China attractions that need advance booking

Real-name entry with your passport; book ahead for the short summer season and check whether winter operations are running before you go

Real-name entry with your passport; reserve ahead through the official scenic-area channel on weekends and in holiday peaks

Real-name timed reservation; bookable up to about 15 days ahead and, on the official channel, usually at least a day in advance (cut-off reported as roughly two hours before opening), so don't bank on a same-day walk-up

The scenic-area ticket is real-name and bookable ahead; the cave behind the falls (Shuiliandong / 水帘洞) is separately rationed — a daily cap of 12,000 across five timed slots since May 2025 — and can run out on a busy day

Free, but real-name reservation required 1-3 days ahead (incl. today) via the official 中国文字博物馆 WeChat account; one booking per ID per day

Buy online via the official 红旗渠 WeChat account or an OTA, or at the gate; reserve ahead in holiday peaks

Real-name reservation with your passport via the official 殷墟景区 WeChat account; book a day or more ahead, especially weekends and holiday peaks

Real-name reservation up to 7 days ahead via the official 殷墟博物馆 WeChat account; daily caps split across three time slots, so book early for weekends and holidays

Real-name entry with your passport; reserve ahead in the May rhododendron bloom, the summer peak and the autumn-colour weeks, when the park and its shuttles fill

Free admission; like many Chinese memorial halls it may require a free real-name reservation or timed entry on busy days

Free, real-name reservation via the official WeChat account; daily cap, so book ahead. Open 9:00-17:00, last entry 16:30, closed Mondays.

Real-name booking online ahead of your visit; one ID can book one ticket per day. Open roughly 8:30-17:30 (ticketing stops earlier).

Real-name online booking required via the scenic area's official WeChat account; bring your ID to enter.

No reliable release window we could confirm. In red-leaf peak (roughly mid-October to mid-November) the scenic area gets very crowded and capacity controls and same-day queues are common, so book or arrive early in that window; outside autumn it is quiet and walk-up is usually fine

Book the ferry a few days ahead in summer and on Chinese holidays — daily sailings are capped and do sell out; online sales close 30 minutes before each departure, the port window 15 minutes before

Real-name online sales, up to 7 days ahead

Real-name online sales, up to 30 days ahead

Daily 17:00, up to 7 days

Daily around 11:00, 1-3 days ahead

Passport route unconfirmed

7 days out, 20:00

Real-name entry with your passport; reserve ahead through the official scenic-area channel on weekends and in holiday peaks, and on busy autumn weekends when boat capacity is the bottleneck

Real-name entry with your passport; the only thing worth booking ahead is transport and a room during the short spring bloom, when domestic crowds peak

Real-name entry with your passport; in normal periods you can usually buy on arrival, but reserving ahead online is safer on weekends and in holiday peaks

Real-name entry with your passport; the park's online channel is Chinese-first, so reserve ahead or have your hotel book, more so in the short July–September peak

Real-name entry with your passport via the Songjianghe / West Gate; reserve ahead or have your hotel book in the summer peak

Real-name online reservation through the museum's official WeChat mini-program (its stated sole booking channel); closed Mondays in some periods, check before you go

Real-name booking with your passport; reserve ahead in peach-blossom season (roughly March-April) and on holidays, when the scenic area and the night show fill up

Free, but the daily quota is the catch - slots open in advance and go fast; book the moment your dates are set

Next-day slots refresh at 00:00; reserve up to 3 days ahead

Real-name entry; buy ahead online or on the day. Open roughly daily 09:00–17:00, with later closes on peak summer and holiday dates — check the date you want

Buy at the gate or online; real-name with your passport. Daytime hours; the relic park and the adjoining theme-park zones keep their own schedules, so check what's open on your date

Real-name, timed online booking; the on-site ticket windows were removed, so reserve before you arrive. Same-day usually fine midweek, ahead on holidays

Real-name online booking through the official scenic-area channel

Real-name online booking like the resort; reserve through the same official channel

