Since the Ming Dynasty, Wuxi has been an important rice and silk market and one of the main cultural centres of the south Yangtze region.

Haikou: An emerging industrial city Often referred to as the ‘coconut city’, Haikou is a prefecture-level city situated on the northern coast of Hainan

The biggest free trade port in Northern China, Dalian is a modernised international shipping metropolis serving as a gateway to Beijing and Tianjin.

Known as the ‘Venice of the East’, Suzhou is considered one of the richest major cities in China.

The capital of Zhejiang province, Hangzhou has historically been credited as being one of the most beautiful cities in China along with neighbouring Suzhou (上有天堂，下有苏杭– heaven is above, Suzhou and Hangzhou are below). Yao Lu from Dezan Shira & Associates takes a look at this…

Despite being the most remote city from any sea in the world, Urumqi thrived as a trading hub along the Silk Road during the Tang and Ming dynasties.

In addition to being Central China’s transportation hub, Wuhan in Hubei Province is recognised as the third largest technological and educational centre in China behind Beijing and Shanghai.

Hefei plays an important role in linking central China’s coastal regions due to its convenient location located between the Yangtze and the Huaihe Rivers

Lanzhou, once known as the ‘Golden City’, has been an important regional commercial centre and transportation hub since as early as the Han Dynasty (206BC – 202AD).

Thirty years ago Dongguan was just a collection of villages and towns spread out over 2,500 square kilometres on the Pearl River Delta