PLAIN-ENGLISH / FIELD-CHECKED

Guides that make the trip work.

43 practical guides, organized around what to prepare and what to do once you arrive. Every fact is labeled by confidence, and time-sensitive details carry the date they were checked.

PREPARE

Prepare for China

Inside the terminal at Beijing Daxing International Airport

Beijing · PrepareArriving in Beijing: 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit, PEK vs PKX, and Getting Into the CityTwo airports, one ten-day visa-free clock, and a first ride that sets the tone — how to enter Beijing legally on a transit, choose between Capital and Daxing, and reach your hotel without the classic first-night mistakes.Verified

The Meridian Gate, the Forbidden City's southern entrance, where reserved visitors pass the document check

Beijing · PrepareBeijing Attraction Booking: Real Names, Release Times, Official ChannelsBeijing's big sights do not sell walk-up certainty — they run on real-name reservations tied to your passport. Win the scarcest anchor first, and let everything else arrange itself around it.Verified

Aerial view of the Canton Fair Complex at Pazhou, Guangzhou, seen across the Pearl River

Guangzhou · PrepareCanton Fair Guide: The Right Phase, the Right Badge, the Right HotelThe fair is really three fairs sharing one name and one enormous complex. Match your product list to the correct phase, sort the buyer badge before you fly, and choose a hotel by metro corridor rather than by distance on a map.Verified

Aerial view of Chengdu Tianfu International Airport

Chengdu · PrepareArriving in Chengdu: TFU vs CTU, and Getting Around Without Wasting Your First DayTwo airports, one real decision: TFU is far and CTU is close — then a metro system and panda shuttles that make the city itself easy.Reference ~

A giant panda resting on a wooden platform at the Chengdu panda research centre

Chengdu · PrepareChengdu Attraction Booking: Pandas First, Then Everything ElseChengdu's big sights run on real-name reservations, morning and afternoon entry periods, and a passport that has to match the booking character for character. Book in the wrong order — or through the wrong seller — and the day unravels at the gate.Verified

Visitors in shorts and summer shirts line the Bund promenade at dusk, photographing the Lujiazui skyline across the Huangpu River

China · PrepareChina in Summer: Heat, Rain, Crowds — and How to Route Around ThemJune, July and August do not deliver one Chinese summer; they deliver several, stacked on the same map. Work the cool ends of the day, hand the middle of it to museums and naps, and let altitude do the work air-conditioning cannot.Verified

A silver-and-red CR400AF Fuxing high-speed train pulling out of Beijing South

China · PrepareChina Trains: Your Passport Is the TicketNo paper, no ticket window — book on 12306, verify your identity once, and board on the document in your pocket. The system is simpler than the stations are big.Verified

Hand-painted lanterns filling a street in Shanghai's Yu Garden during the Lantern Festival

China · PrepareChinese Calendar 2026: Holidays, Festivals and the Crowds They MoveTwo calendars run every China trip — the festival one written in lanterns and mooncakes, and the official holiday one written by the State Council. Read both, and 2026 stops surprising you.Verified

The arrivals hall at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport, Terminal 2A

Chongqing · PrepareChongqing 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit (2026): Jiangbei Airport, the Clock, and a Stopover Worth TakingTen days in China without a visa, through one of its most vertical cities — if your passport is listed, your route is a real transit, and you count the days the way the border does.Verified

Monorail Line 2 passing through the Liziba residential building, Chongqing

Chongqing · PrepareArriving in Chongqing: Jiangbei Airport, Three Stations with One Name, and Moving in a Vertical CityOne airport, three railway stations with one city name, and a map that only tells half the story — the vertical half is the one that matters.Reference ~

Shoppers on the open-air retail streets of Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li, Chengdu

China · PrepareDouble 11 as a Visitor (2026): Shop the Sale, Then Claim the Tax BackThe world's biggest shopping festival runs for weeks, not a day. The headline discounts are built for residents — but a visitor can stack the parts that do apply: in-store sale prices, one-hour delivery, and an instant departure tax refund.Reference ~

