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

Day by day

1. Day 1 · beijing

   Arrival, Tiananmen, National Museum

   Arrive at PEK or PKX. Check in to hotel near Wangfujing or Qianmen — the most convenient areas for the imperial sites. Afternoon walk to Tiananmen Square and the National Museum of China (the world's most-visited museum; the history of China gallery requires at least 2 hours and is free with passport registration).

   Attractions: tiananmen-square

2. Day 2 · beijing

   Forbidden City and Jingshan

   Pre-booked online tickets for the Forbidden City morning entry (book 3+ days ahead). Enter from Tiananmen; follow the central axis through the three main ceremonial halls. Climb Jingshan Park (Coal Hill) via the short northern path for the aerial view of the palace — 72 golden rooftops visible from the Wanshu Pavilion. Afternoon in Beihai Park or the hutong area north of the Drum Tower.

   Attractions: forbidden-city

3. Day 3 · beijing

   Great Wall day

   Hired car to Mutianyu Great Wall (90 minutes from central Beijing). Cable car ascent; walk the 2 km restored section with watchtowers at intervals. The toboggan descent is an option (¥60). Return by 4pm. Evening Peking duck dinner — Quanjude (founded 1864, the oldest Peking duck institution) or one of the newer specialist restaurants near Qianmen.

   Attractions: great-wall-mutianyu

4. Day 4 · beijing

   Temple of Heaven, hutongs, 798

   Morning at the Temple of Heaven: the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the Circular Mound Altar, and the Long Corridor where elderly Beijingers gather every morning for music, calligraphy, and exercise. Mid-morning walk through the hutongs around Houhai Lake — the traditional narrow-lane residential alleys that predate the modern city. Evening at the 798 Art District (Dashanzi) — factory buildings converted into galleries, cafés, and studios.

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

5. Day 5 · xian

   HSR to Xi'an, City Wall

   Morning HSR Beijing West → Xi'an North (4.5 hours, ¥515 second class). Arrive mid-afternoon. Hire a bicycle at the South Gate and ride the top of the 14 km city wall — 1.5 hours for the full circuit. Dusk brings good light over the bell tower at the wall's centre. Dinner in the Muslim Quarter (Beiyuanmen food street) — roujiamo, paomo, cumin lamb.

   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 (Bingmayong) — 40 km east by taxi or tour bus. Pit 1 is the main spectacle; the Bronze Chariots Museum is in a separate building. Return by noon. Afternoon: Shaanxi History Museum (one of China's best collections of Tang-dynasty artefacts, free). Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the evening fountain show in the south plaza.

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

7. Day 7 · chengdu

   Fly to Chengdu, panda base prep, Wuhou Shrine

   Short domestic flight Xi'an → Chengdu (1 hour, ¥600–¥1,000). Land at Chengdu Tianfu International Airport or Chengdu Shuangliu Airport. Afternoon at the Wuhou Shrine (武侯祠) — the Three Kingdoms memorial temple to Zhuge Liang, adjacent to the Jinli Street pedestrianised old commercial street. Evening hot pot — Chengdu is the hotpot capital; the numbing-spicy Sichuan variant is categorically different from Chongqing-style.

   Attractions: wuhou-shrine

   Domestic flight ~¥800–¥1,500.

8. Day 8 · chengdu

   Pandas, then Leshan day trip

   7am departure for the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base — arrive before 8am for the feeding. Return to the city by noon. Afternoon HSR to Leshan for the Giant Buddha — a 71m Tang-dynasty Maitreya carved into a cliff at the confluence of three rivers. The boat view from the water shows the full scale. Return to Chengdu by evening.

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

9. Day 9 · chengdu

   Sichuan kitchen and free time

   Morning Sichuan cooking class (dumplings, mapo tofu, dan dan mian) at a specialist school near the old town — ¥200–¥400 per person including ingredients and meals. Alternatively: Dujiangyan Irrigation System (2,000-year-old water management, UNESCO, 1 hour from Chengdu by HSR) for a half-day engineering and history experience. Evening: final Chengdu hot pot dinner.

   Attractions: dujiangyan-irrigation

10. Day 10 · guilin

    Fly to Guilin, transfer to Yangshuo

    Domestic flight Chengdu → Guilin Liangjiang International Airport (1.5 hours, ¥700–¥1,200). From Guilin airport, express bus south to Yangshuo (approximately 90 minutes, ¥45). Yangshuo is a small town at the southern end of the most scenic section of the Li River — surrounded by the characteristic karst peaks that appear on the ¥20 note. Check in and evening walk along the West Street area.

    Stay in: Yangshuo town

    Domestic flight ~¥800.

11. Day 11 · yangshuo

    Yulong River bamboo rafting and cycling

    Morning bamboo-raft ride on the Yulong River — a smaller, quieter tributary of the Li River with lower tourist density and dramatic karst peak reflections in the still water. Rafts are poled by local operators; the journey takes 1.5–2 hours. Afternoon bicycle ride through the Yangshuo countryside on the roads between Moon Hill, Big Banyan Tree, and the Impression Liu Sanjie outdoor performance area.

    Attractions: yulong-river-bamboo-rafting

12. Day 12 · yangshuo

    Li River cruise to Guilin

    The Li River cruise (¥210–¥270 per person, 4 hours) runs upstream from Yangshuo jetty to Guilin city — or in reverse from Guilin south. The downstream direction (Guilin → Yangshuo) shows the most scenic sections of the river; the upstream direction (Yangshuo → Guilin) is less popular and slightly cheaper. The signature views: the 9-horse fresco hill, the Yellow Cloth Shoal reflection, and the Xilang Mountain section. Arrive Guilin city and take the afternoon flight to Shanghai.

    Attractions: li-river-cruise

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

13. Day 13 · shanghai

    Bund and French Concession

    Land at Pudong or Hongqiao. Check in to the French Concession or Bund-area hotel. Morning walk along the Bund waterfront — the kilometre-long colonial-era banking and trading facade on the west bank of the Huangpu, with the Pudong skyline (now including the three towers: Jin Mao, Shanghai World Financial Center, Shanghai Tower) directly opposite. Afternoon: French Concession walk — Wukang Mansion, Fuxing Park, Xintiandi. Yu Garden before closing.

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

14. Day 14 · shanghai

    Pudong and departure

    Morning: Shanghai Tower observation deck — the second tallest building in the world, with views across the full Shanghai metropolitan area on a clear day. Shanghai Museum (free, pre-book timed entry) if time permits before the airport transfer. Depart from Pudong International Airport (PVG) by international flight.

    Attractions: shanghai-tower, shanghai-museum

Budget guide (CNY per day)

Per day per person average. Add ¥4,000–¥6,000 total for inter-city domestic flights (Xi'an→Chengdu, Chengdu→Guilin, Guilin→Shanghai). HSR alternatives available but add 2–3 days.