---
title: "China, East to South"
description: "14 days from the Terracotta Warriors to a market that builds phones floor by floor"
type: "tour"
route_id: "china-east-to-south-14-days"
total_days: 14
price: 4910
highlights: ["Shanghai", "Beijing", "Xi'an", "Chengdu", "Guilin", "Yangshuo", "Shenzhen"]
url: "https://www.lyriktrip.com/en-GB/tours/china-east-to-south-14-days"
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---

# China, East to South

14 days from the Terracotta Warriors to a market that builds phones floor by floor

One arc, six stops. The Terracotta Warriors, pandas, the Li River and a market that builds phones, with English-speaking guides city by city.

- Moderate. The heaviest day is the Forbidden City morning followed by the climb to the Jingshan viewpoint. The Great Wall ascent is by cable car or open chairlift rather than on foot, and the Yulong River countryside day can be taken by bicycle, by electric bike or by vehicle, at your own choice.

## Overview

A first trip to China usually gets planned as a list. This one is planned as an arc: east, then north, then west, then south, ending in the youngest city in the country. Shanghai opens on the water. Beijing hands you the palace and the wall. Xi'an puts an army in front of you. Chengdu takes an afternoon back. The Li River drops the middle of the trip to the speed of a boat. Shenzhen finishes it in a market where a phone gets built floor by floor. Somewhere around the last morning you'll stop asking which one of them is the real China.

— LyrikTrip travel designers

Every LyrikTrip journey begins with a conversation. Tell us your dates, who is coming and which airport you fly home from, because on this route the way you leave Shenzhen shapes the last two days. First reply within four hours; a clear price for your dates within one business day. On this route we will also tell you plainly where the river passage, the two open nights and stand, before you are asked for anything.

## Summary

- Route ID: china-east-to-south-14-days
- Duration: 14 days / 13 nights
- Starting price: $4,910
- Status: active
- Highlights: Shanghai, Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu, Guilin, Yangshuo, Shenzhen
- Cover image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/lwOw9Lz4.webp

## Hero tags

- private
- From 1 guest
- Max: no fixed limit

## Highlight notes

- One arc, six stops. The Terracotta Warriors, pandas, the Li River and a market that builds phones, with English-speaking guides city by city.
- 14 days from the Terracotta Warriors to a market that builds a phone floor by floor. See the whole country.

## Selling points

- Cross the Huangpu River on the ferry Shanghai takes to work, then stand on the Bund after dark with your guide beside you: one bank is a century older than the other, and the first evening explains the last hundred years without anyone giving a lecture.
- Ride up to the Great Wall at Mutianyu instead of climbing it: you reach the watchtowers with your legs still working, and you spend the time up there looking rather than breathing.
- Stand at the rail above the pits of the Terracotta Warriors and pick out a general from a crossbowman by his armour: you go home able to say what you were actually looking at.
- Spend a whole afternoon in a People's Park teahouse with a gaiwan that keeps getting refilled as long as you stay: this is the day nobody in your party has anywhere to be next.
- Arrive in Yangshuo along the Li River rather than by road: the journey between the two towns is the day itself, and the karst hills rising from the flat farmland provide all the entertainment.
- Walk Huaqiangbei floor by floor with a guide who reads the market out to you: components low down, finished machines higher up, and the four decades that built this city stop being an abstraction.
- Take four of the five long journeys on China's high-speed rail, from city centre to city centre: one internal flight in fourteen days, and the country changes outside the window rather than under a wing.

## City highlights

- Shanghai (2 days): Land, and stop
  - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/kG92AfwG.webp
- Beijing (3 days): Low-rise Shanghai, then north
  - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/bCr0HPLV.webp
- Xi'an (2 days): Three ideas of the state, then a train west
  - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/gHhGDJfz.webp
- Chengdu (2 days): A pagoda, then a train through the mountains
  - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/37Mf4mO1.webp
- Guilin (1 days): Three lanes, one mask, one flight
  - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/5ElOR2GL.webp
- Yangshuo (2 days): The day is the river
  - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/jhDqXRt7.webp
- Shenzhen (2 days): Out of the hills, into the market
  - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/99d5f2fb8f33.jpg

## Experiences

One arc, six stops. The Terracotta Warriors, pandas, the Li River and a market that builds phones, with English-speaking guides city by city.