Guangzhou · PrepareGetting Around Guangzhou: Metro First, and Respect the Last 500 MetresThe network itself is fast, bilingual and forgiving. What actually decides your day is which terminal you land at, which station name is printed on your ticket, and which exit you climb out of — here is the system, leg by leg.Verified

Shanghai Metro station and city streets

Shanghai · PrepareGetting Around Shanghai: Metro, DiDi, Taxis and Bikes Without the FrictionMetro for the corridors, DiDi for the awkward diagonals, a bike for the last kilometre — and the three small setups that make all of it painless.Reference ~

Canton Tower lit in rainbow colours above the Pearl River at night, with Zhujiang New Town behind it

Guangzhou · PrepareGuangzhou Attraction Booking Guide: The Museum Slot, the Right Tower Ticket, the Correct ChimelongGuangzhou demands less paperwork than Beijing — right up until it demands all of it at once. Four anchors run on timed reservations, real names and exact product names. This is the order to book them in, and the mistakes each one punishes.Reference ~

A G-series high-speed train at a Chinese station platform

China · PrepareHigh-Speed Rail vs Flying in China: The 800-Kilometre RuleBelow about 800 kilometres, the fastest way across China is usually the one that never leaves the ground. Door-to-door maths, train-number decoding, and an honest account of booking with a foreign passport.Reference ~

Hongqiao transportation hub, Shanghai

Shanghai · PrepareHongqiao Airport (SHA) Arrival Guide: Terminals, Metro Lines 2 and 10, Taxis, and the Train Station Next DoorShanghai's close-in airport hides inside a giant transport hub: the ride into town is the easiest of any big Chinese airport — the skill is picking the right terminal, line and corridor.Reference ~

A WeChat palm-pay terminal on a shop counter in China

China · PrepareHow to Pay in China (2026): Alipay, WeChat Pay, TenPayGo, Cards and CashSet up one wallet before you fly, add a second as backup, and understand the two numbers that explain most payment confusion.Reference ~

Staying connected in China

China · PrepareInternet & eSIM in China (2026): Roaming, Travel eSIM, Local SIM and Wi-Fi ComparedYour phone will work in China. The real question is which internet it connects to — every connectivity choice is a choice between two exits.Reference ~

Arrival hall at Shanghai Pudong International Airport

Shanghai · PreparePudong Airport (PVG) to Shanghai City: Maglev, Metro, Airport Link, Bus or Taxi?Four ways off the airport and one right answer for your arrival time, hotel and suitcase — compared by door-to-door time, cost, and how the last leg really feels after a long flight.Reference ~

Arriving at Shanghai Pudong International Airport

Shanghai · PrepareShanghai 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit (2026): Who Qualifies and How the Clock Really WorksTen days in China without a visa — if your passport is on the list, your route is a real transit, and you count the days the way the border does, not the way your boarding pass suggests.Verified

A Beijing night-market snack street at full stretch — dozens of stalls, one way to pay at every one of them

China · PrepareTenPayGo and Payment Apps: The Two-Wallet Setup for ChinaOne wallet rides the Weixin Pay network, the other covers almost everything else. Install both before you fly, test each with one small purchase, and QR payment stops being a trip risk.Verified

A tap-to-pay payment terminal on a shop counter in China, showing Alipay and WeChat Pay acceptance marks

China · PrepareTenPayGo Registration: Tencent's Visitor Wallet, Set Up SafelyA standalone Tencent app that spends anywhere Weixin Pay is taken — if you download the real listing, link a card that cooperates, and keep a second wallet warm behind it.Verified

A traveller checking a calendar against flight options to China

China · PrepareThe 30-Day Visa-Free Countdown: Your 2027 Trip Is a Booking Problem, Not a PanicChina's unilateral 30-day visa-free entry is currently set to run until 31 December 2026. If you are planning a 2027 trip, the policy has not ended — your booking strategy just needs a November checkpoint in it.Verified

