Places and stories of China

Somewhere new. A story worth following.

From a path beside a lake to a mural in the desert, discover China through the people, crafts and legends of its places.

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Qianjiang New City from the Qiantang River · 2020 — Hangzhou

2026.10.22

Today’s reading threads

A few stories from our editors’ selection, refreshed each day, about the people, crafts and legends that give places their character.

A Han stone relief depicting a drum-dance scene in the Xuzhou Han Dynasty Stone Relief Art Museum.

Xuzhou's Han reliefs: the living world inside the tomb

Carved scenes in stone hold glimpses of lived worlds. Read the Xuzhou reliefs as traces of lives, not just monuments.

Illuminated white buildings and colored lights reflect in the Qinhuai River at night.

Qinhuai: The City Behind the Examination

Along the Qinhuai, pleasure and the hope of passing an exam shared one city. Follow how both shaped its streets.

Weathered scholar's rocks beneath a tree in the Humble Administrator's Garden, Suzhou.

How to Read a Suzhou Garden

A doorway frames a rock; a path delays the next view. Learn to read the choices hidden in a Suzhou garden.

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Familiar cities

Start with cities whose names may already feel familiar, then find what makes each one its own.

Qianjiang New City from the Qiantang River · 2020

Hangzhou

A lake held in poetry. A canal carrying the memory of trade. A river opening towards a new skyline. Between them, Hangzhou makes room for quiet mornings, bright evenings, and the small rituals of everyday life.

Gate tower of the Xi'an city wall above cypress trees and city roofs

Xi'an

The Guanzhong plain's main city, where Ming walls, Qin pits and Tang palace earth still shape the street grid.

Teahouse chairs in People's Park, Chengdu

Chengdu

Sichuan's capital, where a river-fed plain, teahouses and ancient Shu sites sit inside one city.

Whitewashed houses with dark tiled roofs rise directly from a canal beside Pingjiang Road.

Suzhou

Gardens, water streets and nearby canal towns reveal different ways of making room for life beside water.

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Places worth a closer look

Palaces, painted caves, waterfalls and gardens: follow a visible detail into the story of a place.

Forbidden City

The Ming and Qing palace in the centre of Beijing, a museum since 1925.

A shaded wooden pergola curves beside planting in the Humble Administrator's Garden.

Humble Administrator’s Garden

Wang Xianchen’s garden offers a way into the language of retreat and the construction of watery views.

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Find provinces on the map

Coloured provinces have stories to explore. Choose one to discover its cities and stories.

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Photo credits and rights

Qianjiang New City from the Qiantang River · 2020MasaneMiyaPA · CC BY-SA 4.0 · resized and re-encoded Photo source ↗ Rights information ↗
A Han stone relief depicting a drum-dance scene in the Xuzhou Han Dynasty Stone Relief Art Museum.Augustohai · CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo source ↗ Rights information ↗ Resized and converted to WebP.
The Qinhuai River near Fuzi Miao after dark, photographed in January 2024.Windmemories · CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo source ↗ Rights information ↗ Resized and converted to WebP.
A close look at rock forms, planting and a white boundary wall in Suzhou's Humble Administrator's Garden.xiquinhosilva · CC BY 2.0 Photo source ↗ Rights information ↗ Resized and converted to WebP.
Gate tower of the Xi'an city wall above cypress trees and city roofs · Xi'an City Wall, Xi'anxiquinhosilva / CC BY 2.0 · CC BY 2.0 Photo source ↗ Rights information ↗
Teahouse chairs in People's Park, ChengduDaderot / CC0 · CC0 Photo source ↗ Rights information ↗ Orientation normalised, proportionally resized and encoded as WebP; no crop or retouch.
Canal-side walls and traditional roofs along Suzhou's Pingjiang Road.kevinmcgill from Den Bosch, Netherlands · CC BY-SA 2.0 Photo source ↗ Rights information ↗ Resized and converted to WebP.
A garden walkway reveals how shade and framed views shape a visit to the Humble Administrator's Garden.xiquinhosilva · CC BY 2.0 Photo source ↗ Rights information ↗ Resized and converted to WebP.