4 Best Sights in Beijing to Shanghai, China

This was once one among dozens of private mansions belonging to Yangzhou's prosperous merchant class, but it alone made it through the ravages of the Cultural Revolution largely intact, thanks to its conversion into a factory. Keep an eye out for the exquisite wood carving, especially the crisscrossing bamboo design carved in layers out of nanmu, a glimmering wood now extinct in this area of China. There's even a bomb shelter in the small inner garden—a reminder of the Japanese invasion.

Beside the east wall of the Confucius Temple is the Confucius Family Mansion. A fascinating collection of stately abodes and gardens, it dates from the 16th century and illustrates the wealth and glory once enjoyed by Confucius's descendants. When the Kong family were in residence, the mansion would have been heavily guarded; trespassing was punishable by death. The tallest structure here is the four-story "refuge tower," which the family could flee to in times of trouble.

After the German Governor's Residence, the 1903 Granite Mansion is Qingdao's most famous example of concession-era German architecture. This miniature castle was built as a villa for a Russian aristocrat but soon became a fishing retreat for the governor.

In the southeast part of the old town, the Victorian-influenced He Garden is notable for its melding of European and Chinese architecture and landscape design. Dating from the 1880s, it differs from a traditional Chinese garden partly because of the wooden pathway linking the buildings. Other East-meets-West aspects include Victorian-style fireplaces inside the residence.