A hutong lane near the Drum Tower in Beijing

Beijing · PrepareWhere to Stay in Beijing: Wangfujing, the Hutongs, Sanlitun or the CBD?Wangfujing for the sights, the hutongs for the soul, Sanlitun for dinner, Guomao for work — each base trades something away, and the deciding factor is usually your departure airport.Reference ~

Yuzhong peninsula skyline seen across the Yangtze from Nanbin Road, Chongqing

Chongqing · PrepareWhere to Stay in Chongqing: Jiefangbei, Guanyinqiao, Nanbin Road or Eling?Jiefangbei puts you inside the postcard, Guanyinqiao inside local life, Nanbin Road across from the view, Eling inside the old mountain city — and the fog votes on all of them.Reference ~

Shanghai neighborhoods across the Huangpu River

Shanghai · PrepareWhere to Stay in Shanghai: The Right Neighborhood for Your Travel StyleShanghai is really two cities split by a river. Pick the side your days will live on first, then match the neighborhood to how you actually travel.Reference ~

Xi'an city wall and gate towers in daylight

Xi'an · PrepareWhere to Stay in Xi'an: Inside the Wall, by the Fast Trains, or Under the PagodaSleep inside a Ming-dynasty wall, beside a high-speed rail hub, or in a Tang-themed nightscape — three different trips hiding behind one hotel search.Reference ~

Xi'an North Railway Station and the metro interchange

Xi'an · PrepareArriving in Xi'an: The Airport Is in Another City, and Other Things Worth Knowing FirstThe airport is in another city, there are two railway stations, and the army is out of town — three naming traps, and the moves that defuse all of them.Reference ~

DO

Do for China

The Great Wall crossing green forested ridges at Jinshanling, northeast of Beijing

Beijing · DoBeijing in Five Days: The Deeper First VisitFive days is the first trip length where Beijing stops being a checklist: the imperial core, the Wall, ritual sites and gardens — then one whole day kept deliberately uncommitted.Verified

A chef carving roast duck tableside in Beijing

Beijing · DoBeijing Food Guide: Duck First, Then the Working ClassicsDuck carved in the right order, noodles mixed violently, breakfast folded in forty seconds — Beijing food is ritual first, recipe second.Estimate ≈

The Forbidden City moat and northwest corner tower, Beijing

Beijing · DoBeijing in 2 Days: The Forbidden City, Then the WallDay 1 walks the imperial axis while you are fresh. Day 2 leaves the city entirely — one Wall, done properly, beats three sights done tired.Reference ~

The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest at the Temple of Heaven, Beijing

Beijing · DoBeijing in 3 Days: Icons, Then the City's Own MorningDays 1 and 2 take the icons. Day 3 changes tempo — a park at dawn, lanes at door height, and the Summer Palace as an honest choice, not a default.Reference ~

The Forbidden City's golden roofs seen from Jingshan Park, looking south over the Gate of Divine Prowess

Beijing · DoBeijing in One Day: The Imperial Core, Walked in One DirectionOne day is enough for Beijing's imperial heart if you refuse to scatter it — the palace in the morning, the hill behind it, the lakes and lanes after lunch, and the Great Wall left honourably for another trip.Verified

A craftswoman at Beijing's cloisonné workshop solders fine copper wires onto the rims of two large vases — the first stage of jingtailan enamel work

Beijing · DoBeijing Souvenirs Worth the Suitcase Space: Counter Pastries, Jasmine Tea and Folk CraftSkip the vacuum-packed duck. What Beijing people actually give each other is a box of counter pastries, tea chosen by drinking it, and one small piece of folk craft with a maker's name attached — here is how to buy all three like you mean it.Reference ~

A young giant panda sitting on a wooden platform at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding

