I Visited China in 2025. Here's What Surprised Me

What cities in China should I visit on my next trip there?

我在2025年访问了中国，以下是令我感到惊讶的事

下次去中国旅行时，我应该访问哪些城市呢？

I just got back from my first ever trip to China. I was there for 10 days, and this is going to be me sharing my honest thoughts about the trip. Honestly, I've always been curious about China. I've always wanted to visit, but the timing didn't work until this year for me to finally make that trip happen.

Part of the reason for that is their new transit without visa program. I think that's been a couple of years old now. It started off, I think, maybe in 2023 or 2024, where you could get a transit without visa for 24 hours at first, and then they extended it to 3 days like 72 hours. It still kind of wasn't on my radar, but then in December 2024, they updated that to where it was 240 hours. So that means 10 days that you can travel to China without having to apply for a visa.

And so I was already going to be over in kind of East Asia, Southeast Asia, and I decided, okay, this is going to be my time to do it with the transit without visa program. That just means you can go into China and then transit to another country or region. So that doesn't mean that I can travel from the United States, where I'm from, to China and then back to the United States. So that means again, I have to travel from one country or region to China and then ext to a third. Layovers do not count. So, you do have to actually go through customs and immigration. You can't go from the United States with a layover in Japan and then onto China. You do have to, if you did that, you would definitely have to like land in Japan, immigrate there, go through customs, and then go on to China.

I actually started from Hong Kong. So, even though it's that special administrative region of China, it counts as kind of like a separate region. So I entered from flying from Hong Kong to Beiing and then actually exted to Seoul in South Korea.

我刚刚结束了人生中第一次中国之旅。我在那里待了10天，我对这次旅行的真实想法。说实话，我一直对中国充满好奇，也一直想去看看，但直到今年才终于成行。

部分原因在于中国新推出的过境免签政策，这个政策已经实施了几年。我记得大概是2023或2024年开始的，最初是24小时过境免签，后来延长到3天（72小时）。但我之前一直没太关注，直到2024年12月，政策更新为240小时免签——也就是10天，不用申请签证就能在中国旅行。

当时我本来就计划去东亚和东南亚，于是决定利用过境免签政策完成这次旅行。需要注意的是，过境免签意味着你进入中国后必须转乘至另一个国家或地区，不能从出发国（比如我来自美国）直飞中国再返回。也就是说，必须从一个国家或地区入境中国，再出境到第三个国家或地区，且停留不算是过境。你必须实际办理海关和入境手续，不能从美国经日本转机到中国——如果这样做，就必须先在日本入境、过海关，再前往中国。

我的行程从香港开始。虽然香港是中国的特别行政区，但在这里算特区。我从香港飞往北京，最后出境到韩国首尔。

And my first impressions of China so after landing was definitely the infrastructure. We hear about it, see it on social media all the time, but I cannot deny China is killing it with the infrastructure, the subways, their airports, train stations, everything is really nice, new. It's easy to get around. I will say maybe taking a tax was not the best experience for me. That's the only thing I would say just stick to taking the subway, taking the bus because I often found myself taking a tax because it seemed like it was a cheap comfortable option. But I just ended up sitting in traffic for so long when it would have been just much quicker to take the subway or even ride a bike.

落地后我对中国的第一印象无疑是基础设施。我们一直从社交媒体上听闻或看到相关内容，但我不得不承认，中国的基础设施实在太出色了——地铁、机场、火车站，一切都崭新且美观，出行也很方便。不过我得说，打车对我来说体验不算好。这是我唯一想提醒的：尽量选择地铁或公交出行。我之前常因为觉得打车便宜舒适而选择打车，但最后总是堵在路上很久，其实坐地铁甚至骑自行车都快得多。

以下是各国网友的评论：

Mel_Gerrard
China is the best country in Asia

中国是亚洲最好的国家。

SuperRienzi
why just in Asia?

为什么说只是亚洲最好的国家呢？

DK-gj5sp
China is best country in the world!!!

好吧，中国是世界上最好的国家！

maxchen9185
No. Its obviously India. Every Chinese knows this

不，显然印度才是世界上最好的国家。每个中国人都知道。

rcbrascan
I have travelled throughout Asia and only China is considered "fantastic". Other developed countries like Japan and South Korea are expensive and don't give you an amazing experience. The underdeveloped ones like Vietnam and Philippines are cheaper but are not "must-go" travel destinations.

我游遍了亚洲，只有中国称得上“出色”。其他发达国家，比如日本和韩国，物价高，而且体验也不惊艳。越南和菲律宾这样的发展中国家更便宜，但不是“必去”的旅游目的地。

sutediheriyonoBaladMaUng
Never come to INDONESIA??
It's a difference scene than other ASIA country.