- Yu Garden & the Old City (Shanghai): pavilions, ponds, rockeries and covered corridors, laid out in the Ming dynasty as a private family garden: "Yu" means peace, chosen by the official who built it for his elderly father. A Chinese garden works like a scroll painting: you walk it one framed scene at a time. The lanes around it keep an earlier Shanghai of small shops and food stalls.
  - Subtitle: pavilions, ponds, rockeries and covered corridors, laid out in the Ming dynasty
  - Tags: Heritage
  - Host: Shanghai, Shanghai Lens — Skyline and riverfront culture
  - Access: The lanes around it keep an earlier Shanghai of small shops and food stalls.
  - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/58b0b1f762b9.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/3640847367f4.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/aa7e4b7f18cb.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/c3f4af921585.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7bc088a35094.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/b4ff42f10f39.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/8ab6fa3c88e9.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/23b0b99117fe.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4c38a3352564.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/793d4d9ec24d.jpg
- Shanghai Museum (Shanghai): bronzes, ceramics, painting and calligraphy, arranged so you can walk one material through three thousand years. About two hours. Entry is by timed reservation with limited English in the booking system, so your quote states in writing who books it and by when, and which branch your visit uses. Admission is in the base price.
  - Subtitle: bronzes, ceramics, painting and calligraphy, arranged so you can walk one material through three thousand years.
  - Tags: Museum
  - Host: Shanghai, Shanghai Lens — Skyline and riverfront culture
  - Access: bronzes, ceramics, painting and calligraphy, arranged so you can walk one material through three thousand years. About two hours. Entry is by timed reservation with limited English in the booking system, so your quote states in writing who books it and by when, and which branch your visit uses. Admission is in the base price.
  - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/553f9e5daffa.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/463009b942cf.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/09ed444fa597.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/f449d01924e3.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1c391e422dd6.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/3062838f53d8.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/5fe4f8f934ce.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1ff4b8a733b8.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1c6a0e2a66d2.jpg
- The Bund (Shanghai): The Bund frames Shanghai's historic banks and modern Pudong skyline in one clear view.
  - Subtitle: Shanghai's iconic riverfront skyline
  - Tags: Riverfront
  - Host: Shanghai, Shanghai Lens — Skyline and riverfront culture
  - Access: A signature Shanghai orientation stop for architecture and city contrast.
  - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/59b1d2774a93.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/819f854bed70.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/494cee6c7aae.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/45251ad66040.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/eed1a59d8207.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/334c0bdef4be.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/a2a8d5aca0bf.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2e92d8293a47.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/eb8770c3dfbd.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/5d861058a1f8.jpg
- Former French Concession and Wukang Road (Shanghai): plane-tree streets, walled houses from the concession decades, and the independent shops that have taken over their ground floors. You walk it at street speed, and it is the loosest hour of the route — the low, relaxed counterweight to the skyline you looked at the night before: no ticket, no queue, no gate. About two hours on flat pavement. In the base price.
  - Subtitle: plane-tree streets, walled houses from the concession decades, and the independent shops in their ground floors — the loose, low-rise counterweight to the skyline. About two hours, no ticket, no queue, no gate.
  - Tags: City
  - Host: Shanghai, Shanghai Lens — Skyline and riverfront culture
  - Access: plane-tree streets, walled houses from the concession decades, and the independent shops that have taken over their ground floors. You walk it at street speed, and it is the loosest hour of the route: no ticket, no queue, no gate. About two hours.
  - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/a469e3c35b36.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/ff2e7b6f2ffc.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/769ee0838cac.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/664544b5b738.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/be6f02f8c66f.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/b1c8a477961a.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/738425c31d43.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/b5ee2850407d.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/dc30a72b34d4.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7e7256ca585e.jpg
- The Bund & the Huangpu Ferry (Shanghai): Shanghai's riverfront row of early-twentieth-century banking halls faces Pudong's towers across the water; the public ferry crosses between them, the same boats locals commute on, and mid-river is the one spot that holds both skylines at once. Walked at dusk on day two, and on arrival evening when time allows.
  - Subtitle: Shanghai's riverfront row of early-twentieth-century banking halls faces Pudong's towers across
  - Tags: City
  - Host: Shanghai, Shanghai Lens — Skyline and riverfront culture
  - Access: Walked at dusk on day two, and on arrival evening when time allows.
  - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/e342e5515e52.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/94ac919c3f33.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/b3b5bb6e77be.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/c6c85a3776e5.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/32d19f0a4d35.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/a2a8d5aca0bf.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2bed2bf82423.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/8b2b6a2b8939.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/b74ea5dc32d6.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2b6fbcc1c8fa.jpg
- Forbidden City (Beijing): The Forbidden City takes visitors into the ceremonial heart of China's Ming and Qing dynasties.
  - Subtitle: China's imperial palace at the heart of Beijing
  - Tags: Heritage
  - Host: Beijing, Beijing Lens — Imperial capital and Great Wall
  - Access: Core imperial Beijing access with palace courtyards and historic halls.
  - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/03a0a4e882e0.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/8a6cdb9ca2b9.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7f313a6dab74.jpg, https://dimg04.c-ctrip.com/images/0102h1200087d62rxDD6F.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/de8d1138706b.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/936bacaf5cc5.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/ff6c2e542310.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/05488de4902e.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/bab6e6596202.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/85f10b61d841.jpg
- Jingshan Park (Beijing): Jingshan Park offers one of the best classic views across the Forbidden City rooftops.
  - Subtitle: A hilltop view over imperial Beijing
  - Tags: Viewpoint
  - Host: Beijing, Beijing Lens — Imperial capital and Great Wall
  - Access: A short climb rewards travellers with a strong city overview.
  - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/408fc381c4b4.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7f313a6dab74.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/6a3ff539ffc8.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2c700baa4e73.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/00decb026e42.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/51ec43ea0513.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/9604ef61c628.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7dc03e9310a1.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/964e96f11238.jpg
- Mutianyu Great Wall (Beijing): A well-restored Great Wall section with open views and easier walking conditions for first-time visitors.
  - Subtitle: A classic Great Wall section near Beijing
  - Tags: Great Wall
  - Host: Beijing, Beijing Lens — Imperial capital and Great Wall
  - Access: A refined Great Wall experience with flexible cable car or walking options.
  - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/f6c07b2f8772.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/3a661e194c2f.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1b0f83ddd1e5.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7207d6532c2f.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/e88879531691.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/926d916b9408.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/91465599744f.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/a720fb1678e6.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/608cdc21a04d.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/9b968ec44131.jpg
- Tian'anmen Square (Beijing): Tian'anmen Square introduces the scale and symbolism of modern Chinese public space.
  - Subtitle: Beijing's monumental civic landmark
  - Tags: Landmark
  - Host: Beijing, Beijing Lens — Imperial capital and Great Wall
  - Access: A central orientation stop before or after the Forbidden City.
  - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/b6a275c3e50d.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/e544ca01550e.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/b85b763e11cd.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/a724165b0cc6.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/410246e2d66a.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/600867e7a2ef.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/cd9c3a758365.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/86b6ca981b8d.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/50c2c4037905.jpg
- Temple of Heaven (Beijing): Temple of Heaven combines Ming dynasty ritual architecture with Beijing's lively park culture.
  - Subtitle: An imperial ritual site with local life
  - Tags: Culture
  - Host: Beijing, Beijing Lens — Imperial capital and Great Wall
  - Access: Pairs grand ceremonial architecture with everyday local morning activity.
  - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/0d9ea5fe76e1.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/db9b46f1b9cf.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/c545d9594e74.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/dc39cfe33b0d.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/359ba00d37d0.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/b538bb2aa834.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/6d40f9e82d6b.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/212c0e2ea8c8.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7bbec6cd7e80.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/cd8da061f42b.jpg
- National Museum of China (Beijing): the national collection on the east side of the square: bronzes, ceramics, Buddhist figures, calligraphy. Two hours here puts the objects behind the last nine days into one room, which is why it sits on the day you leave Beijing. Entry is by timed reservation and the system sits poorly with overseas mobile numbers, so your quote states in writing who books it and by when. Admission is in the base price; audio guides and guides hired inside are not.
  - Subtitle: the national collection on the east side of the square: bronzes, ceramics, Buddhist figures, calligraphy.
  - Tags: Museum
  - Host: Beijing, Beijing Lens — Imperial capital and Great Wall
  - Access: the national collection on the east side of the square: bronzes, ceramics, Buddhist figures, calligraphy. Two hours here puts the objects behind the last nine days into one room, which is why it sits on the day you leave Beijing. Entry is by timed reservation and the system sits poorly with overseas mobile numbers, so your quote states in writing who books it and by when. Admission is in the base price; audio guides and guides hired inside are not.
  - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1cf05dc82e49.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/d076400ad86d.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/55ab6f174707.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/dcce08639678.jpg
- Terracotta Warriors (Xi'an): the excavation halls outside Xi'an holding the underground army of Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, and one of the country's most significant archaeological finds. You look down into the pits at ranked columns of soldiers: individual faces, armour by rank, formations still legible after two millennia of burial. Your guide teaches you to read them: which are officers, which are archers, what the formation was for. Why it rewards a slow visit: the scale reads in one glance, the craftsmanship only up close.
  - Subtitle: the excavation halls outside Xi'an holding the underground army of Qin Shi
  - Tags: Heritage
  - Host: Xi'an, Xi'an Lens — Warriors and ancient capital
  - Access: Essential Xi'an access to one of China's most renowned archaeological sites.
  - Images: https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1528866310106-4459b39622ed?q=80&w=2064&auto=format&fit=crop&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&ixid=M3wxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8fA%3D%3D, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/70bc50b897e9.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/788c1d294602.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/d1bf545bf0ba.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/8ff4c8890b77.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/9b2f4e2d90b4.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/ed2c5f141848.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4cd4eb7405cc.jpg
- Giant Wild Goose Pagoda (Xi'an): Giant Wild Goose Pagoda reflects Xi'an's role as a Buddhist and Silk Road cultural centre.
  - Subtitle: A Tang dynasty Buddhist landmark
  - Tags: Pagoda
  - Host: Xi'an, Xi'an Lens — Warriors and ancient capital
  - Access: A classic Tang-era landmark connected to ancient Chang'an history.
  - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2be95bfc5748.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/eb70bbcc8abb.jpg, https://ak-d.tripcdn.com/images/0HJ2z12000qfv3id4A253_W_1440_810_Q80.webp?proc=source%2ftrip, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/f1e0cd6ae0d1.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/94916373f524.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4269d987bac0.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/542e4f255e79.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7d1e365a232d.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/18de0aedb419.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2f0b6d04d98d.jpg
- Chengdu Panda Base (Chengdu): the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, visited in the morning: that is when pandas eat, climb and are actually active. You watch them at close range and hear how breeding research and conservation work here.
  - Subtitle: the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, visited in the morning
  - Tags: Nature
  - Host: Chengdu, Chengdu Lens — Pandas and Sichuan culture
  - Access: You watch them at close range and hear how breeding research and conservation work here.
  - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/8e596b76ae58.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/201ef19af23f.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/c910f00284ac.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/fb8f2b170763.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/f84d52332ce8.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/3e8e1eba78b6.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/106d08f5e8be.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/df22c3d68f08.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/cdab22c7bcf5.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/bcdc08962f93.jpg
- People's Park Tea (Chengdu): the day's landing place: a chair in the park, a gaiwan, the lidded cup China brews in, and residents all around you chatting, playing cards and spending their evening the Chengdu way. Nothing else is scheduled after it; you stay as long as the tea keeps coming. Why it closes the Chengdu day: after pandas, tuk-tuks and opera, this is where the city shows you what it does with free time.
  - Subtitle: the day's landing place: a chair in the park, a gaiwan, the
  - Tags: City
  - Host: Chengdu, Chengdu Lens — Pandas and Sichuan culture
  - Access: Why it closes the Chengdu day: after pandas, tuk-tuks and opera, this is where the city shows you what it does with free time.
  - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/77584e962219.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/34f6c86b2f9f.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/a27d0f4e6224.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/3b775398e844.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/b33e34d550fa.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/3cbc8f748897.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/aa9f96490a8c.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/bb9ce7deea94.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1ea505e390f1.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/221e3aa47210.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/8f2cd09b7914.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2e09c831a6a1.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/62048183e783.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/9d549716c30b.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/54b87e0ee67b.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/46bb3f1c4d8b.jpg
- Kuanzhai Alley and Taikoo Li (Chengdu): a historic neighbourhood built around three parallel lanes, restored and now as much a shopping street as a quarter of old Chengdu; we say that plainly rather than sell it as the last of the old city. Next to it, Taikoo Li shows you what the same city spends its money on today. About two and a half hours on foot with your guide.
  - Subtitle: a historic neighbourhood built around three parallel lanes, restored and now as much a shopping street as a quarter of old Chengdu; we say that plainly rather than sell it as the last of the old city.
  - Tags: City
  - Host: Chengdu, Chengdu Lens — Pandas and Sichuan culture
  - Access: a historic neighbourhood built around three parallel lanes, restored and now as much a shopping street as a quarter of old Chengdu; we say that plainly rather than sell it as the last of the old city. Next to it, Taikoo Li shows you what the same city spends its money on today. About two and a half hours on foot with your guide.
  - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/32a4dc46e28f.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/61859314af60.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/cc98f04d1142.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/aa2e718f79ba.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/53c7fdc344a2.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/07f3ceea8440.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/813e0ad5e32f.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/3f12a2960f0c.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/c3d25d0d0bc4.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7d46557f3072.jpg
- Community Opera Theatre (Chengdu): a neighbourhood Sichuan Opera troupe rather than a big commercial stage. You meet the people behind the performance and learn how roles, costumes, make-up and stage technique pass from one generation to the next; when the troupe's schedule allows, you watch the backstage preparations up close.
  - Subtitle: a neighbourhood Sichuan Opera troupe rather than a big commercial stage
  - Tags: Culture
  - Host: Chengdu, Chengdu Lens — Pandas and Sichuan culture
  - Access: You meet the people behind the performance and learn how roles, costumes, makeup and stage technique pass from one generation to the next; when the troupe's schedule allows, you watch the backstage preparations up close.
  - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/984b6ea21914.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/afed5eb50d48.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/dbb9a4360aa6.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/390a59811536.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/9504e34cb716.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7fb9607dad55.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/c7adcea03a38.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/c084683a4ac6.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7727dea96809.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/551fdba21a23.jpg
- Li River Cruise (Guilin): The Li River Cruise carries travellers through Guilin's signature karst scenery toward Yangshuo.
  - Subtitle: The classic Guilin to Yangshuo river journey
  - Tags: River Cruise
  - Host: Guilin, Guilin Lens — Karst rivers and terraces
  - Access: A leisurely scenic transfer through one of China's most recognisable landscapes.
  - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/a5f789c445a3.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7dba15774930.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/0c55cb43391f.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4a7712b16e0f.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/851ee4224979.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/8cc7f309eb2a.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/859a8a38d0d2.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/745a0df35af1.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/b6b549bed65b.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7eea69cfad11.jpg
- Yulong River bamboo raft (Yangshuo): about ninety minutes on a bamboo raft along a chosen stretch of the Yulong River, a smaller and quieter river than the Li, with the raft sitting low enough that your hand reaches the water from the seat. Water level and the operator's safety rules decide whether rafts run on a given day; when they do not run, the riverside tea and the rest of the day stand as planned and nothing is charged for the raft. In the base price.
  - Subtitle: about ninety minutes on a bamboo raft along a chosen stretch of the Yulong River, a smaller and quieter river than the Li, with the raft sitting low enough that your hand reaches the water from the seat.
  - Tags: slow
  - Host: Yangshuo, Yangshuo Lens — Countryside and karst calm
  - Access: In the base price.
  - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/36707e4edf21.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/d7cf27ae1b77.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/71b347933c91.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/bfc408c4bfc4.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/60d1bfc0b970.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/08531a77dfac.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/47c365ccd596.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/d129588d0b34.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/e972b823ffca.jpg
- Yulong River Countryside (Yangshuo): the quiet farmland side of Yangshuo, taken by bicycle, e-bike or car, whichever suits your legs: riverside paths, rice paddies and villages under the limestone peaks. This is the landscape Chinese ink painters have returned to for centuries, seen from ground level.
  - Subtitle: the tranquil farmland side of Yangshuo, explored by bicycle, e-bike or car
  - Tags: Slow
  - Host: Yangshuo, Yangshuo Lens — Countryside and karst calm
  - Access: This is the landscape Chinese ink painters have returned to for centuries, seen from ground level.
  - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/02042b694496.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/b09be4e9e978.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/f08a7d5e0a6e.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/ed66fae24c5f.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/72a0335cae15.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/47c365ccd596.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/be8117047f82.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/5943b2f5538d.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/21642ae11f13.jpg
- Riverside Afternoon Tea (Yangshuo): This source is a SINGLE translation unit. Even if it contains many lines, list items, paragraphs, or sub-sections, translate the ENTIRE source as ONE string. Do NOT produce one translation per list item or per line — the whole source becomes exactly one output string.
  - Subtitle: a table set beside the Li River in mid-afternoon, mountains and water
  - Tags: Slow
  - Host: Yangshuo, Yangshuo Lens — Countryside and karst calm
  - Access: It sits deliberately between the morning’s raft and the evening’s soft light: the pause that turns a sightseeing day into a river day.
  - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/484bdca99f74.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/6163ecd43212.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/6c5367f53386.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/c01fb0411dbf.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/876ec4ec8b81.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/ffdbab928ef1.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/636bbab57542.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7eea69cfad11.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/3fe4bfb22c5b.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/f00b6b8a0bcd.jpg
- Huaqiangbei (Shenzhen): one of the world's best-known electronics districts. You walk floors and streets where components, prototypes and finished devices sell side by side, and the supply chain behind the world's gadgets stops being an abstraction: it has counters, prices and business cards. Your guide keeps the logic straight while you browse.
  - Subtitle: one of the world's best-known electronics districts
  - Tags: Tech
  - Host: Shenzhen, Shenzhen Lens — Drones and future mobility
  - Access: Your guide keeps the logic straight while you browse.
  - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/f3ad2afbd3b2.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/200120e470fb.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/968fce5767a5.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/403ff3a81a73.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/b0f4ce04c70d.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/92c50a687090.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2c610df7011f.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/dd5d5cbe7e98.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2a799aaa4b8b.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4576ade7ac05.jpg
- Urban Planning Exhibition (Shenzhen): scale models, architectural displays and development plans that lay out how a small border town grew into a major metropolis within living memory. Twenty minutes here reframes everything else you see in the city.
  - Subtitle: scale models, architectural displays and development plans that lay out how a
  - Tags: City
  - Host: Shenzhen, Shenzhen Lens — Drones and future mobility
  - Access: Twenty minutes here reframes everything else you see in the city.
  - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/0cb198f8a49d.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4ba54eb84471.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/009bf8a44425.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/8c27862fb181.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/699fd01ecc67.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/e2a1a6331692.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/d05c249a3e39.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2ebecbe69dba.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/e0e571633d3d.jpg
- Shekou or Nantou (Shenzhen): the departure-day choice, sized to your flight: Shekou, where the story of China's economic reform meets a modern waterfront, or Nantou Ancient Town, where historic lanes and contemporary creative studios share the same blocks. Either way, you leave with one more Shenzhen than you arrived with.
  - Subtitle: the departure-day choice, tailored to your flight: Shekou, where the story of
  - Tags: City
  - Host: Shenzhen, Shenzhen Lens — Drones and future mobility
  - Access: Either way, you leave with a little more Shenzhen than you arrived with.
  - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/0540e86e5dd0.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/24cfb51611ba.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/6a3d6358e6cc.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/d611105bca0e.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/21a863e8cba1.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/8cd57b420cf9.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/ba1b0f9300a8.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/01c07d442af3.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/783f9d0fe378.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/d0b2dd4ecb27.jpg
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## Itinerary

