We ranked these 15 places by what the best China guides agree on and by what fits a first trip. The first five are what almost everyone sees the first time, and they fit in 10 to 12 days. The rest are for when you have more days or already know the basics.
The imperial capital. The Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven first thing, when locals do tai chi, the Summer Palace and the hutongs, the old lanes of courtyard houses. It has more history than any other stop and is the best place to start.
Days
4 or 5 days, with the Great Wall
Getting there
Nonstop flights from many European and American capitals
Tip
Forbidden City tickets are booked online with your passport and open 7 days ahead. Closed on Mondays.
A day trip from Beijing. Mutianyu, an hour and a half by car, is the best section for a first trip, restored, with towers every few metres and a chairlift or toboggan down. Badaling is the easiest by train and the most crowded. Jinshanling, further out, is the one in the photos with the wall half restored.
Days
1 day from Beijing
Getting there
Car or bus from Beijing, 1 h 30 to Mutianyu
Tip
Go on a weekday and arrive at opening time. Avoid the first week of October, Golden Week.
Thousands of life-size clay soldiers, buried more than 2,200 years ago with the first emperor. In town, you can cycle the whole city wall, and the Muslim Quarter is the best street-food dinner in China.
Days
2 or 3 days
Getting there
Bullet train from Beijing, about 4 h 30
Tip
The Army is an hour from the centre. Go in the morning with a guide or audio guide, without context they are just figures.
Modern China. The Bund, the 1920s waterfront facing the Pudong skyline, the Yuyuan Garden and the plane-tree streets of the old French Concession. A good place to end the trip, with plenty of flights home.
Days
3 or 4 days
Getting there
Bullet train from Beijing, about 4 h 30
Tip
See the Bund at night from the Puxi side, and early in the morning, almost empty.
The landscape of Chinese paintings, hundreds of karst peaks among rice fields. You cruise the Li River from Guilin to Yangshuo, then explore the countryside by bike or bamboo raft. The Longji rice terraces are nearby.
Days
3 or 4 days
Getting there
Flight from Xi'an or Shanghai, or bullet train
Tip
Sleep in Yangshuo, not Guilin. The Li River cruise takes about 4 hours.
China's most varied province. Lijiang and Dali are old towns of grey roofs and canals below snowy peaks. Tiger Leaping Gorge is one of Asia's great hikes, and further south are the Yuanyang rice terraces.
Days
5 or 6 days
Getting there
Fly to Kunming or Lijiang. Bullet train from Kunming to Lijiang, about 3 h
Tip
Lijiang sits at about 2,400 metres. Best from March to May and September to November.
How to add it It is not in our first-trip routes. It works as a second trip, or swapping Guilin for Yunnan on the 15-day route.
7Zhangjiajie, the Avatar mountains
Thousands of stone pillars rising out of the mist, the ones that inspired the floating mountains in Avatar. You go up in a lift built into the cliff and by cable car. Next door is Tianmen Mountain, with its natural arch and glass bridge.
Days
3 or 4 days
Getting there
Flight from Xi'an (April to October) or bullet train
Tip
You get around the park on its own buses and the ticket covers several days. Wear good shoes and avoid Chinese holidays.
A whole walled town, with its streets, old banks and courtyard houses from the Ming and Qing dynasties, a World Heritage Site since 1997. At night, with the lanterns lit, it is one of the loveliest places in China. You can sleep inside the walls, in a courtyard house.
Days
1 day and a night
Getting there
Bullet train from Beijing, about 4 h, or from Xi'an, about 3 h
Tip
It sits right between Beijing and Xi'an, so you can add it without a detour. Walk the wall at sunset.
How to add it Add it to any of our routes with one night between Beijing and Xi'an.
9The Leshan Giant Buddha
A 71-metre Buddha carved into the cliff over a thousand years ago, where three rivers meet. It is the largest of its kind in the world and, with Mount Emei, a World Heritage Site. You see it from below by taking the stairs down, or from a boat.
Days
1 day from Chengdu
Getting there
Bullet train from Chengdu, around 1 h
Tip
The staircase down beside the Buddha has a queue in high season. Arrive at opening time.
The giant panda breeding base, with dozens of adult pandas and cubs. The city is also the capital of spicy Sichuan food, hotpot and teahouses, with a slower pace than Beijing or Shanghai.
Days
3 or 4 days
Getting there
Bullet train from Xi'an, about 3 h 30
Tip
See the pandas at 7.30, while they eat. By midday they sleep.