Chengdu · DoChengdu First Time: Pandas Early, Tea Slow, Everything Else AfterOne protected morning with the pandas, one long afternoon in a park teahouse, and a city that rewards you for not rushing — how a first Chengdu trip actually fits together.Verified

A bubbling split yuanyang hotpot in Chengdu, mala broth on one side

Chengdu · DoChengdu Food Guide: Hotpot First, Then the Spice LadderA split pot for the table that disagrees, a dipping sauce you build yourself, and noodles that run on chilli oil — Chengdu food is a system, and here is how to work it.Estimate ≈

The Jinjiang River waterfront and Chengdu skyline at night

Chengdu · DoChengdu in 2 Days: Pandas Before Breakfast, Tea After LunchChengdu punishes itineraries and rewards rhythms: one anchor per half-day, an early panda morning, and long afternoons that end in hotpot.Reference ~

Performers in painted masks during a Sichuan opera face-changing sequence on a Chengdu stage

Chengdu · DoSichuan Opera in Chengdu: Face-Changing Is Only the Middle of the ShowThe mask changes in a blink and the internet moves on — but a Chengdu opera evening also holds fire-spitting, a lamp balanced on a performer's head, puppetry and tea poured from a metre-long spout. Here is how to book the right format and actually see it.Reference ~

Dried red Sichuan peppercorns with split husks, the numbing spice at the heart of Chengdu cooking

Chengdu · DoChengdu Souvenirs: Doubanjiang for Cooks, Brocade for Keepers, Pandas Done RightChengdu's best gifts are the ingredients a cook will open within the week and the small crafts whose maker you can name — bought where the city shops for itself, not where the tour bus idles.Reference ~

The entrance of Heming Teahouse in People's Park, Chengdu

Chengdu · DoChengdu's Teahouse Republic: One Cup of Tea, the Whole AfternoonOne cup of tea rents you a bamboo chair for the entire afternoon. A foreign visitor's field guide to Chengdu's oldest public living room.Reference ~

A spotless modern public restroom at a Chinese high-speed rail station

China · DoToilets in China: A Field Guide to the Great Porcelain DivideOne country, two toilet civilisations: heated bidet seats in the malls, squat pans and bring-your-own paper everywhere else. Here is how to always land on the right side of the divide.Reference ~

Xi'an's Muslim Quarter food street after dark, full of local strollers, snack stalls, shop signs and parked scooters under the trees

China · DoChinamaxxing: What the TikTok Wave Looks Like on the GroundA generation of young Western travellers has started doing China the local way — thermos of hot water, dawn exercises in the park, metro systems treated as attractions. Here is what the trend actually consists of, and which parts of it are worth stealing for a first trip.Reference ~

A painted guardian figure carved into the cliff at Baodingshan, part of the Dazu Rock Carvings near Chongqing

Chongqing · DoChongqing on Departure Day: Wulong, Dazu, or Stay in the City?Your flight leaves tonight and the karst bridges are calling. The honest answer is a timetable, not a hope — here is how to work backwards from your departure and decide what actually fits.Reference ~

The stacked cliffside buildings of Hongya Cave lit gold at night, Chongqing

Chongqing · DoChongqing First Time: Learn the Levels Before the LandmarksA city where the ground floor may be the eleventh floor, where your hotel can sit above the street your taxi is on — read the terrain first and Chongqing turns from a maze into a machine you can operate.Verified

A nine-grid Chongqing hotpot with red tallow broth, surrounded by plates of tripe, sliced meat and vegetables

Chongqing · DoChongqing Food Guide: Hotpot in Its Home CityButter-and-chilli broth, a nine-grid clock in the pot, a breakfast noodle with no interest in subtlety — hotpot in its home city, plus the dishes that carry the days between pots.Reference ~

A Line 2 monorail train passing through the Liziba residential building above the viewing platform

