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
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Typical visit duration
Beijing Planetarium is a public astronomy museum and planetarium facility in Beijing, China. Its local name is 北京天文馆. The institution serves as a venue for astronomical education, public science outreach, and celestial observation experiences.
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.
香港藝術館 Hong Kong Museum of Art
The Hong Kong Museum of Art is a public art museum located in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, on the waterfront of Victoria Harbour.
香港故宮文化博物館 Hong Kong Palace Museum
The Hong Kong Palace Museum is a museum dedicated to Chinese art and culture, located in the West Kowloon Cultural District. It displays treasures from the Palace Museum in Beijing alongside Hong Kong collections.
香港文化古蹟資源中心 Hong Kong Resource Centre for Heritage
The Hong Kong Resource Centre for Heritage is a cultural institution dedicated to preserving and promoting Hong Kong's historical and architectural legacy.
桔钓沙
Judiaosha Beach, or 桔钓沙, is a sandy coastal destination on Shenzhen’s Dapeng Peninsula in the city’s eastern area. The beach belongs to the South China Sea shoreline and offers a change of pace from Shenzhen’s dense urban districts.
啟德體育園 Kai Tak Sports Park
Kai Tak Sports Park is a major sports and entertainment complex located on the former Kai Tak Airport site in Kowloon, Hong Kong. It represents one of the city's most significant infrastructure developments, transforming reclaimed land into a multi-purpose venue.
南丫島南部具特殊科學價值地點 Lamma Island South SSSI
Lamma Island South SSSI is a Site of Special Scientific Interest on the southern part of Lamma Island. Its value comes from coastal habitats, rocky shores, vegetation and geological features that remain less developed than much of urban Hong Kong.
莲湖公园
Lianhu Park, known locally as 莲湖公园, is a public park situated in Xian, Shaanxi Province, China.
亞婆井前地 Largo do Lilau
Lilau Square is a small public square in Macau's historic western district, situated near the intersection of Rua de Lilau and Rua do Lilau.
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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