First Time In China? A Beginner’s Bucket List For Tourists (2026)

Bucket List
Written By YenKid

Introduction

  • This list is aimed at tourists who are visiting China for the first time.

  • Depends on how much time you have. I recommend you select a variety of places.

    See this article to help you decide your itinerary.

  • Click on underlined text for detailed articles.

Historic

Futuristic

For more info about skylines, see this article

Ancient Landmarks

  • Great Wall

  • Forbidden City

  • Temple of Heaven

  • Summer Palace

  • Terracotta Army

  • Xi’an City Wall

  • Classical Gardens of Suzhou

For more ancient landmarks, see this article

Futuristic Landmarks

  • Pudong quadruplet

  • Hongyadong

  • Canton Tower

  • Shenzhen skyline

  • Victoria Harbour

For more futuristic landmarks, see this article

Ancient Towns and Villages

  • Pingyao

  • Fenghuang

  • Wuzhen

  • Zhouzhuang

For more towns and villages, see this article

National Parks and Scenery

  • Guilin and Yangshuo

  • Zhangjiajie

  • Huangshan

  • Wangxiangu

  • Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong

For more scenic places, see this article

Food

Dishes

  • Peking duck

  • Hotpot

  • Xiaolongbao

  • Jianbing

  • Dim sum

  • Char siu

  • Roujiamo

  • Lanzhou beef noodles

For more dishes, see this article

Experiences

  • Acrobatics show

  • Martial arts show

  • Peking opera

  • Tea tasting

  • Calligraphy class

For more experiences, see this article

You could save money by:

👉 Comparing flight prices to China HERE

👉 Comparing hotel rates in China HERE

YenKid
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