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
Tai O is a historic fishing village on the western coast of Lantau Island, Hong Kong. It is one of the territory's oldest settlements, renowned for its distinctive stilt houses built over tidal flats.
天壇大佛 Tian Tan Buddha Statue
The Tian Tan Buddha sits on the summit of Mount Muk Yue, 482 metres above sea level, at the edge of the Ngong Ping plateau on Lantau Island.
伊利莎白皇后號 RMS Queen Elizabeth
The RMS Queen Elizabeth was a British ocean liner launched in 1938, which served as a troopship during World War II and later as a luxury transatlantic passenger liner.
The Sea World Culture and Arts Center is a purpose-built cultural institution in Shenzhen's Shekou precinct. Its local name is 海上世界文化艺术中心. The center operates as a distinct museum and arts venue with its own galleries, exhibitions, and theatre spaces.
Tai Kwun, known locally as 大館, is a revitalised heritage and arts centre in Hong Kong's Central district. The complex occupies the former Central Police Station compound, which served as the headquarters of colonial law enforcement from 1864 to 2006.
金茂大厦
Jin Mao Tower is a landmark skyscraper in the Lujiazui financial district of Shanghai's Pudong area. The building stands among the tallest structures in the city and has become an identifiable element of the skyline.
香港公園 Hong Kong Park
Hong Kong Park is a major public park in Central on Hong Kong Island, set among the towers and steep slopes of the city's financial district.
中環至半山自動扶手電梯系統 Central-Mid-Levels Escalator System
The Central to Mid-Levels Escalator and Walkway System is a piece of public transport infrastructure that happens to have become a sight.
大帽山 Tai Mo Shan
Tai Mo Shan, known locally as 大帽山, stands as the highest peak in Hong Kong at an elevation that dominates the New Territories landscape.
山頂纜車 Peak Tram
The Peak Tram is a double reversible funicular railway that hauls two tramcars up the north face of Hong Kong Island between Garden Road in Central and Victoria Gap, the saddle in the hills where the Peak Tower stands.
星光大道 Avenue of Stars
The Avenue of Stars is a 440-metre waterfront promenade on the Tsim Sha Tsui shore of Victoria Harbour, built as a tribute to the Hong Kong film industry and laid out as a walk rather than as a building.
香港迪士尼樂園 Hong Kong Disneyland
Hong Kong Disneyland Park sits on reclaimed land at Penny's Bay, on the north-eastern corner of Lantau Island, and is run by Hongkong International Theme Parks Limited.
蘭桂坊 Lan Kwai Fong
Lan Kwai Fong is a compact nightlife and entertainment district in Central, Hong Kong. The area comprises a cluster of L-shaped streets and alleys that form one of the territory's most concentrated zones of bars, restaurants, and clubs.
九龍公園 Kowloon Park
Kowloon Park is a large public park in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, giving visitors a broad green pause amid hotels, shopping streets, museums, and busy roads.
故宫
The Forbidden City is the palace complex that housed 24 Ming and Qing emperors and now forms the Palace Museum. Completed in 1420, it covers more than one million square metres and contains around 9,000 architectural bays.
獅子山 Lion Rock
Lion Rock is a prominent mountain in Hong Kong, situated in Sha Tin District within the Lion Rock Country Park. The peak rises above Kowloon and is one of the most recognisable natural landmarks in the territory.
颐和园
The Summer Palace is Beijing's best-preserved imperial garden, organised around Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake.
香港太空館 Hong Kong Space Museum
The Hong Kong Space Museum is a public astronomy and space science museum located in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. Its distinctive dome-shaped building, resembling a planetarium, stands prominently on the Salisbury Garden phase II site near the waterfront.
香港濕地公園 Hong Kong Wetland Park
Hong Kong Wetland Park is a conservation and education facility located in the New Territories. The site combines a visitor centre with outdoor wetland habitats, serving as both a recreational destination and a venue for ecological study.
香港文化博物館 Hong Kong Heritage Museum
The Hong Kong Heritage Museum is a major cultural institution operated by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
香港歷史博物館 Hong Kong Museum of History
The Hong Kong Museum of History is a major cultural institution dedicated to preserving and presenting the history of Hong Kong and South China. Located in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, the museum occupies a purpose-built facility.
鳳峰 Lantau Peak
Lantau Peak, known locally as 鳳峰, stands as the highest point on Lantau Island in Hong Kong. This prominent summit rises within Lantau Country Park, offering commanding views across the territory.
茶具文物館 Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware
Flagstaff House is Hong Kong’s oldest surviving Western-style building and now houses the Museum of Tea Ware. The historic building stands inside Hong Kong Park in Central, placing colonial architectural heritage beside one of the city’s major urban green spaces.
怡和午砲 Noonday Gun
The Noonday Gun is a historic naval artillery piece located in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Island. It is famously fired daily at noon, a tradition maintained by Jardine Matheson, the British trading company established in the territory.
M+ is a museum of visual culture in Hong Kong, located in the West Kowloon Cultural District. It focuses on twentieth- and twenty-first-century art, design, architecture, and moving image from Hong Kong, China, Asia, and beyond.
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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