### China, East to South - 14 days

Journey

#### Shanghai (2 days)

- Subtitle: Land, and stop
- Recommendation: Your driver meets your flight, whatever time it comes in. The first day asks nothing of you.
- Transport: Flight
- Transport mode: airplane

Airport pickup · Shanghai through the window · Evening

- Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/kG92AfwG.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/13x1KtnS.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1Q9afrZn.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1Riqjj0n.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1VrlDwIi.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1vYpI6NZ.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/3PEjxTGx.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4EbDdFHb.webp
##### Day 1: Land, and stop

- (transport) — your driver and vehicle will be waiting, tracking the flight number on your confirmation, and the journey into the city is yours to sleep through if the flight was long.
- (sight) — elevated roads first, then the plane trees and lit shopfronts of an ordinary street. The country you flew this far for shows up before you have opened a bag.
- (note) — nothing is scheduled. Your guide is reachable, and dinner near the hotel is recommended and booked for you if you want it, on your account.
- (accommodation) Bellagio by MGM Shanghai on the Bund — Hotel stay in Shanghai.

##### Day 2: A garden, a collection, two skylines

- (sight) — pavilions, rockery, ponds and a path that never runs straight, dropped inside the oldest quarter of the city. Walk the rockery loop rather than around it: the path is built to hide what comes next, and it works every time.
- (sight) — bronzes, ceramics, painting and calligraphy. Your guide gives you the four or five objects that matter for the rest of the trip rather than the full floor plan, so the visit sits at about two hours instead of a whole afternoon.
- (sight) — the historic waterfront on one bank, the Pudong towers on the other, about a century apart and facing each other across the Huangpu River. Stand at the railing on the old side and turn around once: behind you the buildings are stone and columns, in front of you they are glass. Your guide stays with you through the evening.

