China's Top Cities to See

The numerous sights to see in the world's most populous nation and the home of the oldest civilization in Asia, can be seen and experienced in its' wonderful cities. Here I have named two of the best and the biggest cities to visit in China.

1. Shanghai is the most populous city in China. It has over 20 million people. A lot of tourists come to visit certain areas of the city. Here are a few places of interest to visit:

- The Bund: The Shanghai Bund is home to dozens of historical buildings, and consulates, and the imposing well lit buildings are a sight to see in the evening.

- Xintiandi: Is a shopping area in China, where you are not allowed to use cars. Here you can see some old restored Chinese traditional houses, called shikumen, meaning "stone gates". There are also cafés and restaurants, and a modern mall in the area.

- Oriental Pearl Tower: This is the one of the tallest towers in Asia at the moment, and it stands 468 meters high. The tower has fifteen observatory levels. and contains exhibition facilities, restaurants and a shopping mall. There is also a hotel between the two large spheres.
The best time to visit Shanghai is in the latter part of the year when there are festivals and fairs for the tourists to see. To mention a few, there is the Shanghai tourism festival in September, the Shanghai International Art Festival in October, and the Shanghai Asian Music Festival in December. There are around four festivals per month from September to December. So that's a lot for a tourist to see.

2. Beijing is the capital of China, its' second largest city next to Shanghai, and is the country's transportation hub. It has many places of interest to visit, and its' past played and is still playing a great part in world history. Some of the important landmarks within the city are described briefly below:

- The Forbidden City: the world's largest surviving palace complex

- The Temple of Heaven: literally means "altar of heaven" in Chinese is a complex of Taoist buildings in Southeast Beijing

- The Ming tombs: 13 Ming Dynasty Emperors were buried in this area

- The Great Wall: the only ancient man made structure in the world that can be seen from space
When visiting China, make sure to at least have a glimpse of these two cities, and you have your own slice of a large part of history.