Highlights
The Great Wall
Sections near Beijing range from busy, fully restored stretches to wilder ones. Mutianyu has restored watchtowers, fewer crowds than Badaling and a cable car, while Jinshanling offers long walks along partly restored wall over rolling hills.
Beijing's Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven
The Forbidden City was the imperial palace for nearly five centuries, a complex of halls and courtyards at the heart of the capital. Tickets are booked online in advance with your passport. The Temple of Heaven, where emperors prayed for good harvests, sits in a park full of locals doing tai chi in the morning.
Terracotta Army, Xi'an
Thousands of life-size clay soldiers, each with a different face, buried to guard the tomb of the first emperor, Qin Shi Huang. Xi'an, the old start of the Silk Road, also has intact city walls you can cycle along and a lively Muslim Quarter for street food.
Shanghai
The Bund's riverside row of early twentieth-century buildings faces the towers of Pudong across the Huangpu River. The Yu Garden, the leafy streets of the former French Concession and the nearby water towns such as Zhujiajiao show older sides of the city.
Guilin and Yangshuo
Limestone peaks rise straight out of rice fields along the Li River. A boat or bamboo raft trip between Guilin and Yangshuo is the classic way to see them, and the countryside around Yangshuo is ideal for cycling.
Chengdu and the giant pandas
The capital of Sichuan is the place to see giant pandas at the breeding research base, best visited early in the morning when they are most active. It is also the home of fiery Sichuan cuisine, hotpot and relaxed teahouse culture.
Zhangjiajie
Thousands of sandstone pillars covered in trees rise out of misty valleys in Hunan province. Walkways, cable cars and a glass bridge give views across a landscape that inspired the floating mountains in the film Avatar.
Huangshan (Yellow Mountain)
Granite peaks, twisted pines and seas of cloud that have inspired Chinese painting and poetry for centuries. Stone stairways and cable cars lead up, and staying overnight on the mountain lets you see sunrise.
Interesting facts about China
- Despite spanning roughly five geographical time zones, the whole country runs on a single time, Beijing time.
- The Terracotta Army was discovered by farmers digging a well in 1974.
- China shares land borders with fourteen countries, along with Russia the most of any country.
- Shanghai's Maglev train, linking the airport to the city, was the first commercial high-speed magnetic levitation line in the world.
- China has the world's largest high-speed rail network, longer than the rest of the world's combined.
Best time to visit
Spring (April to May) and autumn (September to October) are the most comfortable seasons in most of the country, with mild temperatures and clearer skies. Summer is hot and humid in the east and south, with heavy rain in some regions, while northern winters, including Beijing's, are cold and dry. Avoid the major national holidays if you can, especially Chinese New Year (January or February) and the first week of October, when hundreds of millions travel, trains sell out and sights are packed.
Practical information
| Capital | Beijing |
|---|---|
| Currency | Renminbi, or Chinese yuan (CNY) |
| Languages | Standard Chinese (Mandarin) |
| Plugs | Type A, I |
| Voltage | 220 V, 50 Hz |
| Emergency | 110 police, 119 fire, 120 ambulance |
| Driving | On the right |
| Tipping | Not customary in most places. Some international hotels and tour guides may expect a tip, but restaurants and taxis generally do not. |
Getting around
High-speed trains link most major cities quickly and comfortably; book tickets in advance through the official railway booking platform or a travel app, using your passport, and allow time for security checks at stations. Domestic flights cover the longest distances. Big cities have large, cheap and well-signed metro systems. Ride-hailing through Didi is easy, and taxis are plentiful. Foreign visitors generally cannot drive without a Chinese licence, so self-drive is not practical.
Staying connected in China
Mobile coverage is excellent in cities, along rail lines and in most tourist areas, with fast 4G and 5G, and it is generally good in the countryside too; very remote mountain and desert regions can be patchier. Many foreign websites and apps, including Google services, WhatsApp and several social networks, are not accessible on Chinese networks and public Wi-Fi. Whether they work on a travel eSIM depends on how the plan routes data, so check the plan details before you buy. Public Wi-Fi is widespread but often needs a local phone number to log in. Set up Alipay or WeChat with your card, install an eSIM before you fly and switch it on when you land.
See China eSIM plans · How to install an eSIM
Useful apps for China
- Alipay: Pay by QR code almost everywhere, from taxis to street stalls; foreign cards can be linked. It also includes mini-apps for metro rides and ride-hailing.
- WeChat: China's main messaging app, used to contact hotels, guides and new friends; WeChat Pay works like Alipay.
- DiDi: Ride-hailing in Chinese cities, with an English interface.
- Trip.com: Book trains, flights and hotels in English, including high-speed rail tickets.
- Amap or Apple Maps: More accurate maps inside China than many foreign apps; Apple Maps uses Chinese map data on the mainland.