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.
421 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
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.
上海中心大厦
Shanghai Tower is a landmark skyscraper in the Lujiazui financial district of Pudong, Shanghai. It is among the tallest buildings in the world by architectural height.
荷李活道公園 Hollywood Road Park
Hollywood Road Park is a public green space on Hollywood Road in Central, Hong Kong. It offers a small outdoor pause within a dense historic and commercial neighbourhood known for antique shops, galleries and older urban character.
大明宫国家遗址公园
Daming Palace National Heritage Park is a major archaeological site and heritage park in Xi'an, China. It preserves the remains of Daming Palace, which served as the imperial palace complex of the Tang Dynasty.
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.
上海博物馆
Shanghai Museum is the People’s Square museum of Chinese art in central Shanghai, identified here as way/161090899.
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.
清真大寺
The Great Mosque of Xi'an is an active Islamic place of worship in the historic Muslim Quarter. Its origins reach back to the Tang Dynasty, making it one of China's oldest and best-known mosques.
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.
地坛公园
Ditan Park, known in Chinese as 地坛公园, is a historic imperial altar complex located in Beijing.
钟楼
Xi'an Bell Tower stands at the symbolic center of the old city, where the main north-south and east-west axes meet. The Ming-dynasty landmark combines a monumental upper structure with tiered roofs and traditional decorative details.
大炮台 Fortaleza do Monte
Fortaleza do Monte, also called 大炮台 (Da Pao Tai), is a historic military fortification on a hill in central Macau. Jesuits began building it in the early seventeenth century, and the fort later became part of Macau’s defensive system.
地王大厦
Shun Hing Square, known locally as 信兴广场, stands as a prominent commercial and architectural landmark in Shenzhen. The complex features one of the city's most recognizable skyscrapers, contributing to the distinctive skyline of this rapidly developed metropolis.
淺水灣泳灘 Repulse Bay Beach
Repulse Bay Beach is a public bathing beach located on the southern coast of Hong Kong Island. It is one of the most famous beaches in Hong Kong, situated in an affluent residential area.
東方基金會會址 Casa Garden
Casa Garden, known locally as 東方基金會會址, is a historic residence on the Macau peninsula and the headquarters of the Orient Foundation.
東望洋炮台 Fortaleza da Guia
Guia Fortress and Lighthouse is a historic military and navigational complex situated on Guia Hill, the highest point of the Macau Peninsula.
中国国家博物馆
The National Museum of China stands on the east side of Tiananmen Square in central Beijing. It occupies a vast building that merged the former Museum of Chinese History and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution.
恭王府
Prince Gong Mansion, known locally as 恭王府, stands as one of Beijing's most significant surviving aristocratic residences from the Qing dynasty era. The complex represents a prime example of traditional Chinese princely architecture and garden design.
外滩
The Bund is Shanghai's historic waterfront promenade along the western bank of the Huangpu River. It features a concentration of early 20th-century colonial-era buildings representing various European architectural styles, including Neoclassical, Art Deco, and Beaux-Arts.
香山公园
Fragrant Hills Park is a historic imperial garden and public park in the Haidian District of northwestern Beijing. The site occupies a forested hillside area and has served as a retreat and scenic destination for centuries.
戒台寺
Jietai Temple, known locally as 戒台寺, is a historical Buddhist temple situated in the western outskirts of Beijing. The temple holds significant religious and cultural importance within China's Buddhist heritage.
宛平城
Wanping Fortress, known locally as Wanping Cheng, is a historic walled settlement in Beijing's Fengtai District. Constructed during the Ming Dynasty as a military garrison, it served as a strategic defensive position guarding the western approaches to the capital.
尤德觀鳥園 Edward Youde Aviary
Edward Youde Aviary is a walk-through aviary located within Hong Kong Park in the Central district of Hong Kong Island. Named after Sir Edward Youde, a former British Governor of Hong Kong, it occupies a forested valley setting.
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.
首都博物馆
The Capital Museum is a major cultural institution in Beijing, China, dedicated to preserving and exhibiting artifacts related to the city's history and culture. Its local name is 首都博物馆.
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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