Asia Central y Extremo Oriente: Las ciudades de Japan y China

Kyoto, Japan

Kyoto is where you will find the Japan of your imagination: raked pebble gardens, poets’ huts hidden amid bamboo groves, arcades of vermilion shrine gates, geisha disappearing into the doorways of traditional restaurants, golden temples floating above tranquil waters. Indeed, most of the sites that make up the popular image of Japan probably originated in Kyoto.

Geisha, Kyoto

Kyoto is host to 17 Unesco World Heritage sites, more than 1600 Buddhist temples and over 400 Shintō shrines and is thus one of the world’s most culturally rich cities. It is fair to say that Kyoto ranks with Paris, London and Rome as one of those cities that everyone should see at least once in their lives.

Top things to do:

• Kinkaku-ji (The Golden Pavilion)
• Ginkaku-ji (The Silver Pavilion)
• Ryoan-ji Temple's dry rock garden is a puzzle. Nobody knows who designed it or what the meaning is of the 15 rocks scattered across its expanse of raked white gravel.
• Toei Kyoto Studio Park
• Gion
• Kyoto International Manga Museum

Kyoto Magna Museum

• Shopping on Shijo-Dori
• National Museum of Modern Art
• Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art

Studio Park, Kyoto

Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo is the capital of Japan and offers a unique dichotomy between futuristic modern and imperial traditionalism. Tokyo was originally a small fishing village, but today has a population of 12 million and is the largest metropolitan area in the world. It has been described as one of the three "command centers" for the world economy, along with New York City and London.

Tokyo’s unique vitality springs from this intertwining of the new with the time-honoured old. While it’s the wellspring of Japanese pop culture, it is also a place where the patrilineage of its imperial family is a tightly held institution. It’s the city to which Japanese nonconformists flee but where individuality is often linked to an older form of small-group identity.

Tokyo, Japan

It’s a metropolis where the pressure cooker of traditional societal mores and expectations explodes into cutting-edge art, music and inventions like the ‘boyfriend’s arm pillow’. Even pop culture like manga, as it takes the world by storm, is rooted in the tradition of Edo-period ukiyo-e (wood-block prints from the ‘floating world’). And so, as its modern gears keep turning, the basic machinery of this intriguing city remains true to its origins.


Spring (March to May) brings pleasant, warm days, and, of course, cherry blossoms – early April is probably the best time to view the blooms. Aside from spring, autumn (September to November) is the most pleasant season as temperatures cool down to a cosy level and days are often clear and fine.

Cherry Blossoms, Tokyo

Top things to do:

• Ghibli Museum:
 Get Spirited Away to anime master Hayao Miyazaki's charming museum
• Roppongi Art Triangle:
 Make the rounds of Roppongi for a dose of au courant art, architecture and design, taking in the Mori Art Museum, the Suntory Museum of Art and the National Art Center, Tokyo
• Meiji-Jingū (Meiji Shrine):
 Take in the magnificence of Meiji-Jingū, Tokyo's - if not Japan's - most splendid Shintō shrine
• Edo-Tokyo Museum:
 Explore the captivating exhibits detailing Edo-era life at this fascinating museum
• Sumida-Gawa river cruise:
Take a leisurely ride down the Sumida River
• Shibuya:
 Explore what makes Japanese youth culture tick in Shibuya
• Witness a sumo-wrestling tournament
• Ogasawara National Parks (UNESCO World Heritage site)

Shanghai, China

The most dynamic city in the world’s fastest- changing nation, Shanghai is an exhilarating, ever-morphing metropolis that isn’t just living China’s dream, but is setting the pace for the rest of the world. Shanghai is the largest city by population in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the largest city by population in the world.

Tucked between the shopping malls and the eye-popping modern architecture is the old Shanghai, where temples nestle down alleys, along with street markets and classical Chinese gardens. Shanghai is a city of stunning contrasts, where visitors can go from sipping a cocktail in a designer bar overlooking the Bund, to eating dumplings at a street stall, or gazing at a 10th-century Buddhist monastery, in the space of a few hours. Summer is hot and humid, winter can get cold, but Shanghai never stops.

Shanghai bristles with buildings, but the city doesn't boast must-see sights like New York or Rome. The joys of Shanghai, instead, are on the street level, where everyday life unfolds with bewildering variety.

Top Things to do:

• Catch the Shanghai Maglev Train
• Explore Fuxing Park
• Visit the Shanghai Museum
• Stroll down Dongtai Road
• Walk along the Bund

Beijing, China

Stop–start capital since the Mongol Yuan dynasty, Běijīng is one of China’s true ancient citadels. It is also an aspiring, confident and modern city that seems assured of its destiny to rule over China ad infinitum.

