Chengdu: Village on a higher plane

Leshan's giant Buddha is 73m tall, the tallest in the world. Photo / 123RF

The cloud of smog that engulfs most of China is visible to astronauts orbiting the Earth, which hardly makes it the most appealing destination in the world.

But instead of giving the entire country a wide berth, you simply need to modify your choice of location.

Ignore the obvious choices of Shanghai and Beijing, and instead look further south, and to places of high altitude, such as Emei.

It's a village in Chinese terms, but with a population of about 425,000, it's anything but.

There's much to see and do, but the jewel in the region's crown is undoubtedly Mt Emei.

It's the tallest of Buddhism's Four Sacred Mountains in China, about an hour's drive from the centre of Emei. Dozens of coaches travel up there each day.

Chengdu, the capital of hot and spicy food in China. Photo / 123RF

The bus will take you only so far, however, so you'll have to walk to Jinding - the top of the mountain - which takes about four hours up the stepped path, or you can walk for an hour and get a cable car up the rest of the way.

It's not too strenuous, especially as you'll be stopping to admire the scenery. But with the high altitude and thin air, it's breathtaking in more ways than one.

As you go, you'll meet a number of golden Tibetan macaques. It's their habitat and they're known to get a bit hands-on with tourists and their backpacks, but guards armed with catapults line most of the path to keep them at bay, and sticks are available at the base, in case you want a bit of extra protection.

When you reach the top, your effort will be rewarded with some of the best views you'll ever come across. As you've climbed above the clouds and pollution, you'll feel the sun on your face for the first time. The effect adds to the zen-like calm at the summit, looking across the so-called Clouds Carpet with the wind whipping around your ears.

Time seems to stand still up here, and it would be easy to spend a couple of hours just gazing. There are two Buddhist temples, one of which dates from the first century and was the first built in China.