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.
263 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
都城隍庙
Xi’an City God Temple is a Taoist temple complex in the historic city. Its name refers to the city god, a protective deity in traditional Chinese religious culture.
塔石藝文館 A Galeria Tap Seac
Tap Seac Gallery is an arts and cultural venue in Macao’s Tap Seac Square area. Known locally as 塔石藝文館, it occupies a building within the Historic Centre of Macao, the UNESCO World Heritage area inscribed in 2005.
媽祖文化村 Aldeia Cultural de A-Ma
A-Ma Cultural Village is a hillside religious and cultural complex on Coloane Island devoted to A-Ma, the goddess associated with seafarers. The setting connects worship, traditional Chinese architecture and Macau’s maritime heritage.
北帝廟 Templo Pak Tai
Pak Tai Temple, known locally as 北帝廟, is a Taoist temple in Macau dedicated to Pak Tai, the Northern Emperor deity revered for his power over water and protection against evil.
安定门
Anding Gate, or 安定门, is one of the historic gates in Xi'an's surviving city wall.
安远门
Anyuan Gate, or 安远门, is one of the preserved gates in Xi'an's historic city wall system. The gate belongs to the Ming dynasty defensive enclosure that shaped the city's historic core.
八达岭长城
The Badaling Great Wall is a fortified section of China's Great Wall located in Yanqing District, northwest of central Beijing. It represents one of the most visited and best-preserved segments of the Ming Dynasty wall.
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.
北京奥林匹克公园
Beijing Olympic Park is the public Olympic Green precinct created around the principal venues of the 2008 Summer Olympics and reused for the 2022 Winter Games.
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.
嚤囉街中心 Cat Street Galleries
Cat Street Galleries is a commercial gallery and retail complex in Sheung Wan, within the area associated with Upper Lascar Row, commonly called Cat Street.
长乐门
Changle Gate, or 长乐门, is an eastern gate of Xi'an's preserved city wall. The gate belongs to the Ming-era fortification that encloses the historic centre and remains one of the city's clearest reminders of its imperial past.
赤湾左炮台
Chiwan Left Fort, or 赤湾左炮台, is a historic coastal defence site in Shenzhen’s Nanshan District near Chiwan Port. The fort represents the military role of the Pearl River approaches and preserves a link between Shenzhen’s coastline and earlier maritime security.
翠华山
Cuihua Mountain, also known locally as 翠华山, is a natural mountain destination in the Xi'an area of Shaanxi. The mountain belongs to the Qinling landscape south of the city and offers a change from Xi'an's dense urban streets.
大栅栏
Dashilan, known in Chinese as 大栅栏, is a historic commercial street in central Beijing. It lies south of Tiananmen Square within the Xicheng District, forming part of the old inner city.
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.
The Drum Tower of Beijing is a historic timekeeping structure in the Dongcheng district. It originally served as the principal timekeeping tower for the old city, marking the hours with drum beats.
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.
观澜版画村
Guanlan Printmaking Village is a cultural heritage site in Shenzhen's Longhua District, known for its historical architecture and contemporary printmaking tradition. The village preserves traditional Hakka-style buildings while functioning as an active base for printmaking artists.
何香凝美术馆
He Xiangning Art Museum is a public art museum in Shenzhen devoted to the work and legacy of He Xiangning, an artist and prominent figure in modern Chinese 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.
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
