After its consolidation of power in the late 1920s, the Nationalist government launched a series of projects, including the construction of transport infrastructure in south-eastern China, and the New Life Movement, which aimed to build a strong and united nation, to boost the economy and encourage patriotism. Touring around the nation’s scenic sites was encouraged and deemed a patriotic activity, which contributed to the ‘aestheticisation of life’. The project explores the discourse of and correlation between modern tourism, landscape aesthetic, and nation-building during the Nanjing period (1927-1937). Examining a few scenic sites in southeastern coastal cities such as Mount Yandang and Mount Huang, it investigates how the rise of modern tourism transformed traditional travel culture and how the government deployed landscape aesthetics to represent the nation’s culture and shape the way both locals and tourists view and appreciate its scenic landscape.