Insiders’ Guides, 2016

Despite its northern location, Beijing, the blue sky city, is one of the sunniest places in China and, in summer, also one of the hottest. Although around 1,000 miles north of Shanghai, and some 2,000 miles north of Hong Kong and tropical Hainan, Beijing is hotter through the summer months (mid-may to mid-September).

'Nine Villages Valley' in SiChuan province ...

A beautiful hike. The journey takes about 4 to 5 hours at a reasonably relaxing pace.

The ancient town of LiJiang, in YunNan province, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with over 800 years of history. It was an important hub of the South Silk Road, along which many items were traded, including tea. It is home to the NaXi ethnic minority. LiJiang has lots of boutique hotels and cosy hostels in traditional architecture.

Filmed May 2012.

A BeiJingBuzzz special. Including DaLi 大力, LiJiang 丽江, Tiger Leaping Gorge 虎跳峡 and ChengDu 成都. A great film - don't miss it ...

Looking for Chinese culture, life-stories, and cultural news from around China ? Check out our new China Icons page, automatically updated with the latest films from the highly regarded China Icons team. We dipped into the archives to present a selection of films from 2016, starting with 'Hopes and Dreams - China's migrant factory workers' .

Relax on peaceful rides along beautiful winding rivers through lush vegetation and karst peaks. GuangXi province, south China.

The first film shows some scenes of the central temple area, and the second the many activities that take place in the surrounding park ...

The most thrilling and picturesque part of the Great Wall of China that's not far from BeiJing (120 kilometers).