Shanghai
上海 · China
China's largest city and global financial hub
Colonial heritage meets futuristic skyline. Best for first-time visitors to China.
Loved forSkyline · French Concession · Soup dumplings
52 curated POIs14 vlog routes
maptrip
A foreigner's guide to Chinese cities
China, without the confusion.
Visas, payments, tickets, hotels, internet — the eight things every foreign visitor has to sort, solved step by step. Then city guides with maps that actually work in China.
Before you fly: sort these eight
Every guide fact-checked & dated
VisaTwo lists, endlessly confused. Which one is your passport on?Do I need a visa? Arrival cardMandatory since Nov 2025. Free, online, file it before you land.File the CDAC PaymentsSet up Alipay before you fly — and the fixes when it refuses your card.Alipay & WeChat Pay InternetA travel eSIM skips the firewall — Google and WhatsApp just work.eSIM vs VPN TicketsTop sights sell out in minutes — release times and the foreigner workarounds.Booking attractions HotelsSome hotels can't register foreigners. Verify before you pay, not at 11 PM.Book the right hotel Getting aroundThere's no Uber — DiDi, metro and high-speed rail, explained.DiDi & transit InsuranceHospitals want payment upfront. What cover actually makes sense.Insurance requirements
Then pick your cities
12 cities · 300+ vetted places, each with a map that works in China
Beijing
北京 · China
Imperial capital, hutongs, and the Great Wall
Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, and a day-trip to the Wall. The political and cultural heart.
Loved forGreat Wall · Hutongs · Forbidden City
34 curated POIs7 vlog routes
Hong Kong
香港 · China (SAR)
China's global financial gateway — harbour skyline, Peak Tram, dim sum
Victoria Harbour skyline, Big Buddha on Lantau, Cantonese dim sum, and the only SAR with 90-day visa-free for most Western nationalities.
Loved forSkyline · Dim sum · Visa-free
25 curated POIs5 vlog routes
Guangzhou
广州 · China
Cantonese capital of South China — dim sum, Pearl River, and Lingnan culture
China's oldest treaty port and the cradle of dim sum. Shamian's colonial bones meet skyscrapers across the Pearl River.
Loved forDim sum · Shamian Island · Pearl River
20 curated POIs7 vlog routes
Chengdu
成都 · China
Pandas, hotpot, and the slow life
China's most laid-back megacity. Tea houses, mahjong parlors, and the world's most famous bears.
Loved forPandas · Hotpot · Slow life
20 curated POIs7 vlog routes
Chongqing
重庆 · China
Mountain megacity on the Yangtze — cable cars, hotpot, and night skyline
Vertical city wedged into mountains where the Yangtze meets the Jialing. Hongya Cave, Ciqikou, and a cuisine that defines spicy.
Loved forHotpot · Cyberpunk skyline · Cable cars
20 curated POIs8 vlog routes
Shenzhen
深圳 · China
China's youngest megacity — tech, makers, and a fishing-village-to-future story
From fishing village to global tech hub in 40 years. Huaqiangbei electronics market, Window of the World, and easy Hong Kong border crossings.
Loved forTech markets · HK border · Theme parks
20 curated POIs7 vlog routes
Xi'an
西安 · China
Ancient capital — Terracotta Army, City Wall, Muslim Quarter, Silk Road
Capital of 13 dynasties and Silk Road eastern terminus. Terracotta Warriors, 14 km Ming-era city walls, and the lamb-kebab Muslim Quarter night.
Loved forTerracotta Army · City Wall · Muslim Quarter
24 curated POIs6 vlog routes
Hangzhou
杭州 · China
Heaven on earth — West Lake, Longjing tea, Lingyin Temple
UNESCO West Lake with the Tang-era causeways, Lingyin Buddhist Temple, Longjing tea villages, the Grand Canal northern terminus, and easy day trips to Wuzhen water town.
Loved forWest Lake · Longjing tea · Lingyin Temple
23 curated POIs7 vlog routes
Zhangjiajie
张家界 · China
Avatar's floating mountains — UNESCO sandstone pillar landscape
The 3,000+ sandstone pillars that inspired Avatar's Hallelujah Mountain (Wulingyuan UNESCO site), plus the world's longest cableway + 999-step Heaven's Gate cave at Tianmen Mountain, plus the world-record glass bridge across Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon. Often paired with Fenghuang Ancient Town.
Loved forAvatar mountains · Glass bridge · Heaven's Gate
22 curated POIs6 vlog routes
Guilin
桂林 · China
Karst peaks + Li River — the ¥20 banknote landscape
The 1,500-year-old karst landscape that defined Chinese ink-wash painting. Li River cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo, Yulong bamboo rafts past Moon Hill, ancient Longji rice terraces, and Zhang Yimou's Impression Liu Sanjie outdoor show.
Loved forLi River cruise · Karst peaks · Yangshuo
22 curated POIs7 vlog routes
Suzhou
苏州 · China
Classical gardens + canal water streets — 25 min HSR from Shanghai
9 UNESCO Classical Gardens (the Humble Administrator's, Lingering, Master of Nets), the 1,000-year-old Pingjiang and Shantang canal streets, Tang-era Hanshan Temple, I.M. Pei's Suzhou Museum, and the Zhouzhuang + Tongli water town day-trips — all 25 min HSR from Shanghai.
Loved forClassical gardens · Canal streets · Silk
22 curated POIs6 vlog routes
Want a city we don't cover yet? Tell us.Read our China travel guides →
What travelers read start to finish
Hong Kong
Octopus Card: the 2-minute setup that pays for itself on Day 1
Payments
Alipay for foreigners: the 5-minute setup before you fly
Internet
ExpressVPN vs Astrill vs NordVPN: what actually works in China
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