This is the land of dragons and dim sum, of old imperial capitals and booming tech hubs. Whereverthe road leads, sights come thick and fast: few are left unawed by Xi’an’s Terracotta Army or thehaunting majesty of the Forbidden City in Bejing. Shanghai’s skyline is something from the space age,whilst Hong Kong dances with cosmopolitan cool, a high-rise jumble of East and West. China is aworld in microcosm, a steaming hotpot of cultures and faiths, landscapes and lore. Chengdu is thegateway to the bamboo forests, chomping ground of giant pandas. Tibet stands as the ceiling of theworld, its sacred Himalayan skies fluttering with Buddhist prayer flags. Smart riverboats ply theYangtze, the lifeblood of a nation with over a billion souls.. and counting. It is a fool’s errand to see theworld’s third largest country in one go – but China rewards generously those who try.