Region
South China
Pick one base: Guangzhou for food and rail, Guilin for karst, Sanya for beach. Two bases max in a week.
Key facts · China
- Best months
- Apr–May, Oct–Nov
- Currency
- Chinese yuan (CNY / RMB, ¥)
- Language
- Mandarin in Simplified characters
- Plugs
- A · C · I · 220 V
- Time zone
- UTC+8 nationwide
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.
South China is the coast plus the karst: Guangdong's Pearl River Delta cities, Guangxi's limestone hills, Hainan's beaches and Fujian's old ports. Guangzhou is the transport hub and the food city; Guilin and Yangshuo are the landscape; Sanya is the resort. High-speed rail links them, but the distances are real — Guangzhou to Sanya is a half-day with the ferry or a short flight. Choose by what you want to do, not by map distance.
Sleep
Which bed, for how many nights, and what to do from it
Where to sleep
Sleep base
Night sequences
- 5 nights
- Guangzhou 3 + Guilin/Yangshuo 2
- 7 nights
- Guangzhou 3 + Guilin/Yangshuo 2 + Sanya 2 (fly the last leg)
- 10 nights
- Guangzhou 3 + Kaiping day trip + Guilin/Yangshuo 3 + Sanya 3
- Guangzhou + Guilin + Sanya in 5 days is three travel days out of five.
- Summer humidity on the coast is high; plan indoor or shaded blocks in the middle of the day.
- Ferries to Hainan can be suspended in rough weather — keep a flight as a fallback if a date matters.
Day-trips door to door
| To | From | Door-to-door p50 | Last return | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kaiping | Guangzhou | 150 min | check | Watchtower villages are spread out; a car or a local taxi between clusters saves hours. |
| Yangshuo | Guilin | 90 min | check | Bus or train; the Li River boat is a separate, slower option. |
| Xiamen | Shenzhen | 240 min | check | High-speed rail along the coast; better as an overnight than a day trip. |
Bags between cities
Left-luggage and same-day courier services exist in the big cities; for a multi-city trip, travel light rather than rely on hotel-to-hotel forwarding.
When and how
Months, arrival and passes
Seasons at a glance
Pick a month to see where to go.
| Country | JJan | FFeb | MMar | AApr | MMay | JJun | JJul | AAug | SSep | OOct | NNov | DDec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guangzhou | ok | ok | ok | ok | ok | × | × | × | × | go | go | go |
| Shenzhen | ok | ok | ok | ok | ok | × | × | × | × | go | go | go |
| Guilin | ok | ok | ok | go | go | × | × | × | go | go | ok | ok |
| Sanya | go | go | go | go | × | × | × | × | × | × | go | go |
| Xiamen | ok | ok | go | go | go | ok | × | × | × | go | go | go |
| Kaiping | ok | ok | go | go | ok | × | × | × | × | go | go | go |
| China (country-wide) | ok | × | ok | go | ok | ok | ok | ok | go | go | go | go |
Computed from each country’s own data; hover a country name for the source. Advisory countries are left out.
Climate strip
| Zone | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guangdong and GuangxiPearl River Delta and karst hills | ok | ok | ok | best | best | wet | hot | hot | wet | best | best | ok |
| HainanSanya and the south coast | best | best | best | ok | ok | wet | hot | hot | wet | ok | best | best |
| Fujian coastXiamen and north | ok | ok | ok | best | best | wet | hot | hot | wet | best | best | ok |
- Guangdong and Guangxi
- Subtropical: hot, humid summers with heavy rain; typhoons May–November, riskiest July–August. Winters are mild and dry.
- Hainan
- Tropical; the driest, most comfortable stretch is November to April. Summer is hot with afternoon storms.
- Fujian coast
- Similar to Guangdong; typhoon landfalls are possible late summer.
Best months are also the busiest for Sanya and Guilin; book beach beds and Li River boats ahead for Chinese public holidays.
Get in
| From | To | How | p50 | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN) | Guangzhou city | Metro and airport express | ~60 min door | Main international gateway for the region; many long-haul flights land here. |
| Hong Kong (HKG) | Shenzhen / Guangzhou | High-speed rail or cross-border bus | ~1 h to Shenzhen, ~2 h to Guangzhou | Useful open-jaw: fly into Hong Kong, out of Guangzhou or vice versa. Check current entry rules for both sides. |
| Sanya Phoenix (SYX) | Sanya resorts | Taxi or hotel shuttle | ~30–50 min | Flying beats the ferry to Hainan if your dates are fixed. |
| Beijing / Shanghai | Guangzhou / Shenzhen | High-speed rail | ~8 h from Beijing, ~7 h from Shanghai | Overnight or daytime trains; flying is faster for the long legs. |
Regional passes
China high-speed rail tickets
buyBook per leg on the official app or at the station; there is no nationwide rail pass for foreign visitors that pays off.
City metro cards
buyEach city has its own; a transit QR code in Alipay usually covers metros and buses without a card.
Hainan ferry
checkCheaper than flying but slow and weather-dependent; check schedules and whether your dates can absorb a delay.
Eat and move on
Regional food
| Dish | Where | Timing / trap |
|---|---|---|
| Dim sum and roast meats | Guangzhou | Morning dim sum is the local habit; roast goose and char siu sell out by early evening. |
| Rice noodles and congee | Guangzhou, Nanning | Cheap breakfast staples; ask what the broth is made with. |
| Hainanese chicken rice | Haikou, Sanya | The island's signature dish; the rice is cooked in chicken stock. |
| Seafood hot pot and grilled fish | Sanya, Xiamen | Pick your fish by weight and confirm the price per jin before it is cooked. |
| Tropical fruit | Hainan, Guangxi | Mango, pineapple and coconut; cheapest at morning markets. |
Go next
East China
plannedHigh-speed rail along the coast, Shenzhen to Shanghai via Xiamen and Hangzhou
The natural next leg north.
Southwest China
plannedRail from Guangzhou to Chengdu via Guilin and Guiyang
Karst into mountains and Sichuan food.
South-central China
plannedHigh-speed rail via Changsha and Wuhan
Inland route toward Beijing.
North China
High-speed rail, Guangzhou to Beijing in about 8 h
Long but direct; fly if you value the day.
Northeast China
Rail via Beijing, or fly
Far north; a flight is usually the better call.
Deep dive
Photos, reading and every source