In recent years, China's summer has been getting much hotter, especially in the east and south of China. There are still some top places to go in July in China to appreciate natural landscapes and attend some great ethnic festivals, without it being too hot.
Here we list the best 8 places to visit in July in China. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions. All our tours can be customized. We will create a trip for your summer vacation according to your group size, time, budget, interests, and other requirements.
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1. Chengdu — Meet Cute Pandas
Chengdu is a city of pandas. The lovely giant pandas are the No. 1 reason that people visit Chengdu.
Going to Chengdu to see the cute pandas is a good choice for both adults and children. You can join in a panda volunteer program in Wolong Panda Baseexplore and explore habitat of wild giant pandas in a nature reserve. See our 2-Day Wolong Panda Keeper Program Tour.
Jiuzhaigou (Jiuzhai Valley) is open to visit. With cool weather, summer is the best time to see its waterfalls and green lakes.
Visit Mount Emei, which is one of the most well-known summer destinations in China. Experience the congenial atmosphere, natural scenery, and Buddhist culture.
2. Inner Mongolia — Vast Grasslands
Inner Mongolia has vast grasslands where you can enjoy horse riding and trekking when the weather is comfortable. During the short and hot summers, the grass is the tallest. Grasslands stretch as far as the eye can see. It has one of China's most beautiful and unusual natural areas. It was once the domain of the Mongol empires, and you can see Mongolian yurts in some places still.
July to September is the best time to travel to Inner Mongolia, when the temperature is quite comfortable and the grasslands are lush. The annual Naadam Grassland Festival is held during this period, during which you will have the chance to enjoy Mongol sporting competitions and traditional celebrations with Mongolian folk songs and dances.
3. Zhangjiajie — Inspiration for Avatar Hallelujah Mountain
Zhangjiajie features fabulous mountainous scenery. It is a natural summer resort and has China's first national forest park — Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. Towering mountains, clear streams, and fresh air make the park a natural air conditioner and a natural oxygen bar.
Take the world's longest cable car to Tianmen Mountain, which has the highest peak in Zhangjiajie. Bike around the beautiful and non-touristy side of Tianmen Mountain.
The heat dissipates when you take a cable car to reach the top of the mountain. The mountain peak vistas are charming, especially under the misty rain and fog. Walk on the cliff-hanging walkway and see the 99 Bends and the grand Tianmen Cave.
Recommended Tours
- 5-Day Zhangjiajie Hiking and Biking Tour for Any Level
- 4-Day Zhangjiajie Essence Tour
- See more Zhangjiajie tours for inspiration
Discover real reviews of Highlights Travel Family's best-rated service across trusted platforms.
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Zhangjiajie/ Spectacular scenery and great taste of local culture.
Zhangjiajie immediately went to the top of our list of natural attractions in the world. The landscapes are fascinating and unique. We really valued the guidance by China Highlights. Roger was good accommodating to our needs during the planning phase. In the actual trip Linda provided us with knowledgeable and passionate guidance. She was very personable and respectful at the same time. Her advice was critical to be able to see so much - as in every park or area there are multiple buses to move around. She showed us the best spots at the best time.Local restaurant selection was good. One piece of advice- make sure to specify how much spice you enjoy in your food. Local food can be quite spicy. more
Jan 2024, Raul C Mexico city
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An Unforgettable Experience
China Highlights and the local guide Linda deserve special kudos for making this trip happen for my family. Linda was very knowledgeable and passionate about the area and the subjects we cared about. She went above and beyond to accommodate extra activities for us and to assist with choosing the food so that we get to try the local cuisine. more
Jan 2024, Diana G
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Great experience in Zhangjiajie
Our trip to Zhangjiajie was fantastic. We had Terry as our tour guide for a few days and we loved all the experiences. He is a very capable guide and knows a lot about history. We needed him to translate many things in the city and he was very patient with us. He speaks very good English and is punctual. He took many pictures to us more
Jan 2024, shinemasla
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ZhangJiaJie Exploration with China Highlights
Bree (Xiao Hong) is our guide in ZhangJiaJie; she is very experience in handling our itineraries and always managed to work out our travel route to minimize the crash with big crowd; it really makes our visit more relaxing and joyful. Also, able to take extra care on my family meal preferences and diet constraints. Special thanks to Bree. more
Jan 2024, Kenneth C
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China Three (3) Cities Tours
To the tour guides, Ethan, Jason and Tony, you guys have made my visit an awesome and memorable experience. All the tour guides spoke english and communicated very effectively. They are knowledgeable about all the sites visited including, Great Wall of China, The Forbidden City, Panda Breeding and Research Center, Leshan Giant Buddha, Hallelujah Mountains, Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon and Glass Bridge, and Tianmen Mountain. more
Nov 2023, Kadar
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Family trip
During our extended trip in China, we spent three days in Zhangjiajie with our fantastic guide, Tutu. She speaks English fluently, is always polite, and extremely proactive. She took us to visit less crowded places, where we could enjoy the views undisturbed. more
