Cycling
Some 300 million Chinese use bicycles to get around. Hire shops are everywhere and cycling is one of the best ways to see China's countryside. Popular cycling routes include alongside sections of the Great Wall and Guilin and Yangshuo, in Guanxi province.

Hiking
China has some incredible scenery and much of it is best seen on foot. Everest Base Camp is Tibet's most popular trekking destination. There's also great hiking in other areas of the mountainous Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Yunnan's threatened Tiger Leaping Gorge and along the Great Wall.

Mountain climbing
China is home to some of the world's highest mountains. Mighty Himalayan peaks form Tibet's southern border, among them Mount Everest (or Qomolangma), at 8,848m (29,021ft), and Namcha Barwa, at 7,756m (25,445ft), around which the Brahmaputra River carves a fantastic gorge to enter India.

Rock climbing
Rock climbing is a fast-growing sport in China. The sheer-faced limestone karst mountains around Yangshuo in Guangxi province have become a climbing mecca, offering many marked routes for everyone from novice to expert climbers. Some bars even have practice walls.

River cruising
The Three Gorges Dam will raise levels of the Chang Jiang (Yangtze) by 175m (574ft) by 2009, although the spectacular gorges will still tower high above. See striking limestone formations on a Li River cruise from Guilin.

Caves
Head underground to Zhangjiajie's Yellow Dragon Cave, Asia's largest, or more popular caverns including Guilin's Reed Flute and Crown caves and Yangshuo's Silver Cave - their stalactites and stalagmites lit by garish multi-coloured neon. 

Pandas
Sichuan province's ancient parks and bamboo forests are among the last strongholds of the endangered giant panda. View them close up in Chengdu's panda breeding and research centre and on a day trip to a mountain sanctuary at Wolong.

Beaches
It may come as a surprise, but China has some gorgeous tropical beaches. Sanya, on the southern coast of China's most southerly province, Hainan Island, is one of China's most popular holiday areas and has international resort hotels, fine sand beaches, golf courses, coconut palms and watersports (www.sanyatour.com).

Tai chi
Try the ancient ‘shadow art' of tai chi, a series of linked, slow movements using the entire body while focusing the mind. Traditionally practiced early in the morning in parks and public squares throughout China, good places to see it include Beijing's Beihai Park and People's Square in Shanghai.

Spring Festival
Enjoy festivities surrounding the Spring Festival, the Chinese calendar's most important date. Families get together to celebrate Chinese New Year, festooning homes with banners and pictures to bring good fortune. Festival activities often include temple fairs, lion dances and fireworks.

Hangzhou
Shop for silk and tea in ancient China capital Hangzhou, described by celebrated traveller Marco Polo as ‘the most beautiful and magnificent city in the world'. Popular with Chinese and foreign tourists, its main attraction is the beautiful West Lake scenic area.

Horse riding
Mount a steed in Inner Mongolia and go riding across the vast grasslands. Horse-riding tours generally include overnight accommodation in a well-equipped yurt and meals and dancing around the campfire.

Chinese meridian massage
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) therapies, such as massage, acupuncture, cupping and herbal tonics, are very popular throughout China. Meridian massage, designed to promote the flow of qi (vital energy) through the meridians and bring the body into harmony is available at local massage joints in most Chinese cities.

Silk Road
Trace the ancient Silk Road trading route, which ran from Xi'an through deserts and mountains to the Caspian and Mediterranean seas, bringing Buddhism and Islam into China. The main sights include Dunhuang's Buddhist grottoes at Dunhuang, the ruins of Jiaohe city near Turpan and Kashgar's lively Sunday market.

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.