Real-name online booking through the official scenic-area channel; same-day usually fine midweek

Online in advance; peak season (summer, holidays) sells out early

Real-name entry with your passport; reserve ahead through the official scenic-area channel on weekends and in summer photography peaks

Passport route unconfirmed

Arranged on the spot or in advance through an approved cross-border tour operator; it is not a walk-up, independent crossing

Passport route unconfirmed

Buy a timed boat ticket; departures run to a fixed daily schedule (around 09:00, 10:30, 12:00, 13:30, 14:30), so arrive in time for a sailing

Free, but you reserve a timed entry through the museum's official WeChat account; closed Mondays, 09:00-16:30 with no entry after 16:00

The 'climbing' ticket that lets you go up onto the temple is capped (around 3,260/day) and real-name reserved up to 7 days ahead via the 北岳云游 mini-program; it can sell out on busy days

Same-day tickets ended Mar 2025 — book 1-7 days ahead (not incl. today)

Online real-name booking required for everyone, including children; kung fu performances run several times daily (typically 09:30, 10:30, 11:30, 14:30, 15:30), about 30 minutes each

Real-name, timed-entry reservation; book ahead — daily slots are capped and routinely sell out on weekends, holidays and through the summer peak

Free real-name online registration required before you go; reserve ahead on weekends and holidays

Free real-name online registration required before you go; reserve ahead, more so on weekends and public holidays when slots and parking fill

Free real-name online registration required; the same registration that covers the Sea Battle Museum gives access to Weiyuan Fort

Real-name online reservation; the booking window opens about 15 days ahead

Real-name online booking; sells out on holidays and peak summer days

Same real-name online reservation as the irrigation site; book ahead in peak season as the front mountain can hit its daily cap

Online, timed entry; quota is tight, so book days ahead in season

Real-name online reservation through the Dunhuang Academy ticketing channel; weather can close it with no notice

Same combined real-name ticket as Yumen Pass; reserve a day ahead in peak months

Passport route unconfirmed

Real-name combined ticket; book a day ahead in season as part of the Yangguan-Yumenguan ticket

Passport route unconfirmed

Real-name booking with a chosen shuttle-bus time slot; bookable up to 15 days ahead. Main gate open roughly 06:00–18:30 in summer, shorter in winter. The two-day ticket suits an overnight

Real-name entry; the official notice lists a max 25,000/day and 8,000 instantaneous cap, so book ahead in peak season

Real-name reservation with your passport; book ahead, more so on weekends, public holidays and around 22 August (Deng's birthday) and other red-tourism peaks

Reservation/ticketing for the Huaying scenic area is not something we could confirm; check before you go

Passport route unconfirmed

The core memorial sites inside need the same free real-name reservation as the residence; reserve ahead in holiday peaks

Tickets drop at 22:00, 7 days out

Passport route unconfirmed

Free, but real-name reservation required: the next 7 days open daily from 08:00; one phone number books up to 3 tickets

Book a day or more ahead in peak season; boats are limited

Real-name reservation with daily limits since the 2024 rules

Winter only (roughly late December to February); timed tickets online

Real-name entry with your passport; the scenic area runs an online reservation/booking system, and you should book ahead on weekends and in holiday peaks

Real-name reservation required, with time slots and a direction (up/down) you pick at booking; the official guidance is to book at least a few days ahead, more in peak season

Real-name with your passport; open 24 hours for the overnight sunrise hike, cable cars run daytime hours. Buy at the gate or the official platform

Buy on the official Luofu Mountain channel or at the gate; book ahead on weekends and in holiday peaks when the mountain is busy

Walk-up entry in normal periods; the mountain can cap or queue arrivals on peak summer weekends and holidays, so check before a holiday run

Buy at the gate or its official channel on the day; no advance window we could verify

No fixed advance window we could verify; in normal periods you buy on the day at each village gate or its mini-program. Real-name entry with your passport applies

