16-Day Best of China Tour to Beijing, Xi’an, Chengdu, Zhangjiajie, Guilin & Shanghai

Upon arrival, your driver meets you in the arrivals hall with your name on a board. A private car will bring you into the city centre to check in at your hotel. The rest of the day is free for you to settle in, or step out for a first taste of Beijing on your own.

If you are wondering where to eat or what to do after dark, below are some local favourites:

• Gui Street (Ghost Street) — A top choice for late-night food, combining local snacks and nightlife

• Houhai and Shichahai — Feature lakeside bars and cafés, many open until around 2 am.

• Qianmen, Dashilan and Xianyukou — A good place to seek old-school snacks and shops, best earlier in the evening.

• Niujie (Cow Street) — The place to go for authentic halal cooking during the day.

Your guide and driver will pick you up from the hotel after breakfast and the day begins at Tian'anmen Square, a vast open plaza in the heart of the capital. Spend a little time taking in its scale before passing through the Tiananmen Gate.

Beyond the gate lies the Forbidden City, the walled palace where 24 Ming and Qing emperors ruled. You enter through the Meridian Gate on the south side and follow the central axis past the grand halls, red walls, and golden-tiled roofs, while your guide shares the stories and symbolism behind the architecture.

Leaving the palace behind, you step into the hutongs — the narrow lanes lined with the low courtyard houses, or siheyuan, where the city's old neighbourhood life continues. A rickshaw ride through them is the classic way to get around (at an extra cost).

The day finishes at the Lama Temple, the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Beijing and once the private mansion of Prince Yong (later Emperor Yongzheng). The highlights here include the Chinese symmetrical courtyard layout, Tibetan-style roof skylights & golden spires, Manchu & Mongolian decorative details and unmatched woodcarving treasures. Now it is an active monastery with resident monks.

After the visit, your driver will transfer you back to the hotel.

Today you drive roughly 73 km out of the city to Mutianyu, a section of the Great Wall that is better kept and far less crowded than Badaling. The wall here runs for about 2.25 km and is dotted with 23 watchtowers.

This section is facilitated with cable cars and a toboggan (both at an extra cost), so you can choose a route based on your energy level and preferences. If you enjoy a bit of adventure, take the cable car up, walk along the Wall, and take the toboggan back down. If you are traveling with children or prefer less steep steps, take the cable car up, hike the gentler high section before riding back down. 

Photo tips: To take great photos, you can stand beside the battlements with a tower behind you, or shoot the wall snaking along the ridgeline from the cable car on the way up.

Drive back to the city and the afternoon is for you to visit the Summer Palace, a UNESCO-listed imperial garden where Kunming Lake fills around three-quarters of the grounds. Wander past Longevity Hill, the Seventeen-Arch Bridge and the 728-metre Long Corridor at your own pace; if you like, add a boat ride on the lake for a small extra cost.

Your driver will transfer you back to the hotel at the end of the day.

The morning starts at the Temple of Heaven, where Ming and Qing emperors held winter ceremonies to pray for a good harvest. Its centrepiece, the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, is a blue-roofed circular building full of symbolism about heaven and the cosmos.

It is also a lively public park today, where locals gather each morning for tai chi, singing and exercise. Try to join them if you like.

There is time for a short wander along Wangfujing Street, the capital's busiest shopping avenue, before your driver takes you to the railway station. 

Your high-speed train to Xi'an takes about 4.5 to 6 hours. On arrival, the driver in Xi'an is waiting at the station to transfer you to your downtown hotel.

Start your Xi'an exploration at the Terracotta Army, a UNESCO World Heritage Site often called the Eighth Wonder of the World. More than 2,200 years ago, China's first emperor ordered thousands of life-sized clay soldiers made and buried with him to protect him in the afterlife.

Today, the three excavated pits display around 8,000 figures, horses, and chariots. The warriors have remarkable differences in their faces, hairstyles, clothing, and poses. Allow about 2.5-3 hours to admire the details of these figures and listen to your guide's stories about the Terracotta Army and the Qin emperor.

