Best places to visit in china 2023

Vast and diverse, China is a giant of a travel destination. With more megacities than any other country in the world, as well as the country with the largest population, any visit to this Asian giant is a beguiling and engaging mix of charming traditional culture and modernity. With 53 diverse ethnic groups and more than 292 spoken languages, each destination in China is different from the last. Visitors making their first trip to China usually stick to the larger cities. More experienced visitors to the Middle Kingdom will strike out in other directions, where traveling may be a bit more frustrating because of the language barrier, but most definitely doable for independent travelers. With so much on offer, the only problem is how to fit all the best places to visit in China into just one trip? China is an interesting nation with much to offer tourists, including breathtaking natural scenery, historical sites, delectable cuisine, and distinct culture. With so much to see, it’s not easy to decide what to see in China. But don’t worry — our travel experts have done the hard work for you. We’ll show you China’s best places to visit, why we love each one, what to do there, and more. The Great Wall of China, The Forbidden City, Imperial Palace, The Terracotta Army, The Summer Palace, Li River, Guilin, Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Yangtze River and the Three Gorges and many more. The China tourist places offer an overwhelming adventure taking the tourists back in the timelines to the cultural and heritage roots of the country. Travellers will get a chance to head out on mysterious destinations and capture glimpses of the oldest treasures of mankind. China offers you to marvel at ancient marketplaces, impeccable old exhibition halls, alluring natural vistas, and beautiful monasteries. Places in China are a source of inspiration as well as admiration for the travellers who have headed out to the magical land in the East. Heading out on a trip to the famous spot of Terracotta Army, you will get to witness around 8000 life size warriors, some 500 horses along with a hundred chariots. You can also choose to cruise the Li River, Guilin, which will let you enjoy the serene ambiance and the wonderfully calm waters. While  places to visit in China like Potala Palace offers you knowledge about the Dalai Lama, Zhangjiajie National Forest Park offers you insights about the sci fi movie Avatar.

#1- Fubo Hill
Your next stop is an exquisite destination that is called the “Wonderland on wave”. This hill is surprisingly partially dipped in water and partially standing tall on the surface of land. There is a stone paved path that leads you to the south of the foothills that is filled with different kinds of flowers, bamboo trees, palm trees and so on. From here you can reach the sightseeing terrace to have a glimpse of the lifelike old man hill. On your way down you can stop by the “Pearl Returning Cave”, which is yet another popular China Tourist Place.

#2- Elephant Trunk Hill
Known for being a landmark tourist destination, the Elephant Trunk Hill is kind of a symbol of an international tourist city, Guilin that uses this and the osmanthus flower as a city emblem. There is much heavenly folklore hidden in this place and is definitely a beautiful way to explore the city. The water moon cave is just under the elephant trunk hill and is a must visit after sunset hours.

#3- Reed Flute Cave
The Reed Flute Cave is an interesting cave that is also popularly known as the “palace of Natural Arts”. This cave is a natural limestone cave in China’s Guangxi province and is beautifully adorned with naturally abundant reed, extraordinary stalagmite as well as stalactite formations along with ink inscriptions that could be dated back to the 8th century. The reed here is used to create flutes in large numbers. Tourists can take a view of this place with a minimal entry fee.

#4- Longji Rice Terrace
Longji Rice Terrace is one of the most organized techniques engineered properly to bring out a spectacular scenery of farmland terraces. There are two types of terraces that have lured many travelers to take a closer view. They are the Ping’ an terraces and the other type is known as the Jinkeng terraces. These fields are constructed along the slope winding from the side of the river to the top of the mountain in between 2000 to 2600 ft above the sea level.

#5- Longhua Temple And Pagoda
Longhua, the oldest and largest temple of Shanghai was first built in 242 AD. The temple has several halls namely the Maitreya Hall, the Devaraj Hall, Mahavira Hall, Three Sages Hall, Abbot’s Hall, and the Sutras Hall. Here you will also find two accessory halls, the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower. The courtyard of the temple is built in a traditional Buddhist symmetry style. You can also see the seven-storied Longhua Pagoda located in front of the temple. The bells attached on each side of the octagonal eaves make the surrounding cheering and lively. In the late spring, you can attend the temple fair along with several other tourists and pilgrims.