Buy at the gate or mini-program on the day; no advance window we could verify

Buy at the gate or via the mini-program on the day; no advance window we could verify in normal periods

Fixed daily departures with limited seats — it regularly sells out, so book a day or more ahead in season; on non-holidays two trains run (morning ~09:00, afternoon ~14:30), with extra services on public holidays

Real-name reservation with your passport through the official channel; book ahead on weekends, summer and national holidays, when daily caps and the popular gorges fill

Ferry tickets are sold only at the main ticket desk on Nanxi West Road; buy on arrival, no advance booking

Buy at the gate or online, real-name with your passport; open roughly 08:30–20:00 in summer, 08:30–18:00 in winter

Walk-up gate tickets are easy to buy on-site; real-name entry with your passport

Real-name entry with your passport; reserve ahead online for weekends and holiday peaks, when this 5A site draws large domestic crowds

Walk-up usually fine; reserve a day ahead online on weekends and holidays

Free, real-name reservation; book ahead through the official channel, more important on weekends and holidays

Free, reservation-only; book online a day ahead, more on weekends

Capacity-capped; reserve a slot through the official channel rather than assuming you can walk in on a busy day

Passport route unconfirmed

Real-name advance online booking is the norm; if a date shows sold out the daily cap is reached, so pick another day rather than counting on a gate window

Real-name booking with your passport; this is an evening park with set show times, so reserve for the day you want and check that night's schedule

Real-name booking against your passport; reserve ahead online for weekends and holiday peaks, and pick your parks before you go

Real-name tickets; book ahead in peak season

Real-name online booking, released about 15 days ahead; daily cap, sells out in autumn

Covered by your park ticket; no separate booking

Buy at the gate or online, real-name with your passport; the evening water show runs seasonally, check times on the day

Online real-name reservation; book the day before or same day via the official channel, with a time-slot on busy days

Real-name entry, summer season only; the village fills with tour groups in August, so book and arrive early

Real-name, time-slotted entry — book ahead online for the short summer season; on peak August days slots and shuttle seats are tight

A border-area permit must be arranged ahead through a Kashgar agency; allow 1-2 business days

Tour-only entry

Real-name tickets; same-day usually fine outside holidays

Free timed-entry slots, real-name; book through the official WeChat account or phone/on-site

No timed slots in normal periods; buy on the day at the ticket office, or reserve via the official 阆中古城旅游 WeChat mini-program

Reserve up to 3 days ahead (including the day of visit); closed Mondays except public holidays

Expect real-name entry with your passport; reserve ahead on weekends, in summer, and in holiday peaks, when this very popular Henan mountain fills up

Passport route unconfirmed

Real-name online booking; open roughly 07:30–18:30 Apr–Oct and 08:00–17:30 Oct–Mar. Reserve ahead in peak season

Arranged through your tour; morning visiting windows favor small groups

Tour-only entry

Booked for you by your operator, usually a day or more ahead; daily visitor numbers are strictly capped and slots are timed

Tour-only entry

Real-name reservation with your passport; book ahead through the official scenic-area channel, more so on weekends, in summer, and during the autumn peak

Real-name entry with your passport; book ahead in holiday peaks, otherwise generally quieter than Xiaoqikong

Real-name entry with your passport; on peak days and public holidays the scenic area caps daily visitors and the most popular slots can fill, so reserve ahead through the official channel rather than just turning up

Real-name tickets and cableway slots; peak season sells out early

Buy at the gate or reserve through the scenic area's official channel; no timed-slot reservation needed in normal periods, but expect crowds and possible caps around the spring tomb-sweeping (Qingming) ancestral ceremonies

Buy at the gate or reserve online; reserve ahead on weekends and in holiday peaks when this 5A area gets busy

Buy at the gate or reserve online; opening hours are seasonal (longest in spring–autumn), so check the day's hours before a long drive

Real-name reservation with your passport; book ahead through the official scenic-area channel, more so on weekends and in holiday peaks

