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
Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.
41 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
Interests
天壇大佛 Tian Tan Buddha Statue
The Tian Tan Buddha sits on the summit of Mount Muk Yue, 482 metres above sea level, at the edge of the Ngong Ping plateau on Lantau Island.
山頂纜車 Peak Tram
The Peak Tram is a double reversible funicular railway that hauls two tramcars up the north face of Hong Kong Island between Garden Road in Central and Victoria Gap, the saddle in the hills where the Peak Tower stands.
香港太空館 Hong Kong Space Museum
The Hong Kong Space Museum is a public astronomy and space science museum located in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. Its distinctive dome-shaped building, resembling a planetarium, stands prominently on the Salisbury Garden phase II site near the waterfront.
香港文化博物館 Hong Kong Heritage Museum
The Hong Kong Heritage Museum is a major cultural institution operated by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
香港歷史博物館 Hong Kong Museum of History
The Hong Kong Museum of History is a major cultural institution dedicated to preserving and presenting the history of Hong Kong and South China. Located in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, the museum occupies a purpose-built facility.
茶具文物館 Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware
Flagstaff House is Hong Kong’s oldest surviving Western-style building and now houses the Museum of Tea Ware. The historic building stands inside Hong Kong Park in Central, placing colonial architectural heritage beside one of the city’s major urban green spaces.
M+ is a museum of visual culture in Hong Kong, located in the West Kowloon Cultural District. It focuses on twentieth- and twenty-first-century art, design, architecture, and moving image from Hong Kong, China, Asia, and beyond.
香港海事博物館 Hong Kong Maritime Museum
The Hong Kong Maritime Museum is a museum in Hong Kong dedicated to the maritime history and heritage of the region.
香港鐵路博物館 Hong Kong Railway Museum
The Hong Kong Railway Museum occupies a historic building that was formerly the Tai Po Market Railway Station, constructed in 1913.
香港科學館 Hong Kong Science Museum
Hong Kong Science Museum is a public science museum in Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon. It presents science as something to explore with your hands, eyes, and curiosity rather than only through labels or glass cases.
香港抗戰及海防博物館 Hong Kong Museum of the War of Resistance and Coastal Defence
The Hong Kong Museum of the War of Resistance and Coastal Defence is a museum dedicated to Hong Kong's military history, particularly its coastal defence heritage and role during the War of Resistance against Japanese aggression.
孫中山紀念館 Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum
The Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum is a museum in Hong Kong dedicated to the life and revolutionary activities of Dr Sun Yat-sen, founding father of the Republic of China.
三棟屋博物館 Sam Tung Uk Museum
Sam Tung Uk Museum is a restored Hakka walled village in Tsuen Wan, New Territories, Hong Kong.
香港電影資料館 Hong Kong Film Archive
The Hong Kong Film Archive in Sai Wan Ho is a cultural venue devoted to Hong Kong’s moving-image heritage. It brings together public exhibitions, film screenings and archival resources, offering a focused way to understand the territory through cinema.
警隊博物館 Police Museum
Hong Kong Police Museum traces the history of the Hong Kong Police Force from the colonial period to the present.
李鄭屋漢墓博物館 Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb Museum
Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb Museum preserves a tomb discovered in 1955 during construction work in Sham Shui Po. Dating from the Eastern Han dynasty, the tomb is one of Hong Kong’s most important archaeological sites.
香港醫學博物館 Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences
Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences presents the history of medical science in Hong Kong inside a historic former bacteriological institute. The museum connects public health, scientific research and the development of healthcare in the territory.
展城館 City Gallery
Hong Kong Planning and Infrastructure Exhibition Gallery, also called 展城館 or City Gallery, introduces visitors to the territory’s urban planning, infrastructure, transport networks, harbourfront projects, and future development.
香港文物探知館 Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre
Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre is a cultural institution in Kowloon Park, Tsim Sha Tsui, devoted to Hong Kong’s archaeological and built heritage.
香港懲教博物館 Hong Kong Correctional Services Museum
The Hong Kong Correctional Services Museum is a museum operated by the Hong Kong Correctional Services Department. It is located in Stanley on Hong Kong Island.
香港視覺藝術中心 Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre
The Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre is a visual arts facility in Hong Kong. It operates under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the Hong Kong government.
毛主席纪念堂
Chairman Mao Memorial Hall is a national patriotic education demonstration base located on Tiananmen Square, with a total floor area of 33,867 square metres. Its inauguration ceremony was held and it opened to the public on 9 September 1977.
衞生教育展覽及資料中心 Health Education Exhibition and Resource Centre
The Health Education Exhibition and Resources Centre is a public health education facility in Hong Kong. Its Chinese name is 衞生教育展覽及資料中心. The centre serves as a venue for promoting health awareness and providing educational resources to the public.
香港教育博物館
Hong Kong Museum of Education focuses on the history and development of education in Hong Kong. Its subject reaches beyond classrooms to teaching practice, learning, educational policy and the institutions that shaped society.
西安鼓楼博物馆
Xi'an Drum Tower is a Ming Dynasty landmark in the centre of Xi'an's walled city. It stands opposite the Bell Tower and is one of the city's defining historic buildings.
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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