There are two spectacular natural bridges: Bridge of the Immortals -- 26m long, 1.5-1.8m wide, 1-2m thick and 100m above the gorge, and Bridge Across the Sky, the world's highest natural bridge -- 40m long, 10m wide, 15m thick and a vertigo-inducing 357m above the valley floor. The Yellow Dragon Cave is a typical karst formation and one of China's 10 largest caves.

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. Hebei: Chengde Summer Resort ingeniously blends grand palaces and delicate temples with peculiar mountains, vast grassland, exquisite pavilions and tranquil waters.

2. Shanxi: Yungang Grottoes houses some 1,000 niches (shallow recess in a wall used especially to contain statues) with about 51,000 statues -- a treasure trove of grotto art that combines traditional Chinese art forms with foreign influence, particularly Greek and Indian.

3. Henan: Longmen Grottoes have 2,345 caves and niches, housing over 100,000 Buddhist statues, 2,840 inscribed stone tablets and over 60 stone stupas (Buddhist shrines in the form of small domed buildings).

4. Hubei: Mt. Wudang is a Taoist sacred mountain. Wudang wushu, noted for its exercise of the internal organs and its breathing techniques, developed alongside Wudang Taoism.