Buy with your scenic-area entry or on the day at the raft dock; book ahead in holiday peaks when slots and rafts fill

Real-name entry with your passport; book ahead in summer peak (it's a known hot-weather escape) and on holidays, otherwise tickets are usually available on the day

Real-name entry with your passport; usually buyable on the day outside holiday peaks

Real-name tickets online; book ahead in April and on holidays

Free timed slots open about a week out on the official WeChat account; book ahead on weekends and in peony season

Reserve at least one day ahead via the official site/WeChat; the day's slots can fill in peony season and on holidays

Passport route unconfirmed

Real-name online advance booking required since Jan 2026; if the date shows sold out online, the daily cap is reached — pick another day, there's no gate window to fall back on

Real-name entry with your passport; reserve or buy ahead on weekends and in holiday peaks, when the cable car queues and slots fill

Strictly a winter destination (roughly late November to March); book the gate ticket and your farmstay inn well ahead for the December-to-Lunar-New-Year peak. The gate ticket is time-limited — once issued it auto-voids 48 hours from your play date

Real-name entry with your passport; in summer and on holidays book the scenic-area ticket and the in-park shuttle ahead through the official channel

Reserve real-name entry online a day or more ahead in summer; the scenic-area shuttle buses are a separate fee on top of entry

Reserve real-name entry online a day or more ahead in summer; the shuttle-bus lines and the optional cable car are bought on top of entry

Book online a day or more ahead in peak season; the loop shuttle runs daytime hours (a hop-on hop-off bus circled the lake about every half-hour until early evening in recent years)

Free but real-name reservation required ('free entry, still ticketed'); book 1-3 days ahead, daily visitor cap around 3,000; closed Mondays

Real-name reservation; book 1-7 days ahead via the official channel, or buy a same-day daytime ticket online up to 21:00 (one ticket per ID per day)

Tickets released daily at 08:00; book 1-7 days ahead; closed Mondays

Book the scenic-area ticket a day or more ahead in peak season and on Chinese holidays; the separate China-Vietnam cross-border zone must be applied for around 3 days in advance and runs on group permits, not walk-up

Free admission, but with a real-name ticket; closed Mondays. Open Tue-Sun, roughly 09:00-17:00 with last entry around 16:15

Real-name reservation with your passport; reserve a day or more ahead, more so on weekends and holidays, and note the museum is closed Mondays

Real-name reservation required ('no booking, no entry'); the central scenic area has a daily cap (reported around 8,000), so book at least a day ahead through the official 南岳一码游 mini-program in busy periods

Real-name reservation; closed Mondays except public holidays. Book a day ahead for weekends and holidays, when slots can run out

Arranged through your tour; real-name entry with your passport, booked by the operator

Tour-only entry

Booked for you by your tour operator as part of the permitted itinerary; entry is real-name with your passport and the scenic-area shuttle is bundled in

Tour-only entry

Real-name entry with your passport; reserving ahead through the official scenic-area channel is wise on autumn weekends, when the colour peaks and domestic crowds arrive

Real-name ferry tickets bookable online ahead through the official Penglai–Changdao port WeChat channel; sailings are capped and seasonal

Real-name, timed-slot online reservation with daily capacity control; book ahead, no casual gate window

Buy at the gate or reserve through the scenic-area channel; real-name entry with your passport, so book ahead on weekends and in holiday peaks if you'd rather not queue

Access and any ticketing have been evolving since the September 2023 UNESCO inscription; reconfirm current arrangements before you set out

Passport route unconfirmed

Real-name with your passport; bought with the ferry. The island ticket is valid for the length of your stay (multi-day, multiple entry)

Real-name, capped daily visitor numbers; book ahead through the official Pingtang / 中国天眼 channel, more so on weekends and holidays, and be ready to surrender all electronic devices at the security checkpoint

Passport route unconfirmed

Real-name slot booked ahead in the '崂山风景区' WeChat account; book before you set out, no walk-up entry

