Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan, Hubei province.[Photo provided to China Daily]

3. Yangtze River

Nanjing-Hefei-Wuhan-Yichang-Chongqing.

The route runs from Qinghai's Tanggula Mountains across Chongqing, and Hubei and Hunan provinces. It covers the Qinghai-Tibet rail line, the pandas' habitat and water towns in southern China. The Yangtze River is the cradle of the 5,000-year Chinese civilization. Many ethnic groups live along this river.

Recommended sites: Mausoleum of Sun Yat-sen in Jiangsu province's Nanjing; Yellow Crane Tower in Hubei's capital Wuhan; Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River.