China Travel Guide

China runs on scale and detail. Trains that leave on the minute, cities that rebuild themselves within a decade, and a food culture in which every province has its own answer. That same care shows up in a palace courtyard as much as in a back-street teahouse. You don't plan for these moments, they just happen, and they're usually what people remember most.

It's also a country that punishes over-ambition. China is vast, and the distances are real, and that's the trap: travellers try to stitch together six cities in ten days and spend the trip in stations and airports. A good trip and a great one rarely differ by how many cities were on the list. They differ by how much time you actually had in each one.

We've been designing holidays since 2013. Not templates, routes built around how you like to travel. We pick the city order before the hotel, the pace before the itinerary, and we'll tell you when something isn't worth your time. This is our travel guide to China. You can find our opinions on what places to include, what time to visit, how long your visit should be and more.

Food is usually what people talk about most when they get back. There is no single Chinese cuisine. Beijing is known for roast duck, Xi'an for hand-pulled noodles and lamb, Shanghai for soup dumplings, Sichuan for chilli and the tingling heat of Sichuan pepper, and Guangdong for dim sum. The best meals are often in busy, unfussy places with a queue of locals.

One thing worth being honest about, China is harder for vegetarians than most of Asia. Broths and cooking oils often contain meat, and vegetable dishes may be cooked with pork or shrimp paste. Buddhist vegetarian restaurants are the best option, and Indian restaurants can be found in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other larger cities. We brief restaurants and guides in advance and plan your meals with care. We don't pick restaurants by reputation, we pick them based on what you actually want, whether that's a tasting menu, a noodle counter, or a food walk.

Quick tip: Tap water is not drunk in China, and hot water is the default. Carry bottled water, and take a small stock of snacks for long train days.

Shopping here is best done with a plan. Silk in Suzhou and Hangzhou, tea in Hangzhou and Chengdu, jade and pearls in Shanghai and Beijing, and calligraphy, porcelain and paper-cut crafts across the country. Beijing's Panjiayuan Market is a large antiques and crafts market, and the Silk Market is known for clothing and bargaining. Shanghai's Nanjing Road and the French Concession suit brands and boutiques.

Bargaining is expected in markets, and you should be sceptical of very low prices for silk, jade and antiques, which may be imitations. Export of genuine antiques is restricted.

Travenza tip: For tea, silk and jade, buy from established shops or from a place your guide has a long relationship with, and keep the receipts.