Destination Fly4free: Southern China
Discover Chinese culture and legacy!
Explore the natural attractions of the Middle Kingdom! In the Southern part of China you’ll find the Avatar-like mountains, caves, terraced rice fields, tropical beaches and scenic karst limestone terrain, with fantastically shaped hills.
The legendary Stone Forest is a notable set of limestone formations located near Shilin, in Yunnan Province, approximately 90 km (56 mi) from Kunming. The 270 million year-old karst landscape covers an area of 500 square kilometers.
The giant stalagmite-like pillars seem to arise from the ground like petrified trees. These spectacular karst formations create huge arrays of labyrinths. The area is divided into many smaller stone forests and features caves, waterfalls, ponds, a lake with an island, and even an underground river. Two parts of the site, the Naigu Stone Forest and Suogeyi Village, are UNESCO World Heritage Sites as part of the South China Karst.
Photo: SJ Travel Photo and Video, Shutterstock
How to get there:
Take a look at the flight deals to Southern China:
- XMAS & NEW YEAR: Business Class from Poland, Hungary & Ukraine to Chengdu, China from only €881 >>
- Fly to ‘Chinese Hawaii’! From Prague to Haikou, Hainan for just €339 >>
- Round the world! London to Denmark, Florida, Colombia, Mexico, California, China, Bali and Singapore for £866 >>
- Business Class from Prague to Shanghai for only €948 >>
- New York to many Asian destinations from just $366 >>
- Non-stop from Los Angeles to Chengdu, China for only $341 >>
- 2 in 1: Salt Lake City to both Shanghai and Bali in one trip for only $443 >>
- Non stop from Los Angeles to Shenzen, China for just $388 >>
- Fly to ‘Chinese Hawaii’! Los Angeles to Hainan Island from only $409 >>
- Many US cities to Shanghai from just $388 >>
- Los Angeles to multiple Chinese cities from only $305 >>
- Fly from New York to China for only $309 >>
- X-MAS & NEW YEAR! Non-stop from Kuala Lumpur to Guangzhou, Shanghai or Beijing from only $138 >>
- Singapore to Shanghai and Beijing from just $169 >>
- 5* HAINAN: Melbourne to multiple Chinese cities from only AU$336 >>
Where to stay:
In Shanghai, we encourage you to stay at 4* Vienna International Hotel, with a very good price and excellent reviews! This 4-star hotel is around 8 km from Sheshan, 7 km from Playa Maya Water Park Shanghai and 7 km from Shanghai Happy Valley. Free WiFi is available. All rooms in the hotel are fitted with a TV with cable channels. Each room comes with a private bathroom with a shower, free toiletries and a hairdryer. Guest rooms at Vienna International Hotel Shanghai Songjiang feature air conditioning and a desk.
In Chengdu we encourage you to stay at 4* Leeden Hotel Chengdu with excellent reviews! This 4-star hotel is a 5-minute drive from Tianfu Square and People’s Park. The well-decorated rooms feature elegant interiors and free minibar. The luxurious rooms come with soft carpeted flooring and a free minibar filled with 6 kinds of drinks. A seating area and a flat-screen TV are also included. En suite bathrooms have bathrobes, free toiletries and shower facilities. Free Wi-Fi is available in all areas. Multi-functional meeting rooms can be ideal choices hosting various sessions or meetings, able to accommodate up to 200 persons. Free parking space is provided.
What to do:
Visit Shanghai, the city with the largest population in the entire world. This popular tourist destination is renowned for its historical landmarks such as The Bund, City God Temple and Yu Garden as well as Lujiazui skyline, many skyscrapers and major museums.
If you’re addicted to nature attractions, head to Chengdu to meet Giant Panda at local research base.
Chengdu is a gateway to China’s most scenic area – West Sichuan – full of fascinating mountains, lakes, waterfalls, and gorges. Take a tour to Mt. Huangshan (Yellow Mountain), famous for not only for its magnificence, but also for its abundant resources and great variety of zoological species.
Cruise the Yangtze River to see the Three Gorges Dam. You can also take a side trip to visit Fengdu Ghost City.
San Qing Shan is a beautiful park in Jiangxi Province (Southern Central Region of China), with stunning rock formations and panoramic hiking trails.
Visit the Great Buddha rock carving in Leshan or the beautiful Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan.
Lexiaguo, located in the North East of Kunming, is renowned for the beauty of the coloured earths. This beautiful scenery looks like a painting of a great magnificent landscape. The vibrant soil, which contains oxidized iron, has extra-ordinary rich red colour. Different seasons, different time, different sunlight, produces different kind of colours. Best time to visit is November when the patterns of crops contrast with the ground colours.
There’s also plenty to see within Shenzhen. One of the wealthiest cities in China is famous for its nightlife, plenty of theme parks and specialty markets.
Take a day trip to Gulangyu Island, located off the southwest coast of Xiamen, to admire the natural beauty and see the colonial European architecture of churches.
Visit Nanputuo, a famous Buddhist temple in Xiamen. Enjoy the breathtaking view from the Canton Tower in Guangzhou and spend the day with the kids at Chimelong Safari Park. Admire the colonial buildings on Shamian Island and enjoy the tasty Cantonese cuisine.
The Southeast coast is well provided with beaches and many areas have facilities for kite surfing, diving, hang-gliding or other water-based activities. Especially, Hainan Island is packed with a lot of water sports such as snorkelling and jet-skiing.
Go to Kunming, known as the City of Eternal Spring. It’s a nice gateway to begin your travel across China – there are plenty of temples and national parks nearby (including the legendary Stone Forest). Kunming lies at an almost-tropical latitude but its 2000 m (6600 ft) altitude gives it a very temperate climate.
In Guangxi Province you can cruise past the mountains, rural villages, and fishing boats of the Li River or enjoy a thrilling bamboo rafting excursion along the Yulong River. Guilin and Yangshuo are famous for the karst scenery.
If you like trekking and climbing, head to the spectacular Tiger Leaping Gorge (Hutiao Xia) in Yunnan Province – one of the deepest river canyons in the world. You can also visit Huangguoshu Waterfall or explore the Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces.
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Start planning your next trip with Lonely Planet’s travel guide >>
China Split from Jessica Peterson on Vimeo.
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