CHINA

China's hosting of the 2008 Olympics showed off to the world a nation on the rise, where ancient riches are complemented by modern marvels of architecture and engineering. The energy of the place is palpable as the world's largest population emerges from the shadows of recent history and rushes headlong into a future as a (perhaps the) major global player - and a must-see travel destination.
China's multi-millennial history has been a tumultuous one. One of the world's earliest civilisations, it was ruled for thousands of years by imperial dynasties until the overthrowing of the Qing dynasty in 1911. The civil war in 1945 defined the China of today, ending with the defeated Nationalists fleeing to Taiwan, while Mao's victorious Communists founded the People's Republic of China. The Cultural Revolution in the 1960s effectively closed the country. However, China has made up for lost time since the 1990s: it now boasts the world's fastest growing major economy and its main cities are emerging as cosmopolitan global centres