#6- Madame Tussauds
The Madame Tussauds, the sixth one in the world, was opened for the public in the year 2006. Add this museum to your list of places to visit in Shanghai and enjoy your visit on the New World Plaza’s 10th floor. There are about 80 wax statues of celebrities in Shanghai’s Madame Tussauds, including the statues of Liu Xiang, Yao Ming, Tom Cruise, Michael Jordan, David Beckham, and Bill Clinton. The statues are displayed in seven Themed Pavilions showing the different stages involved in the making of the statues and some legendary historical figures.

#7- Shanghai Auto Museum
This automobile museum is located in the Auto Expo Park of the Shanghai International Automobile City and is one of the unique places in Shanghai that you can visit on your trip. Opened for the public in 2007, it is the first and one of its kind specialist museum in China. You can explore the four parts of the museum namely history, exploration, collection, and temporary exhibitions.

#8- Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park
Located off the east China sea coast, the Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park is the best ocean-themed park built in China till now. This park is divided into 5 main themes and an ocean resort with international standards in the project quality, construction level, and thematic features. Get a breathtaking view of the deep sea, arctic and antarctic ecology, and the mesmerising volcano lava. You can also enjoy the wonderful animal show, the extraordinary adventure, and the animal-themed 5-star hotel rooms. The rooftop of the park offers a panoramic 360-degree view of the landscape around it.

#9- Yu Garden
Yu Garden or the Yuyuan Garden is the most famous classical Chinese Garden in a long list of numerous tourist places in Shanghai. The beautiful views offered by the Yu Garden has earned it the title ‘the crown of beauty in Southeast China’. It was built by the Ming Dynasty and it is a maze of many artificial mountains, green trees, dragon walls, rockeries, bridges, traditional buildings, and pavilions. You can explore the six parts of the garden namely the Sansui Hall, the Dianchun Hall, the Wanhua Chamber, the Yuhua Hall, the Huijing Hall, and the Inner Garden.

#10- Shanghai Museum
Opened in the year 1995, this Shanghai Museum houses about 120,000 precious and rare cultural pieces. There are three exhibition halls and eleven galleries, spread across the four floors of the museum. Here you can see the high-quality collection of Chinese bronze, paintings, furniture, ceramics, seals, calligraphy, sculptures, jades, and ancient coins. This museum is one of the top four museums of China and one of the best places to visit in Shanghai. You can also learn about the numerous artefacts by taking a travel guide for help.

#11- Oriental Pearl Tower
The construction of the Oriental Pearl Tower was completed in 1995 and it is the second tallest tower in China. This tower is surrounded by Yangpu Bridge and Nanpu Bridge, creating an amazing view of twin dragons playing with pearls. The unique architecture of this TV and radio tower makes it one of the most attractive places in Shanghai. It is surrounded by green grassland on all sides, making it even more photographic. You can travel up and down the tower in its double-decker elevator and enjoy the view from any of its six observation decks.

#12- Nanjing Road
Nanjing Road is located between the Bund, Jing’an Temple, and West Yan’an Street. This premier shopping street of China is one of the top tourist attractions in Shanghai for shoppers seeking fashion. This shopping street is almost a century old and has gone through several significant structural changes. Though the modern speciality stores, theatres, shopping malls, and international hotels have overshadowed the traditional stores, you can still explore and shop in almost hundreds of traditional stores. You can find many ancient traditional food stores here, offering you a taste of authentic Shanghai food.

#13- Shichahai Rents Out Ice Skates
Shichahai Rents Out Ice Skates is Beijing’s only natural outdoor rink and possibly the best in the city to offer winter sports activities for the locals as well as for the tourists across the globe. Here you can have access to skates, sleighs, ice bikes and ice chairs available on rent. The rink is open to the public by the middle of winter depending on the weather. If you are a beginner you can spend time learning about the sport from the well experienced experts who will give you introductory lessons for the sport.

#14- The Fayuan Temple
Another one of the places to visit in Beijing is the Fayuan Temple. Initially named the Minzhong Temple, it later was known as the Fayuan Temple. This is one of the oldest structures in the whole of China and expands over 6,700 square meters wide. There are numerous cultural relics, ancient sculptures and precious metals that are presented and can be checked out to explore the history furthermore.

