Region

East China

Pick one base — Shanghai for rail links, Hangzhou or Suzhou for slower days — and day-trip the rest by high-speed train.

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Open China Plan a trip

Key facts · China

Best months: Apr–May, Oct–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 hereIn detail ↓

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.

East China is a coastal cluster of cities 25–90 minutes apart by high-speed rail: Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Ningbo, Xiamen, Fuzhou. Changing hotels every night costs more in transit than the tickets do. Sleep in Shanghai for the widest rail web and both airports, in Hangzhou for West Lake and tea hills, in Suzhou for gardens and canals; day-trip the rest.

Sleep

Which bed, for how many nights, and what to do from it

Where to sleep

7 places in this region

Sleep base

ShanghaiCity guide
The Bund, lane houses, two airports, the densest rail web in the region.
Best Mar–May, Nov
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HangzhouCity guide
West Lake, tea hills; ~45–60 min from Shanghai by high-speed rail.
Best Mar–Apr, Nov
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SuzhouCity guide
Classical gardens and canals; ~25–30 min from Shanghai by high-speed rail.
Best Apr–May, Oct–Nov
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XiamenCity guide
Gulangyu island and Fujian seafood; a separate southern leg, not a day trip.
Best Mar–May, Oct–Dec
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Day trip

NanjingCity guide
Ming walls and museums; ~1 h 15 from Shanghai, ~1 h from Suzhou.
Best Mar–May, Sep–Nov
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NingboCity guide
Old treaty port and Tianyi Pavilion; ~2 h from Shanghai.
Best Apr–May, Oct–Nov
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FuzhouCity guide
Fujian capital, hot springs and old lanes; ~1 h 30 from Xiamen by high-speed rail.
Best Mar–Apr, Oct–Nov
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Night sequences

5 nights: Shanghai 3 + Suzhou 1 + Hangzhou 1
7 nights: Shanghai 3 + Suzhou 1 + Hangzhou 2 + Nanjing as a day trip
10 nights: Shanghai 3 + Suzhou 1 + Hangzhou 2 + Nanjing 1 + Xiamen 3

Shanghai + Suzhou + Hangzhou + Nanjing in 3 days is four half-days of transit.
Typhoon season (roughly July–September) can cancel coastal flights and ferries for a day; keep a buffer before an international departure.

Day-trips door to door

To	From	Door-to-door p50	Last return	Note
Suzhou	Shanghai	75 min	check	Gardens open early; the last trains back run into the evening, but confirm the day's timetable.
Hangzhou	Shanghai	90 min	check	West Lake is a full day with the tea hills; an overnight is better than a return.
Nanjing	Shanghai	105 min	check	Long as a day trip; the wall and museum cluster need a full day.
Ningbo	Shanghai	150 min	check	Only worth it if you are already heading south along the coast.

Bags between cities

Hotels in Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou usually hold bags before check-in; there is no reliable same-day luggage-forwarding service for visitors, so carry your own between cities.

When and how

Months, arrival and passes

Seasons at a glance

From each city's month table

Pick a month to see where to go.

Only good-now countries

Country	JJan	FFeb	MMar	AApr	MMay	JJun	JJul	AAug	SSep	OOct	NNov	DDec
Shanghai	ok	ok	go	go	go	×	×	×	ok	ok	go	ok
Hangzhou	ok	ok	go	go	ok	ok	×	×	ok	ok	go	ok
Suzhou	ok	ok	ok	go	go	ok	×	×	ok	go	go	ok
Xiamen	ok	ok	go	go	go	ok	×	×	×	go	go	go
Nanjing	ok	ok	go	go	go	ok	×	×	go	go	go	ok
Ningbo	ok	ok	ok	go	go	ok	×	×	ok	go	go	ok
Fuzhou	ok	ok	go	go	ok	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.

