China: Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an, Guilin, best time to travel, high-speed trains and costs in 2026

China suits you if you want to see imperial palaces, the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army and want to travel long distances by high-speed train. UNESCO counts 61 World Heritage Sites in the country (as of September 2026).

Newly on the list since 2026 is Jingdezhen with the sites of its artisanal porcelain production. Since 20 July 2026 the rail app 12306 has been accepting pre-bookings up to 60 days ahead on a trial basis for over 200 trains between Beijing and Shanghai. And for purchases under 10,000 yuan, customs has checked the goods for the tax refund only by spot checks since 1 July 2026.

China suits you less if you do not cope well with wet and cold. In Beijing a mean of 159.6 mm of rain falls in July, in Guangzhou 315.0 mm in June. Beijing's January nights average −7.3 °C (CMA, 1981–2010).

Getting there from Germany

In 2025, 1,022,023 passengers boarded at the 22 main German airports with a last known destination in China, ranking 23rd among 211 foreign destination countries. Passengers changing planes abroad are not included, and the statistics count Hong Kong and Macao separately. Together, 72.0 per cent landed in Shanghai-Pudong (432,593) or Beijing Capital (303,332). They departed mainly from Frankfurt (532,356) and Munich (274,837), and the busiest month was October (Federal Statistical Office, year 2025; totals, ranking and shares: own analysis).

Nonstop flights between Germany and China are operated by, among others, Air China, China Eastern, Hainan Airlines and Lufthansa, according to the tourist office of the PRC (page as of 2025).

Shanghai-Pudong (PVG)

It is around 30 km to the centre, according to the city government. A taxi takes you to People's Square in about 50 minutes for around 180 yuan (as of June 2026). Between 23:00 and 5:00 a surcharge of 30 per cent applies to the base fare and the per-kilometre fare (tariff since 15 January 2022). The maglev runs from the airport from 7:02 to 21:42 at up to 300 km/h (as of March 2025). None of the official sources reviewed gives a journey time.

Beijing Capital (PEK) and Daxing (PKX)

From Capital Airport the Airport Express runs from Terminal 3 and Terminal 2 via Sanyuanqiao to Dongzhimen, for a flat 25 yuan. To Daxing Airport, in operation since 2019, the Daxing Airport line takes 19 minutes from Caoqiao (both according to the Beijing city page, as of May 2020). This page does not give the journey time or frequency of the Capital line.

Regions and destinations at a glance

Train times according to 12306 for Thursday, 8 October 2026; climate: CMA, 1981 to 2010; World Heritage years: UNESCO (as of September 2026). Where “—” appears, the sources reviewed give no drawback.

Beijing: Palace Museum and Great Wall

World Heritage in Beijing includes the Imperial Palace and the Great Wall (both 1987), the Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven (both 1998) and the Central Axis (2024). If you want to visit the Palace Museum, book no later than the day before, on the museum website or via the WeChat mini programme. Admission costs 60 yuan from 1 April to 31 October, otherwise 40 yuan (as of March 2026). The closing day is Monday, unless it is a public holiday. You enter only through the Meridian Gate in the south (as of September 2026).

At the Badaling section of the wall, 60 km north-west of Beijing, you buy the ticket without a reservation at the ticket office: 40 yuan from April to October, otherwise 35 yuan (as of March 2026). Tiananmen Square, by contrast, you reserve in advance, for example via the WeChat mini programme; admission is free. The Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace sell tickets at the ticket office and 1 to 7 days beforehand via their WeChat accounts (as of March 2026).

Xi'an: Terracotta Army

According to its own figures, the museum at the mausoleum of the first Qin emperor receives around 10 million visitors a year. Admission costs 120 yuan all year round; you book in advance with your name via the website or WeChat, and this also applies to foreign guests. At the entrance you show your original passport, and sales end at 65,000 visitors a day (as of September 2026). For the museum and the tomb complex the museum reckons with around an hour and a half each.

Guilin and Yunnan

The karst landscape around Guilin was added in 2014 to the South China Karst World Heritage Site, which UNESCO had inscribed in 2007. From Guangzhou South you are in Guilin North in 2:21 hours on the G2950, for 189 yuan in 2nd class (according to 12306 for 8 October 2026). At the Lijiang weather station (2,382 m), 165 to 242 mm of rain falls per month from June to September, and only 3 to 13 mm from November to February (CMA, 1981–2010).

