Across China · rooted in Chengdu
Travel from Beijing’s imperial landmarks to Guangxi’s rice terraces and river landscapes, finishing in Shanghai. Explore the Forbidden City, Huanghuacheng Water Great Wall and Xi’an’s Terracotta Warriors before flying south to Guilin. Visit Zhuang villages around Longji, cruise the Li River to Yangshuo and explore the countryside by bicycle and bamboo raft. Shanghai’s skyline, gardens and waterfront, followed by a Zhujiajiao day trip, complete this fifteen-day journey through northern heritage and southern rural scenery.
What makes this route special
Explore the Forbidden City, hutongs, Temple of Heaven and the Great Wall
See the Terracotta Warriors, Xi’an City Wall and Big Wild Goose Pagoda
Visit Longji Rice Terraces and nearby Zhuang villages
Cruise the Li River from Guilin toward Yangshuo
See the Yulong River countryside by bicycle and bamboo raft
Visit Shanghai’s Oriental Pearl Tower, the Bund and Zhujiajiao water town
Stay in Beijing, Xi’an, Guilin, Yangshuo and Shanghai as specified in the itinerary
Your day-by-day itinerary
Arrive in Beijing and see Dashilar
Arrive in Beijing for airport or train-station pickup and hotel check-in. If timing allows, visit Dashilar, a historic commercial quarter with traditional façades, long-established shops and food stalls. Its lanes offer an easy introduction to old Beijing street life, with contemporary businesses alongside familiar neighborhood activity. This first day leaves room to settle in after your journey while beginning to explore the city’s history through a lively district rather than a formal monument.
- Transport
- Airport or train-station pickup; private transport is planned as an inclusion.
- Guide
- English-speaking guide is planned.
- Accommodation
- Beijing Xiyuan Hotel; 3 nights with breakfast across Days 1–3.
Forbidden City, hutong home visit and Central Axis
Visit the Forbidden City and a hutong home in the morning, then take a half-day bicycle tour along part of Beijing’s Central Axis, with hutong stops and a visit to Tiananmen Square. The day moves from palace architecture to residential lanes and the broad public spaces around the historic center. Cycling brings the city’s north–south framework into view, while the home visit offers a more intimate sense of everyday life behind the ceremonial capital.
- Transport
- Half-day Central Axis bicycle tour; your quote will confirm local transfers.
- Guide
- Guide arrangements for this day will be confirmed with your quote.
- Accommodation
- Beijing Xiyuan Hotel; within the 3-night allocation for Days 1–3.
Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace
Visit the Temple of Heaven in the morning, then spend the afternoon at the Summer Palace, including a boat ride on the lake. The Temple’s open ceremonial grounds and circular halls introduce imperial ritual, while the Summer Palace combines water, bridges and garden architecture. The two settings bring a sense of Beijing’s former court life from different angles: one devoted to ceremony, the other to landscaped leisure and views across the lake.
- Transport
- Private transport is included; local transfer details will be confirmed with your quote.
- Guide
- Guide arrangements for this day will be confirmed with your quote.
- Accommodation
- Beijing Xiyuan Hotel; final night of the 3-night allocation for Days 1–3.
Huanghuacheng Great Wall and rail to Xi’an
Visit Huanghuacheng Water Great Wall, with a boat ride and magnetic slideway, then travel to Beijing station for the high-speed train to Xi’an, scheduled for 15:00–19:12. Meet your driver on arrival. The Great Wall’s lakeside setting gives this visit a different feel from the better-known mountain sections, while the evening rail journey carries you west toward Xi’an. It is a day of outdoor scenery followed by a substantial intercity transfer.
- Transport
- Huanghuacheng outing; Beijing–Xi’an high-speed train, 15:00–19:12; Xi’an station pickup.
- Guide
- English-speaking guide for the Beijing section; Xi’an driver pickup is planned.
- Accommodation
- Grand Noble Hotel, Xi’an; 4 nights with breakfast across Days 4–7.
Terracotta Warriors
Spend the day at the Terracotta Warriors Museum, where rows of life-size figures reveal the scale of Qin imperial burial practices. Use an electric cart for one segment and an audio guide, with an English-speaking guide accompanying the visit. Look closely at the differences in faces, armor and ranks as you move through the archaeological displays. The museum offers a vivid encounter with the craftsmanship and organization behind one of China’s most remarkable ancient sites.
- Transport
- Private transport is included; local transfer details will be confirmed with your quote.
- Guide
- English-speaking guide is planned.
- Accommodation
- Grand Noble Hotel, Xi’an; within the 4-night allocation for Days 4–7.
