bird-watching.
More than 1 million migrating birds of various species stop over at this wetland in Ningxia twice a year (April-May, September-October).
The rest of the year, around 200 species of birds call the wetlands home, including a large number of protected species, such as black cranes and the Chinese merganser.
The area is also the reported habitat of giant salamanders that grow as long as 1.6 meters.
Desert, water and reed mashes blend in this 80-square-kilometer area, which forms a unique geographic phenomenon called sand lake ("sha hu" in Mandarin).
Admission: RMB 60 from November 1-March 31; RMB 80 from April 1-October 31.
Sand Lake is 56 kilometers north of Yinchuan, the provincial capital of Ningxia. Buses are available daily between Sand Lake and Yinchuan’s North Gate Bus Terminal. 

26. Qinghai: Qinghai Lake (青海省青海湖)

40 China beautiful places -- qinghaiChina’s largest inland saltwater lake.
This view is one of the great draws of Qinghai Province in China’s far northwest every June and July.
The lake sits 3,205 meters above sea level and is a three-hour bus ride from the nearest traffic hub of Xining.
Few tourists make it to this part of China to enjoy this oil painting of a scene, not counting packs of mad cyclists who come for Tour de Qinghai Lake International Cycling Race every summer.
Tour companies in Xining organize trips to Qinghai Lake. Buses bound for Qihai Lake are available every morning (7:45 a.m.) from Xining Train Station.

27. Shaanxi: Xi’an City Wall (陕西西安城墙)

There's more than one wall in this country.In addition to the world-renowned Great Wall, the city wall belonging to Xi’an, first constructed more than 2,000 years ago, also represents the power and wisdom of the Middle Kingdom in its ancient heyday.
What exists of the wall today are remains from 1370, when during the Ming Dynasty the fortification was 13.7 kilometers long, 12 meters high and between 15 to 18 meters wide.
It now surrounds downtown Xi’an.
Spend three or four hours biking along the wall and you'll get great views of China’s old capital city.
Admission fee: RMB 40
Climb up the city wall from Yongning Gate (永宁门) on Nan Jie in Xi'an's Xincheng District.

28. Shandong: Trestle Bridge, Qingdao (山东青岛栈桥)

So that's why they call it the Yellow Sea.As old as the city of Qingdao, the Trestle Bridge has sat astride the Yellow Sea since 1892.
First built for the reception of Li Hongzhang (李鸿章), a prominent statesman during the Qing Dynasty, Trestle Bridge has since become a symbol of the city.
Walking the 440-meter-long bridge is a great way to enjoy breezes coming off the sea.
At one end is Huilange Pagoda, a classic beauty that hosts historic and cultural exhibits throughout the year.
Seaside Resort, 11 Jingshan Lu, Qingdao, Shandong Province (山东省青岛市京山路11号海滨风景区)

29. Shanxi: Hukou Waterfall (山西壶口瀑布)

According to some, the most magnificent waterfall in the country.
As the largest waterfall on the Yellow River, and second largest in China, Hukou Waterfall is known around the country for once gracing the RMB 50 note.
At 20 meters high and 30 meters wide, the fall is located on the border of Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces.
The May to October flood season is the best time to visit, when water flow and velocity increase, sometime swelling the fall into a 50-meter-wide spectacular scene.
Admission fee: RMB 90
The nearest traffic hub to Hukou Waterfall is Yuncheng Airport. It's about 82 kilometers away. Major cities connected to Yuncheng Airport by direct flights include Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Yellow River Hukou Waterfall Scenic Area, Hukou Town, Ji County, Linfen, Shanxi Province (山西省临汾市吉县壶口镇黄河壶口瀑布景区)

30. Shanxi: Yungang Grottoes (山西云冈石窟)

40 China beautiful places -- yungangStatue spectacle.
This 1,500-year-old site is an important Buddhist landmark.
It houses 252 caves and more than 51,000 Buddha statues, most carved between the fifth and sixth century during the North Wei Dynasty.
The sandstone statues -- the tallest stands 17 meters, the tiniest two centimeters -- combine multiple styles of Buddhist art, including Chinese, Gandhara and Persian.
Grottoes 16 through 20 are the five best preserved caves. They shelter five Buddhas modeled after five Wei emperors.
Admission: RMB 150
Yungang Grottoes are 18 kilometers west of Datong city. Direct flights are available between Datong and Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

