National Parks of China
About
“The most beautiful places in China” were chosen by Chinese National Geography magazine in 2005, in 15 categories: ten mountains, six glaciers, five lakes, six marshes and wetlands, six waterfalls, ten forests, six grasslands, ten canyons, six show caves, ten islands, five deserts, three yardang landscapes, five city districts, six old towns and villages and eight coasts.
Ten mountains
- Namcha Barwa (Tibet)
- Mount Gongga (Sichuan)
- Everest (Tibet)
- Meili Snow Mountain (Yunnan)
- Huangshan (Anhui)
- The three holy mountains of Daocheng (Sichuan)
- K2 (Xinjiang)
- Mount Kailash (Tibet)
- Taishan (Shandong)
- Mount Emei (Sichuan)
Six glaciers
- Rongbuk Glacier (Tibet)
- Tomur Glacier (Xinjiang)
- Hailuogou Glacier (Sichuan)
- Midui Glacier (Tibet)
- Telamukanli Glacier (Xinjiang)
- Touming Mengke Glacier (Gansu)
Five lakes
- Qinghai Lake (Qinghai)
- Kanas Lake (Xinjiang)
- Namtso (Tibet)
- Heaven Lake of Changbai (Jilin)
- West Lake (Zhejiang)
Six marshes and wetlands
- Zoige, Gannan (northern Sichuan)
- Bayanbulak (Xinjiang)
- Sanjiang Plain (Heilongjiang)
- Yellow River delta (Shandong)
- Zhalong reserve (Heilongjiang)
- Liao River delta (Liaoning)
Six waterfalls
- Tsangpo Badong falls (Tibet)
- Detian Falls (Guangxi)
- Hukou Falls of the Yellow River (Shanxi–Shaanxi border)
- Jiulong Falls (Yunnan)
- Nuorilang Falls (Sichuan)
- Huangguoshu Falls (Guizhou)
Ten forests
- Schrenk spruce forest of the Tianshan (Xinjiang)
- Korean pine and broadleaf forest of Changbai (Jilin)
- Jianfengling rainforest (Hainan)
- Alpine rhododendron forest of Baima Snow Mountain (Yunnan)
- Nyingchi spruce forest (Tibet)
- Xishuangbanna rainforest (Yunnan)
- Luntai poplar forest (Xinjiang)
- Libo karst forest (Guizhou)
- Larch forest of the northern Greater Khingan (Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia)
- Southern Sichuan Bamboo Sea (Sichuan)
Six grasslands
- Eastern Hulunbuir (Inner Mongolia)
- Ili (Xinjiang)
- Xilingol (Inner Mongolia)
- Alpine grassland of western Sichuan
- Alpine grassland of Nagqu (Tibet)
- Qilian Mountains (Qinghai, Gansu)
Ten canyons
- Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon (Tibet)
- Tiger Leaping Gorge of the Jinsha (Yunnan)
- Three Gorges of the Yangtze (Chongqing, Hubei)
- Nu River Grand Canyon (Tibet, Yunnan)
- Meili Grand Canyon of the Lancang (Yunnan)
- Taroko Gorge (Taiwan)
- Shanxi–Shaanxi Grand Canyon of the Yellow River
- Jinkou Grand Canyon of the Dadu River (Sichuan)
- Taihang Grand Canyon (Beijing, Hebei, Henan, Shanxi)
- Kuqa Grand Canyon of the Tianshan (Xinjiang)
Six show caves
- Zhijin Cave (Bijie, Guizhou)
- Furong Cave (Wulong, Chongqing)
- Huanglong Cave (Zhangjiajie, Hunan)
- Tenglong Cave (Lichuan, Hubei)
- Xueyu Cave (Fengdu, Chongqing)
- Benxi Water Cave (Liaoning)
Ten islands
- Paracel (Xisha) Islands, notably Yongxing and Dong islands (South China Sea)
- Weizhou Island (Beihai, Guangxi)
- Spratly (Nansha) Islands, notably Yongshu Reef and Taiping Island (South China Sea)
- Penghu Islands (Taiwan Strait)
- Nanji Island (Wenzhou, Zhejiang)
- Miaodao Islands (Changdao, Shandong)
- Putuo Island (Zhejiang)
- Dayu Mountain island (Fuding, Fujian)
- Linjin and Nanding islands (Zhangzhou, Fujian)
- Hailing Island (Yangjiang, Guangdong)
Five deserts
- Heart of the Badain Jaran (Inner Mongolia)
- Heart of the Taklamakan (Xinjiang)
- Heart of the Gurbantünggüt (Xinjiang)
- Mingsha dunes and Crescent Spring (Gansu)
- Shapotou (Ningxia)
Three yardang landscapes
- Most magnificent rock yardangs: Urho (Xinjiang)
- Most mysterious: Bailongdui (Xinjiang)
- Most spectacular: Sanlongsha (Xinjiang)
Five city districts
- Gulangyu, Xiamen (Fujian)
- Old town of Suzhou (Jiangsu)
- Historic Centre of Macao
- Badaguan, Qingdao (Shandong)
- Shichahai, Beijing
Six old towns and villages
- Tibetan villages of Danba (Sichuan)
- Hani villages of Dayangjie, Honghe (Yunnan)
- Tuvan village by Kanas Lake (Xinjiang)
- Zhaoxing Dong village, Liping (Guizhou)
- Old villages of Wuyuan (Jiangxi)
- Dayan old town, Lijiang (Yunnan)
Eight coasts
- Yalong Bay (Sanya, Hainan)
- Yehliu (Keelung, Taiwan)
- Chengshantou (Rongcheng, Shandong)
- Dongzhaigang mangroves (Qiongshan, Hainan)
- Changli golden coast (Hebei)
- Victoria Harbour (Hong Kong)
- Chongwu coast (Hui’an, Fujian)
- Dapeng peninsula beaches (Shenzhen, Guangdong)