Destinations
China Tourist Destinations
The Most Popular Destinations for a China Tour
Beijing
The capital of China, where the ancient and modern meets. It has over 3000 years of history and used to be the ancient capital of 6 dynasties. It also has 7 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Main attractions: Forbidden City, the Great Wall, Beijing Hutong, the Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace
Shanghai
China’s largest city and its main financial and economic centre. Experience a blend of Chinese and Western culture and architecture. It is well known for its skyscrapers and amazing night lights. This is Asia’s city that never sleeps.
Main attractions: The Bund, Yu Garden, Lujiazui, French Concession, Huangpu River, Water towns
Xian
One of the must visit city of China, which holds one of the most well known artifact of China, the Terracotta Soldiers. It is the ancient capital of 13 dynasties where many of the ancient structures are preserved and also the starting point of the Silk Road.
Main attractions: Terracotta Warriors, Ancient City walls; Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Drum & Bell Towers, Mount Hua.
Harbin
Capital city of Heilongjiang province, known for its cold bitter winters and nicknamed the “Ice City”. The historical Russian and European influence can be seen throughout the city architecture. Enjoy winter wonderland in Harbin, and visit the annual Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival, where spectacular ice sculptures go on display in December to February.
Main Attractions: Harbin Ice and Snow international festival, Central Street, St. Sophia Church, Sun Island, Yabuli Ski Resort, China Snow Town, Siberian Tiger Park
Guilin Yangshuo
Known for its breathtaking natural scenery of karst landscapes, scenic rivers, caves and timeless villages, and also the picture on the 20 dollar CNY bill.
Main Attractions: Li River; Reed Flute Cave, Elephant Trunk Hill; Longji Rice Terraces, Xianggong Mountain, Yulong River, Ten Mile Gallery
Yunnan
Home to 25 out of 56 ethnic minority groups in China and rich in traditional architecture and culture. Many attractions are UNESCO World heritage sites. Yunnan borders Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam and also covers a vast land area with many mountains. Part of Yunnan is higher in altitude and has breathtaking scenery of mountains and gorges. It is also one of the first tea producing regions and played an important role in the trading network of the Ancient Tea Horse Road, also sometimes referred to as the Southern Silk Road.
Main Attractions: Stone Forest; Erhai Lake; Lijiang Old Town, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Tiger Leaping Gorge, Songzanlin Monastery, Dongchuan Red Land, Jingmai Mountain
Chengdu
Home to China’s cutest national treasure, the giant Pandas. An ancient city, the centre of the Shu Kingdom, with a history of over 3,000 years.
Main Attractions: Panda Reserve, Sanxingdui Museum, Dujiangyan; Qingcheng Mountain; Wuhou Temple, Jiuzhaigou, Leshan Giant Budda, Emei Mountain.
Chongqing
A mountain city where the buildings are built along the steep hills that you are unable to tell which floor you are at sometimes. It feels like a maze walking through the towering buildings, layered roads and hidden alleyways.
Main Attractions: Hongya Cave; Yangtze River; Wulong Karst National Geology Park, Dazu Rock Carvings, Ciqikou Ancient Town
Xinjiang
China’s largest provincial region with the most beautiful natural sceneries, snow-capped mountains, blue shimmering lakes, wide and far reaching grasslands, grand canyons, wild deserts. This region also has the most diverse ethnic and religious culture and customs as it has the largest number of minority groups living here, including Uygur, Kazak, Mongolian, Hui, and Kyrgyz groups. It used to be to be a region along the Silk Road and contain many ancient relics, including 6 UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Main Attractions: Tianshan Tianchi, Kanas Lake; Kashgar Old City, Xinghua Valley, Jiaohe Ruins, Nalati Grassland, Karakuli Lake, Selim Lake;, etc.
Gansu
Follow the footstops of the Chinese businessmen riding camels and walking through the sprawling desert through Gansu Hexi Corridor to get to the Central Asia and Europe. This was also where Buddhism entered and spread to the rest of China. It is also home to many ethnic minority groups including the Hui, Tibetan, Dongxiang, and Mongolian people
Main Attractions: Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, Maiji Mountain Grottoes, Great Wall of Ming Dynasty, Langmu Temple, Labrang Monastery, Mingsha Mountain; Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park, Mingsha Mountain, Ganjia Grassland