#### Beijing (3 days)

- Subtitle: Low-rise Shanghai, then north
- Recommendation: The morning is the version of this city nobody photographs. The afternoon puts you on a train that leaves one climate and arrives in another.
- Transport: High-speed rail
- Transport mode: train

The former French Concession and Wukang Road · The Huangpu River ferry · High-speed rail to Beijing

- Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/bCr0HPLV.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/14h8ZnOb.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/17bdSgjF.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1bDq9gT4.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1cZHxWkg.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1vwu9mIQ.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1X29GyUB.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1xVI7jTc.webp
##### Day 3: Low-rise Shanghai, then north

- (transport) — plane trees over the street, historic houses behind low walls, small independent shops at ground level. Walk it in the first half of the morning while the shops are opening and the streets still belong to the people who live on them.
- (transport) — the commuter crossing, a few minutes on a working boat with people and their scooters, not a sightseeing deck. Stand at the bow rail: the same two skylines you looked at from the ground last night arrive from the water instead.
- (transport) — your guide sees you onto the train and a Beijing guide takes over at the other end. The seat class for your order is written into your quote. Watch out of the window at the flat wheat country north of the Yangtze: this is the part of China that most first trips fly over.
- (accommodation) Novotel Beijing Peace — Hotel stay in Beijing.

##### Day 4: One axis, then look back at it

- (sight) — your timed slot is booked in advance, so you go in on schedule. Inside, one axis: the ceremonial halls where the court did its business, the living quarters behind them, the imperial garden at the end, then out through the north gate. Stand in the middle of the main courtyard and look back through the gates you came in by, one inside another, all the way out.
- (sight) — the palace is large and guests tell us it is tiring, so the route holds to that single line and stops at the places we know you can sit.
- (sight) — straight out of the north gate and up the hill to the pavilion, the only real climb of the day and a short one. From the top the palace roofs lie below you in gold ranks, and the Beijing Central Axis runs out of the frame in both directions.

##### Day 5: The wall, without the climb

- (transport) — the run north out of Beijing takes a good part of the morning, which is exactly why nothing else is scheduled; the vehicle stays with you all day.
- (sight) — The ascent is done for you. You step out onto a restored stretch of wall with watchtowers stretching away along the ridge in both directions.
- (sight) — your guide reads the wall out to you: which tower is a beacon, where the pass sits below, and why a sightline that works decides where a tower stands. Look along the ridge with the towers stepping down it one after another: that is the fifteen seconds worth filming.

#### Xi'an (2 days)

- Subtitle: Three ideas of the state, then a train west
- Recommendation: Square, temple, museum, in that order, because that is the order the arguments were made in. By the afternoon you can leave Beijing without a gap in the story.
- Transport: High-speed rail
- Transport mode: train

Tian'anmen Square · The Temple of Heaven · The National Museum of China · High-speed rail to Xi'an

- Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/gHhGDJfz.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2IrwPATt.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2SYFFac8.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2z6MDkku.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/34qxDxFA.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/3DF4Fowd.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/3G0oTlIq.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/56RpQD9k.webp
##### Day 6: Three ideas of the state, then a train west

- (sight) — an early start, as everyone is screened to enter and the queue takes its own block of time, counted separately from your time on the square. Your guide walks you to the nearest screening entrance rather than the busiest one.
- (sight) — three buildings on one line, the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the Imperial Vault of Heaven and the Circular Mound Altar. Once you know that round belongs to heaven and square belongs to earth, the whole compound reads without a single caption. Stand at the centre of the Circular Mound and speak once.
- (sight) — This source is a SINGLE translation unit. Even if it contains many lines, list items, paragraphs, or sub-sections, translate the ENTIRE source as ONE string. Do NOT produce one translation per line — the whole source becomes exactly one output string.
- (transport) — the afternoon train, boarded with time in hand rather than at a run. Your seat class is written into your quote, and a Xi'an guide meets the train.
- (accommodation) Somerset Xindicheng Xi'an — Hotel stay in Xian.

##### Day 7: Eight thousand of them

- (sight) — an estimated eight thousand figures, buried in ranks and excavated where they stood. From the rail above the main pit the front rows read as a crowd; then your guide points at armor and hair knots and the crowd separates into generals, crossbowmen and foot soldiers.
- (sight) — some of the clay here still carries surviving pigment. It is faint and you have to be shown where to look, which is the whole reason a guide is standing next to you.
- (sight) — crowds are heaviest in peak season, so the day is structured to get you to the main pit before midday and to save the smaller pits and the bronze chariots for later.

#### Chengdu (2 days)

- Subtitle: A pagoda, then a train through the mountains
- Recommendation: The other half of Xi'an is not military at all. In the afternoon the window does the work.
- Transport: Flight
- Transport mode: airplane

The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda · High-speed rail to Chengdu · Arrival

- Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/37Mf4mO1.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/18sksaPz.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1BPFDek8.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2iDGv07g.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2sL1auf0.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4BqwVBVY.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4mDgLfna.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4XAZDbS7.webp
##### Day 8: A pagoda, then a train through the mountains

- (sight) — the brick pagoda raised to hold the Buddhist texts carried back from India, with the temple grounds and the cultural streets around it. Walk the grounds before the shopping streets: the order matters, because the pagoda explains why the streets are there.
- (transport) — The line runs south through the Qinling mountains, the range that separates the dry north you have been in for six days from the wet basin you are going to. Take a seat on the right and keep the window clear: the landscape changes sides of the country in a couple of hours.
- (sight) — your Chengdu guide meets you at the train, and the evening is left deliberately open after a travel day.
- (accommodation) Atour Hotel Chengdu Taikoo Li Chunxi Road Pedestrian Street — Hotel stay in Chengdu.

##### Day 9: Pandas early, then nowhere to be

- (sight) — you are there in the morning, the hours when the pandas are generally moving: eating, climbing down off a platform, going back to sleep in the fork of a tree. Flat shaded paths and benches throughout. Get to an enclosure early and wait rather than walking the whole park: the animal comes to the fence on its own schedule.
- (sight) — bamboo chairs under the trees and a gaiwan each, the lidded cup China brews in, topped up by someone with a long-spouted kettle for as long as you stay. Cards at the next table, the ear cleaner two tables over working with a tuning fork. An hour in, you'll notice you have stopped checking what time the next thing starts.
- (sight) — This is one of two days in the fourteen with nothing scheduled after the middle of the afternoon. It sits here, at the halfway mark, rather than at the end.

#### Guilin (1 days)

- Subtitle: Three lanes, one mask, one flight
- Recommendation: Chengdu shows you its commercial face and its neighborhood face in the same day. Then the country tilts south.
- Transport: High-speed rail
- Transport mode: train

Kuanzhai Alley and Taikoo Li · Community Sichuan opera house · Flight south to Guilin

- Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/5ElOR2GL.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/3uGHEW2j.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4UilJCmH.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4VtYWWkT.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4Yfatbqd.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/5Mke9ayW.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/6451wQWE.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/6AbLuJhv.webp
##### Day 10: Three lanes, one mask, one flight

- (sight) — A historic neighbourhood built around three parallel lanes, and the open retail quarter beside it. Both are busy and both are commercial, and we would rather say so than sell them as something else: what they show you is what a Chinese city centre does with its old buildings once it has money.
- (sight) — a neighbourhood theatre, not a hotel ballroom. You go backstage before it starts and see the paint and the layered masks up close, then watch the change from near enough that you still fail to catch it: one painted face becomes another in the time it takes him to turn his head. Sit close and watch the performer's hands rather than his face.
- (transport) — This source is a SINGLE translation unit. Even if it contains many lines, list items, paragraphs, or sub-sections, translate the ENTIRE source as ONE string. Do NOT produce one translation per line — the whole source becomes exactly one output string. Do NOT split a source into multiple translations even if it contains many list items or paragraphs — the whole source becomes exactly one output string. Do NOT split a source into multiple translations even if it contains many list items or paragraphs — the whole source becomes exactly one output string.
- (accommodation) Shangri-La Hotel Guilin — Hotel stay in Guilin.

#### Yangshuo (2 days)

- Subtitle: The day is the river
- Recommendation: Today the way you travel and the thing you came to see are the same object. You arrive in Yangshuo by water.
- Transport: High-speed rail
- Transport mode: train

Down the Li River · Watch from the rail · How the passage is written

- Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/jhDqXRt7.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/3RSDiQUA.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/43ER0eM0.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4iXf7Jvh.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4LasL8DS.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/51gauczC.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/5Pv2GT5l.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/5zFw5FSH.webp
##### Day 11: The day is the river

- (sight) — karst hills rise straight up from the flat farmland on both banks: a wall of them, then a gap, then another wall, and buffalo and bamboo at the water's edge in between. There is nothing to do on this stretch and that is the design.
- (transport) — stand outside rather than sitting inside, on whichever side has the sun behind you. The hills come past in layers, nearest sharp and furthest almost white. Somewhere in the second hour you'll find that you have stopped talking, and so has everyone else.
- (sight) — What is included is the passage from Guilin to Yangshuo and the river scenery along it. November and December are low-water months on this river, so the format of your passage, a full-length sailing or a shortened sailing with a road leg, is confirmed in writing in your quote before you book. We do not quote a sailing length or a departure time we cannot stand by.
- (accommodation) Yangshuo Ancient Garden Boutique Hotel — Hotel stay in Yangshuo.

