Articles · 3 articles
Planning your route
How to plan your first trip and when is the best time to visit China.
- 3.1
First time in China: which route should you choose?
First trip to China on your own? We compare 6 regions and 11 routes for 4–14 days: Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai, Sichuan's pandas, Yunnan, the Avatar mountains and Hong Kong.
14 min read - 3.2
When is the best time to visit China? Weather and holidays
When to visit China: the best months for Beijing, Shanghai, Sichuan, Yunnan and the south, temperatures in 13 cities, rainy and typhoon seasons, and Chinese holidays in 2027.
11 min read - 3.3
How much does a trip to China cost? Budget and tour comparison
How much a trip to China costs when you travel independently: flights, hotels, trains, food and tickets, real budgets for 11 routes and a comparison with organised tours.
13 min read
Prefer a ready-made route?
Our travel plans put everything in one PDF: a day-by-day route, transport, addresses in Chinese and tried-and-tested places to eat. See our China travel plans.