Xi’an City Wall, museum and Big Wild Goose Pagoda
Explore Xi’an’s city wall and Xi’an Museum in the morning, followed by the Big Wild Goose Pagoda in the afternoon. The wall opens views over the old city, while the pagoda recalls Xi’an’s Tang-era Buddhist heritage. Museum collections add historical context to the visit. Together, these places connect the city’s defensive architecture with its religious and cultural past, making the day a varied introduction to Xi’an beyond the Terracotta Warriors.
- Transport
- Private transport is included; local transfer details will be confirmed with your quote.
- Guide
- Guide arrangements for this day will be confirmed with your quote.
- Accommodation
- Grand Noble Hotel, Xi’an; within the 4-night allocation for Days 4–7.
Stone inscriptions, shadow puppetry and old Xi’an
Visit the Forest of Steles Museum and Gaojia Courtyard for a shadow-puppet performance, with time at Bell Tower Square and the Muslim Quarter. Carved inscriptions and calligraphy offer one record of the region’s past; shadow puppetry preserves a more theatrical form of storytelling. In the Muslim Quarter, busy lanes and food stalls bring the day back to contemporary street life. The sequence moves between scholarship, performance and public spaces in the heart of Xi’an.
- Transport
- Local transport mode will be confirmed with your quote; private transport is included at package level.
- Guide
- Guide arrangements for this day will be confirmed with your quote.
- Accommodation
- Grand Noble Hotel, Xi’an; final night of the 4-night allocation for Days 4–7.
Fly from Xi’an to Guilin
Take an early flight from Xi’an to Guilin and meet your driver at the airport. Stay at Guilin Lijiang Waterfall Hotel for two nights. With no major sightseeing scheduled after the flight, settle into the hotel and enjoy a quieter evening before heading to the Longji Rice Terraces the next day. This transition from the historic streets of Xi’an to Guangxi’s greener landscapes gives the journey a noticeable change of pace and scenery.
- Transport
- Early flight from Xi’an to Guilin; Guilin airport pickup is planned; Your quote will confirm the flight details.
- Guide
- Guide arrangements for this day will be confirmed with your quote.
- Accommodation
- Guilin Lijiang Waterfall Hotel; 2 nights with breakfast across Days 8–9.
Longji Rice Terraces and Zhuang villages
Travel to the Longji Rice Terraces for views across fields shaped along the mountain slopes. Visit a Zhuang village, the Seven Stars Accompanying the Moon viewpoint and the Nine Dragons and Five Tigers area before returning to Guilin for the night. The terraces change color with the seasons, while their layered contours show how generations have worked with the steep landscape. Village visits add a human dimension to the day’s rural scenery.
- Transport
- Guilin–Longji round trip; your quote will confirm transfer arrangements.
- Guide
- Guide arrangements for this day will be confirmed with your quote.
- Accommodation
- Guilin Lijiang Waterfall Hotel; final night of the 2-night allocation for Days 8–9.
Li River cruise to Yangshuo
Travel from Guilin toward Yangshuo by Li River cruise, then visit West Street and attend the Impression Liu Sanjie performance in the evening. Karst peaks and riverside villages unfold beside the boat, creating the landscape views for which the region is known. Stay two nights at the Yangshuo Junhe Lijing Resort Hotel. After the river journey, West Street and the open-air performance bring the day to a lively close.
- Transport
- Li River cruise from Guilin toward Yangshuo; Your quote will confirm local transfers.
- Guide
- Guide arrangements for this day will be confirmed with your quote.
- Accommodation
- Yangshuo Junhe Lijing Resort Hotel; 2 nights with breakfast across Days 10–11.
Yulong River countryside and bamboo raft
Cycle through the countryside along the Yulong River in the morning and take a bamboo raft in the afternoon. The day also includes Yinziyan Cave and an evening in Yangshuo. Village lanes, cultivated fields and karst scenery make a varied outdoor route, while the quieter bamboo raft offers a different perspective from the previous day’s Li River cruise. The combination of cycling, cave scenery and time on the water gives the day a distinctly rural character.
- Transport
- Countryside bicycle outing and Yulong River bamboo raft are planned; other transfers will be confirmed with your quote.
- Guide
- Guide arrangements for this day will be confirmed with your quote.
- Accommodation
- Yangshuo Junhe Lijing Resort Hotel; final night of the 2-night allocation for Days 10–11.
Fly to Shanghai and see the city skyline
Fly from Guilin to Shanghai, then visit the Oriental Pearl Tower, its main observation deck and glass viewing platform, and the Shanghai History Museum. Continue with a Huangpu River day cruise, followed by the Bund and Nanjing Road in the evening. The day moves from an elevated view of the skyline to the river and historic waterfront, then into one of Shanghai’s busiest commercial streets. Stay three nights at Shanghai Zhenping Holiday Inn Express.
- Transport
- Guilin–Shanghai flight; Huangpu River cruise; Your quote will confirm flight times and local transfers.
