Region

North China

Sleep in Beijing; do the Great Wall as one day, Tianjin only if you have a free half-day, and keep everything inside the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area if you use the transit exemption.

Open Beijing Plan a trip

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Key facts · China

Best months: Apr–May, Sep, Nov
Visa: Depends on your passport
Currency: Chinese yuan (CNY / RMB, ¥)
Language: Mandarin in Simplified characters
Plugs: A · C · I · 220 V
Time zone: UTC+8 nationwide

Month by month here

Rules in force · 7

East Asia ↗Every border in East Asia is a full international border, Hong Kong and Macau included: an entry permission for one never covers the next.
East Asia ↗Ferries between Korea, Japan and China cancel in rough seas and typhoons; keep a flight or a spare day behind every sea leg.
China ↗Most nationalities need a visa, a unilateral visa-free entry (the list and end dates change) or the transit exemption below. Confirm your route on the official sites before you buy a ticket.
China ↗Transit stay without a visa: up to 240 hours (10 days) for citizens of about 55 listed countries who pass through China to a third country or region, with a confirmed onward ticket and a stay inside the permitted area (Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei count as one area). It replaced the 144-hour rule in December 2024, which some older pages still quote. Use the transit lane at immigration, show the onward ticket, and check the current nationality list. Hong Kong and Macau count as separate regions; check whether your ticket qualifies.
China ↗Foreign visitors must register their address with the police within 24 hours; hotels do it at check-in with your passport. Carry the original passport at all times: hotels, trains, museums, Tiananmen Square and police checks ask for it.
China ↗Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay with a foreign card before you fly. QR payment is the default in shops, taxis and many stalls, and some places refuse cash or a foreign card. Carry cash as a backup.
China ↗Google, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and many news sites are blocked. Use an eSIM with roaming (it routes through your home network) or install and test a VPN before you fly; VPN sites and app stores are hard to reach inside China, and only government-approved VPNs are officially permitted.

The north is one base and a few trips out. The Great Wall sections, Tianjin and Chengde are all reachable in a day from Beijing, so keep the bed and go with a day pack. Winter is dry and cold, and spring can bring dust: check air quality and the forecast before you commit to a wall day.

Where to sleep

4 places in this region

Sleep base

BeijingTrip line
Wangfujing for first-timers; the Gulou hutongs for a slower base.
Best Apr–May, Sep, Nov
JFMAMJJASOND
Open Beijing →

One or two nights

ChengdeCity guide
Summer palace complex; 2–3 h by train or car.
Best Apr–May, Sep–Oct
JFMAMJJASOND
Open Chengde →

Day trip

Great Wall (Mutianyu, Badaling, Jinshanling)Guide: planned
1.5–3 h each way by tour car, bus or train; sections differ a lot in crowds and climbs.
Page planned: listed so the region plan is complete.
TianjinCity guide
High-speed train, about 30 min each way.
Best Apr–May, Sep–Oct
JFMAMJJASOND
Open Tianjin →

Plan the nights

How to split the nights, day-trips and what to do with your bags

Open Plan the nightsClose Plan the nights3 partsNights · Day-trips · Bags

Night sequences

4 nights: Beijing 4, Great Wall day
6 nights: Beijing 5 + Chengde 1 night, or Tianjin half-day

Beijing + Great Wall + Shanghai + Xi'an in 5 days is mostly airports and stations.

Day-trips door to door

To	From	Door-to-door p50	Last return	Note
Great Wall (Mutianyu)	Beijing	120 min	unknown	Tour cars and buses leave early; return times are set by the operator.
Tianjin	Beijing	90 min	unknown	Trains run late; book with your passport on the official app or Trip.com.

Bags between cities

Hotels store bags; some run luggage delivery to the airport. Keep the big bag in Beijing and take a day pack.

When to go

Months and weather

Open When to goClose When to go1 partSeasons

Seasons at a glance

From each city's month table

Pick a month to see where to go.

Only good-now countries

Show all 12 months, country by countryHide the 12-month table

Country	JJan	FFeb	MMar	AApr	MMay	JJun	JJul	AAug	SSep	OOct	NNov	DDec
Beijing	ok	ok	ok	go	go	ok	×	×	go	ok	go	ok
Chengde	ok	ok	ok	go	go	ok	×	×	go	go	ok	ok
Tianjin	×	×	ok	go	go	ok	×	×	go	go	ok	×
China (country-wide)	ok	×	ok	go	ok	ok	ok	ok	go	go	go	go

Go: the good monthsFair: workable, mixedPoor: heat, rain or hazeAvoid: storms, floods, closuresno data yet

Computed from each country’s own data; hover a country name for the source. Advisory countries are left out.

Eat and move on

Regional food and where to go next

Open Eat and move onClose Eat and move on1 partGo next

Go next

Other regions of the country

East China

planned

3–5 nights

Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou by high-speed rail

Southwest China

planned

3–4 nights

Chengdu and the Sichuan basin

North China: what we know, and what is coming

3 of 4 places open

On this page

4 places with their role: where to sleep, what to do as a day trip
How to split 4 or 6 nights
2 day trips with door-to-door time
Seasons month by month, from the cities’ own tables
What to do with the big bag between beds

Coming as the guide grows

Climate strip by zone, with the storm and haze months
Get in: airports and stations with door-to-door times
Regional passes and cards, with a buy / skip verdict
Regional food: what, where and when it works
A page for Great Wall (Mutianyu, Badaling, Jinshanling) — 1.5–3 h each way by tour car, bus or train; sections differ a lot in crowds and climbs.

Meanwhile

Planning aids

Built from this guide's own data

Open Planning aidsClose Planning aids3 partsIn numbers · Trips here · Local time

Region in numbers

Where to sleep: 1 base
Day trips: 2, 1 h 30 to 2 h
Nights suggested: 4–6 nights

Trips that stop here

From the China guide

Beijing only, 5 nights
5 nights here
beijing
Beijing + Shanghai, 8 nights
5 nights here
beijing → shanghai
Beijing and Shanghai
7 days · 4 nights here
Beijing → Shanghai
The classic triangle
10 days · 4 nights here
Beijing → Xi'an → Shanghai
Capitals, pandas and karst
14 days · 4 nights here
Beijing → Xi'an → Chengdu → Yangshuo → Shanghai

All China trips →

Local time

What time it is there now, compared with the clock on your device.

Beijing
…
Checking your clock…Asia/Shanghai

Open Beijing Up to China

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