永远别来印度尼西亚？？它和其他亚洲国家的风光不同。

InnocentObserver-21c
I also travelled to China in April this year. My previous visit was over 30 years ago. The transformation is incredible. I travelled to Beiing, ian, Chengdu, Wuhan, Shanghai and Hangzhou, with a Yangtze rive cruise in between. Awesome infrastructure, clean streets, beautiful buildings, friendly people. No homelessness, street gangs or street crimes to speak of. Food, transportation, accommodation, sightseeing, entertainment were all very reasonable and affordable. My wife and I felt totally safe at all times. We were so impressed we've decided to visit China again next year and possibly make it into an annual visit from here on.

今年4月我也去了中国。我上次去还是30多年前。中国的变化令人难以置信。我去了北京、西安、成都、武汉、上海和杭州，中间还来了趟长江游轮之旅。基础设施很棒，街道干净，建筑漂亮，人民友好。没有无家可归的流浪汉，也没有街头帮派或街头犯罪。饮食、交通、住宿、观光、娱乐都很合理，价格也实惠。我和妻子始终觉得非常安全。我们印象深刻，决定明年再去中国，可能从现在起每年都去。

hdhsdebendan
welcome to China

欢迎来到中国。

weareallgodschildrenlovefr9556
Wish you another amazing journey to China

祝你再次开启精彩的中国之旅。

indyralph8792
I agree. I'm a single woman in my 50s and I felt so safe. No one ever hassled me about anything, if I needed help everyone was always very patient with me using google translate. The western media's representation of China is so different to what it's actually like.

我同意。我是一个50多岁的单身女性，我觉得很安全。从来没有人找我麻烦，如果我需要帮助，每个人都对我很有耐心。西方媒体对中国的描述和实际情况大不相同。

xueshang1035
Wow so glad that you had a wonderful time here. Please consider my hometown Hangzhou! Typical southern “jiangnan” style view. Spring and fall here is beautiful

哇，很高兴你在这里过得愉快。请考虑一下我的家乡杭州！典型的南方“江南”风光。这里的春天和秋天很美。

lyttlebee
if you speak a little bit of chinese, permanently moving to china is not a bad idea after retirement.

如果你会说一点中文，退休后永久搬到中国是个不错的主意。

InnocentObserver-21c
@lyttlebee I am retired and I do speak Mandarin. But China does not have a retirement visa program like some other countries. I do have a multi-entry visitor visa which is good for the next few years.

我已经退休了，而且我会说普通话。但中国不像其他一些国家那样有退休签证计划。我有多次入境旅游签证，未来几年都有效。

Zj-Aka
@lindyralph8792 Welcome to China again. Enjoy your time, good luck.

 欢迎再次来到中国。祝你玩得开心，好运。

orridohobbies
I love China. I've been there many times over the past 30 years. I never tire of China.

我爱中国。在过去的30年里，我去过很多次。我对去中国旅游从不厌倦。

ockspyder3970
Looking forward to visiting China soon. Amazing country. The last time I was there was in 2004, and even then, I was impressed with how clean the streets were, and how welcoming and friendly everyone was. It was 4 years before they hosted the Olympics, and the stadiums, swimming centre and everything else was finished, ready and waiting. Lots have changed since then. I don’t think any other has made as much progress in the last 20 years!

期待很快能访问中国。这是一个了不起的国家。我上次去是在2004年，即便在那时，我也对中国街道的干净程度以及每个人的热情友好印象深刻。那是在他们举办北京奥运会的4年前，体育场、游泳中心和其他一切都已完工，准备就绪。从那以后，发生了很多变化。我认为在过去的20年里，没有哪个国家取得了如此大的进步！

Zj-Aka
Yes, that's a big progress. You'll enjoy your journey. Good luck!

是的，这是惊人的进步。你会享受你的旅程的。祝你好运！

slaw2224
I visited Shanghai the same year, I was already impressed then

同年我访问了上海，那时我就已经印象深刻了。

leetan4203
I started going to China a few weeks before Xmas 23. Then went again before Xmas 24. Most memorable was cruise trip 5 days 4 nights from Yichang to Chongqing. Along the Yangtze River up the 3 Gorges Dam was phenomenal!! The ship 600 capacity was lifted up a giant elevator over the dam.

我在2023年圣诞节前几周开始去中国。然后在2024年圣诞节前又去了一次。最难忘的是从宜昌到重庆的5天4夜游轮之旅。沿着长江向上经过三峡大坝，真是太棒了！！这艘可容纳600人的船被一个巨大的电梯抬过了大坝。

CecilTravels
Oh I really want to go see the 3 Gorges Dam! Sounds like an awesome trip you had.

哦，我真的很想去看看三峡大坝！听起来你有一次很棒的旅行。

Zj-Aka
Wow, that's amazing .

哇，太神奇了。

MuhammadakbarAK47
@CecilTravels Are you surprised by the number of Green plate cars (electric cars) and they don't explode like the news in the west?