Chongqing · DoChongqing in 2 Days: Walk Downhill, Ride Through the BuildingIn Chongqing you plan by floor, not by distance: a monorail through a living room block, one honest climb, a lit cliff after dark, and stairs treated as the sightseeing itself.Reference ~

A Line 2 monorail train passing through the residential building at Liziba station in Chongqing, the Jialing River below

Chongqing · DoLiziba Monorail: Ride Through First, Photograph SecondThe train really does run through the flats — but the good visit is a transport stop, not a photo siege: ride Line 2 through the station, drop to the viewing platform, watch three trains go in, and be on your way inside the hour.Verified

A Line 2 train passing through the Liziba station tower above the Jialing River

Chongqing · DoChongqing Mountain City Walk: Liziba, the Crown Escalator and the Shibati Steps — Mostly DownhillOne ridge-to-river walk through the stacked city: a train through a tower, an escalator instead of a staircase, a square that is somehow the 22nd floor, old-town steps, and two rivers meeting in two colours.Reference ~

The Yuzhong peninsula at blue hour from above — towers lit in gold and blue, the Jialing and Yangtze rivers curving around the old centre of Chongqing

Chongqing · DoChongqing Night Views: Where to Stand When the Lights Come OnHongyadong from outside, the peninsula from across the river, or the whole city from above — Chongqing's night is four different shows sharing one stage, and the trick is choosing a single one and engineering everything else around it.Reference ~

Cruise ships passing each other on the Yangtze River between the green walls of the Three Gorges, seen from an open deck

Chongqing · DoChongqing Yangtze Cruise Guide: The Right Ship, the Right Cabin, the Real Ending CityThree nights down the gorges or four nights up them, a cabin that is a contract rather than a photo, and a finish line in a different city — the Yangtze cruise rewards travellers who read the paperwork before the brochure.Reference ~

A Luckin Coffee storefront in Suzhou

China · DoCoffee in China: The Café That Lives in an AppChina drank tea for millennia, then adopted coffee in a decade — through an app, at ¥9.9, with a pickup code. How the world's biggest coffee market skipped the café entirely.Reference ~

The sinkhole courtyard and Tianfu post house below the Three Natural Bridges at Wulong

Chongqing · DoDay Trips from Chongqing: Karst Bridges, Carved Cliffs, or a Long SoakWulong gives you stone bridges the size of cathedrals and makes you walk for them; Dazu gives you eight centuries of carved devotion and asks only that you listen. Here is how to run each day without the transport eating it — and when to choose the hot springs instead.Reference ~

Diaolou watchtower houses rising from farmland and ponds in Zili Village, Kaiping

Guangzhou · DoDay Trips from Guangzhou: Kaiping's Towers, Shunde's Tables, Foshan's TempleFour escapes leave from the same city and only one of them is really decided by the train ride. The day is won or lost in the transfer after the station — here is how each trip actually works, and which one fits your group.Verified

The Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City, Beijing

Beijing · DoForbidden City Tickets: How Booking Actually Works for Foreign VisitorsThere is no ticket window to fall back on. The Palace Museum is won or lost a week before your visit, on a phone screen, with your passport details typed exactly right.Reference ~

A carved stone lion in front of the performance stage at the Foshan Ancestral Temple, with Shiwan ceramic roof ridges behind

Guangzhou · DoFoshan from Guangzhou: Ancestral Temple, Lion Dance and the Kung Fu HometownOne metro ride from Guangzhou and the city changes key: ceramic dragons on temple roofs, drums warming up for the lion dance, kilns that have fired for centuries, and the streets that produced Wong Fei-hung and Ip Man. Foshan is a culture day — if you plan it by district, not by hope.Verified

A yum cha table in Liwan, Guangzhou: red rice rolls, siu mai, beef balls and chicken feet around the tea kettle

Guangzhou · DoGuangzhou Dim Sum: Yum Cha Is a Pace, Not a ChecklistTea is chosen before food, baskets arrive in waves, and the table fills at the speed of conversation. Morning tea is this city's social operating system — here is how to sit down and run it properly.Verified