Nov 2023, Kamila1123
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Spectacular Zhangjiajie National Forest
My Guide Li Wen Jing’s English was perfect. I took a Soft Sleeper train to Xhangjiajie. The most exciting part of my visit to Xhangjiajie was the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park (Avatar Mountain) and the Grand Canyon of Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge. Liking excitement and technology Xhangjiajie has one of the most spectacular cable cars in the world. I don’t visit many places twice, but Zhangjiajie will be on my list. more
Nov 2023, BillWalton2
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Amazing experience in Zhangjiajie
We had a great time in Zhangjiajie thanks in no small part to our excellent guide, Apple, who took us to all of the major attractions throughout the region. He was very personable and his English is very good. Best of all, he took us off the tourist beaten path to some of his favorite places to visit with unique views and to restaurants with great food.Our trip to the Grand Canyon and the Glass Bridge was particularly memorable with taking the slide instead of the second down escalator. The day was capped off with a tour through the caves. Lots of steps! The trip to the top of Tian Men Mountain was quite memorable. more
Nov 2023, Pennie B
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Best 2 day tour in Zhangjiajie
We booked a 2 day tour in Zhangjiajie and had a wonderful experience visiting the Zhangjiajie National forest park where the avatar movie was inspired from, and on our second day we went the Tiamen mountain. Our Guide Wendy is very knowledgeable and took us to places unknown by tourists and she showed us the best spots for the best views. Thanks to Wendy for making our visit such a wonderful and memorable experience. more
Nov 2023, annenguyen2016
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An amazing experience at the avatar park
My friend and I really enjoyed our 3 days in Zhangjiajie! We had a great enthusiastic tourguide Tony who is a local of the city and knew the nature and city so well. We were so lucky with the weather and because of Tony we could also avoid the crowded areas. The views were beautiful and we made a lot of pictures. Oh and Tony could make beautiful pictures as well. Overall an amazing experience with china highlights! more
Oct 2023, Sümeyye S
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Super customized guided experience
Zhangjiajie is a beautiful and truly special place for nature lovers. Be forewarned that it's super busy though, so we were really glad to go as early as possible (the park opens at 7), and we were glad to book with China highlights as they helped us with all of the ticketing and helped us dodge the lineups and many of the crowds. Our guide Lee was knowledgeable and with great English, and they gave me a number of great hiking recommendations to make sure I got the outdoor experience I was dreaming about. I traveled here with an aging parent, and I'm super grateful to Lee for juggling both our needs and being super flexible with our schedule to make sure I got in some solo hiking time while also catching all the most important sights inside the park. more
Sep 2023, Stephanie N
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Highly Recommend Zhangjiajie Tour
Had a great tour of Zhangjiajie with our guide,Tony. Each day was filled with activities that smoothly flowed from one to another with little to no wait time. We saw everything that was advertised and more. Lunches were delicious and filling. Tony is very engaging with tremendous local knowledge. He knew the best spots to take pictures and how to get away from the crowds. He was also very good about taking photos of our family and sending them to us. more
Sep 2023, Pat S
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Wonderfull and memorable experience!
The natural scenery is majestic and wonderful in Tienmen and Zhangjiajie. Fenghuang guzhen is also well worth a visit.We also thank our tour guide David, who did his job very well: understanding local history and culture. he also helped us buy tickets to great shows: the Fox Fary….High recommend for this tour and service! more
Sep 2023, Thu? N
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Unforgettable tour!
Myself and my boyfriend spent 4 days in Zhangjiajie exploring the amazing scenery. The tour was seamless and we would not have navigated the parks without our tour guide Chris, who took us on the best routes through the parks and showed us the best places to take pictures. more
Aug 2023, Declan O
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Fantastic private tour
We had an excellent trip; we did the 3 day (4 nights) tour and our guide Wendy made it an exceptional experience. She was so informative and planned our itinerary so well - even though the attractions are very busy in the summer season, Wendy made sure that we did our best to avoid the crowds. The sights are beautiful and it is absolutely worth travelling from the bigger cities. Tianmen mountain was the highlight of the trip! We are so glad we booked a private tour. Hotel was also excellent. more
Aug 2023, Ailin C
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Beautiful scenery with and without local tourists
Another excellent 3-day section of our 3-week tailor made China Highlights tour, this time with Pan Hon (Bree). On the first day we saw the beautiful karst peaks in the Zhangilajie national park with - and completely without - local tourist crowds thanks to Bree. On the second day we did the Grand Canyon, a zip line descent over it and traversed the longest glass bridge in the world where we added an impromptu 260m bungee jump to our itinerary! Day three we ascended Tianmen mountain via the world’s longest cable car, walked on top of it and then took seven escalators and the stairs down from Heaven’s Gate before coming back via the other cable car. This way we encountered less queues and also made the ascent easier for us, especially since Bree managed to get us VIP tickets on the first and third day (for an additional Y100 per person) which meant we queued for half an hour instead of the usual two hours plus during China’s school holiday peak season. Bree is a caring, friendly, efficient, extremely flexible guide who thinks of everything and is very attentive of what her clients’ needs are. We couldn’t have wished for a better guide! Thank you Bree. more
