Founded in 900 BC, the capital of Jiangsu province has endured a chequered history. It has been the capital of China several times and, for some months in 1912, it was the capital of Sun Yatsen's provisional government, following the overthrow of the Beijing-based Qing dynasty.

Located in the Guanxi Autonomous Region of southern China, Guilin has become one of the country's most visited cities, thanks to its setting in a landscape of limestone hills thrust up from the seabed 300 million years ago and immortalised in Chinese painting and poetry. The city itself, although pleasantly situated on the banks of the Li River and an attractive enough place for walking in, is busy, and its attractions are not quite as memorable as they are often made out to be.

Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan province, an area of west central China noted for its mild climate and fiery food, as well as for being the home of China's rare and endangered pandas. Chengdu's great moment in history passed more than 2,000 years ago: in the 4th century BC it was capital of the Kingdom of Zhou.

With a population of almost 11 million, Beijing is one of three special metropolitan areas in China (the others are Shanghai and Tianjin), separate from provincial control. As the national capital, Beijing is really in a special category of its own. While Shanghai and Guangzhou, among other cities, are far more vibrant economically, Beijing is the city of grace and style, lavishly endowed with the best of everything by the Communist Party top brass, if only because they have to live here too.

China is not an ideal place for children. Even for adults, the rigours of independent travel test their stamina and patience. Organised tours are easier, but they may prove boring to most children. Some parents clearly decide that, since they want to see China, the children will have to as well, but most leave them at home.

As China is big and remote country and few people have the opportunity to return time after time, so your aim will probably be to see as many of the main attractions as possible on your visit. This will also be the aim, unfortunately, of just about all your fellow tourists, and that includes a fair percentage of the country's own population as well.

The Portuguese settled in Macao during the mid-1550s. Today, 95 per cent of its population is Cantonese-speaking Chinese. The remainder is mostly Portuguese, with a sprinkling of other foreign nationals. A reclamation project is under way to convert Taipa and Coloane Islands into one island, making space for the new Macao International Airport and increasing the territory's land area by 20 per cent.