Over the last few decades, since the beginning of reform and opening, China has become one of the most-watched and hippest tourist destinations in the world. Likewise, tourism in China is one of the fastest-growing markets in world and has greatly expanded over the past years.

Indeed, with over 55 million overseas in 2010, in 2015 approx 150 million, China is the third most visited country in the world. According to the report, foreign exchange income was 45.8 billion U.S. dollars, the world's fourth largest in the same year. Meanwhile, the number of domestic tourist visits totaled 1.61 million.

All in all, tourism is a relevant industry in China - its tourism revenue reached $ 185 billion in 2009 - and this is also due to its touristic values such as History, architecture, food, beauty and nature. Therefore, here are the top visited cities in China:

1) Beijing is the most visited city in the country. As the capital of the People's Republic of China, Beijing is not only the heart of the nation's politics, culture and international intercourse, but it is also one of the six ancient capital cities in Chinese history; therefore, it is home to relevant sites such as Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, The Great Wall, Ming Tomb, Tiananmen Square, Hutong and Yashow Market.

2) Shanghai comes second in the list of most visited cities in China but comes first in size. Indeed, this magnificent city is the largest metropolitan area in China and is situated in central-easter China, facing the East China Sea. Some of the sites that attract tourists include Shanghai Jade Buddha Temple, Shanghai Bund, Shanghai Xin Tian Di, Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Shanghai Yuyuan Garden and Shanghai Huangpu River.

3) China's third most visited city reflects China's worldwide relevance in historical value. With over 3,100 years of history, Xian is one of the oldest cities in China. Tourists from all over the world flock to Xian to travel in time and admire the mysticism of China's ancient civilisation. Some of its most relevant attractions include Terra-cotta Army, Banpo Museum, Shaanxi Provincial Museum, Xian Great Mosque, Huaqing Hotspring, City Wall, Big Goose Pagoda and Forest of Stone Steles Museum.

4) Bordered by the Li River, Guilin is the most beautiful place in China. Both overseas and domestic tourist flock to Guilin attracted by its famous natural views, such as green hills, featuring rockeries, clean water, unique caves and stones of many shapes. The local colour is enhanced by the many ethnic minorities that inhabit the place. Some of its most relevant attractions include The Li River, The Reed Flute Cave, Seven Star Park, Guilin Folded Brocade Hil, Fubo Hill, Elephant Trunk Hill, Fubo Hill, Solitary Beauty Hill, Longji Terraced Field in Longsheng, Fengyu Cave in Lipu County Guiline, among others.

5) Some of the others popular cities include Hangzhou known as Heaven on Earth due to its beautiful natural scenery. Its most famous attraction is the city's West Lake, bordered by numerous temples, pagodas, gardens and artificial islands within the lake.

6) Chengdu - where the giant pandas are the major attraction - is the sixth most visited city in China.

7) Huangshan, seventh most visited city in China, is famous for its magnificent beauty. Some of the most important sites include Tunxi Ancient Street, Xidi and Hongcun Ancient Villages, Tangyue Memorial Archway, Flower Mountain and Enigma Caves.

Beijing, 8th most influential city in the world. According to the latest study by Forbes, Beijing ranks among the top 10 most influential cities in the world. The capital of the People's Republic of China and Sydney tied for the eighth spot.

Forbes also assessed that the Chinese cities Shanghai and Beijing have been gaining influence over the past years and forecasted they might move up in the list of most influential cities in the future.

The study shows that size does not matter anymore, as the Chinese capital came ahead of the country's largest metropolitan area Shanghai. We ranked China's capital eight, ahead of Shanghai (19th) because with the advantage of being the country's all-powerful political center, Beijing is the headquarters of most large state-owned companies and is home to the country's elite educational institutions and its most innovative companies, the report said.

Although Sydney only has 4.5 million residents, significantly less than Beijing's 21 million, the Australian city tied with the Chinese capital due to its high level of foreign investment and 15th ranking on the Z/Yen Group's 2013 Global Financial Centres Index, among other factors.

London still ranks first as the most influential city in the world, even after more than a century of imperial decline, the analysts at Forbes stated. Despite describing the United Kingdom as a second-rate power, the analysts put London at the top of its power list, saying the city's unparalleled legacy as a global financial capital still underpins its pre-eminence.

"A preferred domicile for the global rich, London is not only the historical capital of the English language, which contributes to its status as a powerful media hub and major advertising centre, but it's also the birthplace of the cultural, legal and business practices that define global capitalism," it said.

New York, which came in a close second in the study, is home to most of the world's top investment banks and hedge funds, and the massive stock trading volume on the city's exchanges. New York is followed by Paris and Singapore in the list, which signals a shift of power to savvy cities, rather than the largest or fastest growing.

