practical

Three days covers pandas, hotpot and one day trip; four days adds a slower neighbourhood day; five lets you breathe. Here is exactly how to split your Chengdu days so you leave feeling you saw it properly, not rushed.

Two cities, one shared love of hotpot and a thousand arguments over whose is better. Chengdu is flat, leafy and relaxed; Chongqing is a vertigo-inducing mountain metropolis. Here is how to choose — or how to do both without regret.

Three days covers the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and a hutong walk; four adds the Summer Palace and a temple; five lets you breathe and day-trip. Here is the exact day-by-day split.

Beijing is ancient China — walls, palaces, hutongs. Shanghai is modern China — skylines, concessions and cocktails. For a first-timer deciding between them, here is the honest comparison.

Two days covers the Terracotta Army, the city walls and the Muslim Quarter; three adds a proper food day and a quieter sight; four lets you day-trip to Mount Hua. Here is the split.

Two of China's greatest ancient capitals, a thousand years apart in their glory. Beijing is imperial grandeur; Xi'an is the start of the Silk Road. Here is how to choose — or pair them.

Two days covers the Bund, the French Concession and Yu Garden; three adds a proper museum and food day; four lets you day-trip to Suzhou or Hangzhou. Here is the day-by-day split.

China is a country, not a season — the best time depends entirely on where you are going. Here is a month-by-month breakdown of weather, crowds and what actually shines when.

Both are China's most surreal landscapes — Guilin's dreamy karst rivers versus Zhangjiajie's floating sandstone pillars. Here is how to choose between two very different kinds of beauty.

Tibet is not a place you rush — altitude, travel permits and long drives all shape the answer. Here is how many days you actually need, and why less than a week usually doesn't work.

A prayer-friendly, fully halal 8-day Silk Road route from Kuala Lumpur or Singapore - Xi'an, Lanzhou, Linxia, Xining and Urumqi, with mosques, halal restaurants and high-speed trains mapped day by day.