Things to do in China

28 places worth the trip in China, grouped by what they are. Every guide explains what to see, the best time to go and the practical details, checked against official sources. Best time to visit China: Apr–May, Sep–Oct.

Heritage (12)
Nature (5)
Mosques & temples (3)
Cities (3)
National parks (2)
Landmarks (1)
Wildlife (1)
Mountains (1)

Heritage in China

Forbidden City seen from Jingshan Park, with the Gate of Divine Prowess and golden-tiled palace roofs behind

Dongcheng District, Beijing

Forbidden City (Palace Museum)

For five centuries the seat of China's emperors, the Forbidden City is a walled world of golden roofs, vast courtyards and ceremonial halls, now the Palace Museum and one of Beijing's essential visits.

Rows of terracotta warrior statues standing in an excavation pit in Xi'an

Lintong District, Xi'an, Shaanxi

Terracotta Army

Thousands of life-size terracotta soldiers and horses, buried more than 2,200 years ago to guard Emperor Qin Shi Huang, stand in vast excavated pits east of Xi'an.

The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests with its three blue-tiled roofs on a white marble terrace under a blue sky

Dongcheng District, Beijing

Temple of Heaven

The circular, triple-roofed Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is one of Beijing's most recognisable sights, the centrepiece of a ceremonial complex where Ming and Qing emperors offered sacrifices to Heaven.

Longevity Hill with the Tower of Buddhist Incense and its temple terraces rising above the shore of Kunming Lake

Haidian District, Beijing

Summer Palace

A vast imperial garden in north-west Beijing where palaces, temples and painted corridors line Kunming Lake and climb Longevity Hill, ideal for a long, leisurely day of walking and boating.

Pingyao's Market Tower rising over a lantern-lined main street busy with visitors

Pingyao County, Jinzhong, Shanxi

Pingyao Ancient City

Encircled by intact 14th-century walls, Pingyao preserves a whole Ming and Qing town of courtyard houses, temples and the old draft banks that once made it China's financial centre.

Xi'an City Wall rampart with red flags, red lanterns and a gate tower, framed between two battlement stones

Beilin and Lianhu Districts, Xi'an, Shaanxi

Xi'an City Wall and Muslim Quarter

Walk or cycle the complete Ming-era wall around old Xi'an, then step into the Muslim Quarter for the Tang-founded Great Mosque and an evening of halal street food.

The red-pillared Nine-Storey Building set into the sandstone cliff of the Mogao Caves under a cloudy sky

Dunhuang, Jiuquan, Gansu

Mogao Caves

Hundreds of painted cave shrines cut into a desert cliff near Dunhuang, holding murals and sculptures created over about a thousand years of Silk Road history.

Grey-tiled rooftops of the old town stretching towards a line of mountains under a pale sky

Gucheng District, Lijiang, Yunnan

Lijiang Old Town

A UNESCO-listed town of the Naxi people at about 2,400 m, where stone lanes, wooden houses and spring-fed canals spread out from Sifang Street beneath snow-capped peaks.

Red-pillared halls with upturned eaves around a green pond with a white statue and bridge at Yu Garden

Huangpu District, Shanghai

Yu Garden & Old Town

A Ming-dynasty private garden of rockeries, ponds and pavilions in the heart of Shanghai's old city, surrounded by the busy Yuyuan bazaar and the City God Temple.

A two-storey hall with lattice windows standing above a pond of lotus leaves in a Suzhou classical garden

Gusu District, Suzhou, Jiangsu

Classical Gardens of Suzhou

Nine classical gardens in Suzhou are listed by UNESCO as masterpieces of Chinese garden design; the largest and best known is the Humble Administrator's Garden, created from 1513.

A wide green canal in Wuzhen lined with tiled riverside houses and bare trees, with canopy boats under a clear sky

Tongxiang, Jiaxing, Zhejiang

Wuzhen Water Town

One of the best-known water towns of the Yangtze delta, with more than 1,300 years of history, canals lined with wooden houses and two restored scenic areas, Dongzha and Xizha.

The multi-arched Fangsheng Bridge lit at dusk over the wide canal, with lantern-hung riverside houses on the right

Qingpu District, Shanghai

Zhujiajiao Water Town

A well-preserved water town in western Shanghai, about 40 km from the city centre, with 36 stone bridges, canal-side lanes and the five-arched Fangsheng Bridge of 1571.

Nature in China

Misty karst peaks rising above the Li River and green riverbank trees near Guilin

Guilin to Yangshuo, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

Li River, Guilin

A slow cruise between Guilin and Yangshuo past steep limestone towers, bamboo groves and riverside villages, including the stretch near Xingping pictured on the 20 yuan banknote.

Bicycle with a basket on a grassy riverbank, a calm river and hazy karst peaks behind

Yangshuo County, Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

Yangshuo & Yulong River

Yangshuo's countryside of rice paddies and limestone towers is best explored by bike or on a bamboo raft drifting down the gentle Yulong River, a tributary of the Li.

Golden rice terraces curving across steep mountain slopes with a village high on the hillside

Longji, Longsheng Various Nationalities Autonomous County, Guilin, Guangxi

Longji Rice Terraces

Known as the Dragon's Backbone, these terraces wrap entire mountainsides about 100 km from Guilin, with wooden Zhuang and Yao villages, viewpoints and hiking trails between them.