Běijīng is the orderly seat of the communist political power in China, so its architecture traces each and every mood swing from 1949 to the present, from felled hútòng (narrow alleys) to huge underground bomb shelters scooped out during the paranoid 1970s. One moment you are sizing up a blank Soviet-style monument, the next you spot a vast, shimmering tower rising up from the footprint of a vanished temple.

Autumn (September to early November) is the optimal season to visit Běijīng as the weather is gorgeous and fewer tourists are in town.

Top things to do:

• Forbidden City:
Follow in the footsteps of eunuchs and emperors roaming the Forbidden City
• Hútòng:
Hire a bike and whizz through Běijīng’s hútòng, the city’s delightful alleyways
• Great Wall:
Walk along the Great Wall, the dividing line between China and the barbarian hordes
• Summer Palace:
Put aside a day to amble around the huge Summer Palace
• Temple of Heaven:
Fathom the cosmic harmonies of the Temple of Heaven

Xi’an, China

Xī’ān today sits in the fertile Wei River valley, one of the epicentres of early Chinese civilisation. The area was home to the capitals of several major dynasties (historians can count 11), stretching all the way back to the Zhou in the 11th century BC. The remnants of this ancient world are everywhere – from the First Emperor’s Terracotta Army to the Muslim influence that still characterises the city.

Xī’ān is one of China’s major attractions, but the modern city is also one of the country’s great polarisers – you either love it or hate it. Most people only spend two or three days here, but history buffs could easily stay busy for a week.

Terracotta Warriors, Xian

Top things to do:

• Visit the Terracotta Warriors
• Visit the Tomb of Emperor Jingdi
• Muslim Quarter
• City Walls
• Explore the pagodas
• Arrange an overnight trip to nearby Huá Shān or Hánchéng

Macau, China
Macau lies on the western side of the Pearl River Delta across from Hong Kong to the east, bordered by Guangdong province to the north and facing the South China Sea to the east and south. Macau is a city with two faces. On the one hand, the fortresses, churches and food of its former colonial master Portugal speak to a uniquely Mediterranean style on the China coast. 

On the other, over the past few years charismatic-but-sleepy little Macau has experienced the sort of boom usually associated with cities like Shànghǎi. But rather than skyscrapers and office towers, the construction here is all about Vegas-style mega-casinos and hotel

Top things to do:

• Macau Museum: 
Visit the outstanding Macau Museum at Monte Forte, a fascinating introduction to the territory
• Church of St Paul:
 Climb the hauntingly beautiful ruins of the Church of St Paul, the very symbol of Macau
• Casino Lisboa and Sands:
 Compare the old-style kitsch of the Casino Lisboa with the Vegas-style cash at the Sands
• Litoral, A Lorcha and Restaurante Fernando:
Tuck into Portuguese and Macanese soul food at Litoral, A Lorcha or Restaurante Fernando
• Inner Harbour area:
 Wander the narrow streets and lanes of the Inner Harbour area for a peek at Macau’s unique personality

Hong‐Kong, China


Hong-Kong is situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is known for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. It is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Hong Kong's population is 95 percent ethnic Chinese and 5 percent from other groups.

Hong Kong can nudge you out of your comfort zone but usually rewards you for it, so try the stinky beancurd, sample the shredded jellyfish, brave the hordes at the city centre horseracing and join in the dawn tai chi. Escape the city limits and other experiences await – watching the sun rise from a remote mountain peak, hiking surf-beaten beaches or exploring deserted islands.

October, November and most of December are the best months to visit. Temperatures are moderate, the skies are clear and the sun shines.

Top things to do:

• The Peak: 
Ride the hair-raising tram for unbeatable harbour and city views
• Victoria Harbour: 
Float on one of the world's busiest and most exotic harbours
• Happy Valley: 
Listen to thundering hoofs and cheering crowds right in the city centre
• Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple:
Divine the future alongside worshippers at the city's most interesting temple
• Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade:
Spectacular harbour and skyline vistas day and night
• Temple Street Night Market:
 Stock up on memorabilia beneath the glare of bare bulbs
• Kowloon's Markets:
Fashion, bargain-basement computer goods and even flower and goldfish markets
• High Tea at the Peninsula:
Dainty nibbles and fine tea while soothed by a string quartet
• New Territories:
 Hong Kong's lungs and its green playground, the mountain trails and nature reserves of the New Territories are ideal places to escape the crowds
• Outlying Islands:
 Intimate little peeps at traditional village life, great seafood, brooding misty mountains and peaceful Buddhist temples.