Back in the city, visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, a Tang Dynasty landmark within the Da Ci'en Temple. The pagoda was built under the supervision of the famous monk Xuanzang to house the Buddhist scriptures he brought back from India. Leisurly stroll around the pagoda and the surrounding square. If you like, you can ascend the pagoda (at your own expense) for a panoramic view of the city.  

Move on to the Muslim Quarter. This lively area with food stalls and old eateries is the place to sample local specialities such as lamb paomo, roujiamo and liangpi, and to watch everyday life in one of the city's oldest neighbourhoods.

If you like, make a stop at the Great Mosque, hidden among the lanes of the Muslim Quarter. Dating back to the Tang Dynasty, this historic mosque beautifully combines traditional Chinese courtyards and architecture with Islamic religious culture.

Start this morning at the Xi'an City Wall, the best-preserved Ming-era wall in China, standing about 12 metres high and running 13.74 km around the old city area. Walk a stretch of it, or rent a bike (extra expense) and ride along the top, looking down over both the historic districts and the modern side of the city.

Next on your list is Hanyangling Mausoleum, the shared tomb of a Emperor Jing in the Han Dynasty and his empress. Its glass-floored museum lets you look down onto the burial pits — a quieter, more intimate glimpse of ancient funeral rites than the grand Terracotta site.

Similar to the Terracotta Army, the mausoleum also features numerous pottery figures, but they are only 1/3 of human height. These miniature figures offer a glimpse into court and everyday life during the Han Dynasty, including soldiers, court ladies, eunuchs, servants, and farm animals such as pigs, sheep, cattle, and dogs.

Your driver then will drop you off at the station for the high-speed train to Chengdu.

Set an early alarm, because pandas are at their most active in the morning. Visit the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, a leafy bamboo-filled park where the bears — and often the smaller red pandas too — spend the morning eating, wrestling and dozing. Getting there at around their feeding time is the surest way to catch them at play.

Returning to the city, you will wander around Jinli Street, a rebuilt lane of traditional shopfronts full of snacks, crafts and teahouses.

Right beside it sits Wuhou Shrine, a calm temple set among old cypresses and dedicated to Zhuge Liang, the famous strategist of the Three Kingdoms. Get back to the hotel afterwards.

After breakfast you check out. The driver will transfer you to the station for a late-morning high-speed train south to Yangshuo.

After meeting you at the station, the driver in Yangshuo will bring you to your hotel. With the rest of the day free, you might simply rest, or take an early-evening stroll along West Street, the town's lively pedestrian street.

Your guide and driver will pick you up at the hotel for a day exploring the karst landscape around Yangshuo.

Begin at Silver Cave, a large limestone cave that got its name because of the sparkling calcite crystals. The cave stays at around 20°C year-round. Follow the one-way path through chambers filled with stalactites, stalagmites, and unusual rock formations. Please wear non-slip shoes as the paths can be slippery.

Continue to Ruyi Peak. Take a cable car up the mountain. Walk across the suspension Ruyi Bridge and glass boardwalk. The viewing platform on the top offers 360° panoramic views over layered karst peaks and rice paddies.

On the way back to Yangshuo, make a stop at Moon Hill for photos. A natural stone arch pierces the mountain and changes its shape as you drive along the road. Note that this is only a roadside photo stop; you will not hike up the 800 steps to the cave.

You will back at your hotel by late afternoon.

This is a day for moving slowly through the countryside. After breakfast, set off by bicycle along the Yulong River, following quiet lanes through rice fields and tiny villages with the karst peaks rising all around.

At an easy pace, the loop takes around 1.5-2 hours, and you can stop at the Giggling Tree along the way.

In the afternoon, the pace softens further as you board a traditional bamboo raft and drift a scenic stretch of the Yulong. The bamboo poles push gently through the water as the peaks slide past. The round trip is about 50 minutes, before you are driven back to the hotel.