Dense cluster of tall grey limestone pinnacles with deep vertical grooves among green trees

Shilin Yi Autonomous County, Kunming, Yunnan

Stone Forest (Shilin)

Grey limestone pinnacles crowd together like a petrified forest about 80 km from Kunming, linked by narrow paths, pools and viewpoints, and woven into Yi legend.

Hand-rowed canopy boats on West Lake with green hills behind and Leifeng Pagoda on the skyline

Xihu District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang

West Lake

A freshwater lake framed by wooded hills on three sides and the city of Hangzhou on the fourth, crossed by historic causeways and dotted with pagodas, temples and gardens.

Mosques & temples in China

Ornate Chinese-style gateway and pavilion roofs of Niujie Mosque, Beijing

Niujie, Xicheng District, Beijing

Niujie Mosque

Founded in 996, Niujie Mosque blends Islamic tradition with Chinese timber architecture and anchors Niujie, Beijing's largest Muslim community, famous for halal butchers, bakeries and restaurants.

The Leshan Giant Buddha's head and torso carved into a red sandstone cliff, with visitors on the clifftop path above

Shizhong District, Leshan, Sichuan

Leshan Giant Buddha

A colossal seated Buddha, 71 metres tall, carved from a red sandstone cliff in the 8th century where three rivers meet below Lingyun Hill.

Potala Palace's white walls and red central palace rising above the rocky slope of Marpo Ri under a cloudy blue sky

Lhasa, Tibet (Xizang) Autonomous Region

Potala Palace

Built mainly in the 17th century on Marpo Ri hill, the Potala's White and Red Palaces hold halls, chapels and gilded stupas of past Dalai Lamas, high above the Lhasa Valley.

Cities in China

A small tour boat on a willow-lined channel at Shichahai, with white stone balustrades and strolling visitors on both banks

Xicheng District, Beijing

Hutongs & Shichahai

Three willow-fringed lakes north of the Forbidden City, surrounded by grey-brick hutong lanes, courtyard homes, princely mansions and lakeside cafes and bars: the best place to wander through old Beijing.

The Lujiazui skyline with the Oriental Pearl Tower and Shanghai Tower lit up at night, reflected in the Huangpu River

Huangpu District, Shanghai

The Bund

A riverside promenade on the west bank of the Huangpu River, lined with 52 historic bank and trading-house buildings and facing the towers of Lujiazui across the water.

Liede Bridge's arched pylon spanning the Pearl River with Canton Tower lit against an orange dusk sky

Haizhu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong

Canton Tower & Pearl River

A 600 m lattice tower on the south bank of the Pearl River, with observation decks high above Guangzhou and evening river cruises that show off the illuminated skyline.

National parks in China

Clear turquoise lake reflecting forested mountain slopes, a distant peak and white clouds

Jiuzhaigou County, Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan

Jiuzhaigou Valley

A Y-shaped network of forested valleys filled with impossibly clear blue and green lakes, terraced shoals and wide waterfalls, high in the mountains of northern Sichuan.

Tall sandstone pillars topped with trees rising above a misty valley, with rays of sunlight

Wulingyuan District, Zhangjiajie, Hunan

Zhangjiajie National Forest Park

China's first national forest park, part of the Wulingyuan World Heritage site, where thousands of quartz-sandstone pillars rise from forested gorges, often wrapped in mist.

Landmarks in China

Great Wall of China at Mutianyu with watchtowers winding over autumn-coloured mountains under a blue sky

Bohai Town, Huairou District, Beijing

The Great Wall at Mutianyu

A well-preserved Ming section of the Great Wall about two hours from central Beijing, with closely spaced watchtowers, double-sided battlements and forested ridges, reached on foot or by cable car.

Wildlife in China

Giant panda sitting among cut bamboo stems and eating in a wooded enclosure with rocks and log frames

Chenghua District, Chengdu, Sichuan

Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding

Watch giant pandas feed, climb and doze in landscaped bamboo enclosures at Chengdu's leading panda breeding and research centre, about 10 km from the city centre.

Mountains in China

Granite peaks and ridges rising above a white sea of cloud, with pine branches in the foreground

Huangshan District, Huangshan City, Anhui

Huangshan (Yellow Mountain)

A UNESCO-listed range of granite peaks, ancient pines and cloud seas that inspired centuries of Chinese landscape painting; reached by cable car or stone steps.

China holiday packages

Great Wall of China at Mutianyu with watchtowers winding over autumn-coloured mountains under a blue sky

CultureNature

China · 12 nights4★ Hotel

Imperial China & the Li River

Great Wall at Mutianyu
Terracotta Army
Li River cruise

Includes accommodation · private transfers · daily breakfast · guided sightseeing

Indicative from

$3,426 pp

Forbidden City seen from Jingshan Park, with the Gate of Divine Prowess and golden-tiled palace roofs behind

City breakCulture

China · 7 nights4★ Hotel

Beijing & Xi’an City Discovery

Forbidden City
Hutong cycling
Xi’an Muslim Quarter

Includes accommodation · private transfers · daily breakfast · guided sightseeing

Indicative from

$2,138 pp

China travel overview Plan a China trip

China travel guides