China

You have already picked China, and now the trip needs to be put together. There are more questions than before an ordinary vacation: how to enter the country, how to pay, how to buy train tickets and which month keeps you out of the crowds. The country is huge, and one trip cannot cover it. In this section we have gathered articles that help you make these decisions in order.

The core of the section is guides to cities and major sights. For Beijing there is an overview of the sights by district, a one-week itinerary with the subway and online tickets, and a separate piece on the city parks. For Hong Kong there is a three-day plan and a detailed text on how to get up Victoria Peak. The Great Wall of China gets a breakdown of its sections, from wild ruins to restored stairways. There is also a general overview of what to see in the country, from the Great Wall to Yunnan.

The second group of articles deals with routes and logistics. We describe ready-made itineraries for independent travel: from Shanghai to Yangshuo, and through Xi'an, Guilin, Shanghai and Suzhou. A separate text covers trains: overnight services, buying tickets and the main lines. To help you choose dates, there are articles on the weather by month, on public holidays and on the October "Golden Week" with its crowds. Hainan has its own block: beaches and bays, resorts, food, transportation on the island.

There are narrower topics too. The rice terraces of Yunnan: which season to go in for the reflections in the water. The Chimelong water park in Guangzhou for those who want a day without museums. A comparison of Beijing and Shanghai helps you choose a city for a first trip. Texts on customs, common myths and what a first-timer should be ready for remove some of the surprises in advance. Traveling without a tour company is covered separately: entry, mobile payments, trains.

Every article opens with a short takeaway: what matters most and who it suits. Practical blocks follow: how to get there, what to buy in advance, how much time to allow. For figures we state the source and the date we checked them. We verify prices and timetables against official websites, and locations against the map. We write about the downsides plainly: lines, holiday crowds, long transfers between cities. We see no point in dressing the country up.

The section is meant for people who travel independently and want to put together their own route, tickets and accommodation. It works both for a first trip and for those coming back for a new region. If you are looking for a ready-made escorted tour, our texts will not replace it. We do not sell trips and we do not handle paperwork. We provide information for your decisions.

It is easiest to start with the general articles: what to see in the country, when to go and what to expect the first time. Then choose an itinerary close in length to your vacation. After that, read the texts on trains and on specific cities. The holiday articles are best opened before you buy flights: the dates determine how crowded it will be along the way. On entry questions we explain what to look at, but check the actual requirements with official sources before you travel. They change.

"China" belongs to the "Asia" part of the "Destinations" section. If you are still comparing options, take a look at the neighboring sections: "Vietnam", "Thailand" and "India" suit a long trip around the region, "Maldives" a beach vacation. Nearby you will also find "Turkey", "United Arab Emirates", "Armenia" and "Azerbaijan". The approach to the articles is the same everywhere.

The section keeps growing: we add new cities and regions and return to texts already published. Entry rules, the holiday calendar and the ticket-buying process change, so we recheck them against official sources and update the date of the check. If something in an article is out of date, rely on the original source we cite. Pick the text that answers your most pressing question and move on from there to the next one.