Backpacker savant Tom Carter offers his top five “real” China destinations:

Shandong - Where Chinese civilization as we know it began, Shandong is a wealth of history and tradition. From the birthplaces of Sun Tzu and Confucius to sacred Tai Shan, this is Han culture at its most unadulterated.

Ningxia - The smallest and least touristed province, Ningxia is truly one of those places where travelers feel like the only yangren in China. Droves of unemployed workers on the street corners take unabashed fascination in watching you watch them.

Yunnan - This kaleidoscope of culture has the highest concentration of minority groups in all of China, whom appear to us not unlike resplendent yet elusive jungle birds in an effort to preserve their centuries-old customs.

Beijing - Compared to gleaming Shanghai and Hong Kong, we come to Beijing because of its venerable charm, not in spite of it. Amidst the commotion of hyper urbanization, the capital city’s remaining hutongs capture life exactly as it has been in China for a thousand years.

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Tibet - China’s final frontier and spiritual Shangri-la. Lhasa might be destined to succumb to red-hat tourism, but journey to the far eastern or western regions, where nomadic shepherds, colorful pilgrims and remote monasteries have yet to encounter a foreign face.

Tom Carter of San Francisco is an internationally published freelance photographer and travel writer specializing in the People’s Republic of China. Tom has traveled extensively throughout all 33 Chinese provinces and autonomous regions and currently resides in Beijing.