To determine the most influential cities, John Korkin, urban geographer Ali Modarres, analyst Aaron Reen and demographer Wendell Cox graded 58 metropolitan areas in in eight categories: the amount of foreign direct investment they have attracted, the concentration of corporate headquarters, how many particular business niches they dominate, air connectivity, strength of producer services, financial services, technology and media power and racial diversity.

Of the world's 10 most populous cities, only Tokyo, New York and Beijing made the top 10 for influence, showing that while in the past century the greatest global cities were generally the largest and centres of the world's great empires, today size is not so important.

Among the cities on the rise, there's another Chinese city, which is Shanghai. However, these data is also relevant for the region as many of the cities which are gaining influence are in Asia, shifting the traditional influence from European and American cities to Asia-Pacific.

With an increasingly prevalent market, a fast-growing economy, rising incomes and rapid urbanisation, China has become more and more modernised in the past decades, but this modernisation has come at a price - obesity issues. While the Chinese population has doubled its life span with a developed public health program, now Chinese people are suffer from diseases that are more common in wealthier nations which are not caused by malnutrition as in starvation but by overconsumption of unhealthy foods and lack of exercise.

While the US keeps topping obesity charts worldwide, China is not falling far behind as Chinese children follow the same unhealthy American habits - junk food, sodas and couch potatoes lifestyles. China has entered the era of obesity. The speed of growth is shocking, stated a leading child-health researcher, Ji Chengye.

Indeed, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), obesity is a major health concern. While overall rates of obesity are below 5 percent in the country, in some cities these rates are higher than 20 percent.

Obesity in the Asian country is mostly prevalent in urbanised cities where fast food culture has been embraced by the society and globalisation has taken over, in contrast with poorer rural areas.

As the McDonalisation of the global society becomes more clear and China becomes more modernised, rising incomes, rapid urbanisation and cities dotted with fast food establishments - such as McDonald's (MCD), Pizza Hut (YUM), and KFC (YUM) - growing obesity among Chinese children is becoming a relevant problem in the country. Even an expert at the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Chen Chunming, has warned against the rapid growth of American fast-food outlets in China. He advises: Don't take children to eat fast food like McDonald's and KFC.

In fact, more than half of Chinese children eat unhealthy food - including overly sweet and salt snacks as well as fried meals - every day, according to a survey of 10,000 students in 24 schools in six Chinese cities. Meanwhile, a quarter of primary school pupils and 16 percent of middle schoolers sip sugary beverages on a daily basis.

The kids' unhealthy eating habits are accompanied by a lack of exercise. According to the survey, about two-thirds of the students get less than an hour of exercise a day. Then, when it comes to exercising outdoors on the weekends, only 40 percent of primary pupils and one-fifth of middle school students engage in these kind of activities.

Moreover, thanks to a rapid motorisation, people are walking and cycling much more less than before. According to reports in 2002 and 2012, there is a correlation between ownership of motorised transport by households in China and higher obesity related problems in children as well as adults.

According to a recent report by the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, China is undergoing a fast rise in childhood obesity. In fact twenty-three percent of Chinese males younger than 20 are overweight or obese, while 14 perfect of their female counterparts suffer from the same condition. In contrast, back in 1990, the corresponding rate for Chinese male and female rate was less than 10 percent.

China's current rates are still below those in the U.S. (almost 30 percent for young males and females), they are above than those in Japan, South Korea and India.

According to the authorities, specifically Wang Longde, the Chinese vice health minister, the problem is that the population lacks awareness of the problem and knowledge in terms of what constitutes a healthy diet.

Therefore, as a response, the government aims at reducing the problem by building more playgrounds and making it mandatory for students to exercise or play sports for an hour at school.

As a Chinese contemporary artist who is active in all sorts of artistic creations such as sculpture, architecture, photography and curating, Ai Wei Wei's latest installation in Toronto remains one of his greatest yet. Themed Forever Bicycles, he has installed 3,144 bicycles that seem to be floating in Toronto Square. With its sheer amount of bicycles, onlookers are in for a wondrous moment as they look at the geometrically homogenous design that Ai Wei Wei has created.

Ai Wei Wei's early life has been heavily documented and is an interesting tie to the artist that he is now. His father, Ai Qing was a Chinese Poet who was denounced during Mao Zedong's rule. The entire family was sent to a labor camp when Ai Wei Wei was barely one – they continued to live there until he turned sixteen. After Mao Zedong's death, the family returned to Beijing in 1976 whereby Ai Wei Wei began to actively pursue art in his academic career. Having lived in New York for about 12 years, he worked odd jobs to support himself while constantly taking photographs of streets in the big city; they are now known as the New York Photographs.

Today, Ai Wei Wei is a successful artist with many of his exhibitions featured globally. Although he has been arrested by Chinese authorities over his political activism, Ai Wei Wei remains a staunch artists who believes that through creating, awareness can be made which in effect provokes change. His art is sensational in 21st century art world and it is not surprising, just look at Forever Bicycles and you will understand why.