Plan Your First Trip to China

A first trip to China goes wrong in predictable places: you land in the middle of a national holiday, try to cover too many cities, or arrive to find the big sights sold out a week ahead. Pick your dates around the holidays, keep the route to two or three cities linked by high-speed rail, and book the few things that sell out before you fly.

When to go to China: seasons by region

Spring (April to May) and autumn (September to early November) are the easiest seasons for a first trip to China. Days are mild across Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an and Chengdu, skies are often clearer, and walking all day is comfortable.

• Spring: pleasant almost everywhere. Northern cities such as Beijing can be windy and dusty, and early spring can still be cool.
• Summer (June to August): hot and humid in Shanghai and Chengdu, hot in Beijing and Xi’an, with heavy rain in many regions. School holidays in July and August fill museums, trains and famous sights with domestic family travel.
• Autumn: the classic choice. Clear, dry days in the north and comfortable temperatures in the south and west, apart from the Golden Week crowds in early October.
• Winter (December to February): cold and dry in Beijing and Xi’an, damp and chilly in Shanghai and Chengdu, where many older buildings have little indoor heating. Winter brings the emptiest sights and lower hotel rates, as long as you avoid Spring Festival.

If you can only travel in summer or winter, a trip to China still works. Pack for the weather, start sightseeing early in the day in summer, and plan indoor fallbacks such as museums.

Chinese public holidays to avoid: Golden Week, Spring Festival and May Day

China’s public holidays move hundreds of millions of people at once. On a first trip, avoiding these dates matters more than picking the perfect season.

• National Day Golden Week (October 1 to 7): the busiest week of the year for domestic tourism. Trains and flights sell out, hotel rates jump, and the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and Xi’an’s Terracotta Army are packed shoulder to shoulder.
• Spring Festival (Chinese New Year): falls in late January or February and moves each year with the lunar calendar. Around a month of heavy travel surrounds it as people go home and back. During the holiday itself some small restaurants and shops close, while big sights and temple fairs get crowded.
• May Day (Labor Day): a multi-day break starting May 1, with Golden Week-style crowds and prices.
• Shorter holidays: Qingming in early April, the Dragon Boat Festival in early summer and Mid-Autumn Festival in September or October each create a busy long weekend.

Check before you go: China’s government announces the exact holiday dates, including make-up working days on weekends, late in the previous year. Look up the official schedule for your travel year before you book flights.

If your dates overlap a holiday, book trains and hotels as early as possible and visit the most famous sights at opening time.

How many days you need for a first trip to China

For a first trip to China, allow at least three full days per major city, plus travel days between them. Jet lag, setting up payments and learning the metro eat into the first day.

• 5 to 7 days: one or two cities. Beijing alone, or Beijing plus Xi’an, or Shanghai plus a day trip to Suzhou or Hangzhou.
• 8 to 12 days: two or three cities. This is the sweet spot for most first-timers.
• 13 to 21 days: three or four cities at a comfortable pace, with room for a rest day.

Many nationalities can now enter China without a visa for up to 30 days, and travelers from more countries can use the 240-hour (10-day) visa-free transit if they fly onward to a different country. Your entry route can cap how long you stay, so check it before you plan days. See Visas and entry and the visa checker.

First-trip China itineraries: Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an and Chengdu

Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an and Chengdu make the classic first-trip loop through China. All four have big international airports and are linked by high-speed rail, and they show four very different sides of the country.

• Beijing: imperial palaces, the Great Wall, hutong alleys. Plan three to four days.
• Xi’an: the Terracotta Army, the city wall, the Muslim Quarter food streets. Plan two to three days.
• Chengdu: giant pandas, teahouses, Sichuan food. Plan two to three days, plus a possible side trip to Leshan.
• Shanghai: the Bund, the former French Concession, a skyline and modern China. Plan two to four days, plus water towns or Suzhou nearby.

Common combinations by high-speed rail:

To save time, fly into one city and out of another (“open-jaw”) so you never backtrack. If you are using 240-hour visa-free transit, entering and leaving through different designated airports is fine, as long as you stay within the permitted regions and fly on to a third country or region.

Each city has its own Day Zero book with the full strategy: Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an and Chengdu.

Budget tiers for a trip to China

China can be very affordable or very expensive depending on hotels and how you move between cities. The tiers below describe what each budget level looks like on the ground rather than exact prices, which change with season and exchange rate.

• Budget: hostels or simple chain hotels near a metro line, metro and buses inside cities, second-class seats on high-speed trains, street food and noodle shops. Food and local transport in China are cheap by Western standards, so the biggest cost is the flight.
• Mid-range: well-reviewed Chinese or international chain hotels, Didi rides when you’re tired, sit-down restaurants, booked guided visits for one or two big sights.
• Comfort: international luxury hotels, first-class or business-class seats on high-speed rail, private drivers or guides for day trips such as the Great Wall, fine dining.

Wherever you land, entrance tickets for major sights and intercity trains are the costs that add up; city metros and everyday meals rarely do. Prices are set in renminbi (RMB, also called yuan), and almost everything is paid by phone. See Paying in China.

What to book before you leave for China

A handful of things in China sell out or need setup that is hard to do from inside the country. Book or prepare these before you fly:

1. Your entry route. Confirm whether you need a visa, qualify for 30-day visa-free entry, or are using 240-hour transit with a qualifying onward ticket. Use the visa checker.
2. Flights in and out, including the onward ticket if you rely on visa-free transit.
3. Hotels for every night. Choose places that accept foreign guests and sit near a metro line. Save each address in Chinese characters. See Hotels and registration.
4. Timed sight tickets. The Forbidden City, the National Museum, the Terracotta Army and the Chengdu panda base all use real-name booking with your passport, and popular slots go days ahead. See Booking sights and the sight bookings tool.
5. High-speed rail tickets for intercity legs, especially near holidays. See Getting around.
6. Payments and data. Set up Alipay and WeChat Pay with your card, and buy a roaming plan or travel eSIM. See Paying in China and Internet and apps.
7. Travel insurance that covers medical treatment in China.

Check before you go: Booking windows for sights and trains open a set number of days ahead and can change. Check each official channel (12306 for rail, the sight’s official website or WeChat mini program) for the current window.

Work through it all in order with the pre-trip checklist.