China

The "Middle Kingdom" in East Asia covers a quarter of the Asian continent and is the fourth largest country in the world in terms of area after Russia, Canada and the USA. The approximately 1.38 billion inhabitants of the People's Republic make China the most populous country in the world.

China is generally a country of extremes: Mount Everest in the Himalayas is the highest mountain in the world at 8848 m, Qinghai Lake is the largest lake in the world with an area of around 4500 square meters, Tokyo is the largest metropolis in the world with around 9.5 million inhabitants and the Great Wall of China is the largest structure in the world with a length of 8851.8 km.

From high alpine to tropical to desert and continental - China's climate zones offer space for all kinds of activities. Beautiful hikes lead along the Lijiang River from Yangdi Kai in Yangshuo to Xingping County or the Tiger Gorge in Yunnan Province. Cycling tours through Tibet or skiing in Jilin Province are also popular excursion destinations

The climb to the summit of Siguniang (Four Maiden Mountain) at 6250 m should be supervised by professional mountain guides and takes about three days. Climbing the eight-thousanders is only for extreme climbers and absolute professionals!

There are fourteen mountains in the world that are over eight thousand meters high and nine of these mighty mountains alone lie - at least in part - on Chinese territory. The most prominent and highest eight-thousander is Mount Everest. The mountain in the Himalayas measures an impressive 8848 meters.

However, the Austrian extreme mountaineer Reinhold Messner did not call Everest the "mountain of mountains", but the 8611 m high K2 of the Karakoram. It is considered by mountaineers to be the most challenging of all eight-thousanders.

Anyone who dreams of China thinks of Chinese food, Buddhism, traditional clothing, karate, Asian architecture, major cities and - the Great Wall of China. It is considered the largest structure in history and is both a landmark and a tourist magnet for the People's Republic.

In total, UNESCO has recognized over 50 Chinese sites as World Heritage Sites, including the imperial palaces of the Ming and Qing dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang, the so-called Forbidden City.