Moscow

Red Square, the Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral, palace-like metro stations and seas of New Year lights: a European metropolis whose popularity has soared since visa-free entry for Chinese citizens.

Moscow is the capital and largest city of Russia, with a population of about 13 million, on the Moskva River in the middle of the East European Plain. The city spreads outward in rings around the Kremlin: Red Square and the Kremlin at the center, then the Garden Ring, the Third Ring Road and the Moscow Ring Road. Most major sights lie inside the Garden Ring and can be covered on foot and by metro. Key areas: around Red Square (the Kremlin, St. Basil's Cathedral, GUM department store, Lenin's Mausoleum); Tverskaya Street and the Bolshoi Theatre; Arbat Street and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour; Zaryadye Park and the Tretyakov Gallery on the south bank of the Moskva River; Sparrow Hills and Moscow State University; and VDNKh in the north. Sergiyev Posad (70 km away) on the Golden Ring can be visited as a round-trip day excursion. The climate is temperate continental: May–September is most comfortable at 18–28°C, with daylight lasting up to 17 hours in June–July; October–November is gray, cold and rainy; December–February hovers around -10°C with frequent snow, but the ice rink on Red Square and the Christmas and New Year lights (mid-December to mid-January) create a wonderful atmosphere. Getting there: several Chinese cities have direct flights to Moscow Sheremetyevo (SVO), taking about 8–9 hours. The Aeroexpress train reaches the city in about 35–50 minutes (around 500 rubles). Starting in 2025, a trial mutual visa waiver between China and Russia lets Chinese citizens stay visa-free for 30 days; check the latest policy before you go. The metro is the main means of transport. Buy a Troika card at ticket machines and tap it at the gates; a single ride costs about 70 rubles. Call taxis with Yandex Go; QR-code payment requires a local bank card, so visitors mostly pay in cash. Because of sanctions, Visa and Mastercard do not work in Russia, so bring plenty of cash or get a UnionPay card (works at some ATMs); Alipay works at some merchants. We recommend 3–4 days: 1 day for Red Square and the Kremlin, half a day for the metro, Arbat and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, half a day for the Tretyakov Gallery and Zaryadye, 1 day for VDNKh or Sergiyev Posad, and an evening of ballet at the Bolshoi. Tips: the Kremlin is closed on Thursdays, and the Armoury Chamber must be booked for a specific time slot on the official website in advance; Lenin's Mausoleum is open mornings only and requires a security check and bag deposit; in churches, women should cover their heads and men should remove their hats; indoor heating is strong in winter, so wear easy-to-remove layers; English is not widely spoken, so download offline Yandex Translate and map packs.

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