31. Sichuan: Hailuogou Glacier National Park (四川海螺沟)

Legend holds that only the lucky will be treated to this view.
Also known as "Conch Gully," Hailuogou park sits at the eastern foot of Gonggar Mountain in southwest China's Sichuan province.
According to legend, the gully was a wasteland until a renowned Tibetan monk played his treasured conch there and attracted many animals, who became so enchanted with the place that they took up residence. To memorialize the monk and his conch, the gully ever after became known as Conch Gully.    
The magnificent glacier, which drives through woodlands, cliffs, peaks and gullies, is accessible all year round. It appears at its best in early morning sunshine.
More than 10 hot springs are spread beneath the glacier. Two are open to the public, including one at an elevation of 2,600 meters.
Admission: RMB 70 for the national park and RMB 120 for hot springs.
The nearest traffic hub to Hailuogou Glacier National Park is Chengdu, capital city of Sichuan province. It's about 300 kilometers away.
Major cities connected to Chengdu Airport by direct flights include Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Xi'an.

32. Sichuan: Jiuzhaigou (四川九寨沟)

40 China beautiful places -- jiuzhaigouChina’s most impressive lake view.
This massive lake is the crown jewel of Jiuzhaigou, a region full of stunning alpine lakes and waterfalls.
The lake is filled with incredible water that changes color throughout the day and year. The color comes from the reflection of the surrounding landscape, as well as algae and calcified rocks at the bottom of the shallow lake.
Autumn is the best time to visit, when the lake surface appears as a multi-hued painter's palette.
Admission including on-site transportation RMB 310 between April 1-November 15; RMB 160 between November 16-March 31.
Direct flights are available between Jiuzhaigou’s Jiuhuang Airport and major Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an and Chengdu.
The nearest traffic hub to Jiuzhaigou is Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan, which is one hour by air or 11 hours by bus south of the lake. 

33. Tibet: Potala Palace (西藏布达拉宫)

40 China beautiful places -- tibetLiterally breathtaking.
The former winter home of the Dalai Lama and seat of the former Tibetan ruling government, this nine-story attraction stands 3,700 meters above sea level, making it the highest palace on the planet.
The Potala Palace’s current incarnation is a state museum. More than 1,000 rooms remain, as well as the original layout of the White Palace (living quarters of the Dalai Lama) and the Red Palace (once a spiritual center of Tibetan Buddhism).
All visitors to the palace are restricted to a one-hour stay.
Admission: RMB 100
Potala Palace issues a limited number of tickets every day. To secure a ticket during peak season (May 1-October 31), independent travelers are advised to pick up a ticket coupon outside the palace a day before their visit. 

34. Xinjiang: Lake Karakul (新疆喀拉库勒湖)

40 China beautiful places -- lake karakulBackyard pond of Kyrgyz nomads.
This stunning view is the reward after a thrilling ride over one of the world’s most dangerous roads, Karakoram Highway.
The many “landslide site” signposts along the way haven’t stopped devoted travelers, who mostly set out from Kashgar (喀什), the westernmost city in China.
Standing 3,600 meters above sea level on the Pamir Plateau, the glacier lake’s water reflects the surrounding mountains like a huge mirror.
Best time to go is May to October.
No public transportation is available between Kashgar and Karakul, but plenty of tour companies and hotels in Kashgar organize small groups and customized trips to the area. The lake is about four hours from Kashgar by road. 

