Getting there

There are flights from Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province, to Lijiang many times a day. A return ticket from Beijing with connecting flight cost 3,200 yuan ($418), but was in high season. A discounted low-season return airfare costs 2,500 yuan ($327), with accommodation.

Tourists flock to the temple of boom

Sitting outside the Tanzhe Temple under a 1,000-year old tree, Shun Xin feels a vibration in his pocket as his new mobile phone registers a text message.

Dude, where's my hotel?

The old town of Lijiang and its surrounds is paradise in anybody's tour book and for this reason attracts more than 50 million visitors a year. The 850-year-old World Heritage-listed place is a maze of charming cobbled streets and serene lakes. Gushing rivers and snow-capped mountains are within close driving distance.

Here's the real Jurassic Park

YANTAI: When we arrived at the Dinosaur Museum of Zhucheng - also known as "Dinosaur City" - in East China's Shandong Province, the sky was drizzling.

Life Culture

Spreading stories through song

A woman plays a pipa lute and a man plucks a three-string zither. In traditional Chinese changsan or gown, the two, sitting by a table, sing stories about either modern romance or centuries-old classics in Suzhou dialect.

Plucked from obscurity

Dozens of foreign ambassadors and their friends gathered at the Sun Shine Gallery in Beijing for a special art show last month. Alongside artists displaying calligraphy, video projection, installation and mouth-watering food, a young lady, Wu Na, played a charming instrument known as guqin.

Devils and darlings hide in the shadows

A century ago when movies were first introduced to China, they were called Western shadow plays, a foreign equivalent of the Chinese folk art piying (literally leather shadows in Chinese), or shadow puppet show.

Writing's on the wall for New Year paintings

Chinese people used to decorate their homes with nianhua (New Year paintings) during the Spring Festival, which are usually placed on the front door to prevent evil spirits and bring good luck to the family.

Sculptures you can't churn out in a hurry

Watching the annual display of butter sculptures has been a traditional way for the Tibetans to celebrate their New Year. The Tar Monastery in Xining of Northwest China's Qinghai Province is the most renowned place for butter sculptures.

Life Trend

Setting sail for the 2008 Beijing Games

Olympic regatta host city Qingdao and many of China's coastal cities are quickly developing the sport of sailing thanks to the Beijing 2008 Games.