#15- Great Wall Of Badaling
As we mentioned the Great Wall of China, we were sure to make a mention of the site’s most-visited structure - the Great Wall of Badaling. It is the main wall that runs right through the site and this is where Ming dynasty’s military outpost was located. The main building is what kept Beijing protected from outsiders.

#16- The Temple Of Heaven
Talking about tourist places in Beijing is another Imperial treasure, this structure holds religious resemblance and can be found in the central part of Beijing. These complexes were constructed during the times of Emperors Ming and Qing. History suggests that they were apparently constructed for them to offer their prayer to Heaven for a good harvest time.

#17- Ming Tombs
Another collective beauty represented through mausoleums by the Imperial dynasty of China, this also happens to be the place where emperor Ming’s tomb was found to be located. He was the same one who insisted his capital be Nanjing. Many might not be aware of this but it is actually known as the Thirteen Tombs of the Ming dynasty. It is considered to be one of the most sacred tourist attractions of Beijing and thus, is visited by thousands of tourists all year round.

#18- National Museum Of China
Located in the Eastern section of the TIananmen Square is the National Museum of China. The main purpose of the museum is to proudly showcase and promote the knowledge and history of the wonderful art that has been carried out through the Chinese dynasties for centuries. The Ministry of Culture takes care of the place.

#19- Beijing Ancient Observatory
Technological advancements in China took place for a very long time and it can easily be represented through Beijing’s Ancient Observatory. A pre-telescopic observatory, the place was built in 1442. It was constructed during the Ming dynasty and expanded way beyond the years. It also happens to be one of the oldest observatories to ever exist in the whole world.

#20- Beijing Capital Museum And The National Centre For The Performing Arts
The Beijing Capital Museum and the National Centre for the Performing Arts is an excellent venue that houses classical concerts, ballets and opera shows that will truly blow your mind away. This place is filled with artists from all round the world and you will be happy to meet many art enthusiasts as well. Tick it off your list of places to visit in Beijing.

#21- Tiananmen Square
This one is hard to miss because it is Beijing’s very own square. The city center of China, this is where the city life is. The Business District is located next to Tiananmen Square and it in itself has a lot of places for you to visit including the Monument to the People’s Heroes, the Great Hall of the People, the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong and the list doesn’t stop of places in Beijing.  

#22- Zhangjiajie National Forest Park
One of the several national parks of China and is definitely a recognised UNESCO world heritage site is a remarkable site. It has the world's tallest outdoor lift  "The Bailong Elevator'', composed of three separate glass elevators, each of which can carry up to 50 people at a time  which can transport visitors to the top from its foot in less than two minutes. The park is enveloped with huge scenic landmarks. Apart from all the landscaping scenery, you will find these places in China incredibly beautiful and overwhelming.

#23- Hong Kong Skyline
The bustling capital of finance and commerce creates the most dramatic skylines because of having the highest concentration of skyscrapers with a gorgeous clad of deep blue hills. From here you are allowed to opt for ferries to explore the stunning vistas of Hong Kong. If possible try not to miss the 360 degree laser light show that beautifully uses this harbor’s ethereal view

#24- Leshan Giant Buddha
The 71 meter tall Leshan Giant Buddha was initially started by a Buddhist monk in 713 AD and is now the largest Buddha structure in the world. This structure is located in a vast lush green park and has rightfully found its place in the list of UNESCO world heritage sites. The structure is carved out on a cliff face of cretaceous red bed sandstone lying at the confluence of Min River and Dadu River close to the southern Sichuan Province in China.

#25- The Mausoleum of Light
One of the popular UNESCO world heritage sites is also known as the Northern Imperial Tomb that forms an important center of trade and culture in the mountainous northeastern region of Shenyang. This structure is celebrated mainly for its unique architectural style that is a combination of Chinese burial sites and castle-like buildings on 180000 sq meters of land.

#26- Hangzhou's Historic West Lake
Hangzhou’s West Lake holds a certain historical significance for having been surrounded by a splendid collection of numerous hills, pagodas and temples along its 6 kilometer square stretch of water. Spring seems to be quite a pleasant time to enjoy the beauty of hopping from one stretch of water to another with the fresh blossoming of peaches and then an evening to relax to the rhythm of the musical fountain show.