Canton Tower and the Zhujiang New Town towers facing each other across the Pearl River at dawn

Guangzhou · DoGuangzhou for First-Timers: Teahouses in the West, Towers on the RiverThis is really two cities sharing one name — a merchant old town of arcades and morning tea in the west, and a glowing riverfront of towers in the east. Give each its own day, eat seriously in between, and the place clicks.Verified

Shoppers walking the arcade-fronted Shangxiajiu pedestrian street in Liwan, Guangzhou's old Xiguan quarter

Guangzhou · DoGuangzhou Souvenirs: Taste the Pastry Before You Box ItA biscuit with no chicken in it, lotus-seed pastries built for tea, a starch only a cook will love, and the old-town streets where Guangzhou does its own gift shopping.Reference ~

An Asian elephant with its trunk raised in the elephant habitat at Chimelong Safari Park, Guangzhou

Guangzhou · DoGuangzhou with Kids: One Big Animal Day, One Quiet Museum, and Dim Sum DiplomacyGuangzhou is generous to families — a giant safari park, a superb free museum and a cuisine served in small, negotiable portions. The skill is not finding things to do. It is refusing to do two big things in a single day.Reference ~

Bamboo rafts on the Li River below Guilin's karst peaks

Guilin · DoGuilin Souvenirs: Osmanthus Sweets, Chilli Heat and the Three TreasuresA floral sweet for the tasting gift, a compact jar of chilli sauce for the cook, and a famous trio of 'treasures' you are explicitly allowed to buy separately — Guilin shopping makes sense once you know which names are tradition and which are packaging.Reference ~

Terraced Longjing tea fields climbing the wooded hills at Meijiawu, Hangzhou

Hangzhou · DoHangzhou Souvenirs, Bought by Evidence: Longjing, Silk and the Folding FanTea whose origin you can actually state, silk whose fibre label you have read with your own eyes, and a folding fan carrying a maker's name — Hangzhou rewards shoppers who buy evidence rather than packaging.Verified

A humanoid robot greeting visitors at a tech exhibition in China

China · DoA traveler's field guide to China's high-tech experiencesTwelve real-world ways to explore transport, drones, robots, devices and space — with the steps and access checks that make them possible.Verified

Jinjiangli village in Kaiping, grey-brick houses in front and the ornate Ruishi Lou diaolou rising behind them

Guangzhou · DoKaiping Diaolou from Guangzhou: A Day Among the TowersFortified towers with European faces stand in Guangdong rice fields, built by families whose money — and often whose men — crossed the Pacific. It works as a Guangzhou day trip — provided the start is early, the village list stays at one or two clusters, and transport is settled before you leave the city.Verified

A busy lane of Kunming's Flower and Bird Market, lined with small shops, stalls and food stands

Kunming · DoKunming Souvenirs: Yunnan in a Suitcase, Bought at the End of the TripRose pastries tasted before they are boxed, coffee specified by valley and roast date, pu'er with its style declared, mushrooms with names — and jade admired at walking pace.Reference ~

A hospital registration hall in China

China · DoMedical Care in China for Tourists: A Practical Guide to Seeing a DoctorChinese hospitals run on walk-ins, passports and pay-as-you-go. The medicine is rarely the problem — knowing which door to enter, and in what order to pay, is.Reference ~

The Great Wall ridge at Mutianyu in morning light

Beijing · DoMutianyu Great Wall: The Low-Stress Way UpMutianyu is the first-timer's wall — if you get the transport and the timing right. Here is the version of the day where you are on the stone before the crowds, not behind them.Estimate ≈

Lengths of Nanjing Yunjin brocade in floral and cloud patterns on display at the Nanjing Folk Museum

Nanjing · DoNanjing Souvenirs: Brocade and Tea, Not Just DuckA green tea named for polished stones, a brocade your thumb can authenticate, osmanthus sweets timed to departure — and the celebrated duck that should stay a meal.Verified

