China at a glance:

For a US tourist, not the easiest place to visit, but one that is sure worth the effort- China packs so much punch for bucket list items I’ve had to plan several future trips to make up for my grossly underestimating the time needed for our first trip. With 225 National parks (compared to only 62 in the US) and over 50 UNESCO world heritage sites, there is more to see in this country than you or I could imagine. That being said, it’s also a massive country. When planning your vacation to China, take into account how far away things are to better organize your trip by maximizing what you can see in each area. 

Is it safe?

Yes! That doesn’t mean it is easy to get around and like always, prudence with valuables against petty crime is still a must, but visiting the big cities, historic sites, and national parks are considered safe. 

Best time to visit:

Spring and Fall are the best times- especially if you want to see some of China’s incredible national parks. We visited in September and had near perfect weather (including visibility in Beijing).

*Avoid China’s national holidays particularly Labour Day (May1-5), National Day of the People’s Republic (~Oct 1-3), and Golden Week (Oct 1-7) as the popular sites will be VERY busy.

Currency: Chinese Yuan

Language:

  • Most of China- Mandarin
  • Hong Kong- Cantonese 

*China has thus far been the most difficult country in terms of getting around with just English. Highly recommend downloading the offline version of Google Translate. 

What to pack? 

This will depend upon the season and region which is comparable to the US. If you’re visiting Beijing, compare it to how you’d pack temperature wise for the same time of year in New York or Paris. If you’re visiting Hong Kong, compare it to Florida. 

Articles to help you plan your trip to China

How to prearrange train travel. 

How to apply for the China visa

General trips for getting around

Top things to see:

The Great Wall of China 

The Forbidden City  

The Summer Palace

Shanghai Disneyland

Huangshan Mountain 

The Bund in Shanghai 

1 day guide to Shanghai

1 day guide to Shanghai

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Day 6- Exploring Shanghair from ancient water towns to modern skyscrapers: We wanted to see all we could in a day of what the Shanghai area had to offer.  The train from Huangshan dropped us off just short of 8AM at the Shanghai station. *Note there are a few “shanghai” stations as well as airports…...
Guide to Shanghai Disneyland

Guide to Shanghai Disneyland

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Bring it on Disney! This was our 4th Disney Park together (having already visited Disneyland Anaheim, Disneyland Paris, and Disneyworld in Orlando) and we were ready to see what the latest Disney park had to offer.   Disney spirit at the metro stop   TIPS FOR VISITING SHANGHAI DISNEY Download the Shanghai Disney app before…...
The Summer Palace/ Forbidden City Tour

The Summer Palace/ Forbidden City Tour

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  Our day started on a train and similar to our last sleeper train experience, I was up at the crack of dawn unable to fall back asleep starting what would be a fairly long day. Luckily we didn’t have to worry too much about organizing our trip as this day was our 2nd tour…...
A Sunday morning in Jingshan Park

A Sunday morning in Jingshan Park

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A must do for any Beijing visitor dying to get an amazing view of the Forbidden City- Check out Jingshan Park!...