Climate strip

Month by month

Zone	J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
Shanghai / Suzhou / HangzhouYangtze delta and the coast	cool	cool	ok	best	best	wet	hot	hot	ok	best	ok	cool
Fujian coast (Xiamen, Fuzhou)Subtropical south coast	ok	ok	ok	best	best	wet	hot	hot	ok	best	best	ok

best: dry, mildok: workablecool: jacket, greyhot: short walking windowswet: daily rain

Shanghai / Suzhou / Hangzhou: Plum-rain season (meiyu) mid-June to mid-July; August holds 35 °C+ days with high humidity; typhoons can hit Aug–Sep.Plum-rain season (meiyu) mid-June to mid-July; August holds 95 °F+ days with high humidity; typhoons can hit Aug–Sep.
Fujian coast (Xiamen, Fuzhou): Warmer than the delta year-round; typhoon landfalls are most likely Jul–Sep.

Best months are also the crowd peaks: spring weekends and the early-October national holiday fill West Lake and the Suzhou gardens.

Get in

Door-to-door p50, 2026 estimate

From	To	How	p50	Note
PVG (Shanghai Pudong International)	Downtown Shanghai	Metro Line 2 or the maglev plus metro	~60–90 min door	Metro Line 2 also reaches Hongqiao airport and Hongqiao railway station, but needs one change with bags.
SHA (Shanghai Hongqiao, domestic and nearby Asia)	Downtown Shanghai	Metro Line 2 or Line 10	~35–45 min door	Hongqiao railway station is next door for high-speed trains onward.
Beijing	Shanghai	High-speed rail (G trains)	~4 h 30–6 h	Book with your passport number; the passport is your ticket at the gate.
Hong Kong	Shanghai / Hangzhou / Xiamen	Flight, or high-speed rail via Shenzhen	flight ~2 h 30	Hong Kong is a separate entry; check your visa or permit covers both sides.

Regional passes

Verdict first

Point-to-point high-speed rail tickets

buy

Buy each leg as you go; there is no nationwide rail pass for foreign visitors.

Shanghai metro day pass

check

Pays only on heavy metro days; a stored-value card or phone QR is usually simpler.

Alipay / WeChat Pay

buy

Set up before you fly; both accept foreign cards and cover metro, taxis and most shops.

Eat and move on

Regional food

Where and when it works

Dish	Where	Timing / trap
Xiaolongbao (soup dumplings)	Shanghai	Order by the basket; eat them in one bite to avoid burning your mouth.
Squirrel-shaped mandarin fish	Suzhou	A sweet-and-sour river fish; portions are large enough to share.
Longjing shrimp	Hangzhou	Tea leaves with river shrimp; a spring dish tied to the tea harvest.
Salt-and-pepper seafood and fish-ball soup	Xiamen	Fujian cooking leans on the sea; the night market stalls are the easy entry.
Noodles	Across the region	The default cheap meal; a bowl is the fastest lunch between trains.

Go next

North China

High-speed rail to Beijing ~4 h 30–6 h

Beijing and the Great Wall; the usual pairing with Shanghai.

South China

planned

High-speed rail to Guangzhou ~7–8 h, or a ~2 h 30 flight

Guangzhou and Shenzhen for Cantonese food and Hong Kong access.

Northeast China

Flight to Shenyang or Dalian ~2 h 30

Winter ice cities; a long rail ride otherwise.

Southwest China

planned

Flight to Chengdu or Chongqing ~3 h

Pandas and Sichuan cooking; fly rather than ride.

South-central China

planned

High-speed rail to Wuhan ~4 h, or to Changsha ~5 h

The middle Yangtze and Zhangjiajie access.

Northwest China

planned

Flight to Xi'an ~2 h 30

Terracotta Army and the Silk Road start.

Open China Up to China

Deep dive

Photos, reading and every source

Sources

officialChina National Tourist Office — official tourism site
officialChina Railway — official ticketing
officialShanghai Airport Authority — Pudong and Hongqiao
officialChina Meteorological Administration
secondaryWikivoyage: East China, revision 5209789 (CC BY-SA 4.0)