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.
417 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
今日美术馆
Today Art Museum, known locally as 今日美术馆, is a contemporary art institution in Beijing. It operates as a private museum dedicated to presenting modern and contemporary art exhibitions.
北京环球度假区
Universal Beijing Resort is a major theme park and entertainment complex located in Beijing, China. It represents the first Universal Studios-branded destination in mainland China and one of the largest of its kind in Asia.
上海海洋水族馆
Shanghai Ocean Aquarium is a major public aquarium located in Shanghai, China. Its local name is 上海海洋水族馆. The facility stands as one of the city's notable visitor attractions, recognized in broader assessments of Shanghai's tourism offerings.
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.
招商局历史博物馆
China Merchants History Museum is a museum dedicated to the history of China Merchants Group, one of China's oldest and most significant state-owned enterprises.
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.
上海玻璃博物馆
The Shanghai Museum of Glass is a museum dedicated to glass art and craft, located in Shanghai, China. It occupies a converted former glass factory site, repurposing industrial heritage into a cultural venue.
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.
火山探知館 Volcano Discovery Centre
The Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark Volcano Discovery Centre serves as the primary visitor gateway to Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark. Located in Sai Kung, the centre introduces visitors to the territory's remarkable volcanic geology and hexagonal rock columns.
锦绣中华民俗村
Splendid China Folk Village combines two Shenzhen attractions: Splendid China, a miniature presentation of celebrated Chinese landmarks, and China Folk Culture Village, which focuses on ethnic traditions and reconstructed environments.
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.
水上樂園 Water World
Water World is Ocean Park Hong Kong’s water park on the southern side of Hong Kong Island. It is a major aquatic leisure attraction within the wider Ocean Park resort, combining water-based entertainment with a hillside setting.
深圳野生动物园
Shenzhen Safari Park is a large zoological attraction in Shenzhen, known locally as 深圳野生动物园. It is designed around encounters with wild animals in safari-themed surroundings and suits travellers looking for a dedicated wildlife day.
欢乐谷
Happy Valley Shenzhen, or 深圳欢乐谷, is a large urban amusement park in Shenzhen, Guangdong, built around themed environments, rides, performances and family entertainment.
上海野生动物园
Shanghai Wild Animal Park is a zoological garden in Shanghai, China. Its local name is 上海野生动物园. The park is identified in OpenStreetMap data as way/182969057.
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.
大唐芙蓉园
Tang Paradise, known locally as Datang Furong Yuan, is a large cultural theme park in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China. The park is themed around the Tang Dynasty, which had its capital at Chang'an, the ancient name for Xi'an.
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.
北京海洋馆
Beijing Aquarium is a large public aquarium located within the Beijing Zoo complex in the Xicheng District. Its local name is 北京海洋馆. The facility opened to complement the zoo's existing animal collections with marine and freshwater exhibits.
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.
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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