The Best Small Towns and Villages

Xiàhé (Gansù): This delightful monastery town nestles in a mountain valley at an elevation of 2,900m (9,500 ft.). It's divided into two sections, primarily Huí (Muslim) and Hàn Chinese at its eastern end, changing abruptly to a Tibetan town as you climb westward to the gorgeous gilded roofs of the vast Labrang Monastery. Bent and walnut-visaged Tibetan pilgrims make you welcome on the 3km (2-mile) circuit around the monastery's perimeter.

Manzhouli (Inner Mongolia): A tiny town of 50,000 on the Russian border, lost in a sea of grass, Manzhouli is the East-meets-Wild West frontier outpost David Carradine should have used as the backdrop to the TV series Kung Fu. It stands on the edge of the Hulun Buir, an emerald expanse of grassland shot through with radiant patches of wildflowers.

Dàli (Yúnnán): This home of the Bái people, a backpacker's mecca for over a decade and recently gentrified for large numbers of tourists, remains a retreat from the world. You can hike part of the impressive 19-peak Green Mountains (Cang Shan) to the west, sail on the cerulean Er Hai Lake to the east, take a bike ride into any of the nearby Bái villages.

Gyantse (Tibet): Towered over by the spectacular 13th-century fortress of Gyantse Dzong, this is the only substantial settlement in Tibet to retain its vernacular architecture of sturdy two- and three-story farmhouses, offering a rare and beautiful glimpse of Tibetan rural life no visitor to Tibet should miss.

Yángshuò (Guangxi): Some decry it for being over-commercialized, but this small town on the Lí River, nestled in a cluster of spiny pinnacles, has retained enough of its laid-back charm to be a delightful alternative to Guìlín.

Shàoxing (Zhèjiang): The gondolas of this relaxed "Venice" are narrow craft with arched, black-painted woven bamboo awnings, propelled by wiry boatmen acrobatically using both hands and feet to work the oars. The inevitable rebuilding of the city center has at least showed some sense of scale and left intact a few areas of ancient housing, through which the boatmen cruise, passing under Míng-era bridges.

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