China Guide
The Yangzi basin
Having raced out of Sichuan through the narrow Three Gorges, the Yangzi (here known as the Chang Jiang) widens, slows down, and loops through its flat, low-lying middle reaches, swelled by lesser streams and rivers which drain off the highlands surrounding the four provinces of the Yangzi basin: Anhui, Hubei, Hunan and Jiangxi. As well as watering one of China's key rice- and tea-growing areas, this stretch of the Yangzi has long supported trade and transport, and the mighty Three Gorges Dam, near Yichang, helps power a local industrial economy to rival that of the east coast.
Strangely enough, while all four regional capitals are located near water, only Wuhan, in Hubei, is actually on the Yangzi itself, a privileged position which has turned the city into central China's liveliest urban conglomeration, with an excellent provincial museum.
Away from the river, wild mountain landscapes make for some fine hiking, the pick of which is undoubtedly at Huang Shan in southern Anhui, a classic scene of twisted trees, misty peaks and sheer cliffside steps. Hubei's remote Shennongjia Forest Reserve comes a close second, with its extraordinary biodiversity and rare fauna. Pilgrims also have a selection of Buddhist and Taoist holy mountains to scale on seemingly unending stone-flagged staircases – Hubei's Wudang Shan is outstanding.
Highlights
1 Yixian An amazing collection of antique Ming villages, used atmospherically in Zhang Yimou's film Raise the Red Lantern.
2 Huang Shan Arguably China's most scenic mountain, wreathed in narrow stone staircases, contorted trees and cloud-swept peaks.
3 Hubei Provincial Museum, Wuhan On show here are 2000-year-old relics from the tombs of aristocrats, including a lacquered coffin and an orchestra of 64 giant bronze bells.
4 Shennongjia Forest Reserve Wild and remote mountain refuge of the endangered golden monkey and (allegedly) the enigmatic ye ren, China's yeti.
5 Wudang Shan Temple-covered mountains at the heart of Taoist martial-art mythology; it's said this is where tai ji originated.
6 Jingdezhen China's porcelain capital for the last six centuries, with a ceramic history museum and enjoyable street markets.