A giant panda cub at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding

Chengdu · DoChengdu Panda Base the Low-Stress Way: Opening Time, Passport Tickets and the Morning RouteOpening time, a passport-matched ticket, nurseries first: the panda base rewards exactly one strategy, and this is it.Reference ~

The Bund waterfront and its clock tower lit after dark, photographed from across the Huangpu River

Shanghai · DoShanghai at Night: The Bund, the Concession and the Pudong ShoreOne riverbank per evening, two to three unhurried hours, and the way home decided before you set out — three night routes built the way the city actually lights up.Reference ~

Lujiazui lit up at night across the Huangpu, seen from the Bund — the view the rooftop bars sell

Shanghai · DoShanghai Bars for Foreign Visitors: First Nights Without the FrictionThe best first-night bar in Shanghai is rarely the most famous one. It is the one you can find, pay in, and get home from. This guide picks bars by situation — skyline, heritage, cocktails, groups — and builds the whole night around the ride back.Reference ~

Braised lion’s-head meatballs with bok choy — a banquet staple of the Jiangnan kitchen

Shanghai · DoShanghai Black Pearl Restaurants: China's Own Fine-Dining List, DecodedMichelin is the list you brought from home. Black Pearl is the one Shanghai actually argues about — a Dianping and Meituan guide, graded in diamonds, built for premium Chinese dining. Here is how to use it without booking the wrong branch of the right restaurant.Reference ~

Crab xiaolongbao in a bamboo steamer on a restaurant table in Nanxiang, Shanghai

Shanghai · DoShanghai Chinese Restaurants: Choose by Cuisine Family, Not by FameShanghai is the one city where a visitor can eat Benbang, Cantonese, Sichuan, Ningbo, Huaiyang and vegetarian Chinese cooking at full strength in a single trip. This guide sorts the families, tells you what to order in each, and builds a three-day plan that uses the range.Estimate ≈

The Bund promenade facing the Lujiazui skyline across the Huangpu River

Shanghai · DoShanghai in 1 Day: One Perfect First Day, Hour by HourOne river, two banks, three neighbourhoods — a first day that flows in one direction instead of zig-zagging across the map.Reference ~

Plane-tree-lined street in the former French Concession, Shanghai

Shanghai · DoShanghai in 2 Days: Icons on Day 1, Neighbourhoods on Day 2Day 1 collects the postcard. Day 2 spends it — plane-tree streets, long lunches, and the Shanghai residents actually live in.Reference ~

The Bund and the Lujiazui skyline across the Huangpu River

Shanghai · DoShanghai in 3 Days: Icons, Neighbourhoods, and One Day to Go DeepDay one for the postcard, day two for the streets people actually live on, day three for the one thing you care about most — with the bookings and buffers that keep it relaxed.Reference ~

Xiaolongbao in a bamboo steamer at Nanxiang Mantou Dian, Yu Garden

Shanghai · DoShanghai Food Guide: What Locals Actually Eat, and How to Eat ItSoup dumplings are the postcard. The real Shanghai table is pan-fried buns at dawn, dark glossy braises, river shrimp, a spring soup — and knowing the order to put them on the table.Reference ~

A full table of traditional Shanghainese benbang dishes in Pudong — braised pork in dark soy, greens and cold starters

Shanghai · DoShanghai Michelin Guide: One Great Dinner, Booked ProperlyThe stars are the easy part. The real work is choosing the cuisine that fits your trip, the exact branch of the exact name, and a deposit you actually understand — here is how the Shanghai Michelin map behaves on the ground.Reference ~

The Pudong skyline and Oriental Pearl Tower across the Huangpu River at night, seen from the Bund

Shanghai · DoShanghai Rooftop Bars: Pick Your Bank of the River FirstFour verifiable rooftops, two riverbanks, one decision that comes before all the others: which side of the Huangpu you stand on decides what the skyline does for you. Here is how to choose, book, dress and plan for the weather.Verified

