Eagerly assuming its place among the world’s top travel destinations, even more so since Beijing took centre stage at the 2008 Olympics, China is an epic adventure. From the wide open and empty panoramas of Tibet to the push and shove of Shànghǎi, from the volcanic dishes of Sìchuān to beer by the bag in seaside Qīngdǎo, a journey through this colossus of a country is a mesmerising encounter with the most populous and perhaps most culturally idiosyncratic nation on earth.

The sheer diversity of China’s terrain takes you from noisy cities fizzing with energy to isolated mountain-top Ming-Dynasty villages where you can hear a pin drop. Pǔdōng’s ambitious skyline is a triumphant statement, but it couldn’t be further from the worldly renunciation acted out in Tibet’s distant monasteries.

Full country name: Republic of China
Area: 9,596,960sq Km
Population: 1,3 billion
Capital: Beijing
People: Han Chinese (93%), plus 55 minorities
Language: Putonghua (Beijing mandarin dialect ), Cantonese
Religion: Buddhism, Taoisme, Islam, Christianity
GPD: US$4,5 trillion
Major export: Textiles, clothing, footwear, toys and machinery
Major trading parteners: USA, Japan, Germany, South Korea, Taiwan