30 Historical Landmarks You Must See In China : Ultimate Bucket List (2025)
Introduction
Many people come to China for its rich historical attractions. China is one of the world’s oldest civilisations, with a history of 5,000 years.
You may have only heard of the obvious ones. China has a lot of historical landmarks! For that reason, I have picked 30 of the most historical landmarks in China that are worth your visit.
I recommend choosing a mixture of different landmarks. For example, don’t just pick temples because they may start to look quite similar if done one after the other.
Many of these destinations are in North, Central, and West China - the main cores of ancient Chinese civilisation.
I aim to give you a balanced picture of China’s diverse history and cultural heritage. China probably has hundreds of historical landmarks. It would take anyone a lifetime to visit them all.
Wishing you an amazing trip throughout China! Do your best to “collect” as many landmarks as you can during your trip!
North China
1. Great Wall | 长城 | one of the wonders of the world
2. Forbidden City, Beijing | 故宫 | imperial palace for nearly 500 years during the Ming and Qing dynasties
3. Summer Palace, Beijing | 颐和园 | imperial garden with over 3,000 ancient buildings, pavilions, temples, and lakes
4. Temple of Heaven, Beijing | 天坛 | religious temple with an iconic circular three-tiered roof
5. Bell and Drum Towers of Beijing | 钟楼 + 鼓楼 | stone tower with a huge bronze bell + wooden tower with main drum and 24 small drums, serving as timekeeping during past dynasties
6. Yungang Grottoes, Datong | 云冈石窟 | ancient Buddhist caves carved into the mountainside, with over 51,000 statues from the 5th and 6th centuries
7. Hengshan Hanging Temple, Datong | 悬空寺 | a temple built into the cliff face of Hengshan in 491 AD and located 75m above ground
8. Pingyao Ancient City, Shanxi | 平遥古城 | ancient walled city with well-preserved streets, buildings from the Ming and Qing dynasties, 2,000 year old temple, and 72 watchtowers
9. Shenyang Imperial Palace | 沈阳故宫 | imperial palace built in 1625 during the reign of the first three Qing emperors with Manchu, Han, and Mongolian architecture
10. Chengde Mountain Resort | 承德避暑山庄 | a summer retreat built for the Qing emperors, with stunning palaces, landscape gardens, lakes, pavilions, and courtyards
11. Xixia Tombs, Yinchuan | 西夏王陵 | imperial pyramid mounds, housing the emperors of the Western Xia Dynasty
Central China
12. Terracotta Army + Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, Xi’an | 兵马俑 + 秦始皇陵 | collection of 8,000+ life-size terracotta sculptures that were buried with China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, over 2,200 years ago
13. Xi’an City Wall | 西安城墙 | 14km long ancient fortification completed in 1378 during the Ming dynasty to protect the capital of Chang’an
14. Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi’an | 大雁塔 | seven-storey Buddhist pagoda, first built in 652 AD to house Buddhist scriptures and relics brought by the monk Xuanzang
15. Drum Tower of Xi’an | 西安鼓楼 | wooden tower built in 1380 that houses large ancient drums for timekeeping
16. Daming Palace, Xi’an | 大明宫 | ruins of the imperial palace during the Tang dynasty for over 200 years
17. Longmen Grottoes, Luoyang | 龙门石窟 | collection of over 100,000 Buddhist statues from the 5th to 8th centuries inside 2,300 caves
18. Shaolin Temple, Zhengzhou | 少林寺 | Buddhist monastery - the birthplace of Chan Buddhism and cradle of Shaolin kung fu
West China
19. Leshan Giant Buddha + Emeishan | 乐山大佛 + 峨眉山 | 71m tall stone Buddha statue carved into a cliff face, completed in 803 AD during the Tang Dynasty + one of the four sacred Buddhist mountains rising to 3,099m, home to over 30 temples and the 48m tall golden statue of Samantabhadra
20. Sanxingdui, Sichuan | 三星堆 | a museum displaying ancient artifacts from the Bronze Age, around 12th-11th centuries BC
21. Wuhou Temple, Chengdu | 武侯祠 | a memorial shrine honoring the Three Kingdoms legends - Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei. Chengdu was the capital of Shu Han kingdom from 221 to 263 AD
22. Dujiangyan Irrigation System | 都江堰水利工程 | ancient water management system with a levee, floodgate, and diversion channel built around 256 BC
23. Dazu Rock Carvings, Chongqing | 大足石刻 | over 50k ancient sculptures carved into cliffsides between the 9th and 13th centuries, with Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism elements
24. Mogao Caves, Dunhuang | 莫高窟 | 500 Buddhist temples containing murals and 2,400 sculptures from the 4th to 14th century
25. Ancient Ruins of Jiaohe and Gaochang, Turpan | 交河古城 + 高昌故城 | ancient desert cities along the Silk Road, one carved down into the loess plateau and the other made from rammed earth, both built over 2,000 years ago.
26. Potala Palace, Lhasa | 布达拉宫 | a grand Tibetan palace completed in 1649, containing over 1,000 rooms, 10k shrines, and 200k statues
27. Kashgar Old City, Xinjiang | 喀什古城 | 2,000 year old ancient city that was a major Silk Road hub, standing out for its traditional Uyghur mud-brick architecture, thousands of narrow alleys, and bustling bazaars
East China
28. Nanjing City Wall | 南京城墙 | ancient fortification completed in 1386 during the Ming dynasty when Nanjing was the capital
29. Temple of Confucius, Qufu | 曲阜孔庙 | the largest Confucius temple with over 100 buildings and 2,100 stone tablets
30. Liangzhu Ancient Ruins, Hangzhou | 良渚古城遗址 | ruins of a prehistoric city from the Neolithic period from 3300 to 2300 BC.
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