Where to go in China
How to choose when you can't see everything
China is roughly the size of Europe, and the temptation is to try to see it. Don't. A good trip is one region done well, not six cities done badly.
- First trip, history → Beijing + Xi'an
- First trip, modern China → Shanghai + Hangzhou/Suzhou
- Food & pandas → Chengdu + Chongqing
- Landscape → Guilin + Yangshuo + Longji
- Culture & minorities → Yunnan or Guizhou
- Desert & Silk Road → Dunhuang + Zhangye
- Big-sky nature → Inner Mongolia or Qinghai
- Tropical → Xishuangbanna or Hainan
- Photography → Zhangye Danxia, Huangshan, Yuanyang terraces
- Winter → Harbin ice festival, or warm Yunnan
The big six: what each is actually for
Beijing 北京
The imperial capital and the one place where the scale of Chinese history is unavoidable: the Forbidden City, the Great Wall within day-trip distance, the Temple of Heaven, hutong neighbourhoods, and the best museums in the country. Three full days minimum.
Open the full guide →Xi'an 西安
The Terracotta Army, a complete Ming city wall you can cycle on, the Muslim Quarter for dinner, and the Han and Tang tombs. Two days. The best food-per-hour ratio in China, and the cheapest great city to visit.
Open the full guide →Shanghai 上海
Not "traditional China" and better for it: the Bund's colonial waterfront against Pudong's skyline, the French Concession's plane-tree streets, serious museums, and the best cafe and restaurant scene in the country. Two to three days.
Open the full guide →Chengdu 成都
Pandas in the morning, hotpot at night, teahouses in the afternoon, and the most relaxed urban atmosphere in China. Gateway to Leshan's giant Buddha, Jiuzhaigou, and Tibetan Sichuan. Two to three days.
Open the full guide →Guilin & Yangshuo 桂林·阳朔
The karst landscape that appears on every piece of Chinese art. Li River cruise, bamboo rafts, cycling through rice fields and villages, cormorant fishing at dusk. Three days, and stay in Yangshuo rather than Guilin.
Open the full guide →Yunnan 云南
Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, Shangri-La, Xishuangbanna — a whole region with its own climate, 25 ethnic groups, and the best combination of landscape and culture in the country. Needs a week, rewards two.
Open the full guide →Second trip: the places that surprise people
Zhangye & Dunhuang 张掖·敦煌
The Silk Road in Gansu. Rainbow Danxia landforms, the desert fortress at Jiayuguan, the Mogao Buddhist cave temples (book ahead — entry is capped), and camel rides over singing sand dunes.
Open the full guide →Pingyao 平遥
A walled Ming-Qing merchant town in Shanxi, almost perfectly preserved. China's first banks were here. Overnight in a courtyard guesthouse; it is quiet, atmospheric and three hours from Xi'an.
Open the full guide →Huangshan 黄山
The mountain that shaped Chinese landscape painting: granite peaks, twisted pines, sea of clouds. Climb up (or cable car up) and stay on the summit overnight for sunrise — that is the whole point.
Open the full guide →Suzhou & the water towns 苏州·水乡
Classical gardens that are UNESCO masterpieces in miniature, canals, silk, and Kunqu opera. Zhujiajiao, Tongli and Zhouzhuang are the photogenic water towns; Suzhou itself is the cultured one.
Open the full guide →Chongqing 重庆
Hongyadong's stilted towers lit up at night, a riverfront skyline that looks cyberpunk, mountain roads stacked on top of each other, and genuinely ferocious food. One night is worth the detour from Chengdu.
Open the full guide →Guizhou 贵州
The least-visited province with the most to offer: Miao and Dong villages, drum towers, waterfalls, karst, and some of the best-value travel in China. Go before it is discovered.
Open the full guide →When to go: a season-by-season answer
- Spring (April–May): the best all-round window. Warm but not hot, everything green, crowds moderate outside the 1 May holiday. Jiangnan and Guizhou at their best.
- Summer (June–August): hot and humid in the east, wet in the south, typhoon season on the coast — but perfect for Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Yunnan's highlands and the far north-east.
- Autumn (September–October): excellent weather and golden landscapes, with one enormous caveat: avoid the National Day week, 1–7 October, entirely.
- Winter (November–March): cold in the north (Beijing can hit −10 °C), mild in the south. Harbin's ice festival in January is spectacular if you can handle −25 °C. Southern Yunnan and Xishuangbanna are warm and pleasant.
Places that need extra paperwork
- Tibet Autonomous Region — requires a Tibet Travel Permit, arranged by a licensed agency, and travel is generally only possible as part of an organised tour. Apply weeks ahead. Tibetan areasoutside the TAR — Xiahe in Gansu, Shangri-La and Yading in Sichuan and Yunnan — need no permit and are just as rewarding.
- Border counties in Yunnan, Guangxi, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang may require a border management pass; your hotel or a local agency handles it.
- Mount Everest base camp, Mount Kailash, some military-adjacent areas — additional permits and organised arrangements.
- Military zones, closed areas and undeclared border crossings — do not attempt these. Photography of military installations is prohibited and enforced.
Rule of thumb:everything on a normal tourist itinerary requires nothing beyond your visa. The permit requirements apply to a small and specific list of places, and if a destination needs one, the agency selling you the trip will tell you.
What to skip on a first trip
- Adding a fourth city to a ten-day trip. You will remember the trains, not the places.
- Badaling Great Wall on a weekend — go to Mutianyu, Jinshanling or Jiankou instead.
- "Traditional villages" that are shopping streets with an entrance fee — check recent reviews.
- Travel during Golden Week or Chinese New Year if you have any alternative.
- One-night stops — every one costs you half a day in logistics.
- Trying to reach Tibet as an add-on. It's a separate trip with separate paperwork.
Visa, customs and tax rules change without notice. Always confirm with the National Immigration Administration (NIA) or the Chinese embassy in your country before you book.