While it is nearly impossible for foreigners to visit China these days, for domestic tourists the Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced last Friday it had given 12 new locations its highest rating.

The places are “must-see” spots and include beautiful mountain vistas, ancient towns and a massive cave.

The Chinese government breaks notable tourist attractions into five separate tiers in a process called the Tourist Attractions Rating System, with 1A as the lowest and 5A being reserved for the most spectacular or unique locations. Destinations are graded according to safety, cleanliness, sanitation, shopping and transport based on their distance to the nearest airport.

The following is a list of six of the newly promoted attractions to give an idea of what would make for a memorable trip.

The Baidi City Qutang Gorge Scenic Area

It does not get better than this for nature lovers across the country. Located in Chongqing municipality in southwestern China, the gorges along the Yangtze River are steep and often include sheer cliff faces rising out of the water.

The gorge is part of the famed “three gorges” network and, at about 8km, is the shortest of the gorges. At the entrance to the natural wonderland is Baidi City, or the White Emperor City, which is an interesting tourist attraction in itself.

Guizhou Zhijin Cave National Geopark

A karst cave in Guizhou province in southwest China, the site is a short drive (23km) from the provincial capital of Guiyang. Discovered in 1980, the cave is massive, stretching for 13.5km and featuring huge caverns and massive stalactites and stalagmites.

The crown jewel of the cave is the Silver Rain Tree, which is a transparent tower that is 17 metres tall.

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