A waterside pavilion over the pond at Qinghui Garden in Daliang, Shunde

Guangzhou · DoShunde from Guangzhou: One District, One Perfect Food DayA short ride out of Guangzhou South, a bowl of double-skin milk eaten warm in Daliang, fish cooked three ways off one catch, and a classical garden to walk it off — Shunde rewards travellers who pick one neighbourhood and eat with a plan.Verified

Longevity Hill and the Tower of Buddhist Incense above Kunming Lake at the Summer Palace, with boats on the water

Beijing · DoSummer Palace Guide: Choose the Gate Before the LandmarksThe Summer Palace is not a checklist of halls — it is a lake, a hill and a designed sequence of views that takes half a day to cross honestly. Pick the route first, the gate second, and let the boat be a bonus rather than the plan.Verified

The pond and willows of the Humble Administrator's Garden, Suzhou

Suzhou · DoSuzhou as a Day Trip from Shanghai: One Garden, One Canal, Home by DinnerA garden, a canal street and one of China's great museums, twenty-seven minutes from Shanghai — if you book the three things that sell out and catch a specific train home.Reference ~

A six-panel folding screen of Suzhou embroidery, landscape scenes stitched in silk thread

Suzhou · DoSuzhou Souvenirs: Biluochun, Honest Silk and a Fan You Will Actually CarrySuzhou's classics are the easiest in China to fake and the easiest to buy well: tea with a named hillside, embroidery you inspect from the back, sweets from a counter the city itself uses.Reference ~

The blue triple-eaved roof of the Hall of Prayer at the Temple of Heaven, above its white marble terraces

Beijing · DoTemple of Heaven Guide: The Park Before the PostcardEveryone comes for one blue-roofed hall. The better visit starts an hour earlier, among the kite flyers, card players and tai chi circles of a working Beijing park — then walks the ritual axis the slow way, in one direction.Verified

Rows of Terracotta Warriors standing in the excavated Pit 1 hall

Xi'an · DoTerracotta Warriors: The Low-Stress Way to Book, Travel and Walk the PitsEight thousand warriors, three decisions that matter: book early, board the real 306, and walk into Pit 1 when the tour groups are somewhere else.Reference ~

Rows of rental bicycles lined up on top of Xi'an's city wall

Xi'an · DoXi'an City Wall and Muslim Quarter: Ride the Ramparts, Then Graze DownhillA full 13.7 km bike loop on top of a Ming-dynasty wall at golden hour, then down the gate and into the Quarter's real food street — one evening, two Xi'ans. A slower daytime alternative threads the calligraphy lanes beneath the South Gate on foot.Reference ~

A cook tearing flatbread into a bowl for yangrou paomo in Xi'an's Muslim Quarter

Xi'an · DoXi'an Food Guide: Tear Your Own Bread, Then Trust the Back StreetsRoujiamo, hand-torn paomo and belt-wide noodles — Xi'an food is carb theatre with a Muslim-quarter heart, and the best bites sit one street behind the famous one.Reference ~

Xi'an's illuminated city wall and gate tower at dusk

Xi'an · DoXi'an in 2 Days: Warriors Early, Wall at Dusk, Tang Treasures ReservedOne early run east to the warriors, one golden hour on the wall, one reserved morning of Tang gold — and a hard rule against squeezing Huashan into the same two days.Reference ~

Daytime shoppers at food and craft stalls in Xi'an's Muslim Quarter, with a shadow-puppet shop on the left

Xi'an · DoXi'an Souvenirs: A Warrior Worth Taking Home, Chilli Oil Worth LabellingSkip the suitcase of identical clay soldiers. Xi'an's real take-homes are Muslim Quarter pantry goods, stone-baked crisps, flat Shaanxi crafts and one replica bought with your eyes open.Reference ~