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.
87 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
王府井大街
Wangfujing Street is Beijing's most famous central shopping street and a major pedestrian visitor district. Located in Dongcheng District near the Forbidden City, it stretches as a commercial thoroughfare that has served as a retail hub for over a century.
朱家角古镇旅游区
Zhujiajiao Ancient Town is a historic water town located in the Qingpu District of Shanghai municipality. The settlement dates to the Yuan dynasty period and developed as a trading hub along the Dianshan Lake watershed.
猶太教莉亞堂 Ohel Leah Synagogue
大夫第 Tai Fu Tai
赤柱清真寺 Stanley Mosque
坳背灣 Au Pui Wan
南京博物院
The Nanjing Museum is a provincial public museum in Nanjing, Jiangsu, owned by the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government and operated by the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism.
苏州博物馆
The Suzhou Museum is a museum of ancient Chinese art, painting, calligraphy and handmade crafts in Suzhou, Jiangsu, and one of the most visited museums in the world, with more than 2 million visitors in 2018.
青松觀 Ching Chung Koon
滘西洲石刻 Kau Sai Chau Rock Carving
苏州丝绸博物馆
The Suzhou Silk Museum is a museum in Suzhou, established in 1991, that documents the history of silk production and Suzhou embroidery from around 2000 BC.
The Jiaye Library (Jiayetang) stands west of Wangu Bridge beside the Zhegu Creek in Nanxun town, Nanxun District, Huzhou, Zhejiang, directly west of the Lesser Lotus Manor.
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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