Aug 2023, Axel R
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Marvelous
We visited Zhangjiajie for 3 days as part of our China trip. We spent unforgettable 3 days due to our perfect guide - Lee from China Highlights. The timing was great, the food- so delicious. We saw everything as planned in the itinerary. Lee is the best guide! We had great time, unforgettable moments with the amazing nature. more
Jul 2023, Viki B
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Rated 5 out of 5 stars
We had a wonderful time in Hunan. All sites we visited were spectacular. The Nature around Zhangjiajie is perhaps most beautiful on the Planet. The trip was prepared perfectly, and we were very lucky with the weather. Our personal guide, ToNy, was perfect: he is a very nice person, very responsive, with full head of ideas of making the trip nicer than in the itinerary. I would recommend him as a personal guide to everybody. more
May 2023, Pawel from Warsaw
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Zhangjiajie magic
Our tour guide Tony was very friendly and enthusiastic about sharing his magical hometown. We really enjoyed our trip with him, and especially appreciated his ordering recommendations at lunch (which were all delicious), taking us to the ‘secret’ quiet spots, great photography skills and sharing facts about the local people and customs. We would recommend a trip to Zhangjiajie with China highlights and Tony to other travellers. more
Apr 2023, Rhiannon E
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Spectacular landscapes
Our guide David from China Highlights was awesome and showed us the best spots and also some secret spots off the beaten track. He was always helpful with restaurant recommendations and make sure we have a pleasant stay. Thanks David. more
Mar 2023, Steffen Wet
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4. Yunnan Province — a Colorful Fairyland
Due to its special geographic location with lush vegetation, the weather in Yunnan Province is not very hot. Therefore, it has gradually become one of the best choices for summer vacations. The best cities to visit in Yunnan are Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, and Shangri-La.
Wander in leisurely ancient towns in Dali, Lijiang, and Shangri-La. Bike along charming Erhai Lake in Dali. Listen to the roaring of Tiger Leaping Gorge in between Lijiang and Shangri-La. Go to the Lugu Lake to escape the summer heat and soak in its incredible scenery.
5. The Silk Road — Discover Chinese History and Culture
The Silk Road was an important international trade route in ancient times, and stretches a long distance through some amazing scenic and cultural places.
Gannan is scenic and cool with Tibetan culture, gorgeous mountains, valleys, gorges, wetlands, and meadows. Zhongwei provides wonderful and fun desert activities such as sledding, camel trekking, dune buggying and camping. Xi'an, Dunhuang, Zhangye, and Xinjiang are all charming for their unique Silk Road culture.
Recommended Tours
- 6-Day Gannan Pure Land Tour
- 3-Day Zhongwei Desert Tour with Winery Experience
- 11-Day Along the Great Silk Road
- See more Silk Road tours for inspiration
6. Guizhou Province — Explore Chinese Minority Culture
Guizhou Province is an ideal summer destination, as it is temperate and not very hot.
You will discover places and diverse minority cultures that you've never heard of. Visit Mount Fanjing, which became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018. It isn't a trending place to visit now, so you can enjoy a quiet trip there. The cool weather and cloud-wrapped Mushroom Rock will not disappoint you.
Guizhou has the second highest number of minority groups next to Yunnan Province. Tujia, Miao, and many others make Guizhou an important place for ethnic culture. You can learn disappearing traditional crafts, such as making paper by using vegetable fiber, batiking and silver-ornament-making.
Recommended Tours
- 6-Day Diverse Minority Adventure
- See more Guizhou tours for inspiration
7. Tibet — Explore Pure Landscape and Tibetan Culture
The temperature in summer in Tibet is around 12-24°C (54-75°F). In summer, you may have lower risk of altitude sickness because the air has a higher oxygen content than in other seasons.
Summer is the time to travel to the various attractions in the remoter regions and enjoy the high-altitude sites when the mountain passes are snow free such as a Mount Kailash hiking.
July is one of the busiest travel months of the year in Tibet. A good idea is to book a tour with us at least 1 month before your journey and let us to confirm all bookings for you.
- 5-Day Tibet Tour including Lhasa Highlights and Lake Yamdrok
- 7-Day Tibet Tour including Trekking and Camping
8. Qinghai Lake — Nature and Tibetan Culture
Qinghai Lake is China's largest, and it is often deep blue, high in the old Tibetan homeland of Qinghai Province. You can appreciate Tibetan culture and food while you walk and bike in the towns in the area.
In July, the lake is decorated with golden clothing, as tens of thousands of hectares of rape flowers spread out from Qinghai Lake's shores.
- Recommended tour: 8-Day Qinghai Lake, Zhangye, and Dunhuang Tour
Tour China with Us
All our tours can be customized. If you are not interested in the above destinations or tours, you can contact us to tailor-make a summer tour for you. It is important to us that you feel comfortable and safe during your visit and we will respect any requests or decisions you make regarding your travels.
- See more recommended tours for your vacation in China
- Just feel free to contact us if you have any questions.