Like landscapes, each city and town has its own look and feel-a distinctive setting, architecture, or skyline; a famous local site; a particular kind of food or dress.

In Dongguan's "Sweater Town," where blocks upon blocks of knitting factories form a squat skyline, streets are emptier these days, says a factory boss.

The four Palace roof Suites feature private rooftop terraces with a 180-degree view of the Bosphorus, across to the Bosphorus Bridge on one side and the distant skyline of the Old Town on the other.