Start the morning with a cruise on the Li River, passing through the karst landscape that the area is known for. From Xingping Pier, board a comfortable three-star sightseeing boat for a 90-minute round trip to Fishing Village and back. The multi-level boat has an open-air viewing deck, with commentary provided on board.

During the cruise, marvel at some of the best-known scenery around Xingping, including the landscape featured on the 20-yuan note.

You get on and off at Xingping Pier. After the cruise, the driver will transfer you to the railway station for the high-speed train to Zhangjiajie. Upon arrival at Zhangjiajie, your local driver will be ready to drive you to the hotel.

After an early breakfast, you head into Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, a UNESCO site whose forest of sandstone pillars wree the inspiration for the floating mountains in the film Avatar.

A convenient route strings the highlights together without too much climbing:

Enter the park → ride the Bailong Elevator up the cliff face → walk the Yuanjiajie viewpoints, where the Avatar-inspired pillars crowd the horizon → continue to Tianzi Mountain for the sweeping panoramas → descend to Golden Whip Stream and finish with a gentle riverside walk through the valley.

Good to know: The park gets extremely busy in peak season, so treat the route above as a guide only. Your guide may reorder the sights to dodge the biggest queues, for example going up to Tianzi Mountain first and visiting Yuanjiajie afterwards.

Today is for two of Zhangjiajie's most dramatic feats. First you walk out onto the Glass Bridge across the Grand Canyon, a 430-metre span suspended about 300 metres above the gorge floor — a perfect setting for adventure.

Afterwards, drive to Tianmen Mountain and ride the 7,455-metre cableway to the summit, walking the cliffside paths and glass skywalks toward Tianmen Cave. The cave is actually a great natural arch punching through the mountain at around 1,300 metres. You can take the escalators straight through the rock or climb the famous 999 steps. People with knee trouble will prefer the escalators.

In the evening you are driven to the airport for the flight to Shanghai (about 2 hours), and a driver will meet you on arrival to take you to your downtown hotel.

Your first full day in Shanghai starts at Longhua Temple, a Buddhist monastery that can be traced back to the 3rd century and is among the oldest in the city. Soak up the quiet here before diving into the Old Town.

There you visit Yu Garden, a Ming Dynasty garden of pavilions, rockeries and ponds in the Jiangnan style. Then wander the neighbouring Yuyuan Bazaar to hunt down Shanghai snacks.

The next stop, Xintiandi, shows the city's other side — rows of shikumen lane houses turned into cafés, restaurants and boutiques.

Continue your trip to the Bund, the riverfront promenade lined with 52 historic buildings. Across the Huangpu River, the Lujiazui skyline lights up — the Shanghai Tower, the World Financial Center, Jin Mao Tower and the Oriental Pearl. If you like, cross by ferry or take a river cruise (at an extra cost) to see the lights from the water, before your driver returns you to the hotel.

Your last day is a gentler wander through Shanghai's quieter corners. Start in the Former French Concession, where plane trees shade rows of old villas.

Stop at the Little White House, a 1905 villa that now serves as the city's arts-and-crafts museum, with jade carving and Gu embroidery among its displays.

Continue to the Shanghai Museum, whose collection of bronzes, ceramics, calligraphy and painting ranks among China's finest.

Cross the Huangpu River to Pudong, and round off the day at the observation deck of the Shanghai World Financial Center. Due to its distinctive rectangular cut-out at the top, the building is nicknamed "the Bottle Opener". The high observation platform here offers sweeping panoramic views across the Huangpu River, contrasting the colonial architecture of the Bund and the futuristic skyscraper skyline of Pudong.

Drive back to your hotel at the end of the day.

Enjoy some free time at your hotel before our driver picks you up at the scheduled time and transfers you to the airport for your departure flight.

Please note:

• If there are any children join the tour, please email us to check the detailed update price accordingly, thanks.  

• Feel free to contact us if you want to customize the itinerary based on your interests, preferences and schedule.