Last Updated: May 21, 2023
China! The country is huge and it’s not straight forward getting in (the visa application is expensive and laborious to say the least!) and there are a number of perceptions of the country’s governing that can be deterring. But don’t let that put you off, as China is amazing and well worth the effort. And is certainly one of the most interesting countries we’ve visited.
And China as a family with kids is a great experience for many reasons.
The cultural differences are an eye opener for adults and kids alike, we sat and chatted to a mother for a couple of hours about the ins and outs of the child education system in China which was extremely interesting.
Our kids loved China and the countryside and historical sites were some of the best we’ve witnessed in the world.
Best Time to Visit China with Kids
Due to it’s size and dramatic altitude range, there’s not really a ‘perfect’ time to head to China as the weather changes a lot by region.
We were there during Autumn (September-November) and this is a great time to go for our sort of itinerary. The weather can be a bit chilly at times in the evening, but nothing too dramatic in the major cities. This would obviously be a different if you were up in the mountains though.
The countryside in the autumn in China is something to behold. Our drive to the Great Wall of China when we visited was amazing and the array of colours on the trees as you wind through the mountains was like nothing we had seen before.
The falling leaves also created some great opportunities for our kids. We didn’t come across many playgrounds in China, but the ‘throwing leaves at each other’ game in the parks seemed to entertain our children playing with the local kids for hours!
Spring is also a particularly good time to go, with the flowers blooming and similar sort of weather patterns to Autumn.
Winter can get very cold, and is also when Chinese New Year takes place usually somewhere in January or February. Whilst this can seem appealing to be in China for this great event, you’ll need to be prepared for huge crowds and plan well as transport and accommodation sells out months in advance.
Summer is pretty hot, but again this depends where about you are, the higher elevated areas still stay pretty cool during this time.
China Itinerary for Families
As China is so big and you may only have a few weeks to see it due to the visa restrictions, it’s tricky to see everything.
So for first time visitors with kids, we would suggest doing one of the main routes like ours below. This route is logistically easy and gets in the main highlights you will have probably read about in China. Below is our suggested 3 (and 2 in brackets) week itinerary for families.
We came in from Hong Kong and it’s debatable if you class Hong Kong as China or not. But for all intents and purposes we would suggest thinking about Hong Kong as a separate country, as it has it’s own currency, culture, laws, economy and entry requirements, which differ dramatically from mainland China.
You can see our separate posts on Hong Kong if you want some more details.
Mainland China: Guilin-Chengdu-Xian-Beijing-Shanghai
Guilin – 4 (2) Nights
Guilin has incredible scenery. The city is plonked in the middle of what seem like pop up mountains all around and it really is a unique place.
Some of the sites include the Reed Flute Cave and Elephant Trunk Hill. Although these might seem a little to ‘touristy’ for some. So if it’s not your thing you can just take some walks around Reed Flute Scenic Area and the Guilin National Park.
Or simply explore the city centre, which has some great green spaces and lakes dotted about.
Chengdu – 3 (2) Nights
Chengdu is famous for the Giant Panda Breeding Base which is a great day out and was the main reason we stayed here.
The city itself is also Panda mad and everywhere you look there seems to be some sort of Panda theme going on.
You can also take a trip to the nearby Qingcheng Mountain, which was the inspiration for the Panda Village in Kung Fu Panda 3!
Xian – 4 (3) Nights
If you want to see the Terracotta Warriors X’ian will be your best base.
And you absolutely should see them.
It’s hard to describe the magnitude of them until you see them in all there glory. And it’s a very interesting to understand the detail and the thought that had gone into the building of this magnificent shrine.
Even if you are not seeing the warriors though, the city itself is well worth a visit and was my personal favourite in China.
The Bell and Drum Towers look beautiful when lit up in the evening and a walk down Muslim Street is a must for anyone who wants to try an array of street food.
Beijing – 5 (4) Nights
No trip to China would be complete without a trip to the capital of Beijing. With monumental sites such as the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven to name just a couple to explore.
It is also a great base for seeing the Great Wall of China, which was amazing and definitely our China highlight!
Shanghai – 5 (3) Nights
Shanghai felt almost like a different country to the rest of China. You look over The Bund and you feel like you are looking into the future!
But there is also still the mix of traditional China in there and you can easily head to places like Qibao Water Village for a taste of this.
Getting Around China with Kids
National Transport
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, China is massive! But it is made easy to get around by the trains.
We trained it the whole way and this is such a great way to get around and also see the countryside as you go.
The bullet trains are extremely fast and comfy and reasonably affordable (in comparison to bullet trains in Japan for example) and this is what we used for our whole trip.
The journeys can still get a little lengthy as you still have to cover a lot of ground. So even at high speed it takes some time. But generally speaking not too bad. Our journey breakdown looked like this.
| Hong Kong-Guilin | 3hr30min |
| Guilin-Chengdu | 7hr |
| Chengdu-Xian | 4hr |
| Xian-Beijing | 6hr |
| Beijing-Shanghai | 4hr30min |
Alternatively you can get the slower trains overnight, which can save you a night accommodation so can work out more economical and as you’re not travelling in the day you have more time for your adventure.
