Guizhou · Guanling / Zhenfeng
Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge
The river is 625 metres below the road on this bridge across the Huajiang canyon. From down in the valley, the traffic looks tiny against the cliffs. Start underneath, then visit the glass observation area to see what that distance feels like from above. Looking through the bridge structure raises a question worth asking its engineers: how do you build a motorway across a gap like this?
Yunnan · Xuanwei, Qujing
Nizhu River Cliff Elevators
Children in this canyon take cliffside lifts and a cable car to school. The newer lift rises 288 metres, and the combined route has cut a three-hour mountain journey to around half an hour. Ride from the valley towards the clifftop, watching the ground fall away through the glass. Then find out what this shortcut has changed for the families whose school run once meant hours on mountain paths.
Hunan · Cili, Zhangjiajie
Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge Bungee
A glass bridge makes it hard to ignore the canyon below. Here, a bungee platform offers a jump from 260 metres above the valley. Fabian could walk across the transparent deck before deciding whether to step off the platform. There is plenty to discover before jumping, too: how the team prepares a rider, what the harness feels like, and whether watching somebody else go makes it easier or worse.
Chongqing · Yuzhong
Raffles City Skywalk & Swing
At Raffles City, a rooftop swing carries you out above Chongqing. The Yangtze and Jialing rivers meet below, with towers packed along both banks. Start with the exposed skywalk, then try the swing and see whether moving feels worse than standing still. From the platform, you can follow the river traffic far below while trying to persuade yourself to let the swing move.
Guizhou · Tongren
Fanjingshan's Red Cloud Golden Summit
Two temples stand on opposite halves of a narrow rock summit, connected by a small stone bridge. Reaching them means climbing steep steps through a cleft in the mountain, with chains beside the route. Follow the climb and cross between the temples, then look back at the approach. With so little space to stand, it is hard to picture bringing up the materials to build here.
Henan · Huixian, Xinxiang
Guoliang Cliff Road
Guoliang's villagers spent five years cutting a road through the cliff that isolated their village. Opened in 1977, the tunnel has rough rock walls and windows that look straight out onto the drop. Follow those openings along the mountainside, then reach the village at the far end. The sheer amount of rock makes it hard to imagine starting the job with hand tools.
Shanghai · Songjiang
Shanghai Quarry Hotel
Most of this hotel sits below ground level, built into the wall of a former quarry. Rooms face a vast bowl of rock and the water at its base. Descend through the building to see how a luxury hotel fits into a hole in the earth. Fabian could explore it from the rim to the lower floors, watching the quarry walls rise around him as he goes down.
Yunnan · Yanjin, Zhaotong
Yanjin
Yanjin's old town squeezes streets and apartment blocks into the narrow space between steep mountains and the Guan River. From above, it seems to follow the water almost building by building. Walk through the streets to see how everyday life fits into that geography, then look back from higher ground. Tracing the route from river level to the hillside turns an extraordinary aerial photograph into a place you can understand.
Chongqing
Chongqing Hillside Hotpot
On Chongqing's hillsides, hotpot tables occupy outdoor terraces above the city. Chilli-rich broth bubbles in front of you while the lights stretch out below. Arrive before dark, ask local diners what belongs in the pot, and find out how much spice you can handle. The view changes while dinner cooks, giving Fabian time to discover what people come here for beyond the photograph.
Chongqing · Longtousi
Chongqing Air-Raid Shelter Hotpot
Chongqing has turned former air-raid shelters into hotpot restaurants. Tables fill the arched tunnels, with steam rising into spaces originally built for protection. Follow the dining passages and find out how this underground network became part of everyday life. After a meal above the skyline, Fabian could try the other side of the city: a crowded restaurant deep inside the hillside, where the view is all rock and lanterns.
Sichuan · Chengdu
New Century Global Center
Chengdu's Global Center puts a shopping mall, hotels and an indoor beach beneath an enormous roof. Hotel balconies face a seaside setting created inside the building, complete with a giant screen. Explore the shopping areas and hotel to find out how much of a day fits indoors. The scale suggests a simple experiment for Fabian: how long can he keep walking without reaching the other end?
Chongqing · Fuling
816 Underground Nuclear Project
Workers cut deep into a mountain for a secret nuclear project that was halted before production began. Visitors can now enter parts of the unfinished complex, including cavernous industrial chambers linked by tunnels. Follow the route underground and investigate what was planned here. Standing inside the vast rooms gives the Cold War story a physical scale that dates and construction figures struggle to convey.
Zhejiang · Tonglu, Hangzhou
Longyin Valley Cliff Park
Longyin Valley puts a giant swing, a Ferris wheel and a glass water slide against a wooded cliff. Try each one and find out which makes the height hardest to ignore: slowly turning above the valley, swinging away from the edge or rushing downhill. Between rides, explore how the attractions fit onto the steep mountainside and watch other riders take on the ones you have just tried.