##### Day 12: Two nights in one town, and a whole day outdoors

- (sight) — a raft of lashed poles on a quiet tributary, poled along a selected section. You sit low and close to the water, which is a different river entirely from the one you came down yesterday: narrow, shallow, farmland on both banks.
- (sight) — rice fields, farmhouses, riverside lanes and hills standing over the whole of it, taken by bicycle, by electric bike or by vehicle at your own choice on the day. Choose in the morning rather than in advance, once you have felt what the weather is doing.
- (sight) — the stop in the middle of the afternoon, at the water, hills on both banks. Sit facing upstream and stay put for a while: this is the last unhurried hour of the trip before the country speeds up again.
- (sight) — all three of today's items are outdoors and this is the longest unsheltered stretch on the route. for a November or December departure, the wet-weather arrangement for your exact dates is written into your quote before you pay.

#### Shenzhen (2 days)

- Subtitle: Out of the hills, into the market
- Recommendation: A morning on the train and an afternoon four decades ahead of it. Today is where the two ends of this trip meet.
- Transport: Flight
- Transport mode: airplane

High-speed rail to Shenzhen · Huaqiangbei · The afternoon

- Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/99d5f2fb8f33.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/8AH70UD0.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/h4WopDz7.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/j3OhqX9B.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/0540e86e5dd0.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/09971fb8ed55.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/0cb198f8a49d.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1dabf6d8d82e.jpg
##### Day 13: Out of the hills, into the market

- (transport) — the karst country runs out of the window within the first hour and the Pearl River delta takes over: factories, towers, elevated roads, all of it built inside one lifetime. Your seat class is written into your quote.
- (sight) — the electronics market district, read floor by floor with your guide. Components at the bottom in trays and reels, prototype boards above them, finished machines above those, and a sourcing ecosystem that lets a small team downstairs order what a factory upstairs will build. Walk slowly down a whole aisle and look at what's in the trays rather than at the signs.
- (sight) — This afternoon holds Huaqiangbei and nothing else. It is a working market rather than an exhibit, and half a day is what it takes to stop looking like a tourist in it.
- (accommodation) Kempinski Hotel Shenzhen — Hotel stay in Shenzhen.

##### Day 14: A walled town inside a new city

- (sight) — models, plans and hardware laying out how a city this size was built within four decades. Which hall you visit is stated in writing in your quotation. Look at the dated aerial photographs first and then out of the window.
- (sight) — a walled old-town quarter standing inside the same city limits as everything you saw yesterday. Its whole job on this route is that contrast, and we describe it no further than that until our own material on the site is complete. Standing in the old gateway with the new towers behind it, you'll feel the fourteen days close into a single picture.
- (transport) — your driver takes you to the airport with margin against your flight. If your flight leaves too early for both morning stops, your quote states in writing which one comes out and prices your order on that basis, before any deposit.

## Daily plan

### Day 1 — Land, and stop

Your driver meets your flight, whatever time it comes in. The first day asks nothing of you.

- Airport pickup: your driver and vehicle are waiting for the flight number on your confirmation, and the run into the city is yours to sleep through if the flight was long.
- Shanghai through the window: elevated roads first, then the plane trees and lit shopfronts of an ordinary street. The country you flew this far for shows up before you have opened a bag.
- Evening: Nothing is scheduled. Your guide is reachable, and dinner near the hotel is recommended and booked for you if you want it, on your account.
- Stay: Shanghai
- Meals: None included today

### Day 2 — A garden, a collection, two skylines

Shanghai is introduced oldest first and newest last, all in one day. By dark, you can date the buildings on both banks yourself.

- Yu Garden and the old city: pavilions, rockery, ponds and a path that never runs straight, set in the oldest quarter of the city. Walk the rockery loop rather than around it: the path is designed to conceal what lies ahead, and it works every time.
- Shanghai Museum: bronzes, ceramics, painting and calligraphy. Your guide will point out the four or five objects that matter for the rest of the trip rather than taking you through the entire floor plan, so the visit lasts about two hours instead of a whole afternoon.
- The Bund after dark: the historic waterfront on one bank, the Pudong towers on the other, about a century apart and facing each other across the Huangpu River. Stand at the rail on the old side and turn around once: behind you the buildings are stone and columns, in front of you they are glass. Your guide stays with you through the evening.
- Stay: Shanghai
- Meals: Breakfast at the hotel

### Day 3 — Low-rise Shanghai, then north

The morning is the version of this city nobody photographs. The afternoon puts you on a train that leaves one climate and arrives in another.

- The former French Concession and Wukang Road: plane trees over the street, historic houses behind low walls, small independent shops at ground level. Walk it in the first half of the morning while the shops are opening and the streets still belong to the people who live on them.
- The Huangpu River ferry: the commuter crossing, a few minutes on a working boat with people and their scooters, not a sightseeing deck. Stand at the bow rail: the same two skylines you looked at from the ground last night arrive from the water instead.
- High-speed rail to Beijing: your guide sees you onto the train and a Beijing guide takes over at the other end. The seat class for your order is written into your quote. Watch the window through the flat wheat country north of the Yangtze: this is the part of China that most first trips fly over.
- Stay: Beijing
- Meals: Breakfast at the hotel

### Day 4 — One axis, then look back at it

A single straight line through five centuries of palace. Then a hill that shows you the line you just walked.

- The Forbidden City: your timed slot is booked ahead, so you go in on schedule. Inside, one axis: the ceremonial halls where the court did its business, the living quarters behind them, the imperial garden at the end, then out through the north gate. Stand in the middle of the main courtyard and look back through the gates you came in by, one inside another, all the way out.
- Pace: the palace is large and guests tell us it is tiring, so the route holds to that single line and stops at the places we know you can sit.
- Jingshan Park: straight out of the north gate and up the hill to the pavilion, the only real climb of the day and a short one. From the top the palace roofs lie below you in gold ranks, and the Beijing Central Axis runs out of the frame in both directions.
- Stay: Beijing
- Meals: Breakfast at the hotel

### Day 5 — The wall, without the climb

One thing today, and it takes the whole day. You arrive at the watchtowers with your legs still fresh.

- Drive out to Mutianyu: The drive north out of Beijing takes a good part of the morning, which is exactly why nothing else is scheduled; the vehicle stays with you all day.
- Cable car or open chairlift up: the ascent is done for you. You step off onto a restored stretch of wall with watchtowers running away along the ridge in both directions.
- Walking the towers: your guide reads the wall out to you: which tower is a beacon, where the pass sits below, and why a sightline that works decides where a tower stands. Look along the ridge with the towers stepping down it one after another: that is the fifteen seconds worth filming.
- Stay: Beijing
- Meals: Breakfast at the hotel

### Day 6 — Three ideas of the state, then a train west

Square, temple, museum, in that order, because that is the order the arguments were made in. By the afternoon you can leave Beijing without a gap in the story.

- Tiananmen Square: an early start, because everyone is screened to enter and the queue takes its own block of time, counted separately from your time on the square. Your guide walks you to the nearest screening entrance rather than the busiest one.
- The Temple of Heaven: three buildings on one line, the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the Imperial Vault of Heaven and the Circular Mound Altar. Once you know that round belongs to heaven and square belongs to earth, the whole compound reads without a single caption. Stand at the centre of the Circular Mound and speak once.
- The National Museum of China: bronzes, ceramics, Buddhist sculpture and calligraphy, on the east side of the square, with your slot booked ahead. The objects you met in Shanghai four days ago come back here in one chronological line, which is the point of visiting them in this order.
- High-speed rail to Xi'an: the afternoon train, boarded with time in hand rather than at a run. Your seat class is written into your quote, and a Xi'an guide meets the train.
- Stay: Xi'an
- Meals: Breakfast at the hotel

### Day 7 — Eight thousand of them

One site, one morning, and no second stop competing with it. This is the day the scale of Chinese history stops being a number in a book.

- Into the pits: an estimated eight thousand figures, buried in ranks and excavated where they stood. From the rail above the main pit the front rows read as a crowd; then your guide points at armour and hair knots and the crowd separates into generals, crossbowmen and foot soldiers.
- The newer excavation areas: some of the clay here still carries surviving pigment. It is faint and you have to be shown where to look, which is the whole reason a guide is standing next to you.
- Timing: crowds run heavy in peak season, so the day is ordered to put you at the main pit before the middle of the day and to leave the smaller pits and the bronze chariots for after.
- Stay: Xi'an
- Meals: Breakfast at the hotel

### Day 8 — A pagoda, then a train through the mountains

The other half of Xi'an is not military at all. In the afternoon the window does the work.

- The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda: the brick pagoda raised to hold the Buddhist texts carried back from India, with the temple grounds and the cultural streets around it. Walk the grounds before the shopping streets: the order matters, because the pagoda explains why the streets are there.
- High-speed rail to Chengdu: the line runs south through the Qinling mountains, the range that separates the dry north you have been in for six days from the wet basin you are going to. Take a seat on the right and keep the window clear: the landscape changes sides of the country in a couple of hours.
- Arrival: your Chengdu guide meets the train, and the evening is left open on purpose after a travel day.
- Stay: Chengdu
- Meals: Breakfast at the hotel

### Day 9 — Pandas early, then nowhere to be

The morning is the one everyone pictures before they come. The afternoon is the one they talk about after.