Buy at the gate or via the official channel, real-name with your passport; the area runs a day programme and an evening light show, so check current hours before you go

Free, reservation-only; book a day ahead online, more on holidays

Real-name online reservation advised before you travel; bookable from about a day ahead. The combo is valid two days

Real-name entry with your passport; reserve ahead on weekends and in holiday peaks, when the narrow stair between the spires backs up

Entry plus boat is real-name and tied to your passport; on weekends and holiday peaks reserve or arrive early, as boat sailings run on set departures rather than continuously

Raft slots are capped by the number of boats and the daylight, so on busy days they sell out — reserve ahead or arrive early at the upper wharf

Real-name reservation with your passport; book ahead through the official scenic-area channel, more so on weekends and in the May rhododendron season

Walk-up usually fine; reserve online a day ahead on big holidays

Free now, but you still reserve a timed slot online before you go

Book a day or two ahead in peak season; ferry slots are capped and the last boat back is mid-afternoon

Arranged by your tour operator as part of the permitted itinerary; the site is included on your permit, not booked independently

Tour-only entry

The square is an open public plaza you can walk onto; the memorial museum is free but real-name reservation-gated and capped, so book the museum slot ahead

Free but real-name reservation only — daily numbers are capped and slots open a few days ahead; there's no walk-up entry without a booking, and it queues hard on holidays and around Mao's birthday (Dec 26)

Time-slot reservation in advance through the official WeChat account; arrive within your booked slot or rebook

Real-name booking via the official 沈阳故宫博物院 WeChat account; closed Mondays (except public holidays)

All permits arranged by your operator well ahead; the EBC stretch needs the full permit stack confirmed before you go

Tour-only entry

Buy the temple ticket at the gate or via the official scenic channel, real-name with your passport; much of the surrounding Zhengding old town is open and free

Free entry but real-name reservation required (in place since late 2023); reserve through the official mini-program before you go, or scan the on-site QR to register on arrival

Bought with your passport at this scenic area; expect real-name entry as at the main park, and reconfirm whether a combined or separate ticket applies

The scenic area has been rolling out a real-name ticketing system (实名制票务系统), so reserve or buy with your passport and expect real-name entry; same-day is usually fine outside national holidays, but the trial system means rules can change — buy ahead in peak periods

Real-name booking up to 7 days ahead, booking system open 08:00-23:00; same-day if tickets remain, cutoff 20 min before close

Real-name entry with your passport; the mountain is open 24 hours for sunrise climbers. Buy at the gate or the official platform

Free tickets released daily at 07:00, bookable up to 3 days ahead (not incl. today); closed Mondays

Tickets sell ~3 days ahead, real-name, with a daily cap (it's a safety-regulated ride); one ticket per ID per day. Buy ahead for evening slots

Real-name online reservation; daily cap (around 6,400 into the cliff cave-zone), so book ahead in season rather than at the gate

Cable-car ticket is bought as a separate add-on alongside your dated, capped entry reservation; buy ahead in peak season

Real-name reservation tied to a daily visitor cap — book ahead through the official Fanjingshan channel, several days out for weekends, holidays and the summer peak, when the daily quota sells out

Free timed-entry reservation; off-season often same-day, but book several days ahead in summer

Real-name online booking with daily capacity caps and timed boarding slots; book ahead (third-party platforms want it a day in advance, the official channel can do same-day), no relaxed gate window

Real-name entry — scan your passport at the main gate; the ticket includes the compulsory in-park shuttle buses. Once used it stays valid for three days ('one ticket, three days'), so an overnight doesn't cost you a second entry

Sold at the cable-car stations or with your entry package; cars stop running in high wind, lightning, fog or ice, sometimes at short notice

Real-name entry with your passport; on summer weekends, public holidays and the autumn camping-festival peak the mountain gets very busy, so reserve or arrive early

Timed-slot e-tickets for today plus the next two days, booked 6:00-22:00; same-day tickets also sold on-site

