Tourist resources in can be divided into three main groups: natural sites, historical and cultural sites and folk customs.

Natural Sites --'s mountains, lakes, valleys, caves and waterfalls

Mount Taishan in the east, Mount Hengshan in the south, Mount Huashan in the west, Mount Hengshan in the north, and Mount Songshan in the center of China have been called the Five Sacred Mountains since antiquity., which snakes through central, is admired by Chinese as paramount among them. Another mountain celebrated for its beauty isin southern, known for its graceful pines, unusual rocks, cloud seas and.

Jiuzhaigou, Huangguoshu Waterfalls, andare all located in southwestern. Jiuzhaigou in northernis a beautiful "fairyland valley" running overthrough snow-covered mountains, lakes, waterfalls, and forest. The Huangguoshu Waterfalls inare a group of waterfalls, 18 above-ground and four below, which can be heard from five km away. Thein Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region winds its way through karst peaks forbetweenand Yangshuo.

On the plateau in northernare many spectacular lakes. The Tianchi (Heavenly Pool) in thein Xinjiang Autonomous Region is 1,980 meters above sea level. This 105-m-deep lake is crystal clear, the high mountains surrounding it carpeted with green grass and colorful flowers.

Along the renowned Three Gorges of the Yangtze River are many scenic spots and historical sites; the Qutang Gorge is rugged and majestic, the Wuxia Gorge elegant, deep and secluded, the Xiling Gorge full of shoals and reefs and rolling water. The Lesser Three Gorges are lush with greenery, flanking water so clear you can see to the bottom. The Three Gorges Dam built here is's biggest key hydro-power project.

Historical and Cultural Sites

's long history has left many cultural relics and the title of "" has gone to the first group of 54 cities. The Great Wall, a symbol of the Chinese nation, is also a prime example of historical sites that have become major tourist attractions. As the greatest defense-structure project in the history of human civilization, it dates back more than 2,000 years ago to the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States periods - huge in its scale and grandeur, it rates as a world wonder. There are 10 sections of the Great Wall open to tourists, including the passes, blockhouses and beacon towers at Badaling in, Laolongtou inandin.

Grottoes filled with precious murals and sculptures are concentrated along the ancient Silk Road in. The best known are the, a "treasure house of oriental art," with 492 caves with murals and statues on the cliff faces. There are 45,000 sq m of murals and over 2,100 colorful statues, all of high artistry and imagination. In the south, grotto art is represented inby the Leshan Giant Buddha, carved into a cliff face. Seventy-one meters high and 28 meters wide, it is the largest sitting Buddha in stone, showing the superb carving skill of ancient craftsmen.

Thein, the birthplace of Chinese Zen Buddhism and famous for its Shaolin kungfu martial arts, dates back to. D. Here can be seen the Ming period Five-Hundred-Arhats Mural and Qing period Shaolin kungfu paintings. In central's, beautiful, with 72 grotesque peaks in 30 sq km, is a sacred site of Taoism, which preserves's most complete, largest-scale and best ancient Taoist architecture. In western Sichuan Province, Mount Emei, dotted with ancient Buddhist temples and structures, is one of China's four holy Buddhist mountains｡

Most of's 101 cities classified as famous historical and cultural cities are over 1,000 years old. South of the Yangtze River,and, long known as "paradise on earth," are crisscrossed with rivers, lakes, bridges, fields and villages, as beautiful as paintings. Today's well-preserved ancient city ofin centralwas built in the Ming Dynasty but was also the site of the Neolithic era Yangshao and Longshan cultures, 5,000 to 6,000 years ago. Ancient Lijiang inis not only the center of Dongba culture of the Naxi ethnic group but also a meeting place for the cultures of Han, Tibetan and Bai ethnicities. Built in the Song Dynasty, this city has many stone bridges, stone memorial arches and dwelling houses, which provide precious materials for architectural history and can be called a "living museum of ancient dwelling houses."