Beijing
China's capital blends imperial landmarks, contemporary culture, and the smoothest arrival experience for first-time visitors who want context as much as sightseeing.
Places with a point of view
City guides
Places with a point of view
The city collection
Find your next place.
14 city and regional guides, with local context for the days ahead.
Shanghai
Shanghai is China's easiest modern city for international visitors, ideal for stylish stopovers, food-focused trips, and east-coast itineraries that feel polished rather than rushed.
Chengdu
Chengdu works for travelers who want panda reserves, tea-house culture, and one of the country's most memorable culinary scenes without losing comfort or walkability.
Guangzhou
Guangzhou combines Lingnan heritage, Cantonese food, a modern Pearl River skyline, major trade links, and practical access to the wider Greater Bay Area.
Chongqing
Chongqing is a vertical river metropolis of hillside streets, rail lines, hotpot, night views, and dramatic access to Wulong's karst landscapes.
Zhangjiajie
Zhangjiajie is the dramatic landscape stop for travelers who want hiking, cable cars, and surreal mountain scenery rather than another city-heavy segment.
Shenzhen
Shenzhen is a strong South China gateway for travelers who want modern city life, design, technology, coastal neighborhoods, and an easy route connection with Hong Kong and Guangzhou.
Hangzhou
Hangzhou is an elegant contrast to Shanghai, ideal for tea culture, lakeside walks, and a slower east-China stop that still feels refined and accessible.
Xi'an
Xi'an is the best second stop after Beijing if you want ancient history, compact logistics, and one of the strongest food scenes in the country.
Suzhou
Suzhou is one of the easiest high-value additions to a Shanghai itinerary, combining classical gardens, canals, silk traditions, craft, and a slower Jiangnan city rhythm.
Where to begin
Every journey starts somewhere different.
Choose a first stop around what draws you in: history, food, city life or open landscapes.
Beijing
The Great Wall, imperial landmarks and hutong neighborhoods make a rich first chapter.
Shanghai
Modern neighborhoods, local food, design and easy east-coast side trips.
Chengdu
Pandas, Sichuan flavors and tea houses, with time to settle into the city's rhythm.
Zhangjiajie
Dramatic national park scenery, with room for weather, walking and winding routes.