你对绿牌的电动汽车那么多感到惊讶吗？它们不像西方新闻里说的那样会爆炸。

lindyralph8792
I just came back to Australia from 10 days in Chengdu traveling solo. I agree about Amaps, it worked really well and I also had downloaded google translate and I couldn't have lived without it it. I was really surprised that I only saw 3 other 'white' travellers in passing the whole time I was there. The infrastructure and technology is incredible, I was totally blown away. I was not in a great headspace before I left and was suffering from really bad anxety (not related to the trip) but decided to go anyway. I don't at all expect people from other countries to speak English, but the language barrier combined with the lack of other English speaking travellers to connect with honestly made me feel quite lonely and isolated - this is 100% a me thing and not a China thing so I made a lot of calls home. I was also fortunate to have booked a driver to pick me up from the airport and we got along really well so I ended up booking him for a couple of full days and it really made my trip and I did things I may not have done otherwise. He said he was my only friend in China and he was right. I actually really hate going to tourist sites, I mostly just want to see how people live when I travel so I think if I go again, I'd go with a friend and book an English speaking driver to take us to non-touristy places as it was really affordable.

我刚从成都独自旅行10天回到澳大利亚。

我真的很惊讶，在中国的整个时间里，我只路过看到3个其他“白人”游客。基础设施和技术令人难以置信，我完全被震撼了。我去前心情不太好，焦虑很严重（与旅行无关），但还是决定去了。我根本不指望其他国家的人会说英语，但语言障碍加上缺乏其他说英语的旅行者可以交流，老实说，这让我感到非常孤独和孤立——这完全是我的问题，不是中国的问题，所以我打了很多电话回家。我也很幸运，预订了一个司机去机场接我，我们相处得很好，所以我最终预订了他几天，这真的让我的旅行很成功情。他说他是我在中国唯一的朋友，他说得对。实际上，我真的很讨厌去旅游景点，我旅行时大多只是想看看人们如何生活，所以我想如果我再去，我会和一个朋友一起去，并预订一个会说英语的司机带我们去旅游景点以外的地方玩，这真的很实惠。

zhanglan6568
Yes, not many foreigners in Chengdu but locals like to interact with foreigners. Chengdu is even considered as one the most accommodating cities in China because most of locals were immigrated from other parts of China several hundred years ago.

是的，成都的外国人不多，但当地人喜欢和外国人互动。成都被认为是中国最包容的城市之一，大多数当地人是几百年前从中国其他地区移民过来的。

marinoint
For the same price, you simply can't find another country that offer the level of scenery, shop, safety, and convenience as China.
(I've traveled to many countries.)

我去过很多国家。以同样的费用，没有哪个国家能有中国这样的风景、购物、安全和便利水平。

williamharding9753
I have spent over 7 months in China over the last year and a half over 5 separate trips,its a fantastic, interesting country, I plan on going back soon,I highly recommend having a holiday in China

在过去的一年半里，我分5次在中国待了7个多月，这是一个奇妙、有趣的国家，我计划很快再去，我强烈建议去中国度假。

yvonnecui4153
Beiing is one of my favorite place in china, good job

北京是我在中国最喜欢的地方之一，不错。

CecilTravels
There’s so much to see in China but I also want to visit Beiing again haha

中国有太多要看的了，我也想再去北京哈哈。

yuanshuan7099
I think China is a undervalued country to visit. It is safe, clean, convenient, and affordable

我认为中国是一个被低估的旅游国家。它安全、干净、方便、实惠。

JosephJanitorius-p5v
My sister and I took a 3-week guided tour in 2011. China's cutting-edge infrastructure, cities and technology were amazing (I'm an old guy who grew up seeing sad pictures from the regime). My favorite sites were ian and the Terra Cotta Warriors, Guilin, and Hangzhou, but Beiing and Shianghai were impressive as well. All airports, rail facilities and highways were in splendid shape. As with every guided tour I've ever taken, we were subjected to a "shop opportunity" about every other day. But, if you do decide to buy something, you can haggle down the price to 80% or 90% of the original asking price. The second the sales clerks see you ready to walk out the door empty-handed, they'll run after you to negotiate further. Be steadfast and persistent.

2011年，我和姐姐参加了一个3周的旅行。中国的尖端基础设施、城市和技术令人惊叹（我是一个老人，从小看到的是中国以前的悲惨照片）。我最喜欢的景点是西安和兵马俑、桂林和杭州，不过北京和上海也令人印象深刻。所有的机场、铁路设施和高速公路都状况良好。和我参加过的每一次有导游的旅行一样，我们每隔一天就会有一次“购物机会”。但是，如果你决定买东西，你可以把价格砍到原价的80%或90%。售货员一看到你准备空手走出门，就会追着你进一步讲价。要有耐心才行

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