- Chengdu Panda Base: you are there in the morning, the hours when the pandas are generally moving: eating, climbing down off a platform, going back to sleep in the fork of a tree. Flat shaded paths and benches throughout. Get to an enclosure early and wait rather than walking the whole park: the animal comes to the fence on its own schedule.
- Teahouse sitting in People's Park: bamboo chairs under the trees and a gaiwan each, the lidded cup China brews in, topped up by someone with a long-spouted kettle for as long as you stay. Cards at the next table, the ear cleaner two tables over working with a tuning fork. An hour in, you'll notice you have stopped checking what time the next thing starts.
- The point of today: this is one of two days in the fourteen with nothing scheduled after the middle of the afternoon. It sits here, at the halfway mark, rather than at the end.
- Stay: Chengdu
- Meals: Breakfast at the hotel

### Day 10 — Three lanes, one mask, one flight

Chengdu shows you its commercial face and its neighbourhood face in the same day. Then the country tilts south.

- Kuanzhai Alley and Taikoo Li: a historic neighbourhood built around three parallel lanes, and the open retail quarter beside it. Both are busy and both are commercial, and we would rather say so than sell them as something else: what they show you is what a Chinese city centre does with its old buildings once it has money.
- Community Sichuan opera house: a neighbourhood theatre, not a hotel ballroom. You go backstage before it starts and see the paint and the layered masks up close, then watch the change from near enough that you still fail to catch it: one painted face becomes another in the time it takes him to turn his head. Sit close and watch the performer's hands rather than his face.
- Fly south to Guilin: the single internal flight of the fourteen days. Your guide runs you to the airport with margin rather than to the minute, because this route holds only one flight and it carries the whole southern half of the trip. The cabin class for your order is written into your quote.
- Stay: Guilin
- Meals: Breakfast at the hotel

### Day 11 — The day is the river

Today the way you travel and the thing you have come to see are one and the same. You arrive in Yangshuo by water.

- Down the Li River: Karst hills rise sheer from the flat farmland on both banks: a wall of them, then a gap, then another wall, with buffalo and bamboo at the waterline in between. There is nothing to do on this stretch, and that is the design.
- Watch from the rail: stand outside rather than sitting inside, on whichever side has the sun behind you. The hills come past in layers, nearest sharp and furthest almost white. Somewhere in the second hour you'll find that you have stopped talking, and so has everyone else.
- How the passage is written: what is included is the passage from Guilin to Yangshuo and the river scenery along it. November and December are low-water months on this river, so the format of your own passage, a full-length sailing or a shortened sailing with a road sector, is stated in writing in your quote before you book. We do not print a sailing length or a departure time we cannot hold to.
- Stay: Yangshuo
- Meals: Breakfast at the hotel

### Day 12 — Two nights in one town, and a whole day outdoors

Nothing packs today and nothing moves cities. This is the slowest day of the fourteen, and it is outdoors from morning to tea.

- Bamboo rafting on the Yulong River: a raft of lashed poles on a quiet tributary, poled along a selected section. You sit low and close to the water, which is a different river entirely from the one you came down yesterday: narrow, shallow, farmland on both banks.
- The countryside outing: rice fields, farmhouses, riverside lanes and hills standing over the whole of it, taken by bicycle, by electric bike or by vehicle at your own choice on the day. Choose in the morning rather than in advance, once you have felt what the weather is doing.
- Riverside afternoon tea: the stop in the middle of the afternoon, at the water, hills on both banks. Sit facing upstream and stay put for a while: this is the last unhurried hour of the trip before the country speeds up again.
- Weather: all three of today's items are outdoors and this is the longest unsheltered stretch on the route. For a November or December departure, the wet-weather arrangement for your exact dates is written into your quote before you pay.
- Stay: Yangshuo
- Meals: Breakfast at the hotel

### Day 13 — Out of the hills, into the market

A morning on the train and an afternoon four decades ahead of it. Today is where the two ends of this trip meet.

- High-speed rail to Shenzhen: the karst country runs out of the window inside the first hour and the Pearl River delta takes over: factories, towers, elevated roads, all of it built inside one lifetime. Your seat class is written into your quote.
- Huaqiangbei: the electronics market district, read floor by floor with your guide. Components at the bottom in trays and reels, prototype boards above them, finished machines above those, and a sourcing ecosystem that lets a small team downstairs order what a factory upstairs will build. Walk a whole aisle slowly and look at what is in the trays rather than at the signs.
- The afternoon: this afternoon is all about Huaqiangbei and nothing else. It is a working market rather than an exhibit, and half a day is what it takes to stop looking like a tourist in it.
- Stay: Shenzhen
- Meals: Breakfast at the hotel

### Day 14 — A walled town within a new city

Two stops on the last morning, both of them about the same question. Then the airport.

- A Shenzhen urban-planning or technology exhibition hall: models, plans and hardware laying out how a city this size got built inside four decades. Which hall you visit is named in writing in your quote. Look at the dated aerial photographs first and then out of the window.
- Shekou and Nantou Old Town on foot: a walled old-town quarter standing within the same city limits as everything you saw yesterday. Its sole purpose on this route is that contrast, and we will not describe it further until our own material on the site is complete. Standing in the old gateway with the new towers behind you, you will feel the fourteen days close into a single picture.
- Airport drop-off: your driver takes you to the airport with margin against your flight. If your flight leaves too early for both morning stops, your quote states in writing which one comes out and prices your order on that basis, before any deposit.
- Stay: Trip ends
- Meals: Breakfast at the hotel

## Hotels

### Shanghai Royal Garden Hotel (Shanghai International Resort)

- City: Shanghai
- Description: Shanghai Royal Garden Hotel: a luxury garden hotel near Pudong Airport and Disneyland, with free shuttle service to both.
- Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/a07e8f886100.jpg

### Yangshuo Mountain Retreat

- City: Yangshuo
- Description: A peaceful riverside retreat for travellers who want Yangshuo's karst scenery to feel close, quiet and unhurried.
- Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2R0KYRQ9.webp

### Beijing Marriott Hotel Northeast

- City: Beijing
- Description: International luxury hotel in Beijing, ideal for business trips and city breaks.
- Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/bWOFYezP.jpg

### Pullman Shanghai Zhongganghui Hotel

- City: Shanghai
- Description: Pullman Shanghai Zhongganghui Hotel, in Dapuqiao near Tianzifang, steps from Metro Line 9 and the Expo site.
- Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/5xOD9FRB.webp

### Sheraton Guilin Hotel

- City: Guilin
- Description: Sheraton Guilin Hotel is situated on the banks of the Li River, offering comfortable rooms and convenient access to Guilin's attractions.
- Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/kjMQHeJN.webp

### Hilton Chengdu Chenghua

- City: Chengdu
- Description: A practical Chengdu base for travellers who want easy city access, relaxed days out, and a comfortable return after sightseeing.
- Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/3pup59R7.webp

### Sheraton Xi'an North City Hotel

- City: Xi'an
- Description: Sheraton Xi'an North City: five-star luxury five minutes from the Daming Palace, with an indoor pool and wellness centre.
- Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/k01OUBYw.jpg

### Futian Shangri-La, Shenzhen

- City: Shenzhen
- Description: Located in Futian CBD, close to major landmarks and metro lines. Featuring 500+ elegant rooms and suites with exclusive Horizon Club services.
- Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/lNzYq6FP.webp

### Yangshuo Elite Garden

- City: Yangshuo
- Description: Located in central Yangshuo near West Street and the Li River, Yangshuo Elite Garden Hotel is a comfortable four-star hotel offering convenient access to the area’s main attractions.
- Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/31Rz8fCF.webp

### DoubleTree by Hilton Beijing East Third Ring Road

- City: Beijing
- Description: International upscale hotel in Beijing, suitable for business and leisure stays.
- Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/kkFJOiOe.webp

### Atour S Hotel Shanghai Hongqiao Centre Aegean

- City: Shanghai
- Description: Atour S Hotel in Hongqiao: steps from Aegean Place and Metro Line 10, six km from the National Exhibition and Convention Centre.
- Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/ciHY2Qvs.webp

### China Southern Airlines Pearl Hotel Guilin

- City: Guilin
- Description: China Southern Airlines Pearl Hotel Guilin is situated near Guilin Railway Station, offering comfortable accommodation and convenient amenities for both business and leisure travellers.
- Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/hcF3JHeA.webp

### The Temple House

- City: Chengdu
- Description: Boutique luxury hotel set within a restored Qing-dynasty courtyard near Taikoo Li, boasting one of Chengdu's most striking design statements.
- Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2Dh9ApbX.webp

