Presented by Chinese National Geography (CNG)
In 2005, the magazine Chinese National Geography celebrated its 55th birthday. The

motto of the launch issue, 55 years earlier, had been “A modern citizen must have

basic geographic knowledge about the world and China.” Half a century later, it was

changed to “Opening the doors of nature and showing the essence of civilization.”

These different wordings reflect the magazine’s different purposes.

It marked a changed in our role----from the task of spreading geographical knowledge

to a conscious pursuit of and emphasis upon harmony between man and nature.

Several years of doing this have shown that Chinese National Geography’s may original,

authoritative and accurate reports and themes have been well received by readers,

creating much public and media attention. For many Chinese it has even changed their

understanding of geography.
As we were preparing for the magazine’s 55th birthday, we wanted to make a specia

gift, one to express our good wishes and love for geography, especially for the natural

and cultivated landscapes on earth, to salute the soil on which we live, and to present

the beauty of CHINA to our readers. Therefore, the October 2005 issue was a special

edition with more than 400 extra pages------Chinese National Geography: China’s most

beautiful places.
It is hard to tell how many beautiful places there are on China’s 9.6 million square

kilometers of land and its 3 million square kilometers of seas. Though many similar

comparisons have been made, using different criteria, methods and categories, we still

believed that we should make our own summary.
Granted, a single issue of the magazine can by no means cover every beautiful place in

China, but I still believe our painstaking work was worthwhile. The October magazines

were sold out across China within two days of becoming available and we had to reprint

it time and time again; currently we are on the seventh impression, exceeding one million

copies. We have received countless calls, letters and e-mails from readers, voicing the

same message: China has so many beautiful places; a lifetime is not long enough to see

them all. The enthusiasm of readers and suggestions of overseas friends prompted us to

go one-step further, to help more people with an interest in China get a better

understanding of the country. You may be thinking about visiting China, or just arrived,

or perhaps you already know a little; whatever the case, I am confident this book will be

a big help in your appreciation of China’s natural and cultivated landscapes.
Zhuang Zi, a great Chinese thinker some 2,000 years ago, said that the beauty of nature

was beyond description. So welcome to China!
Li Shuanke
President and Editor-in-Chief
Chinese National Geography (www.cng.com.cn)