Best time to travel

The values are normals for 1981–2010 from the weather authority CMA for Beijing (station 54511, 32.5 m) in the north and Guangzhou (59287, 71.5 m) in the south. For each month the table gives the mean high and mean low in °C and the precipitation in mm.

In Beijing around 56 per cent of the annual precipitation falls in July and August, and from December to February together only 9.2 mm (own calculation). In Guangzhou it rains more than 180 mm every month from April to September. For most of the country the tourist office of the PRC advises two windows: April to mid-June and September to mid-November.

According to China's report to the Typhoon Committee of ESCAP and WMO, ten tropical cyclones made landfall on Chinese territory in 2025, counting Taiwan; the mean is 7.1. On the mainland, landfalls were between mid-June and early October.

Getting around the country

Train

China Railway officially sells tickets on 12306.cn and in the app “Railway 12306”, which can be switched to English, and also at counters and machines (as of June 2026). At the counter you buy with your passport, and you scan the same passport at the barrier; the ticket is electronic. Two tickets for the same train on the same day on one passport are not possible. Rebooking is allowed; more than 48 hours before departure it costs nothing.

Domestic flights

From Beijing and Shanghai there are connecting flights to more than 100 Chinese cities, according to the tourist office. The flight from Shanghai to Beijing takes under two hours (page as of 2025).

Car and roads

China drives on the right, and the maximum on expressways is 120 km/h (Road Traffic Safety Law, articles 35 and 67). As a short-term visitor you need a temporary driving permit from the traffic police, valid for three months and only with a driving licence translated into Chinese (as of January 2026). In Beijing it costs 10 yuan (page as of December 2020); in Shanghai a training on the traffic rules is part of it.

Money and costs

Payment is in renminbi yuan (CNY), often written RMB; Hong Kong and Macao have their own currencies (as of September 2026). Foreign credit cards such as Visa or Mastercard can be linked in Alipay and WeChat Pay. According to the government portal, up to 5,000 US dollars per payment and 50,000 US dollars a year are possible with them (as of April 2024). In Beijing and Shanghai credit cards are no problem according to ADAC, but with a Maestro card you cannot get cash at every machine (as of September 2026). According to the tourist office, tipping is not part of Chinese custom, although in some places it is now expected.

The table gives only prices from operators and authorities, no flight and hotel prices and no exchange rates.

Practical information

In the German winter the clock in China is 7 hours ahead, during German summer time 6 hours. The emergency numbers 110 (police), 119 (fire brigade), 120 (ambulance) and 122 for traffic accidents are free of charge nationwide (as of April 2023). According to IEC, plug types A and I are common, at 220 V and 50 Hz (as of December 2024); ADAC advises a travel adapter. The EU rule “Roam like at home” does not apply in China (as of September 2026).

According to the State Council, the longest holidays in 2026 are for the Spring Festival from 15 to 23 February and for National Day from 1 to 7 October. In Shanghai every taxi ride then costs 10 and 5 yuan more respectively (as of September 2026).

What applies to entry, safety and health is set out by the German Foreign Office.

Who China is not for

• Anyone who wants to sightsee spontaneously: you get into the Palace Museum only with a ticket booked in advance, and to the Terracotta Army only with an online booking in your name. Tiananmen Square also has to be reserved in advance, for example via the WeChat mini programme.
• Anyone who avoids cold or a lot of rain: Beijing's January nights average −7.3 °C, and in Guilin 395.2 mm of rain falls in June (CMA, 1981–2010).
• Anyone sensitive to air pollution: for 2025 Beijing reports its best fine-particle level since measurements began (27 µg/m³ PM2.5), but only 311 days with good or excellent air. On 54 days it was worse (own calculation).
• Anyone who wants to drive themselves: a temporary driving permit from the traffic police and a translated driving licence are required.
• Anyone with little time for long distances: even by high-speed train, Beijing–Kunming takes 10:49 hours (according to 12306 for 8 October 2026).