35. Xinjiang: Nalati Grassland (新疆那拉提草原)

40 China beautiful places -- NalatiGenghis Khan might have had the same view on his expedition to the west.
This sub-alpine meadow is so distinct in northwest China that, according to legend, one of Genghis Khan’s troops was so awed by its color that he gave the area the name “Nalati” (meaning “place where the sun emerges” in Mongolian).
The prairie is a great place to experience Kazak customs. Locals still play traditional sports, live in yurts and raise falcons to hunt for the family dinners.
Best time to go is July to October.
China Southern operates a daily return flight between Urumqi and Nalati. 

36. Yunnan: Three Pagodas, Dali (云南省大理崇圣寺三塔)

40 China beautiful places -- three pagodas"Skyscrapers" from the Tang Dynasty.
These Buddhist towers are the chief landmark of Dali, an ancient town in China’s southwest Yunnan Province.
The main tower was first built in mid-ninth century in the hope to easing regular flooding. At 69 meters and 16 stories high, it was a “skyscraper” for the Tang Dynasty and is still the tallest pagoda in China. Each of it tiers is decorated with Buddha statues.
The other two identical towers stand 42 meters and were erected almost a century later.
The three holy structures form an equilateral triangle. Shutterbugs can get great shots from many different angles.
Admission: RMB 121
The three pagodas are just north of downtown Dali. Direct flights (30 minutes) and train (eight hours) are available between Dali and Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan. 

37. Yunnan: Pudacuo National Park, Shangri-la (云南香格里拉普达措国家公园)

40 China beautiful places -- pudacuoChina's best ecological getaway.
Pudacuo is the first national park in China to meet the criteria set by The World Conservation Union, a major global environmental organization.
More than 20 percent of the country’s plant species and around one-third of its mammal and bird species call this wetland plateau home.
Photographers especially love the area's many types of orchids and China’s highly endangered black-necked cranes. In Bita Lake in the park, the Bita double-lip fish is an ancient fish dating back 2.5 million years.
Admission: RMB 190
Pudacuo is 22 kilometers east of Shangri-la, a tourist town in northwest Yunnan Province. Shangri-la bus station sends one bus to Pudacuo every morning at 9:30 a.m. 

38. Zhejiang: Nanxi River (浙江楠溪江)

Dive, catch and cough 'em up. Cormorant fishing as it's always been done on the Nanxi River.
With its mountain backdrop and shores lined with ancient houses, the Nanxi River inevitably became the cradle of classic Chinese water-and-ink painting.
By drifting down the Nanxi River on a bamboo craft, travelers can enjoy views of locals doing laundry along the river and fishermen employing traditional methods of using cormorants to catch fish. The xiangyu is a rare freshwater fish unique to the Nanxi.
The nearest traffic hub to Nanxi River is Wenzhou, a major city in Zhejiang Province. It's about 23 kilometers away.
Major cities connected to Wenzhou Airport by direct flights include Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hangzhou.
There are nine established drifting routes on the river, ranging from one to 10 kilometers in length.
Fee for bamboo catamaran drifting: RMB 30-70, depending on route.

39. Zhejiang: Thousand Island Lake (浙江千岛湖)

40 China beautiful places -- qiandaoIsland-hopping in China.
In the 1950s, the Chinese government evacuated and flooded 928-square-kilometer of villages, plains and hills to build a reservoir.
The indirect result was this surreal view.
Around 1,078 islands dot the lake.
Outdoors activities are the draw of this ginormous recreation and resort area -- speedboating, water skiing, animal-themed island-hopping, mountain climbing. Travelers can also find excellent seafood and everything from budget cabins to five-star hotels.
Admission: RMB 150
Direct buses run from Hangzhou West Bus Station to Thousand Island Lake Town. Buses depart every 30 minutes between 6 a.m.-6:50 p.m., RMB 60 per ticket. Then take a taxi or bus to the scenic area.