We’ve done some overnight trains in the past, such as in Vietnam, which we really enjoyed. But on this occasion we stuck to the faster day trains as the cost didn’t work out that much better for us and we weren’t losing too much time. Plus it means you get to see the countryside in the day which is incredible.
There are numerous budget airlines as well. We hate flying for many reasons and think they are usually not worth the effort as the time saving is usually misleading after all the getting to and from airports and early arrivals security checks etc. and they are rarely cheaper. You also miss out on seeing the countryside (did I mention it’s amazing!) so you’re better off just relaxing on the train rather than flying in our opinion.
Booking the trains can be difficult directly online or at the station, unless you are fluent in Chinese. But there are numerous agencies that can make the process pretty straight forward. We used China Highlights and they were very good.
You can download the app and then book through them and they then send you an e-voucher which you can then exchange at the station to get your ticket. They also provide handy maps and layouts of the stations and tips for getting the train and even useful sentences in Chinese that you can show to various people for various information.
Their prices are slightly inflated of course due to them being an agency, but it was worth the price for me as it made the process pretty easy without any major issues and was still very affordable.
Local Transport
We are big users of public transport when travelling, but in China it can sometimes be a bit tricky.
The metro lines are pretty easy in the major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai etc. with english signs and maps that are usable for tourists.
The buses can be a little more challenging, but can be done with some patience.
But as the taxis are pretty cheap it’s often easier and not too uneconomical for larger groups like families to us them. You can hail taxis pretty easily from most places, or hire a driver for a day if you ae hitting a few places. Or you can use the DiDi app, which is your sub for Uber or Grab whilst in China.
Finally walking is an economical and easy way to get around locally. Be sure to download a map app like Baidu (no google in China I’m afraid) to help you navigate.
China Accommodation for a Families
Accommodation is pretty cheap in China for family rooms. We usually go for self catered apartments on Airbnb and the like when travelling. But there are some strict rules when it comes to visas and registering as you go about the China which can make this a little trickier.
You are meant to register yourself in each location with the local authorities when you arrive. Whilst some other countries we’ve been to do have similar rules, a lot generally don’t police them that much. But in China it is quite strict, and tourists are regularly spot checked for things so it’s probably not worth the risk.
Hotels takes this complication away as most will register you by default whenever you check in. But this might not be the case with your host if you are renting an apartment. So if you don’t want or need that complication it might be best t stick with hotels in China.
The hotels we stayed in were generally pretty descent for the price. The one exception was our Beijing accommodation which ironically was the most expensive, but we had quite a few additional guests in our room (cockroaches) for our duration!
But you can also find some bargains. After the horror hotel of Beijing we then went to Shanghai and paid about the same price for a hotel there, which was 5* quality! But that’s the lottery you sometimes get with travelling and booking as you go!
We averaged around £30 a night in China for family rooms. Our most expensive being Beijing and Shanghai at £55 a night, with the others all being around £25 a night.
Chinese Food for a Families
It’s easier to say what they don’t sell as food rather than what they do, as pretty much anything goes in China. They are certainly not wasteful and every part of an animal is usually consumed in some way.
You’ll often see people walking around with bags of chicken feet eating them like chips!
I absolutely loved the food in China, and it is very cheap. As we were hoteling it we mainly ‘ate out’. Not heading to fancy restaurants, but more street venders or small cafes. And the flavouring and types of dishes were right up my street.
We averaged around £50 a week for our family of four for food eating at these kinds of places.
If you want to self cater there are plenty of markets and supermarkets where you can get all your essentials.
Apps for Travelling Around China with Kids
Generally speaking China is pretty easy to travel around, but one thing you should keep in mind before entering is ‘The Great Firewall of China’.
China internet traffic is heavily monitored and censored. This can throw a spanner in the work if you are used to using certain apps and websites to assist you in your travel.
For example, China fell out with Google a long time ago so not much of their stuff works. I was fairy reliant on google maps for getting around and google translate to help me out etc. so not having these was a pain.
You can get a VPN app before arriving, which will help a lot, but do not always work. So it is also worth downloading some alternative substitutes as well;
- Didi (Ride Sharing) – As mentioned above Uber is a no go in China, but DiDi works essentially the same way.
- WeChat (Messaging/Payment) – WhatsApp another no go amongst other messaging apps, WeChat is the most commonly used and can also be used as payment similar to google and apple pay.
- Baidu Maps (Navigation) – As said, Google is spotty at best, some of the apps work some of the time, but have this as a backup. The interface is in Chinese, but it’s still possible to workout and you can do some searches in English.
- Microsoft Translator (Translator) – Microsoft surprisingly isn’t blocked currently in China and so this is a good alternative to google translate.
Get yourself familiar with these apps before and when you arrive and then you should be able to breeze the logistics of China in no time and then make the most of what truly is an amazing country and experience!