Whilst there are claims that the game was invented by the Chinese in the tenth century, during the Cultural Revolution, Golf was banned in China for being associated to British colonialism and decadent bourgeoisie. After 1984, however, several courses have popped up around the country. Nowadays there are about 180 golf clubs in China.

Generally, handicap cards are not required to play on courses in mainland China, however they are required within Macau and Hong Kong. As the courses are fairly busy, the main requirement is to keep up the speed of play. Don’t be surprised to be tailed by a marshal if you don’t.

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Hong Kong is a place with multiple personalities, as a result of being Cantonese with a long-time British influence and increasingly more China connections. Perhaps the hallmark of this city is the frenzied vibrancy and the world class cuisine.
On the surface, it’s an urban landscape without the charm of what one would consider “China”. It offers the same upscale shopping malls and boutiques found in other world cities. But the small curious nooks, as well as the beautiful greenery and hiking trails, make it unique. The city is also known for its incredible efficiency as a result of its convenient transport, quick customer service and fast pace.

Hong Kong is divided into a number of distinctly different districts:

- Hong Kong Island was the site of the original British settlement. The Northern part of the Island is densely populated. Because of the scarcity of land supply, you’ll find most of Hong Kong’s skyscrapers and the famous skyline along the northern coastline. The main business and nightlife districts, in addition to the government offices, can be found here. The southern part of the Island has more leisure facilities, with beautiful beaches and luxury residential complexes.
See:
- The Peak. Overlooking the Victoria Harbour from the island side, offers views of the Hong Kong and Kowloon skylines, as well as many other touristy but fun attractions. To get there, take the scenic 10-minute Peak Tram from Central ($20), and then enjoy a high-speed rollercoaster ride down with green minibus #1 from below the Peak Galleria ($7). Get away from the hordes by taking a circular walk around the Peak. The walk starts along Lugard Road, and follows the beginning of the Hong Kong Trail. It finishes along Harlech Road. The walk along Old Peak Road is also recommended, but take the tram up and walk down unless you are fit.
- Hong Kong Planning and Infrastructure Exhibition Gallery, 1F City Hall, Central. Mostly of interest to infrastructure buffs, but to its credit this small propaganda exercise manages to make even, say, sewage treatment reasonably interesting with well-presented exhibits, some interactive. The highlight, however, is the Infrastructure Walk, with a giant scale model of a wide swath of Hong Kong showcasing projects completed and planned. Free admission, open daily except Tuesday from 10 AM to 6 PM.
- Man Mo Temple Hollywood Road, Hong Kong Island’s oldest temple. It was built in the 1840s
Do:
- Check out Ocean Park on the southern side of Hong Kong island.
- The many beaches of the southern coast are a nice escape on a sunny day, especially outside the weekends when they’re often packed. Repulse Bay is largest and the most popular of the bunch. To get there from Central, take bus 6 or 61 for a scenic, slow and cheaper trip over the Island’s hills, or expresses buses 6A/6X for a faster trip through the Aberdeen tunnel.
- Walk around the grocery market in Wan Chai
- Ride the tram between Kennedy Town and Shau Kei Wan. The journey takes round 80 minutes and costs $2. The Hongkong Tramways runs between the West and East of Hong Kong Island. Starting from the old district Kennedy Town, you can see the residental areas, followed by the Chinese herbal medicine wholesalers in Sai Ying Pun. Then the tram goes in the famous Central district with high rise commercial buildings and banks. Wan Chai and Causeway Bay are the districts popular with shoppers and are always crowded with people at all times. Travelling further east are North Point and Shau Kei Wan areas, which are of completely different styles from that in Central and Causeway Bay.

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Okinawa is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Consisting of 41 inhabited islands and 16 uninhabited islands, Okinawa has the only sub-tropical climate in Japan and as such is a major tourist destination for the Japanese, but not many foreign visitors make it to these shores.
The name Okinawa means “rope in the open sea”, a fairly apt description of this long stretch of islands between mainland Japan and Taiwan.

From the northern end of the chain near Kyushu to the southern end near Taiwan, Okinawa’s major islands are:

Okinawa Island - the largest island in both size and population, featuring administrative capital Naha
- Ie - an upheaved coral reef island with only one village and an estimated population of about 5,000 inhabitants
- Ikei - a great secluded island getaway with some of the best beaches
- Hamahika
- Kume - often said to be one of the most beautiful of the Ryukyu Islands
- Kerama Islands - a cluster of tiny islands between Kume and Okinawa
Daito Islands - specks in the sea hundreds of kilometers to the east
- Kitadaito - the easternmost island in the prefecture
Miyako Islands - tourists are usually most interested in the natural monuments found here
- Irabu - the “other island” of Miyako
- Miyako - by far the largest of the three main islands that make up the group
- Shimoji - very close to Irabu, but not quite as large
- Tarama - known for its August festival
Yaeyama Islands - closer to Taiwan than the mainland
- Hateruma - the southernmost inhabited point of Japan
- Hatoma - the smallest of the Yaeyama Islands, barely 1 kilometer in diameter
- Ishigaki - the hub of the Yaeyamas, with spectacular beaches and manta rays
- Iriomote - jungles and the mysterious Iriomote wild cat
- Taketomi - small island off Ishigaki, known for a carefully restored Ryukyu village
- Yonaguni -” the westernmost point of Japan, with mysterious ruins and hammerhead sharks
- Kuro - tiny island mildly famous for having (way) more cows than people

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Located at the exact centre of the ancient city of Beijing, the Forbidden City was the imperial palace and home to 24 emperors during the mid-Ming and the Qing Dynasties.

Known now as the Palace Museum, its extensive grounds cover 720,000 square meters, 800 buildings and more than 8,000 rooms. As such, it is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world, and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987 as the “Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties”. The Imperial Palace Grounds are located directly to the north of Tiananmen Square and are accessible from the square via Tiananmen Gate. It is surrounded by a large area called the Imperial City.

There are unique and delicately structured towers on each of the four corners of the curtain wall. These afford views over both the palace and the city outside. The Forbidden City is divided into two parts:

- The Outer Court, which includes the southern and central sections, centres on three halls used for ceremonial purposes, such as coronations, investitures, and imperial weddings.
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