Best cities with kids
- Shanghai — Disneyland, the Natural History Museum, easy metros, English signage. Best first stop.
- Chengdu — pandas at dawn, hot pot at night. The pace is gentle.
- Hong Kong — Disney, Ocean Park, two-hour flights from anywhere in Asia.
- Guilin / Yangshuo — Li River cruise, bamboo rafts, cycling through karst.
Cities to think twice about
- Beijing — huge distances, hutongs are stroller-unfriendly, Great Wall sections involve real stairs. Doable but tiring.
- Xi'an in summer — heat plus tourist crowds at the Warriors. Go in spring.
Practical
- Strollers — fine in malls and parks, painful in hutongs and old towns. Consider a light carrier instead.
- Car seats — Didi has a "car-seat" option in tier-1 cities. Bring your own for road trips.
- Diapers & formula — every City'super and Ole supermarket carries imported brands. No need to ship.
- Pediatricians — United Family Healthcare (Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou) takes international insurance. Excellent English.
- HSR — kids under 1.2m ride free with an adult. Family carriages on some routes.
Food
Picky eaters do better than parents expect. Plain rice, steamed buns, dumplings, congee, and noodle soup are everywhere. Avoid Sichuan-style for the first day. Bottled water only; tap is fine for cooking.
Sample 10-day family loop
- Shanghai 4 nights (Disney + Bund + Old Town) →
- HSR to Hangzhou, 2 nights (West Lake, tea fields) →
- Flight to Chengdu, 3 nights (pandas, Leshan Buddha day trip) →
- Fly home from Chengdu.
Also useful: visa rules · safety · what to pack.