AAAAA () is awarded to the most important and best-maintained

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beaut ...

s in the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, given the highest level in the rating categories used by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. As of 2025, there are 359 tourist attractions listed as 5A.

History

The origins of the rating system for tourist attractions are based on criteria first set out in 1999 by the

China National Tourism Administration The China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) was a Chinese government authority responsible for the development of tourism affairs and was subordinate to the State Council. Its headquarters were in Beijing. History The predecessor was the ...

(predecessor to the current Ministry of Culture and Tourism) and revised in 2004. The criteria include quality and management factors like ease of transportation links, site safety, cleanliness, etc., and also takes into account the uniqueness and recognition of the sightseeing offers. Tourist attractions were graded according to the criteria on a scale initially from A to AAAA with AAAAA or 5As added on later as the highest rating. A group of 66 tourist attractions was certified as the first set of AAAAA rated tourist attractions in 2007. The first batch included many of the most iconic historical sites in China including the

Forbidden City The Forbidden City () is the Chinese Empire, imperial Chinese palace, palace complex in the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City in Beijing, China. It was the residence of 24 Ming dynasty, Ming and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasty L ...

and

Summer Palace The Summer Palace () is a vast ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces in Beijing. It was an imperial garden during the Qing dynasty. Inside includes Longevity Hill () Kunming Lake and Seventeen Hole Bridge. It covers an expanse of , three-quar ...

. Additional batches of additional sites have been added including 20 new 5A sites in February 2017. On rare occasions, a few locations have been downgraded from the highest rating category for deficiencies in visitor experience.

List

Beijing

Tianjin

Hebei

Shanxi

Inner Mongolia

Liaoning

Jilin

Heilongjiang

Shanghai

Jiangsu

Zhejiang

Anhui

Fujian

Jiangxi

Shandong

Henan

Hubei

Hunan

Guangdong

Guangxi

Hainan

Chongqing

Sichuan

Guizhou

Yunnan

Tibet

Shaanxi

Gansu

Qinghai

Ningxia

Xinjiang

Downgrading

Tourist sites found deficient by the

(merged into the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2018) have lost their 5A accreditation due to deficiencies in visitor experience. In 2015,

Shanhai Pass The Shanhai Pass () is a major fortified gateway at the eastern end of the Great Wall of China and one of its most crucial fortifications, as the pass commands the narrowest choke point in the strategic Liaoxi Corridor, an elongated coasta ...

in Hebei was the first tourist site to be downgraded from 5A. The next wave of downgrading occurred in 2016 with the removal of

Orange Isle Orange Isle ( zh, s=橘子洲, t=橘子洲, p=Júzi Zhōu) is an island, isle in Xiang River, Changsha, Hunan, China. It also known by other names, such as Ju Isle () and Shuilu Isle (). It has a length of , a width of and a total area of . It w ...

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

and Shenlong Gorge in

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

for "security concerns, overpricing, poor environmental management and poor facility maintenance, as well as bad service mainly resulting from a lack of staff members."

References

External links

Complete list of AAAA tourist attractions (Chinese)
at the website of the central government of the People's Republic of China {{China topics, state=autocollapse Tourism in China Tourist Attraction Rating Categories of China