China’s network of high speed rail is the largest in the world, and now connects all corners of the country with sleek, comfortable and astonishingly punctual services.

We often suggest travelling by rail rather than flying, as it’s just so easy, and by the time you take into account the time you’d take getting to an airport etc, there really isn’t much of a time saving.

These trains allow you to travel in comfort in airline-like Economy, Business and First Class carriages, taking in the scenery out of your window.

Even riding the Maglev train from Shanghai Airport to the city at 430km per hour is fun, and it deposits you close to the Bund.

Shanghai’s colonial Bund is lined with Victorian era buildings and just across the river is where the contrast lies, in Pudong, the modernistic China of tomorrow. Walking along the Bund at sunset offers both perspectives of the city, but for panoramic views (and if you have a head for heights) ride the high-speed elevator to the top of the Shanghai Tower, China’s tallest building.

The museum in Shanghai is in my opinion the best in all of China. Don’t miss it, even if you are not normally into museums.

Not far from Shanghai are delightful medieval water villages with centuries-old stone bridges across the canals, and traditional courtyard architecture – true old world charm. The canals themselves are a remnant of Imperial China’s economy, having been an important means of transporting goods. The spring flowers here in May are absolutely beautiful.

Xi’an, the home of the buried army of Terracotta Warriors, is an impressive walled city. It is fun to walk the 14km circumference of the ancient walls looking into the old town on one side and the modern city on the other.

The Terracotta Warriors site is even more impressive that you can imagine. This massive collection of life-sized clay statues represent the soldiers of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, and were buried alongside him around 210 BCE to protect him in the afterlife. Their unique facial features are simply astonishing.

Beijing and the wonderous Forbidden City and nearby Great Wall are on everyone’s itinerary, and rightly so, but a visit to one of the private homes in the Hutongs (the old inner suburbs of Beijing) is also great fun. Although a large number of these traditional courtyard homes were demolished in the city’s rapid modernisation, thousands still exist, particularly in the ancient alleyways near the Forbidden City.

The Yangtze River and passing through the locks at the Three Gorges Dam on a riverboat is also a memory that will remain with me always. Another terrific river experience is a cruise on the Li River near Guilin, the limestone formations in the mountains here are straight out of classic Chinese paintings. When in Guilin don’t miss the evening cruise through the lakes and canals, it is a delight.