Country guide
China travel guide
This guide gathers everything TripsCircle knows about China: 3 destinations, 30 places and 1 curated route. Its route is filed under culture. It runs 10 days end to end.
- Destinations
- 3
- Places
- 30
- Curated routes
- 1
- Trip lengths
- 10 days
- Routes favor
- Apr – May and Sep – Oct
Where our routes go in China
Tap a dot to open that destination's guide.
3 destinations in China
Ordered by how many of our curated routes stop there, then by how many places we have picked.
Best of China
Our curated picks by theme, drawn from the places our route editors chose for their routes.
Places worth planning around
A short sampler from the 30 places in China, starting with those featured on the most of our routes.
- See
798 Art District
Former factory complex filled with galleries, studios and cafes.
DoFormer French Concession
Plane-tree streets of villas, boutiques and cafes, centered on Wukang and Anfu roads.
SeeBell Tower and Drum Tower
Two Ming towers at the heart of the walled city, lit at night.
SeeForbidden City (Palace Museum)
The Ming and Qing imperial palace, nearly a thousand buildings behind red walls.
EatJia Jia Tang Bao
Plain local shop making xiaolongbao soup dumplings to order.
SeeBig Wild Goose Pagoda
Tang dynasty pagoda built to hold scriptures brought back from India.
Curated routes through China
One curated route stops here. Open it for the day-by-day plan.
Best time to visit China
Our route here recommends Apr – May and Sep – Oct.
Climate averages (NASA POWER, 2001–2025) for 3 of our destinations here: July is the warmest month, with average highs near 92°F (33°C), and January the coolest at about 42°F (5°C). July is the wettest, around 5.6 in (141 mm) of rain, and December the driest at about 0.8 in (20 mm).
NASA POWER is a gridded model (roughly 50 km cells), so coastal and mountain spots read as regional averages.
Weather by destination
Getting around China
Legs between consecutive stops on our routes. Distances are straight-line estimates, not driving distances.
- Beijing → Xi'anabout 905 km (563 mi) straight-line
- Xi'an → Shanghaiabout 1,221 km (759 mi) straight-line
Planning a trip to China
How many days do you need for a trip to China?
Our curated route here is planned as a 10-day trip. Shorter visits work if you focus on one or two destinations.
What are the best places to visit in China?
Going by how often our route team includes them, the most-featured destinations in China are Beijing, Shanghai and Xi'an. Beijing alone has 10 hand-picked places in our guides.
When is the best time to visit China?
Our route here recommends Apr – May and Sep – Oct. NASA POWER averages put the warmest weather in July and the most rain in July.
Where can I find the best restaurants in China?
See our curated picks: best restaurants in China, chosen from 6 places in our curated routes. We also have lists for things to do.
Nearby countries
Take your crew to China
Start from one of our China routes in TripsCircle, then shape it together: shared itinerary, polls for the big decisions, split expenses and packing lists.