China's Best Attractions
The essentials: the Great Wall at Mutianyu (roughly $8–9, about 1.5 hours from Beijing), the Forbidden City in Beijing ($6–8, book online in advance), the Terracotta Army in Xi'an ($17–21), and — a genuinely separate region worth its own days — a Li River cruise or bamboo raft through Guilin's karst limestone peaks in southern China. Arrive at opening time everywhere; Chinese domestic tourism runs at a scale that surprises most first-time Western visitors.
China's headline attractions are famous for a reason, but the honest version of this list also includes the one most Western itineraries skip entirely: the Li River, a completely different landscape and region from Beijing/Xi'an/Shanghai's history-and-skyline circuit, and worth treating as its own leg of the trip rather than an afterthought.
The Great Wall of China
Multiple restored sections are reachable from Beijing as a day trip. Mutianyu is the best all-around choice for first-timers (restored, scenic, a cable car up and a toboggan ride down); Jinshanling is wilder and less crowded but requires more driving. Entry runs roughly $8–9; add transport (private car, small-group tour, or public bus) on top.
The Forbidden City, Beijing
The imperial palace at the heart of Beijing — nearly 1,000 buildings across 180 acres, the residence of Chinese emperors for close to 500 years. Genuinely vast; budget 3–4 hours. Entry runs $6 (low season, Nov–Mar) to $8 (high season, Apr–Oct). Tickets are timed-entry and released online a few days ahead — book as soon as your dates are set, not the morning of.
The Terracotta Army, Xi'an
Thousands of individually sculpted life-size clay soldiers, buried in battle formation with China's first emperor over 2,000 years ago and discovered by accident in 1974. Entry runs $17 (low season) to $21 (peak season, Apr–Oct). Go early or late in the day — the site draws enormous domestic tour groups by mid-morning.
The Li River and Guilin's karst peaks
A completely different part of the country — dramatic, mist-wrapped limestone karst mountains rising out of a slow, green river in Guangxi province, in China's south. Take a half-day or full-day cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo, or a quieter bamboo raft trip for a slower, more intimate version of the same scenery. Best visited April–May or September–October, when the river runs clearer and the peaks aren't shrouded in summer haze.
If you only build one "extra" region into a first China trip beyond the Beijing–Xi'an–Shanghai line, make it Guilin/Yangshuo — it looks like nowhere else in the country, and most first-timers only discover it existed after they've already booked flights home.
What to skip or approach carefully
- Badaling's Great Wall section on weekends or Chinese holidays — it's the most famous but also by far the most crowded, sometimes to the point of shuffling single-file.
- 'Free' tea ceremony or art exhibition invitations from friendly strangers near major sights — a well-documented scam that ends in a large, non-negotiable bill.
- Same-day walk-up tickets for the Forbidden City or Terracotta Army in peak season — both frequently sell out; book online a few days ahead.