This capacity to seemingly transcend time and space is owed to many things. For starters, China's vast expanse covers an area of more than six million square miles. Its diverse landscapes encompass grasslands, tropical islands, limestone forests, sand-dune seas, lush deltas, snow-frosted Himalayan peaks and bustling cities. Further, the country is home to one of the world's longest continuous civilizations. China is the birthplace of much of the planet's greatest art, culture, cuisines, religions and innovations. So it's no wonder that China provides such a kaleidoscope of experiences. You can scale the world's highest mountain or the world's longest wall, cheer on rowers in dragon boat races in summer or climb to the top of a Manchurian ice castle in the winter, see the stars shining above you while wandering the empty wind-swept steppes of Inner Mongolia or view the city lights glimmering beneath you as you savor fusion cuisine high atop one of Shanghai's new skyscrapers. These moments and more await to enrich, entertain, inspire and perhaps even transform you.

Affordable & Accessible
China provides an amazing travel value. Favorable exchange rates mean your dollars buy more compared to other international destinations. As you likely know, the Euro and British Pound are pummeling the U.S. Dollar. But, that's not the case with the Chinese Yuan (RMB), Hong Kong Dollar and Macau Pataca. For example, a 5-night summer value vacation in Rome could set you back over $1,200, while a similar hot deal to Beijing will cost one third to half the price. A Yangtze River cruise plus Xian, Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong can run about $180-$250 per day, inclusive of international air, domestic air, pre-and-post-cruise hotels, sightseeing and most meals. That's comparable in price to a Caribbean cruise before you factor in the added costs of shore excursions and airfare.

Travel to China isn't just easy on the wallet, getting there is easier than ever because there are more and shorter flights available. You can fly from New York to Beijing in 13.5 hours, and daily non-stop flights from the U.S.A. to China abound. United Airlines leads the pack, with seven daily non-stops to China, while award-winning Cathay Pacific Airways features three such daily flights to Hong Kong. Don't despair if your favorite airline doesn't feature non-stop flights to China. With code sharing and partner affiliations, you may very well use or rack up those frequent flyer miles. On top of this, several major international and American carriers offer service to China's gateway cities with convenient, timely connections in Tokyo and Seoul. Visitors will need a visa to travel anywhere in China, except Hong Kong and Macau. Obtaining a visa is simple: most tour operators will handle the processing or you can download a visa application yourself at www.china-embassy.org.

Once you arrive in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong or Guangzhou, transferring from airports and getting around town is a snap. These cities are tuned to the needs of visitors, and hotel staff and travel professionals are usually conversant in English, if not fluent. Most of the better hotels, restaurants and shops accept major credit cards, and VISA® is China's credit card of choice. Plus, you can simply use your ATM card in big cities to withdraw local currencies. In the countryside and smaller cities, it's a good idea to have cash on hand.

Silk Road Sensations
Before the discovery of a sea route, the Silk Road was the most important connection between East and West. Adventurers can follow the trail of Marco Polo, starting in Xian. The capital of 13 dynasties, Xian is home to the tomb of China's first emperor, where an army of terra cotta warriors have been standing in formation since the third century B.C. From Xian, trek westward through the wide-open expanses of Inner Mongolia, past the endless sands of the Gobi Desert. Intrepid souls can even spend the night in a yurt, or traditional pie-shaped tent.

Monumental Beijing
Perhaps the most singularly Chinese of these cities, Beijing is the country's heart of commerce and power, which is not surprising, since the city's served as the primary residence for three major dynasties in the past thousand years and continues to be the capital of the People's Republic of China.

China's majesty and might are evidenced in Beijing's layout and structures. The sheer immensity of scale boggles the mind. The Forbidden City, the imperial palace complex, features 8,706 rooms. Tiananmen Square can hold one million people. Surely, this enormity is one of the reasons for Beijing's uncanny ability to transport you back to the days of old Cathay and imperial China. When you visit the pavilions, gardens and courtyards of the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace, you can sense the echoes of past splendor. Tiananmen Square houses the remains of Chairman Mao and features museums and monuments of the Chinese revolution. Adjacent to the square presides the impressive neoclassical Great Hall of the People.

Yet it is just outside of Beijing where you can visit the most famous sight in China and indeed, one of the wonders of the ancient world: the Great Wall of China. Begun around 220 B.C., it winds across deserts, grasslands, mountains and plateaus for 4,163 miles. You feel the pulse of history as you touch its stone face and walk its ramparts.

Beijing was host to the 2008 Summer Olympic Games and certainly wowed the world with its competition venues, such as the Bird's Nest Stadium and the National Swimming Center, which by the magic of high-tech plastics, lighting and visual projection, appears to be a huge, physics-defying "Watercube."

Sizzling Shanghai
Southeast of Beijing, situated on the Yangtze River delta, lies Shanghai. The city's name means "By the Sea." Its other monikers include "Pearl of the Orient," the "Elysium of the Adventurer" and the "Paris of the East." However, "City of the Future" might very well become the town's next nickname. Shanghai today is an exhilarating boomtown, growing politically, economically and every which way. Enthusiasm and optimism infuse the air and are expressed in Shanghai's architecture, which veritably leaps past the 21st century with ultra-modern spires like the Pudong's Oriental Pearl TV Tower. Sexy new venues like the orchid-inspired Shanghai Oriental Arts Center with its petal-shaped concert halls and the Shanghai International Circuit, which hosted China's first Formula One championship race in 2004, add to the city's advanced allure. And the 2010 Shanghai World Expo Park and Village promise to do the same. The city's cutting-edge cachet extends to its restaurants, boutiques and art galleries.

Yangtze Region
Cruise the most atmospheric passages of the world's third-longest river, the legendary Yangtze. Your trip will likely begin or end in Chongquing. From ship's deck, you'll view temples, towering cliffs, timeless villages and antique relics. Sail through the Three Gorges and tour the area's historic dam project, due for completion in 2009. Stop at cities along the way to Shanghai, including Nanjing, the country's capital for 10 dynasties and a major center for art and culture.

From Beijing, Shanghai or the Yantze Region, there are so many more unforgettable experiences to be had. Learn more about China on the web at www.cnto.org.