An old town of wooden stilt houses on the Tuo River in Hunan, with covered bridges and boats. At night the whole town lights up. It is very popular with Chinese travellers, so it is far nicer on a weekday.
Days
1 day and a night
Getting there
Bullet train from Zhangjiajie, around 1 h
Tip
Sleep in town to see it at night and early, before the tour groups arrive.
How to add it It fits the 15-day route as one extra night after Zhangjiajie.
12Suzhou, Hangzhou and the water towns
Suzhou has China's most famous classical gardens, a World Heritage Site, and canals lined with white houses and black roofs. Hangzhou, a little further, is the city of West Lake and the Longjing tea fields. Between them are Zhouzhuang and Tongli, canal towns you explore by boat.
Days
1 day each from Shanghai
Getting there
Bullet train from Shanghai, half an hour to Suzhou and around 1 h to Hangzhou
Tip
The Humble Administrator's Garden fills up by mid-morning. Go first thing.
How to add it Add them as day trips from Shanghai on any of our routes, or spend a night by West Lake.
13Datong and the Yungang Grottoes
More than 250 caves with some 51,000 Buddha statues carved into the rock about 1,500 years ago, a World Heritage Site. An hour or so away is the Hanging Monastery, a wooden temple clinging to a cliff.
Days
1 or 2 days
Getting there
Bullet train from Beijing, about 2 h
Tip
It can be done from Beijing in a long day, but with a night you see the grottoes and the Hanging Monastery without rushing.
How to add it Add it to Beijing with one or two nights before heading to Xi'an. It also pairs with Pingyao.
14Chongqing
The vertical city, built on hills over two rivers, with a train that runs through a building, streets on different levels and Hongyadong lit up at night. It is the home of hotpot and the starting point for Yangtze and Three Gorges cruises.
Days
2 days
Getting there
Bullet train from Chengdu, just over 1 h
Tip
The Liziba train is line 2 and needs no booking. The night river cruise is best booked ahead.
Hong Kong mixes skyscrapers, markets and mountains, with the Star Ferry and the view from Victoria Peak. Macau, an hour away by ferry, has a Portuguese old town, a World Heritage Site, with the Ruins of St Paul's.
Days
3 or 4 days for both
Getting there
Flight from Shanghai or Beijing, or bullet train from Guangzhou, about 50 min
Tip
They have their own border controls. Going back to mainland China counts as a new entry, keep that in mind if you travel visa-free.
How to add it Best at the start or end of the trip, flying in or out of China via Hong Kong.
Things to do in China, 10 ideas
Ride a bullet train. They run at 350 km/h between Beijing and Shanghai and are the easiest way to get around.
Eat hotpot in Chongqing or Chengdu, the dish that best sums up Sichuan food.
Watch the face-changing of Sichuan opera in Chengdu, masks that switch in a second.
Visit a Chinese park in the morning, with tai chi, dancing and music. The Temple of Heaven in Beijing is the best.
Cycle the Xi'an city wall, about 14 km on top of the city.
Have dinner in the Xi'an Muslim Quarter, skewers, stuffed flatbread and hand-pulled noodles.
Float down the Li River on a bamboo raft in Yangshuo, among the peaks.
See the Bund at night in Shanghai, with the Pudong skyline lit up.
Drink tea in a teahouse in Chengdu's People's Park, like locals do every afternoon.
Wander a Beijing hutong by bike or on foot, among courtyard houses and local shops.
For a first trip, Beijing with the Great Wall, Xi'an with the Terracotta Army, and Shanghai. With more days, the Li River at Guilin and Yangshuo, Zhangjiajie, Chengdu for the pandas, or Yunnan.
How many days do you need to see China?
10 days covers Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai without rushing. With 12 to 15 you add the Li River or Zhangjiajie. With three weeks, Yunnan or Chengdu and Chongqing.
What to see in China in 10 days?
Beijing 4 days with the Great Wall, Xi'an 2 and Shanghai 3, all by bullet train. It is the Golden Triangle route.
What to see in China in 15 days?
Beijing, Xi'an, Zhangjiajie, Guilin with the Li River and Shanghai. Or, by train, Chengdu for the pandas and Chongqing instead of Guilin.
When is the best time to visit China?
April, May, September and October, avoiding the first week of October and Chinese New Year, when the whole country travels.
Do I need a visa for China?
With a passport from most of Europe, the UK, Canada, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru or Uruguay you get 30 days visa-free, currently until 31 December 2026. Mexican and US passports need a visa, unless you use the 240-hour transit.
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