40. Zhejiang: Yunhe Rice Terrace (浙江云和梯田)

"Here's an idea. Let's make farming even more difficult."Literally meaning "peaceful clouds," Yunhe and its surrounding rice terraces have been home to farmers for at least 1,000 years.
Winding in a maze up mountainsides from 200 to 1,400 meters, individual terraces can be constructed of as many as 700 layers.
Rainy days are the best time to visit, when steam from evaporating river water floats through the terraces, creating a kind of agricultural dreamscape.
Admission fee: RMB 80
Yunhe County is 67 kilometers southwest of Lishui city. Shuttle buses between Yunhe and Lishui are available at Lishui Train Station. To get to Lishui, take a train from big cities including Shanghai, Hangzhou and Beijing.
from CNN

China is not famous for adventure tourism, but it’s actually one great destination to seek a new adrenaline high.
And here are seven ways (in no particular order) to travel the Middle Kingdom with a new heart rate.

7 of China’s coolest outdoor activities

1. Kiteboarding, Fujian

China's coolest adventures -- kiteboardingChinese kiteboarders take off at seaside city Xiamen.
If you crave speed, like getting wet, and are willing to tear up your life-insurance, then this full-throttle activity, which fuses sailing, windsurfing and wakeboarding, must be attempted at least once.
The sport only made it to China a few years ago, but the locals have chucked themselves into it (quite literally).
There’s now a kiteboarding epicenter along Xiaman’s sandy enclave -- where ferocious winds create the perfect conditions to pull off spins, flips, loops and mega-jumps, while riders hurtle along at up to 92 kph. Learn the ropes in less than 10 hours.
Price: Kiteboarding courses start from RMB 3,000 (US$445) for eight hours of tuition, including equipment hire. 
Details: Contact Windshield Outdoor Sports for lessons on +86 152 5925 6904 or +86 159 6082 0204. Visit www.chinakitesurf.com for more info.

2. Hiking, Tibet Autonomous Region, China

China's coolest adventures -- hikingHike the untapped trails in the shadow of Mount Everest, better known in Tibet as Chomolungma, or "Holy Mother."
Glaciers thousands of meters high, untamed forests and antelopes, Himalayan black bears and wild yaks -- this land of rocky desert and incredible mountains is as untainted as it is unmissable.
Hikers spend years exploring these unchartered realms, with piercing blue skies, fascinating culture and picture perfect scenes in every direction.
One of the most challenging walk across the "Roof of the World" starts in Lhasa, where you can acclimatize with a gentle climb up the 1,036 steps of the Potala Palace, then watch the solitary monks debate, chant and prey at the Drepung and Sera Monasteries.
When your head has stopped pounding from the altitude, venture into the countryside and the Kyi-chu Valley for a view of scattered multi-colored Buddhist prayer flags against serrated rocks -- in this area you’ll also meet lone nomadic families living off the land.
From here the road continues to Tibet’s most iconic scene -- the highest mountain range in the world. Stop, gaze, and try and identify Mount Everest among the fabled peaks.
Price: Package tours start from RMB 16,000 (US$2,545) per person (excluding airfare) for a private tour based on a group of four people. Price includes accommodation, meals, equipment and an Alien's Travel Permit to the region.
Details: Contact Tibet Tour Travel Experts on +86 21 6431 1184 or visit www.tibet-tour.com for more info.

3. Diving, Zhejiang

China's coolest adventures -- divingIn the depths of Thousand Island Lake, well-preserved artifacts like this lion statue greet adventurous divers.
With only a high-powered flashlight to guide you through the murky, dark waters, it’s easy to lose your dive partner and be stranded in the vast abyss of Qiandao Lake (aka Thousand Island Lake).  
However, intrepid divers will understand the appeal when they descend to 24 meters and bump into a wall that surrounds a giant dormant city.
The 1,300-year-old gated Lion City (狮城) was evacuated more than 50-years ago due to a deliberate flood started to create a reservoir, yet the eerie and forgotten remains, including detailed pai fangs, houses and intact furniture, still sit under the water waiting to be discovered once again.
Move in the shadows on this fascinating adventure dive and snap away at the gruesome gargoyles guarding the gateway, which pop out of the sinister surroundings, and discover new routes through the remarkable sunken buildings.
Price: Three-day, two-night dive trips to the lake cost from RMB 3,280 (US$525), including equipment, accommodation and meals.
Details: Contact the Big Blue dive company to book a trip leaving from Shanghai on +86 21 6291 2110 or visit www.big-blue.cn.

