Country guide
China covers 9.6 million km², third largest of any country, and holds more than 1.4 billion people — about 17 per cent of everyone alive. It is divided into 33...
Photograph · Severin.stalder · CC BY-SA 3.0
Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor
China covers 9.6 million km², third largest of any country, and holds more than 1.4 billion people — about 17 per cent of everyone alive. It is divided into 33 province-level divisions, two of them special administrative regions.
Beijing is the capital; Shanghai is the most populous city by urban area. Between them the land runs from the Central Plain and the Yangtze and Yellow rivers out to desert, plateau, subtropical and temperate forest, and the Himalayas in the southwest. The first decision a visitor makes here is therefore not which sight to see but which climate to travel in.
Checked 2026-08-25
Every city catalogued in this country so far, ranked by how much there is to see.
Photograph · N509FZ · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photograph · King of Hearts · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photograph · Mustang Joe · CC0
Photograph · Charlie fong · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photograph · ScareCriterion12 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photograph · Charlie fong · CC BY-SA 4.0
Seasonal closures come from recorded opening hours.
Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.
84 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
Interests
竹灣海灘 Baia de Cheoc Van
Cheoc Van Beach, known locally as 竹灣海灘, is a coastal recreation spot in southern Macau. Its Coloane setting offers a quieter contrast to the peninsula’s casinos, shopping streets, and heritage landmarks.
大梅沙
Dameisha Beach Park is a coastal recreational area in Shenzhen, China. Its local name is 大梅沙海滨公园. The park sits on the southern coast of the city facing Mirs Bay and the South China Sea.
奥林匹克森林公园
Olympic Forest Park is a major public park in Beijing, China, created as part of the legacy infrastructure for the 2008 Summer Olympics. The local name is 奥林匹克森林公园.
深圳国际园林花卉博览园
Shenzhen International Garden and Flower Expo Park is a landscaped public park shaped by its origins as a major horticultural exposition. Its gardens, planted displays, and exposition-era architecture create a setting that combines designed green space with large-scale civic landscaping.
北京园博园
Beijing Garden Expo Park is a large landscaped park in Fengtai District, created as the lasting venue of an international garden exposition.
大运河森林公园
Grand Canal Forest Park is a large green space in Beijing’s Tongzhou District beside the historic Grand Canal. It offers a quieter, more open way to experience the waterway, combining woodland, paths and canal-side scenery.
中山公园
Zhongshan Park is an urban green space in Shenzhen, identified locally by the Chinese name 中山公园 and by OpenStreetMap way 203270341.
坝光银叶树湿地园
Baguang Heritiera Wetland Park is a coastal wetland destination in eastern Shenzhen’s Dapeng New District. Its central attraction is the Heritiera littoralis community, including mature silver-leaf trees growing near the intertidal zone.
大浪灣沙灘
Big Wave Bay Beach is a sandy beach located on the eastern coast of Hong Kong Island, within the Southern District. The local name is 大浪灣沙灘.
笔架山公园
Bijia Mountain Park, known locally as 笔架山公园, is an urban mountain park in Shenzhen. Its name refers to the mountain’s resemblance to a traditional Chinese brush rest, giving the landscape a distinctive identity among the city’s green spaces.
大雁塔北广场
Big Wild Goose Pagoda North Square is the broad public plaza immediately north of the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an's Yanta District.
东湖公园
East Lake Park, known locally as 东湖公园, is a public green space in Shenzhen. It offers an urban setting for walking, rest, and contact with trees and water within a dense metropolitan environment.
凤凰山森林公园
Phoenix Mountain Forest Park, known locally as 凤凰山森林公园, is a forested mountain recreation area in Shenzhen. It gives visitors a chance to leave the city’s dense urban setting for wooded slopes, walking routes, and elevated outdoor scenery.
丰庆公园
Fengqing Park, locally known as 丰庆公园, is a public green space in Xi'an. It gives visitors an opportunity to step away from the city's dense streets and spend time in an urban park setting.
福田红树林生态公园
Futian Mangrove Ecological Park, or 福田红树林生态公园, protects a coastal wetland in Shenzhen's Futian District. The park brings mangrove habitat and estuarine scenery into a highly urbanized part of the city.
博覽海濱花園 Expo Promenade
Golden Bauhinia Square is an open waterfront square on the Expo Promenade in Wan Chai. Its defining landmark is the Forever Blooming Bauhinia, a gilded bronze flower sculpture presented in 1997 to commemorate Hong Kong's handover.
桔钓沙
Judiaosha Beach, or 桔钓沙, is a sandy coastal destination on Shenzhen’s Dapeng Peninsula in the city’s eastern area. The beach belongs to the South China Sea shoreline and offers a change of pace from Shenzhen’s dense urban districts.
啟德體育園 Kai Tak Sports Park
Kai Tak Sports Park is a major sports and entertainment complex located on the former Kai Tak Airport site in Kowloon, Hong Kong. It represents one of the city's most significant infrastructure developments, transforming reclaimed land into a multi-purpose venue.
南丫島南部具特殊科學價值地點 Lamma Island South SSSI
Lamma Island South SSSI is a Site of Special Scientific Interest on the southern part of Lamma Island. Its value comes from coastal habitats, rocky shores, vegetation and geological features that remain less developed than much of urban Hong Kong.
莲湖公园
Lianhu Park, known locally as 莲湖公园, is a public park situated in Xian, Shaanxi Province, China.
亞婆井前地 Largo do Lilau
Lilau Square is a small public square in Macau's historic western district, situated near the intersection of Rua de Lilau and Rua do Lilau.
龙华烈士陵园
Longhua Martyrs Cemetery is a major memorial site in Shanghai, located in the Xuhui District.
前海石公园
Qianhai Stone Park is a landscaped public park in Shenzhen’s Qianhai area. Its defining feature is a prominent stone monument, set within a green urban space shaped by the district’s rapid modern development.
曲江池遗址公园
Qujiang Pool Heritage Park is a reconstructed heritage landscape in Xian, China, occupying the site of the historic Qujiang Pool that flourished during the Tang Dynasty.
革命公园
Revolution Park, known locally as 革命公园, is a public urban park in Xi'an. The park provides a green setting within a city whose major attractions often focus on walls, towers, museums and imperial history.
Twelve to eighteen days can link Beijing, Xi'an, and Shanghai by high-speed rail, with Shenzhen as a southern extension. Hong Kong and Macao need separate border planning and should not be treated as ordinary domestic stops on the same timetable.
Entry rules differ between mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macao, even within one journey. Check the official immigration authority for every border segment and match the permission to the passport, purpose, and exact itinerary.
High-speed rail and domestic flights cover mainland distances, while metros handle most urban journeys. Hong Kong uses Octopus and separate border controls, and Macao has its own formalities, so prepare payment and identity requirements for each jurisdiction.
April to May and September to October are only broad mainland planning windows. Beijing, Shanghai, the south, Hong Kong, and Macao have different heat, rain, and holiday pressures; the least flexible regional leg should set the dates.
Mainland China uses renminbi (CNY), while Hong Kong and Macao use HKD and MOP. Payment systems and card acceptance differ across those jurisdictions, so prepare the appropriate local method before crossing each border.
On the mainland, save 110 for police and 120 for medical help; Hong Kong and Macao use separate emergency systems. Mainland electricity is recorded as 220 V with Type A, C, and I sockets, while tap-water guidance is not recorded.
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