Hangzhou. China

Among China’s most illustrious tourist attractions, Hangzhou’s dreamy Lake panoramas and verdant gardens can easily charm you into long, meditative strolls. Eulogised by poets and lauded by CHina's emperors, the lake has transfixed the Chinese imagination for eons. Dutifully, even religiously tidied by armies of street sweepers and trashpickers, its views draw you into a classical Chinese painting of willowed banks, ancient pagodas, and mist-cloaked hills. Despite large tour groups, West Lake makes for a delightful sojourn, on foot or by bike.