Hunan · Yongding, Zhangjiajie
Qixing Mountain Sky Ladder
A 168-metre ladder stretches between cliffs on Qixing Mountain's guided climbing route. Clipped to a safety cable, you climb with open air beneath the rungs and the landscape visible through every step. Fabian could tackle the ascent with a guide and find out whether looking ahead helps more than looking down. Even stopping for a rest means standing on a rung above the gap.
Guizhou · Kaiyang, Guiyang
Hou'er Sinkhole Swing
A giant rope swing carries riders from the edge of Hou'er's natural sinkhole into a bowl of steep rock and vegetation. The surrounding walls make the arc of the swing unusually easy to follow. Explore the rim before taking the harnessed ride, comparing the view from solid ground with what happens when your feet leave the platform. Watching another rider first gives a useful sense of the scale.
Chongqing · Wulong
Baimashan Flying Kiss
Two enormous moving figures each carry a viewing platform, lifting passengers above the mountain before turning towards one another. The ride comes from a local love story, though the machinery is strange enough to deserve a closer look. Board one of the platforms, then compare the experience with the view from the ground. From below, the passengers look tiny in the statues' hands.
Zhejiang · Tonglu, Hangzhou
Tianzidi Glass Rafting
At Tianzidi, an elevated water channel carries inflatable rafts around the mountainside, with transparent sides revealing the forest below. The route twists for roughly 3.8 kilometres, turning the descent into a long series of bends. Fabian could ride it and decide whether it feels closer to rafting or a water-park slide. Looking through the channel gives him something else to think about whenever the next turn approaches.
Guangdong · Haizhu, Guangzhou
Canton Tower Alpha
Canton Tower's steel frame holds an outdoor adventure course, with crossings and climbing obstacles high above Guangzhou. The upper obstacle route reaches around 298 metres. Put on a harness and discover whether the city view makes simple movements feel harder. Roads, buildings and traffic give the height a familiar scale, while the tower's beams frame each crossing. Getting across a short bridge may suddenly take considerable concentration.
Zhejiang · Shengshan, Zhoushan
Houtouwan Village
Vines have spread over the walls and windows of this largely deserted fishing village on Shengshan Island. From the hillside, whole rows of houses blend into the greenery. Follow the visitor paths and investigate why people left, looking for the details that reveal how the village worked. Doorways and rooflines keep appearing beneath the leaves, so there is plenty to discover by slowing down and looking closely.
Zhejiang · Linping, Hangzhou
Tianducheng
A replica Eiffel Tower rises above a residential development on the edge of Hangzhou, surrounded by streets with a French flavour. People live and work here, so explore the neighbourhood and ask residents what life beneath the tower is like. Anyone familiar with Paris will recognise parts of the scenery. The surprise is discovering how those borrowed shapes fit into an ordinary Chinese neighbourhood.
Henan · Shanzhou, Sanmenxia
Shanzhou Sunken Courtyards
These homes start with a courtyard dug into the earth, with rooms cut into the surrounding walls. At ground level, a village can appear to have very few buildings until you look over an edge. Descend into a courtyard and explore how a household works below the surface. Fabian could compare the light and temperature above and below, then follow the passage that connects the home to the street.
Guizhou · Chishui, Zunyi
Jianglu Yalugu Cave Hotel
A broad rock overhang shelters this hotel in Chishui's red sandstone landscape, with a natural waterfall at the site. Modern rooms and a pool sit close to the exposed stone. Explore where the building ends and the rock shelter begins, then spend a night beneath it. Fabian could follow the paths between the cave spaces and discover how the hotel was fitted into a landscape with very few straight lines.
Shanghai · Lingang, Pudong
Shanghai Snow World
Shanghai has put an entire snow-covered slope under a roof. Yaoxue Snow World offers real skiing, with lifts carrying skiers back up through the indoor snow hall. Fabian could spend a day testing the slopes and comparing the experience with a European ski resort. How much does losing the mountain sky change a ski day? The strangest moment might be leaving the cold and stepping straight back into Shanghai.
Guangdong · Guangzhou
Pony.ai Robotaxi
Book a taxi in parts of Guangzhou and the driver's seat can be empty. Pony.ai operates fully driverless passenger services here, offering a ride through ordinary traffic with nobody holding the wheel. Watch how the car handles junctions and other road users, then compare first impressions with the end of the journey. How long does it take to stop watching the empty seat?
Shandong · Zichuan, Zibo
Tanxishan Cliff Hotel
At Tanxishan, hotel rooms project from a cliff, with broad windows facing the mountain valley. From inside, the rock and the drop feel like part of the room. Fabian could investigate how the building attaches to the mountainside, then spend the night beside that view. It is a chance to discover whether a cliff becomes less unsettling when you have hours to get used to it.
Zhejiang · Longyou, Quzhou
Longyou Caves
In 1992, villagers pumping water from a pond uncovered a huge chamber cut into the rock. Longyou's caves contain broad pillars, sloping ceilings and repeated tool marks, while their original purpose remains debated. Fabian could explore the chambers and compare the explanations with what he can actually see. The grooves covering the walls bring the mystery back to a practical question: who did all this work, and why?