### Shangri-La Hotel

- City: Xi'an
- Description: Shangri-La Hotel Xi'an: five-star luxury near the Terracotta Warriors, 35 minutes from the airport.
- Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/ldYT8r2G.webp

### The Langham, Shenzhen

- City: Shenzhen
- Description: The Langham, Shenzhen is a luxury hotel in the Futian CBD, featuring elegant rooms, fine dining, and premium facilities.
- Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4S1F07e6.webp

## Included / Excluded

### What's Included

- Intercity transport: Six movements: Shanghai to Beijing, Beijing to Xi'an and Xi'an to Chengdu by high-speed rail; Chengdu to Guilin by air; Guilin to Yangshuo on the Li River; Yangshuo to Shenzhen by high-speed rail. Seat class on the rail movements and cabin class on the flight are stated in writing in your quote, and no order is taken without it
- Private vehicle: Air-conditioned private vehicle with driver for all listed touring in all six cities, including the full-day Mutianyu round trip and the Yangshuo countryside day; station transfers for the four rail movements, airport transfers for the flight and pier transfers for the river passage; airport pickup on day one in Shanghai and drop-off on day fourteen in Shenzhen
- Hotels: 13 nights at the level you choose, four-star, five-star or quality boutique, breakfast included. Hotels named in your written confirmation
- Guide: Licensed English-speaking local guide on every touring day in each of the six cities, including the whole Bund evening in Shanghai and the Huaqiangbei walk in Shenzhen
- Tickets and experiences, Shanghai: Yu Garden with the old city quarter · Shanghai Museum · the Bund and the Pudong skyline in the evening with your guide · the former French Concession and Wukang Road on foot · the Huangpu River commuter ferry crossing
- Tickets and experiences, Beijing: The Forbidden City · Jingshan Park · Mutianyu Great Wall with the cable car or open chairlift ascent · Tiananmen Square · the Temple of Heaven · the National Museum of China
- Tickets and experiences, Xi'an: The Terracotta Warriors · the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda with its surrounding cultural quarter
- Tickets and experiences, Chengdu: This panda base on a morning visit · a gaiwan teahouse sitting in People's Park, seat and refills included on the local practice of refilling for as long as you sit · Kuanzhai Alley with Taikoo Li · a community Sichuan opera house with a backstage visit and close-range face-changing
- Tickets and experiences, Guilin and Yangshuo: The Li River passage from Guilin down to Yangshuo · bamboo rafting on a section of the Yulong River · the Yulong River countryside outing by bicycle, electric bike or vehicle at your own choice, with the hire of the chosen bicycle or electric bike included · a riverside afternoon tea on the same day
- Tickets and experiences, Shenzhen: Huaqiangbei with your guide explaining the floors from components to finished products and the sourcing ecosystem · a Shenzhen urban-planning or technology exhibition hall on the last morning, the venue named in your quote · the walking visit to Shekou and Nantou Old Town
- Meals: 13 hotel breakfasts, one each morning from day two to day fourteen
- Insurance: Travel accident insurance

### Not Included

- International flights: Flights into Shanghai and out of Shenzhen, and any connecting sector you need in order to leave from Shenzhen, together with any hub-city night it forces
- Visas: Visa fees and processing for any guest who requires a Chinese visa
- Lunches and dinners: All midday and evening meals across the fourteen days. Your guide recommends and books, the bill is your own. This includes the teahouse snacks in People's Park, the food stalls in Kuanzhai Alley and any catering sold on the river passage
- In-park shuttles and in-museum spending: Site shuttles at the Terracotta Warriors, the panda base, the Temple of Heaven and the river piers are named one by one in your quote, which states whether each is operating on your dates and whether it sits inside your price. Audio guides and hired human guides inside the museums, and photography or refreshments sold on the boats and rafts, are your own
- Optional add-ons: An extra night in the south, or extra nights in Shenzhen after day fourteen. Priced separately at the time of choosing, never added by default
- Personal: Gratuities for guides and drivers, single-room or extra-room supplements, and all personal expenses including laundry and shopping

### Special Notes

A few things on this route follow the calendar, the season, a supplier's confirmation or a river's water level. Here they are, told straight.

- Bookings are not open yet: the remaining items have to be settled first. The ground arrangements for the October to December 2026 season, confirmed with our partners. The city of the two open nights. And the departure calendar for October and December. Until those items are settled we take no orders and no deposits. Tell us your dates and we will write to you on the day it opens.
- The Li River passage: This one segment is both the day's activity and the way you reach Yangshuo. A full-length downstream sailing is the design intent, but November and December are low-water months on this river and a sailing can be shortened or suspended. What is included either way is the passage from Guilin to Yangshuo and the river scenery along it; the format of your own passage is stated in writing in your quote before you book. We publish no sailing length, no sailing duration and no departure time.
- The Mutianyu ascent in winter: the ascent transport is included, and it is a cableway and an open chairlift, which snow or ice can close. The November and December operating rules are not yet on file with us, so a departure in those two months has the ascent arrangement for that date written into the quote.
- The outdoor day in Yangshuo: rafting, the countryside outing and the riverside tea are all outdoors, and it is the longest unsheltered stretch on the route. A November or December departure has the wet-weather arrangement for those exact dates written into the quote.
- Departure dates: no departures from October 1 to 7, the national holiday week, when the Terracotta Warriors site and the Forbidden City both run at their heaviest visitor load. Dates are also set so that day four never falls on a Monday, when the palace closes; if your dates would put it there, days four and five swap and the Great Wall day moves to day four.
- Two of the thirteen nights 13: thirteen nights are inside your price either way, and eleven of them are settled by city. The night after the flight south and the last night before you fly home have their city and hotel named in writing in your quote, and the plan is being settled on our side before bookings open.
- Timed reservations: The Shanghai Museum, the Forbidden City and the National Museum of China all require timed entry, and their booking systems do not work well with overseas mobile numbers. Admission to all three is included. Who books each one, and how many days in advance, is stated in writing in your quote.
- Day six: the square, the temple and the national museum sit on the same day as the afternoon train west. Entry to Tian'anmen Square runs through security screening, so your quote states the day's start time and the screening allowance in writing.
- Face-changing and the backstage visit: this is a person-to-person arrangement inside your price, and it has not yet been re-confirmed with our ground partner for this selling season. Until it is, we promise no named performer, no fixed duration and no fixed time slot.
- The last morning: the exhibition hall and the Shekou and Nantou walk both sit before your airport drop-off. We check them against your departure flight when we quote; if the flight leaves too early for both, your quote states which one comes out and prices your order on that basis, before any deposit.
- Leaving from Shenzhen: Shanghai is served nonstop from every market we sell this route in. Shenzhen is not. Direct service out of Shenzhen is full for France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece; it is thin for the United Kingdom (London Heathrow), for the Nordic countries, Central Europe and Ireland (Vienna and Budapest), for Canada (Vancouver) and for Australia and New Zealand (Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland). Several of those services are dated restarts, so we verify yours against the current timetable before we take your order. If you are not flying back to one of those airports you leave on a connecting itinerary, and that sector is an international flight outside your price.
- Visa window: the 30-day visa-free policy currently runs through December 31, 2026. Because this is a 14-day plan, departures on or before December 18, 2026 finish inside that window; later departures are quoted only after the official renewal is announced. Guests who entered China under the ten-day visa-free transit policy cannot take this trip, because 14 days is longer than that policy allows, and we say so before any payment rather than looking for a workaround.
- Timetables: the 2026 fourth-quarter timetables for the six intercity movements have not yet been checked against the operating season. They sit on our standing assumption and are re-checked for your dates before your confirmation is issued. The Chengdu to Guilin flight is the thinnest of the six.
- Confirmation and changes: The confirmation-time commitment and the change and refund terms are being finalised with our ground partners. Until they are settled, each quote states in writing its own confirmation deadline and its change and refund conditions. This route holds four rail movements, one flight, one water passage and three timed museum reservations, so a date change touches several kinds of inventory at once.

## Is Fourteen Days Your Length?

Fewer than fourteen days?

### Fewer than fourteen days?

The arc comes apart cleanly at the joints. Shanghai and Beijing stand on their own as the first week; the Chengdu and Yangshuo stretch is the part that slows the trip down; Shenzhen is the closing argument rather than a stop you have to make. Tell us your dates and who is coming, and we cut stops rather than cutting the pace.

