9 . China’s most attractive museums

Right next to the capital’s art centre 798 Art District, Beijing Minsheng Art Museum took over a decommissioned (停止使用的) electronics factory, reopening after being redesigned by Chinese architect Zhu Pei. Funded by China Minsheng Bank, the museum has already hosted a lot of big-ticket exhibitions.

Fans of London’s Tate Modern will immediately spot the similarities with Shanghai’s Power Station of Art, a huge riverside box with a 165-metre chimney. It started life as the Nanshi Power Plant three decades ago before becoming the Pavilion of the Future at the 2010 Shanghai Expo. In 2012, it became China’s first state-owned contemporary art museum, with six floors of exhibition space.

Design Society in Shenzhen serves as a showcase for local and international design, given serious standing by its partnership with London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, probably the most famous design institution in the world. On show are 250 objects from the collection in London, telling how design represents a two-way exchange of ideas and culture.

Positioned on a hillside in Laoshan National Forest Park in Nanjing, this private art museum is actually a group of diverse buildings, each designed by outstanding architects and artists. The centrepiece is a boxy gallery space protruding (突出) from the mountainside and seemingly súspendedin mid-air, designed by American architect Steven Holl.

10 . Four Unique U.S. National Parks

This national park is the site of the longest known cave system in the world,which is really proper for a park called “Mammoth(猛犸象).” It’s the ideal place for an adventure lover, with about 400 miles of caves and tunnels to explore. One of the most popular sections to visit within the caves is called Frozen Niagara, a special part of the caves that looks like a waterfall frozen in time.

Even though it’s one of the least-visited national parks in the country, it’s definitely one of the best national parks in Florida. There’s no accounting for Dry Tortugas National Park’s amazing beauty. Located about 70 miles from Key West, this park is made up of several islands that feature blue waters and white-sand beaches, colorful marine life, and the historic Fort(堡垒) Jefferson, one of the largest 19th-century forts in U.S. history.

If you’re looking for interesting red and pink rocks, you can’t do better than Bryce Canyon. The national park is known for its fascinating rock formations and hoodoos(石林), as well as its starry skies at night. Some of the best places to visit in the park are the Natural Bridge, Fairyland Canyon, or any of the scenic viewpoints throughout the park.

It’s the hottest and driest national park in the country, but it’s also a place of beautiful desert views and interesting natural phenomena, like the sailing stones on the Racetrack Playa. Depending on where you are in the park the climate can be extreme — it’s home to snowy mountains, dry desert, colorful flower fields, and cool lakes. You might also recognize it as the planet of Tatooine from the original Star Wars movies.