4. Mountain biking, Yunnan

China's coolest adventures -- yunnanSee China's minority region, Lance Armstrong-style.
One of the rides of your life consists of a challenging climb up to 1,900 meters on two wheels.
Cycling around 40 kilometers per day on varied terrain, from cobbled streets, tricky dirt tracks and sheer cliff faces, you’ll snake past incredible sights such as the ice-capped Jade Dragon Mountain and one of the world’s deepest river canyons -- Tiger Leaping Gorge. 
Along the way you’ll meet the friendly Nakhi people wearing striking tribal costume and find farmers carrying firewood, collecting wild herbs and mushrooms.
Soak your aching muscles and blisters in Shaxi at Bailongtan natural spring, surrounded by lush vegetation where it’s possible to spot mustached laughing thrush and spot-breasted parrotbill.
Price: RMB 13,650 (US$2,150) including a guide and accommodation. RMB 1,000 for bike hire.
Details: For a 14-day guided cycle trip with Bangkok-based Spice Roads, contact +66 2 712 5305 and visit www.spiceroads.com for more info.

5. Parkour, Shanghai

China's coolest adventures -- parkourSee Shanghai from a new angle.
A core group of enthusiasts have turned Shanghai into an urban gymnasium -- flipping, spinning and traversing high towers, walls and obstacles effortlessly. Now you can join them.
If you’ve got the balls, it’s possible to learn how to handstand on the side of the Jin Mao Tower or back flip off of the Oriental Pearl Tower. Shangahi Parkour Center offers the chance to learn these moves, plus how to use your body as effectively as possible to cross our modern and varied landscapes.
They’ll teach a variety of climbing, martial arts and acrobatic techniques. And, while you’re at it, you get to see one of Asia’s most iconic cities from an entirely different perspective.
Price: Free.
Details: Contact Martin at Shanghai Parkour Center to train at various spots around the city, including Metro Line 1 Huangpi Nan Lu Station, Metro Line 7 Chuanchang Lu Station (near the Huangpu River) and Yan’an Xi Lu. Call +86 186 2133 7903 to check sessions and lesson timings.

6. Surfing, Hainan

China's coolest adventures -- surfingRide waves in winter and summer on China's top tropical island.
Mellow glassy swells or three-meter peeling rides are available at this untouched teardrop-shaped island.
The surf scene in this laid-back tropical setting is how we imagine Hawaii in the 1960s, with a super-friendly Beach Boys vibe.
Here you can carve uncrowded waves all day.
We recommend the mellow beach break at Houhai Bay (great for longboarders and beginners) orRiyuewan (where the annual Hainan Surf Open is held) for a decent rock-bottomed point break. 
Price: Rental from RMB 40 (US$7), surf lessons from RMB 300 (US$50, for two hours).
Details: Contact Surfing Hainan in Dadonghai for lessons, surf safaris and board hire on +86 135 1980 0103. Or visit www.surfinghainan.com for more info.

7. Skiing, Hebei

China's coolest adventures -- skiingChina's top skiiing experience is handy for Beijingers.
While this place is no Aspen or Whistler, it’s a lesser-known ski spot meaning the pistes are uncrowded and stress free. There are a 18 powdery slopes at Wanlong, including the resort’s sweet 2,500-meter Jade Dragon piste.
There’s also a good variety of advanced and intermediate runs and a 500-meter baby run where beginners can get a taste of the action.
If you’re a park rider, try the decent immaculately crafted pipes, big air ramps and smooth grinds in the snow park.
Plus, if there’s no guarantee of snowfall at the resort, they’ll blast it with their snow cannons, meaning you’ll always be able to ride. Happy days.
Ski season in Wanlong runs from October-March.
Price: Lift tickets cost approximately RMB 300 (US$50) on weekday. Ski rental starts at RMB 250 (US$40).
Details: Contact China Ski Tours on +86 150 3111 6227, or visit www.chinaskitours.com for more info.
                                                                                                            from CNN