- Guide
- No day-specific guide assignment is stated.
- Accommodation
- Shanghai Zhenping Holiday Inn Express; 3 nights with breakfast across Days 12–14.
Zhujiajiao water town
Travel from Shanghai to Zhujiajiao, where stone lanes, bridges and waterside houses offer a different atmosphere from the modern city center. Take a boat ride among white-walled houses and dark tiled roofs, then explore the town’s lanes. The canals and compact streets create a slower setting for the day, with time to notice details of local life and architecture that are easy to miss among Shanghai’s broad avenues and high-rise skyline.
- Transport
- Shanghai–Zhujiajiao transfer is planned; mode and timetable will be confirmed with your quote.
- Guide
- Guide arrangements for this day will be confirmed with your quote.
- Accommodation
- Shanghai Zhenping Holiday Inn Express; within the 3-night allocation for Days 12–14.
Yuyuan Garden and Shanghai’s historic districts
Visit Yuyuan Garden and Shanghai Old Town in the morning, then continue to Xintiandi in the former French Concession area and Jade Buddha Temple. The day brings together classical garden details, older commercial streets, shikumen lanes and a Buddhist temple. The changing architecture offers a compact view of Shanghai’s long history and international character, from a Ming-era garden to neighborhoods shaped by later periods of the city’s development.
- Transport
- Private transport is included; local transfer details will be confirmed with your quote.
- Guide
- Guide arrangements for this day will be confirmed with your quote.
- Accommodation
- Shanghai Zhenping Holiday Inn Express; final night of the 3-night allocation for Days 12–14.
Depart from Shanghai
The trip ends with a driver-only airport transfer in Shanghai. The airport and pickup time will be agreed around your confirmed flight. International flights are separate from the tour, and no sightseeing or overnight stay is planned for this final day. After Beijing, Xi’an, the terraces, river cruise and Shanghai’s historic districts, the transfer brings the journey to a close. It is an easy final evening to gather the trip’s different landscapes and city encounters before departure.
- Transport
- Airport transfer in Shanghai; Your quote will confirm the airport and pickup time.
- Guide
- Driver-only departure transfer; no guide.
- Accommodation
- No overnight stay.
What your proposal covers
- Private transport as per group size
- 14 breakfasts and 1 lunch
- Attraction tickets
- English guiding for 14 days
- 14 nights in twin-share deluxe rooms
- Lunches and dinners, except the one lunch listed under included services.
- International flights
- Personal expenses
Payment & cancellation
| Payment due | Share of trip price |
|---|---|
| On trip confirmation | 30% deposit |
| One month before the trip | 70% balance |
| Time before arrival | Cancellation fee |
|---|---|
| More than 45 days | Only costs incurred for flights, cruises and other exceptional services. |
| 45–30 days | 25% |
| 29–16 days | 50% |
| 15–7 days | 80% |
| Less than 7 days | 100% |
| Percentage fees are based on the total trip price. | |
Questions and answers
VISAS
For the latest information on visa procedures, processing times and requirements, please kindly refer to website https://consular.mfa.gov.cn/VISA/
INSURANCE
We will arrange essential insurance coverage for your trip to Mainland China. Meanwhile, we strongly recommend you purchase separate comprehensive travel insurance to cover trip cancellation, medical expenses, luggage loss, repatriation and other associated additional costs. As a minimum requirement, the insurance policy must include medical coverage, which including medical evacuation and repatriation. For this part, you are free to select your preferred insurance provider.
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
If you are traveling during a Chinese public holiday, please note that while tourist attractions remain open, they may be crowded with domestic visitors. Festivities often span several days, during which some businesses may close, and coach, air, and train services could be impacted. The major Golden Week holidays occur annually around 1 to 5 May and 1 to 7 October.
ACCOMMODATION
Your accommodation is chosen for its convenience, comfort, or character. Hotels are generally of a four-star standard in major cities. Please note, there is no international classification system, so facilities and quality may differ from those in your home country.
LUGGAGE
Each traveller is permitted a maximum of two pieces of luggage: one suitcase with a maximum weight of 20kg and one piece of hand luggage with a maximum weight of 5kg. This requirement applies to domestic trains and flights. We recommend packing only what you can carry independently, as you will be responsible for handling your luggage on and off trains or air-checked. Please note: If your luggage exceed the limits, kindly inform your travel designer in advance, and we will arrange a suitable vehicle for you.
TRAVEL MONEY IN CHINA
We recommend having access to multiple sources of money while traveling. A combination of payment methods, including mobile payment apps, cash, and cards, will offer the most security and flexibility. Mobile payment apps like WeChat and Alipay are often more widely accepted than international cards or cash in China. You will need an internet connection when in China to use the apps.
