Best Cultural Cities in China

These cities offer the deepest cultural experiences — ancient landmarks, living traditions, and centuries of Chinese history in every street.

#CityProvinceLandmarksOverview
1Chongqing
重庆
Chongqing Municipality10 landmarksA 3,000-year-old mountain city cradled by the Yangtze and Jialing rivers, Chongqing defies every definition of a city. With its 8D vertical landscape,...
2Shanghai
上海
Shanghai Municipality5 landmarksWhere the Yangtze meets the sea — China's most cosmopolitan metropolis. Shanghai is a city of stunning contrasts: century-old Bund colonnades face Pud...
3Ya'an
雅安
Sichuan Province5 landmarksKnown as the 'Throat of Western Sichuan' and 'Rain City,' Ya'an is where the Sichuan Basin meets the Tibetan Plateau — a mist-shrouded land of giant p...
4Yibin
宜宾
Sichuan Province5 landmarksWhere the Jinsha and Min rivers embrace to birth the Yangtze — this is China's 'First City on the Yangtze.' Yibin is a 2,200-year-old treasure hiding ...
5Nanjing
南京
Jiangsu Province4 landmarksNanjing — Jinling, the ancient capital of six dynasties. Here the solemn grandeur of Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum meets the poetic lantern-lit shores of the ...
6Beijing
北京
Beijing Municipality3 landmarksThe timeless capital where imperial grandeur meets cutting-edge modernity. Walk the Great Wall at sunrise, get lost in hutong alleyways, and taste Pek...
7Chengdu
成都
Sichuan Province3 landmarksThe land of pandas, fiery hotpot, and a pace of life that redefines 'relaxed'. Sip tea in a bamboo grove while locals play mahjong — this is Chengdu....
8Guilin
桂林
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region3 landmarksKarst peaks rise from misty rivers like dragon's teeth. Guilin's landscapes have inspired Chinese scroll paintings for a thousand years — and they're ...
9Hangzhou
杭州
Zhejiang Province3 landmarksMarco Polo called it 'the city of heaven'. West Lake's misty waters, Dragon Well tea terraces, and ancient temples make Hangzhou China's most poetic c...
10Leshan
乐山
Sichuan Province3 landmarksWhere three rivers converge beneath the world's largest stone Buddha. Leshan (ancient Jiazhou) blends misty mountains, thousand-year temples, and a fo...
11Xi'an
西安
Shaanxi Province3 landmarksThe ancient starting point of the Silk Road, home to the Terracotta Warriors and a Muslim Quarter that has been sizzling for over 1,000 years....