Free, real-name reservation up to 5 days ahead; closed Mondays

Cherry season only (~mid-March to early April): free, real-name, capped daily quota — released a few days ahead via the official channel

Passport route unconfirmed

Buy ahead online for your chosen park and date; on peak summer and holiday days a popular gate can sell to capacity, so book a day or more out

Real-name entry with your passport; book ahead through the official Wulong Karst channel, more so on weekends and in holiday peaks

Real-name entry; book ahead online or buy on the day. Scenic area roughly 07:00–17:30 (earlier close in winter); the Brahma Palace keeps shorter hours

Buy at the gate or online; real-name with your passport. Open daytime hours, with scheduled live shows through the day

Timed, real-name tickets — especially in cherry-blossom season (roughly mid-March to mid-April), when daily capacity is capped and slots sell out. Open roughly 08:00–16:30

Buy at the gate or online, real-name with your passport; the zone stays open into the evening for the night views

Free real-name; tickets drop daily at 17:00, 5 days out

Online, opens 7 days ahead (10 days around public holidays)

Real-name ferry tickets with daily caps; book ahead in season

Reserve a free-of-charge timed entry through the official mini-program; same-day booking is possible (typically until 17:00, summer to ~17:30)

Book 1-3 days ahead via the official WeChat account; slots release daily at 08:00 / 12:00 / 16:00, no same-day or on-site booking

Real-name entry with your passport; reserving ahead through the official scenic-area channel is safest on summer weekends and holidays, when the cool mountain is the regional escape and the gate can cap numbers

Gate purchase or book real-name ahead with your passport; check seasonal hours before going

Real-name ticketing — book through the official WeChat mini-program or an officially listed platform; no turn-up-and-buy window in the old sense

Real-name online, reserve at least a day ahead; daily cap (around 10,000, higher in peak periods) can close sales when it's hit

Real-name; reserve/buy online or at the gate; some holiday periods run a free-with-reservation promotion with a daily cap

Free but real-name, timed-slot reserved in advance through the official provincial platform

Morning departures from the Guilin-side piers (most boats leave 09:00–10:30); buy ahead in peak season, real-name with your passport

Daming Temple now sells by real-name reservation (passport ID); Dongguan Street itself is a free, open old-town lane

Real-name reservation required to buy; passport as ID, bookable the same day or ahead via the official mini-program

Real-name reservation online (passport as ID); buy a day ahead in peak season (Mar–May, the 'misty March' peak) to be safe

Open roughly 08:00–17:00; reserve ahead in peak season and on holidays, real-name with your passport

Reserve entry online a day or more ahead in summer; shuttle and cable-car tickets are bought on top

Book online a day or more ahead in peak season (mid-Mar to mid-Oct); the scenic-area shuttle runs roughly 10:00-18:30

Real-name reservation through the same scenic-area channel; book ahead on weekends and holidays

Real-name reservation; book a slot ahead in busy periods rather than relying on the gate

Real-name online booking via the 张家界一机游 mini-program; rarely sells out

Timed cableway slots from the city; sells out in season

Real-name online booking via the 张家界一机游 mini-program; same-day usually fine

Real-name, timed-slot online booking; the bridge caps daily numbers and sells out in season

Real-name park tickets; multi-day validity

Real-name reservation only; book the entry ticket (and any activity packages) 1-7 days ahead in the official 沙坡头旅游 mini-program — there's no on-site walk-up ticket window anymore

No park gate to pre-book, but the ferries out are the bottleneck — real-name with your passport and often sold out on summer weekends and holidays, so secure boat tickets ahead

Reached by ferry; the on-island scenic areas are walk-up tickets, no advance booking needed in normal periods

Walk-up beach gate tickets; no advance booking needed in normal periods, busier on summer weekends

Real-name, one-person-one-ticket reservation; you enter by scanning the QR on your booking, so reserve ahead rather than relying on a gate sale

Free but real-name reservation only — book roughly 1-7 days ahead; there is no walk-up entry without a reservation, and daily numbers are capped