China is an enormous country with endless hidden corners that will leave you wondering where all the tourists have gone. From mountains in the west to Inner Mongolia, book a flight, pack your rucksack and head off on an adventure of a lifetime.
You can now download eBook versions Lonely Planet as individual chapters for a few euros, and read them on your tablet, smartphone, eBook reader or laptop.
ETG Tip: China has a fantastic efficient and cost effective railway network. Travel by sleeper train and save on accommodation during your trip.
Lighten your luggage!
Off the Beaten Track Destinations in China
There's plenty of elbow room out in the simply stunning countryside, a sublime mix of undulating hills and carpets of forest, riven with rivers tumbling into magnificent waterfalls and down into spooky-thrilling karst cave networks.
This is the Qinghai chapter from Lonely Planet's China guidebook.
Much of what you'll experience here will feel more Tibetan than Chinese. Big, bold and beautifully barren, the middle-of-nowhere high-plateau vistas and the chance to discover some of the more remote communities make the long bus rides well worth it.
This is the Chóngqìng & Cruising the Yangzi chapter from Lonely Planet's China guidebook.
An astonishing landscape of massive, isolated mountain ranges and jagged, karst peaks cover more than 80% of the province. People have long made a home amid these natural wonders, taming the rocky slopes into terraces of lush fields.