Discover China

In 1983 a list of the “142 key Buddhist Temples in the Han Area of China” was produced, and since 2009 James Baquet has been visiting them during his holidays. His fascinating website Chinese Pilgrimage features images and brief descriptions from his “epic” three-year journey to these sometimes exquisite, always interesting temples.

You can also read the stories of James’ visits to many of these temples and other sites in the travel section of the Shenzhen Daily newspaper.

James Baquet is an American living in Shenzhen and many of his great insights into Shenzhen and its history and Chinese temples have previously been featured in Discover China News.

Located in the northwest of China, Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi Province, is one of the oldest cities in China with more than 3,100 years of history. The ancient walled city is home to the famous terracotta warriors and also has many other historical relics and attractive natural scenery. Find our more in the Shenzhen Daily article Xi’an: Experience Chinese culture in ancient capital.

Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, is the most populous city in Central China. It lies at the east of the Jianghan Plain and the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers. With 3,500 years of history, Wuhan is older than Beijing, Xi’an and Nanjing and there are many historical sites in the city. Find out more in the Shenzhen Daily article Wuhan: An ancient river town.

If you are visiting Shenzhen and want to behold a vast collection of historic sites and relics without travelling far, take a weekend trip to Macao. It can be reached by a one-hour ferry trip from Shenzhen Shekou Port. Find out more in the Shenzhen Daily article Macao’s abundance of historic relics.

Quzhou, a historic and cultural city in western Zhejiang Province, is expecting more travelers from Shenzhen and other Pearl River Delta cities with the opening of more flights to the city. Quzhou has more than 1,800 years of history and is now a State-level historic and cultural city. Find out more in the Shenzhen Daily article Historic city invites SZ travelers.