## Good to Know

- Group: Private, just your party. From 1 guest. No fixed maximum party size.
- Pace: Six stops in 14 days: Shanghai 2 nights, Beijing 3, Xi'an 2, Chengdu 2, Yangshuo 2, plus two nights whose city is named in your quote. Four rail movements, one flight, one river passage
- Effort: Moderate. The heaviest day is the Forbidden City morning followed by the climb to the Jingshan viewpoint. The Great Wall ascent is by cable car or open chairlift, and the Yulong River day can be taken by bicycle, by electric bike or by vehicle.
- Ports: Shanghai in, Shenzhen out; airport pickup on day one and drop-off on day fourteen. Connections out of Shenzhen are checked for your market before your order is taken
- Visas: British, French, German, Dutch, Belgian, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, Nordic, Central European, Irish, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand passports enter visa-free for stays days, checked order by order against your dates
- Language: Licensed English-speaking local guides throughout, city by city
- Payment: When this route opens for booking: From 1 guest. A 10% deposit (minimum $399) locks your dates. The balance is due 14 days before departure. "Or similar" never means a quiet downgrade
- Season: Selling window October to December 2026. No departures October 1 to 7. November and December departures have the river passage, the Great Wall ascent and the Yangshuo outdoor day written into the quote for those exact dates

## Your Private Concierge

- Name: Jason Hu
- Title: Private China Route Concierge
- Tagline: A bilingual planning desk for tailor-made China journeys.
- Bio: Our China team tailors the pacing, hotels and local hosts to suit each route style.
- Avatar image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/c0TBypRh.png

### Stats

- 20+ Years
- 300+ Trips designed
- 24/7 On-trip care

### The Conversation

Every LyrikTrip journey begins with a conversation. Tell us your dates and who's coming — and if this length isn't right for you, we'll say so and shape a shorter arc. First reply within four hours; a clear price for your dates within one business day.

- CTA: Start the conversation

### Step 01: Tell us what excites you

Not your dates and budget — your curiosity. Where have you always wanted to go? What do you want to feel? We start there.

- 24h: First concept delivered

### Step 02: We design it around you

Your specialist builds the itinerary from scratch — routes, hosts, hotels, and experiences you won't find anywhere else.

- 100%: Bespoke, never off-the-shelf

### Step 03: Lock it in with 10%

When the plan feels right, a 10% deposit holds your entire trip. Balance due 30 days before departure.

- 10%: Deposit to secure everything

### Step 04: Travel. We handle the rest.

Your Trip Pack arrives before you fly. On the road, your concierge is one message away — for the expected and everything you didn't plan for.

- 24/7: Support throughout your journey

- Free cancellation up to 30 days
- English-speaking concierge
- Secure payment via Stripe

- CTA: Talk to Us

## Guest Reviews

- Overall rating: 4.9
- Total reviews: 523
- Count label: from 523 verified reviews

4.9 / 5

### Platforms

- google: 4.9 (312 reviews)
- tripadvisor: 5.0 (211 reviews)

- Filter tabs: All, Google, TripAdvisor
- Emily Carter (🇺🇸 Seattle, USA · 5★ · May 2026 · google): Perfect for couples - My partner and I had an amazing time in China. Everything was arranged for us — transfers, hotels, guides. No stress at all.
- Claire Brooks (🇬🇧 London, UK · 5★ · Apr 2026 · tripadvisor): Great for families - Traveled with my two kids and had zero issues. The team made sure the pace wasn't too rushed and included things the kids would enjoy. Communication was easy throughout. Will definitely use them again for our next Asia trip.
- Laura Bennett (🇨🇦 Toronto, Canada · 5★ · Mar 2026 · google): Alisa made the whole experience easy - Alisa was our point of contact throughout and she was brilliant — patient, knowledgeable, and always quick to reply. The trip itself was wonderful. Beijing and Guilin were highlights.
- Mark Henderson (🇺🇸 Denver, USA · 4★ · Feb 2026 · tripadvisor): Good service, minor hiccup but sorted quickly - Really good service. There was a small mix-up with one of our restaurant bookings but it got sorted quickly. The rest of the trip was seamless.
- Rebecca Miller (🇺🇸 Boston, USA · 5★ · Jan 2026 · google): Really listened to what we wanted - Really helpful team. They listened to what we wanted and delivered. Beijing and Xi'an were incredible.

## China Ready

We've solved the hard parts. Here's everything a first-time Western traveller needs to know before arriving.

### VPN & Internet Access

- Badge: Do this before you fly
- What's blocked: Google, Gmail, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and most Western news sites are inaccessible in China without a VPN.
- Download before you leave: It's nearly impossible to download a VPN once inside China. Install and test at home. Recommended: Astrill (most reliable), Mullvad, ExpressVPN — subscribe to at least two in case one stops working.
- Hotel Wi-Fi tip: Some hotels block VPN connections on their Wi-Fi. Use your phone's mobile data as a hotspot if the VPN drops.
- Good news: WhatsApp works perfectly through a VPN, so your messaging stays unchanged. Apple iMessage and Signal also work.

### Paying in China

- Badge: Your concierge sets this up on Day 1
- China is cashless: Alipay and WeChat Pay are used for almost everything — restaurants, taxis, markets, tickets. Cash is rarely accepted in cities.
- International cards now work: Foreign Visa/Mastercard can now link directly to Alipay (set up in minutes, $5,000 single transaction limit). Your concierge walks you through the setup on your first morning.
- Carry some cash: We recommend ¥500–800 RMB in cash for the rare vendor that won't accept digital payment, and for small towns.
- Booking this trip: Your deposit and balance are charged via Stripe — the same trusted platform used by Airbnb and Booking.com. USD billing, no surprise conversion fees.

### Visa & Entry

- Badge: We handle the paperwork
- Do you need a visa?: Most US, UK, EU, Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand passport holders need a tourist (L) visa for stays over 10 days. We provide a visa invitation letter with every booking — it significantly speeds up approval.
- 240-hour visa-free transit: Citizens of 55+ countries (including USA, UK, most of EU, AUS, NZ, Canada) can enter China visa-free for up to 10 days if transiting through eligible ports. This covers our 12-day itinerary only if you have a confirmed onward flight.
- Processing time: Apply 4–6 weeks before departure. Standard processing: 4–7 business days. Express (3 days) and same-day options available at most Chinese consulates.
- What we provide: Visa invitation letter, hotel confirmation for all nights, suggested itinerary document — everything the consulate needs, formatted correctly.

### Safety & Practical Tips

- Badge: Our responsibility, always
- Is China safe?: China consistently ranks among the safest countries for foreign tourists. Violent crime against visitors is extremely rare. Cities have extensive CCTV coverage and a visible police presence.
- Emergency numbers: Police: 110. Ambulance: 120. Your concierge is your first call for any non-emergency situation — she has local contacts for every city on the itinerary.
- Health & medications: Bring a full supply of any prescription medication. International pharmacies exist in major cities but may not carry your brand. Travel insurance is required — we can recommend policies that cover China specifically.
- Language: English fluency outside hotels and tourist sites is limited. Your guides all speak English. We provide a printed pocket card with essential Chinese phrases and emergency contacts for every traveller.

## Before You Book

Everything worth knowing before you book.

### Six cities in fourteen days. Is that too much moving?

It is six stops and five long moves, and the moves are the reason it works rather than the cost of it. Four of the five are on high-speed rail, city center to city center, so there is one internal flight in fourteen days and no 5 a.m. airport runs around it. Three stops get two nights, Beijing gets three, and two days are built to end in the middle of the afternoon: the panda and teahouse day in Chengdu, and the countryside day in Yangshuo.

### What actually happens on the Li River day?

You travel from Guilin to Yangshuo on the water, and that passage is both the day's activity and the day's transport. What is included is the passage and the river scenery along it. A full-length downstream sailing is what the plan is built on, but November and December are low-water months on this river and a sailing can be shortened or suspended, which is not in anyone's hands. So we do not print a sailing length or a departure time: the format of your own passage, full sailing or a shortened sailing with a road sector, is written into your quote before you book. What holds either way: you reach Yangshuo, you sleep two nights in one town, and the karst hills are there from either the deck or the road.

### Why does the trip end in Shenzhen and not somewhere famous?

Because Shenzhen is the argument. You spend the first eleven days with a country that measures itself in dynasties, and then you spend two days in a city that was built inside four decades, walking a market where a phone comes together floor by floor, and one walled old town that stands inside the same city limits. Practically, it also means the last day is a day of the trip rather than a transfer: your flight home leaves from there. Connections out of Shenzhen are thinner than out of Shanghai, so we check your return airport against the current timetable before we take your order.

### Can I book today?

Not yet, and we would rather say so on the page than after you have written to us. Four things have to be settled first: the group type and party cap, the ground arrangements confirmed with our partners for the October to December 2026 season, the city of two of the thirteen nights, and the October and December departure calendar. Until all four are done we take no orders and no deposits. What you can do now is tell us your dates and who is coming; we hold nothing back and we write to you on the day this route opens.

### Do I need a visa?

Most guests on this route do not. British, French, German, Dutch, Belgian, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, Nordic, Central European, Irish, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand passports currently enter visa-free for stays up to 30 days. Before you pay we check your 14 days plus any other days in China against that window. The current policy runs through December 31, 2026, so a departure on or before December 18, 2026 finishes inside it; for a later departure we quote only after the official renewal is announced. If you entered China on the ten-day visa-free transit policy, this trip does not fit inside it and we will tell you that rather than sell around it.