#27- The Bund
The Bund, also known as Waitan is a historical district located in central Shanghai. This area is a waterfront and is famous for its buildings and wharves located in the area and its neighbourhood. This area used to be a rich and powerful centre during the 1860s to 1930s and operated as a treaty port that was legally protected. It is one of the best places to visit in Shanghai housing numerous historical buildings, including consulates and clubs. You can stroll along the bund and appreciate the 52 historical buildings with amazing architecture, take a cruise on the Huangpu River, or spend some leisurely time in Huangpu Park.

#28- Potala Palace
The palace is one of China’s most magnificent structures that was constructed as a fortress and a residence for the Dalai Lama but was initially a place for political and religious treasures. This palace is divided as: The Red Palace - this was built to safeguard the important shrines and murals that depicted scenes from the life of the Dalai Lamas and the Tibet kings. The White palace -this impressive structure includes sleeping quarters, reception rooms etc that remained untouched since 1959

#29- Yangtze River and the Three Gorges
Flowing from Tibet in the west to Shanghai in the east, the Yangtze River extends for more than 6000 kilometers forming the longest and most important river in China. This river is also the third longest river in the entire world. The river is known for being China’s major transportation route and for tourists who wish to take a tour of this river there are numerous points where they can take luxurious river boat cruises along the Three Gorges and amidst beautiful high mountain peaks.

#30- Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding
Your visit to China might feel incomplete without a glimpse of the most adorable creatures known to the world. Although there are many zoos that provide fine specimens of Pandas, the Chengdu Research centre gives its visitors the opportunity to observe around 80 pandas at a close proximity where you find them perform their daily playful activities quite comfortably in their natural habitat. The best time to visit this centre would be the early morning feeding hours since the pandas are comparatively more active during that time of the day. Other than that visitors can even sign for volunteering programs where they are even allowed to hold baby pandas.

#31- Li River, Guilin
Another beautiful attraction in the lands of China is the countryside in the town of Guilin that is proud to have been blessed with the Li River. The Li River is gifted with unique scenery with tall blue Mountains, a serene ambiance and the wonderfully calm waters to cruise along. It is known to have attracted many poets, artists, photographers and other explorers who have thoroughly enjoyed the touch of many fairy tales here. 

#32- The Summer Palace
The Summer Palace is a kind of place that will require at least half a day of your time because it has a plethora of expansive lakes, green-luscious gardens and sweet Imperial palaces located. As history suggests, these were the gardens for the Qing dynasty. Looking at just how beautiful the location truly is, it was even declared the World Heritage site a couple of years back among the places in Beijing.

#33- The Terracotta Army, Xi'an
An assembly of around 8000 life size warriors, some 500 horses along with a hundred chariots that were built to guard the First emperor throws light at one of China’s most authentic tourist attractions that also unveils one of its important archaeological finds in the outskirts of Xi’an. This army was accidentally found in the year 1970 while some farmers were digging wells and then it was traced back to when it was first built around 280 BC

#34- Imperial Palace
Another set of Imperial Palaces that once belonged to the Ming and Qing dynasties, it would serve as the supreme power structure for the whole generation. The building in itself consists of over 10,000 rooms and contains furniture and artwork worth millions of dollars. Now a historical site, this place is the jewel of Beijing and top among the tourist places in Beijing.

#35- Forbidden City
If we’re talking about visiting Forbidden City, we cannot leave without mentioning just how wonderful the whole of Forbidden City truly is! Top among the places to visit in Beijing - it is the heart of Beijing - the lifeline of the local folks who have been inhabiting the destination for centuries. This was during the reign of Hongwu Emperor and his son, Zhu Di. When Zhu Di ascended to take the throne over, he moved the Chinese capital from Nanjing to Beijing and thus, the construction of the Forbidden City began.

#36- The Great Wall Of China
China is surrounded by a series of age-old fortifications that were built to protect its borders. These were used as protections by the Imperial Chinese states to safeguard themselves from several nomadic groups that were primarily based in Eurasian Steppe. Historically speaking, these walls were built in the 7th century and are top among the tourist places in Beijing.