Two weeks comprehensive — Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu, Guilin, Shanghai

Day by day

1. Day 1 · beijing

   Arrival, Tiananmen, National Museum

   Settle in. Afternoon Tiananmen and the National Museum.

   Attractions: tiananmen-square

2. Day 2 · beijing

   Forbidden City and Jingshan

   All day Forbidden City + Jingshan + Beihai.

   Attractions: forbidden-city

3. Day 3 · beijing

   Great Wall day

   Mutianyu Wall. Evening Peking duck.

   Attractions: great-wall-mutianyu

4. Day 4 · beijing

   Temple of Heaven, hutongs, 798

   Morning Temple of Heaven; afternoon hutongs around Houhai; evening 798 Art District.

   Attractions: temple-of-heaven, houhai-lakes, 798-art-district

5. Day 5 · xian

   HSR to Xi'an, City Wall

   HSR Beijing → Xi'an. City Wall by bike. Muslim Quarter dinner.

   Attractions: xian-city-wall, muslim-quarter-xian

   HSR ¥515.

6. Day 6 · xian

   Terracotta Army and Big Wild Goose Pagoda

   Half-day at the Terracotta Army. Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the fountain show.

   Attractions: terracotta-army, big-wild-goose-pagoda

7. Day 7 · chengdu

   Fly to Chengdu, panda base prep, Wuhou Shrine

   Short flight Xi'an → Chengdu. Afternoon Wuhou Shrine and Jinli Street.

   Attractions: wuhou-shrine

   Domestic flight ~¥800–¥1,500.

8. Day 8 · chengdu

   Pandas, then Leshan day trip

   Early morning at the Panda Base. Afternoon HSR to Leshan for the Giant Buddha (or save for next day).

   Attractions: panda-base-chengdu, leshan-giant-buddha

9. Day 9 · chengdu

   Sichuan kitchen and free time

   Sichuan cooking class or food crawl, hot pot dinner.

   Attractions: dujiangyan-irrigation

10. Day 10 · guilin

    Fly to Guilin, transfer to Yangshuo

    Flight Chengdu → Guilin. Bus to Yangshuo (~90 min).

    Stay in: Yangshuo town

    Domestic flight ~¥800.

11. Day 11 · yangshuo

    Yulong River bamboo rafting and cycling

    Morning Yulong rafting; afternoon cycling the back roads.

    Attractions: yulong-river-bamboo-rafting

12. Day 12 · yangshuo

    Li River cruise to Guilin

    4-hour Li River cruise back upstream to Guilin; afternoon flight to Shanghai.

    Attractions: li-river-cruise

    Cruise ¥270; flight Guilin → Shanghai ~¥800.

13. Day 13 · shanghai

    Bund and French Concession

    Bund walk, French Concession afternoon, Yu Garden.

    Attractions: the-bund, french-concession, yu-garden

14. Day 14 · shanghai

    Pudong and departure

    Shanghai Tower, Shanghai Museum, depart.

    Attractions: shanghai-tower, shanghai-museum

Budget guide (CNY per day)

Per day per person, average. Add ¥4,000 for inter-city transport.