Hong Kong
+62%€97median tour
€51middle half of tours€175
- 25% under €50
- #47 cheapest of 50
Asia · 19 cities
Things to Do in China
Nineteen Chinese destinations in one place: which stretch of the Great Wall a tour actually goes to, what the big sites require before they let you in, and what a day out costs city by city.
13,428 tours listed by Viator 19 cities we cover Median tour €97–€97 Free cancellation
Where to go
Cities of China
In the order Viator’s own catalogue puts them — most-booked first, not alphabetical.
Full list
All cities, by region
Grouped by region using Viator’s own map of the country. The first block is the places it files directly under China.
What it costs
What tours cost in China
From our own price index — 2,400 tours across 50 cities, collected August 2026. Medians, not averages: a couple of multi-day packages drag an average into fiction.
Vertical line is the global median, €60. Full table for all 50 cities in the Tour Price Index.
Practical info
Know before you book
The things that change a decision — not a retelling of the guidebook.
The Great Wall is not one place
Badaling is the closest to Beijing and the most crowded. Mutianyu is restored, has a cable car and is what most tours mean. Jinshanling and Simatai are further out, wilder and a longer day. Which section a tour goes to changes the day far more than the price does, and the listing does not always say it loudly.
The big sites want your passport, days ahead
The Forbidden City, the Terracotta Army and many museums sell timed tickets against a passport number, released a set number of days in advance and frequently gone the same morning. This is the single commonest way an independent visitor loses a day here, and the main reason a guided ticket is worth its margin.
The country pays by app
Alipay and WeChat Pay are how everything is paid for, and both now take foreign cards inside the app. Set that up before you fly. Cash is still legal and increasingly awkward — some counters no longer keep change, and taxis prefer the code.
Services you rely on will not load
Google, WhatsApp and Instagram are not reachable on ordinary Chinese networks. Download maps, translation and your tickets before you arrive, and keep booking confirmations as files rather than links you will need to open later.
Hong Kong is a separate entry
Its own immigration, its own currency, its own entry rules — crossing between Hong Kong and the mainland is an international border in both directions. Plan them as two trips that happen to be adjacent, not as one country.
Two weeks a year the whole country travels
Chinese New Year, whose dates move between late January and February, and the first week of October. Sites stay open and are extraordinarily full, and trains and flights sell out nationwide. Good weeks to be somewhere else.
When to visit
China through the seasons
What is open, how busy it gets, and when to book ahead.
Spring
Apr–May
- Best for
- Beijing and Xi’an at their most comfortable; blossom in the south.
- Crowds
- Booking tip
- The May holiday at the start of the month is a domestic peak — check the dates before booking.
Summer
Jun–Aug
- Best for
- The far west and the mountains; everything else is hot and humid.
- Crowds
- Booking tip
- School holidays fill the headline sites; go at opening or take an evening slot.
Autumn
Sep–Oct
- Best for
- The best month of the year in Beijing: clear, dry and warm.
- Crowds
- Booking tip
- Avoid the first week of October entirely — it is a national holiday and everywhere is full.
Winter
Nov–Mar
- Best for
- The Wall without crowds, ice festivals in the north, low prices everywhere.
- Crowds
- Booking tip
- Northern China is properly cold and some wilder Wall sections close after snow.
Frequently asked
China: common questions
How many days do you need in China?
Ten days is the usual first trip: Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai, connected by high-speed rail rather than flights. Add three days if Guilin or Chengdu matter to you. Less than a week and you are choosing one city, which is a perfectly good trip — Beijing alone has four days in it.
Do I need a visa for China?
It depends on your nationality and on the year. China has widened visa-free entry for a number of countries and extended its visa-free transit windows considerably in recent years, and the list keeps changing. Check the current rule for your own passport on an official source before you book flights — this is not a question to answer from memory or from an old forum post.
What does a tour in China cost?
Our price index covers Hong Kong, where the median tour is €97 — the highest figure we recorded anywhere in East Asia, against a global median of €60. Mainland cities are markedly cheaper, and the gap is one of the sharper price borders in the catalogue.
Which part of the Great Wall should I visit?
Mutianyu for a first visit: restored, dramatic, a cable car up and a toboggan down, and about ninety minutes from central Beijing. Badaling only if time is very short — it is closer and much busier. Jinshanling if you want to walk for hours on unrestored wall and can give the day to it.
Are tours run in English?
In Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an and Hong Kong, routinely. Elsewhere the English-language departure is the thing to confirm rather than assume — a private guide is often not much more than a group tour once there are two of you, and it removes the risk entirely.
When is the best time to visit?
September and October, then April and May. Avoid the two national holiday weeks — Chinese New Year and the first week of October — when domestic travel makes everything both full and expensive. Winter is cold in the north but the sites are empty and the prices are the lowest of the year.