China travel guide

Great Wall at Mutianyu

Beijing

Restored section with fewer crowds than Badaling; cable car and toboggan

Forbidden City

Beijing

Vast imperial palace — tickets must be booked online in advance with your passport

Terracotta Army

Xi’an

Thousands of life-size clay warriors guarding the first emperor’s tomb

The Bund

Shanghai

Colonial-era waterfront facing the Pudong skyline — best at night

Li River

Guilin to Yangshuo

River cruise or bamboo raft through karst scenery

Zhangjiajie National Forest Park

Hunan

Towering sandstone pillars and glass walkways

Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding

Chengdu

Go early in the morning when pandas are most active

West Lake

Hangzhou

Causeways, pagodas and gardens — rent a bike or take a boat

Beijing

Imperial capital: the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, hutong lanes and the Great Wall nearby

Guides in Beijing →

Shanghai

Glittering skyline, the Bund waterfront and the leafy former French Concession

Guides in Shanghai →

Xi’an

Ancient capital and home of the Terracotta Army, with intact city walls

Guides in Xi’an →

Chengdu

Laid-back Sichuan capital — teahouses, spicy food and giant pandas

Guides in Chengdu →

Guilin

Gateway to the Li River and the karst hills of Yangshuo

Guides in Guilin →

Hangzhou

West Lake, tea plantations and gardens, an hour from Shanghai by train

Guides in Hangzhou →

✈️ Beijing — Capital (PEK)

• Capital Airport Express train to Dongzhimen (Metro Lines 2 and 13)
• Airport shuttle buses to central districts
• Taxis from the official rank — ignore touts in the arrivals hall

✈️ Beijing — Daxing (PKX)

• Daxing Airport Express metro line to Caoqiao (Line 10)
• Intercity trains to Beijing West station
• Official taxis and airport buses

✈️ Shanghai — Pudong (PVG)

• Maglev train to Longyang Road (Metro Line 2), at up to 300 km/h
• Metro Line 2 directly into the city (slower)
• Taxis from the official rank

🚆 Getting around

• High-speed trains link most big cities — book on the official 12306 app or website (English available) with your passport; bring the same passport to the station
• City metros are cheap, clean and signposted in English; scan in with Alipay or WeChat transit QR codes or buy tickets at machines
• Ride-hailing via DiDi (also inside Alipay and WeChat) is easier than flagging taxis
• Domestic flights are good for long distances such as Beijing to Chengdu or Kunming

🙏 Culture & etiquette

• Don’t stick chopsticks upright in a bowl of rice — it evokes funeral offerings
• Expect crowds and pushing at stations and sights, especially during national holidays
• Avoid travelling during Golden Week (early October) and Chinese New Year if you can — transport and sights are packed
• Saving face matters: avoid publicly criticising or embarrassing people

📍 Places, scams & seasons

• Tibet requires a special permit and an organised tour; some areas may be closed to foreigners
• Xinjiang and some border areas have heavy security and checkpoints
• Check the UK Foreign Office or your government’s advisory for current warnings

⚖️ Laws & restrictions

• Carry your passport at all times — it’s needed for trains, hotels and many sights
• Hotels must register foreign guests with the police; if you stay with friends you must register within 24 hours
• Drug penalties are very severe, including for use detected after arrival
• Do not photograph military sites, police or government buildings
• Many foreign apps and websites (Google, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook) are blocked; roaming SIMs and many eSIMs still reach them, but rules on VPN use are restrictive

💬 Words & topics to avoid

• Avoid discussing politics, Taiwan, Tibet, Hong Kong or the government in public or online
• Don’t make jokes about Chinese leaders
• Be careful with maps, T-shirts or flags that show disputed borders
• Use respectful terms — refer to the country as China and its people as Chinese

Beijing

Dongcheng (near the Forbidden City and hutongs), Wangfujing, Sanlitun (nightlife)

Hutong courtyard hotels are atmospheric — check they accept foreign guests

Shanghai

People’s Square, Jing’an, the former French Concession or near the Bund

Stay near a metro line

Xi’an

Inside the city walls near the Bell Tower or Muslim Quarter

Book a day trip or bus to the Terracotta Army

Budget idea

Hostels in major cities

Not every hotel can register foreigners — confirm when booking

Muslim Quarter

Xi’an

Lamb skewers, roujiamo and hand-pulled noodles

Kuanzhai Alley

Chengdu

Restored lanes of snack stalls and teahouses

Wangfujing Snack Street

Beijing

Busy snack lanes off the main shopping street

Yuyuan Bazaar

Shanghai

Soup dumplings and snacks near Yu Garden

Peking duck

Crisp-skinned roast duck with pancakes, scallions and sauce

Xiaolongbao

Shanghai soup dumplings — bite carefully

Hot pot

Spicy Sichuan broth you cook meat and vegetables in

Mapo tofu

Silky tofu in a numbing, chilli-and-Sichuan-pepper sauce

Lanzhou beef noodles

Hand-pulled noodles in clear beef broth

Dim sum

Cantonese small plates, best in Guangzhou

Chinese New Year

January/February

Nationwide — biggest travel rush of the year

Lantern Festival

15th day of the lunar new year

Nationwide

Qingming Festival

Early April

Nationwide

Dragon Boat Festival

May/June

Nationwide, races on rivers and lakes

Mid-Autumn Festival

September/October

Nationwide — mooncakes and lanterns

China National Day

1 October (Golden Week)

Nationwide — very crowded

Harbin Ice and Snow Festival

January–February

Harbin

📱 SIM & eSIM

• Main networks: China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom
• Local SIMs need passport registration; a roaming plan or a travel eSIM is easiest

📶 Coverage & Wi-Fi

• Download maps, translation and payment apps and set them up before you arrive
• Foreign roaming SIMs and many travel eSIMs route data abroad, so blocked apps often still work
• Hotel and public Wi-Fi often needs a Chinese phone number

🔌 Power plugs

220V, 50Hz — plug types A, C and I