Nanjing

If you're entering Nanjing from Shanghai (as most travelers do), then it’s likely you will find the regional capital of Jiangsu Province a real beauty. In a town where soaring skyscrapers and gaudy office towers have been kept in check, there's an air of classic China still about. The gnarled trunks of parasol trees and ginkgos dot the wide, clean streets, and pretty Xuanwu Lake shimmers with its pagoda-topped islets. Instead of alien megastructures, it’s the ephemeral delights of China's long lost dynasties that take centre stage from the stepped Linggu Temple (hailed as one of the most handsome Buddhist shrines on the globe) to the gilded bulwarks of the Zhonghua Gate (built during the Ming Dyansty in the 1300s. Back to the present, Nanjing still knows how to have a good time. Thousands of students call the city home, and your Nanjing tour guide is sure to have a list of bohemian craft bars and cool coffeeshops at the ready.