Eighteen days: won't we burn out?

The line breathes on purpose: a slow teahouse day in Chengdu after the highlands, a raft-and-tea day in Yangshuo after the mountains, and no packed mornings after late arrivals. Cable cars and park shuttles do the climbing; walking flexes to your group every day.

What about altitude and weather at Huanglong?

The high stretch is exactly D6-D9, about 1,500-3,500 meters, with the highest night around 3,000 meters on D6, and you are back at Chengdu's roughly 500 meters by D9 evening. Huanglong itself sits above 3,000 meters and reads the weather daily, so the day is paced gently, with rest stops built in, oxygen and a pulse oximeter arranged for the van on the highland days, and the summit boardwalk is never compulsory. If conditions close it, we switch to Mounigou Valley: waterfalls and calcite pools that answer the same wish.

Is the driverless taxi guaranteed?

It runs on a real operator's routes, so we reserve ahead for your dates and confirm before you land. On the rare day the operator pauses service, Shenzhen still shows you its future hands-on: Huaqiangbei's markets and the tech that fills them.

Why aren't all meals included?

On purpose. Over eighteen days tastes diverge, and prepaid set menus mean paying for meals you may not feel like eating. Daily breakfast and the riverside afternoon tea are included; for the rest, your guide recommends and books around your tastes each day. Budget guide: about $20-40 per person per day covers lunch and dinner at places locals rate; street-food days come in well under.

China, End to End | LyrikTrip

Overview

On day one you stand in a palace completed in 1420. On day seventeen, a driverless car takes you across a city that was a fishing village forty years ago. Most first-time journeys to China choose one era; this one runs through them all in order: the empire, the high country, the old earth, and Shenzhen last, so the journey ends facing forward. Trains, flights and a private van link the whole arc, and your guides hand you from city to city. Once you're home, you'll notice the souvenir: you never read a headline about China quite the same way again.

— LyrikTrip travel designers

Every LyrikTrip journey begins with a conversation. Tell us your dates and who's coming, and if eighteen days is the wrong length 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.

Why you'll love this trip

Best for: first-time China visitors, couples, families, repeat visitors seeking depth
18 days from the Forbidden City to driverless taxis. See the whole of China.

Stand on Jingshan hill above the golden roofs of the Forbidden City, then walk the Great Wall at Mutianyu: the empire in two mornings.
Meet the eight thousand, the buried army of China's first emperor, no two faces alike, then cycle the top of the wall that still rings old Xi'an.
Climb into the Aba highlands for Jiuzhaigou's glass-clear lakes and Huanglong's terraced pools, then deeper still, to panda country and a Baima village that welcomes you as guests, not a tour group.
Learn the Chengdu way of sitting: in a People's Park teahouse, with nowhere to be after.
Ride the Bailong Elevator into the sandstone pillars *Avatar* borrowed, then walk out over the gorge on a pane of glass, farther than you thought you would.
Cruise Guilin's lit waterways by night, drift a bamboo raft down the Yulong River, then stand at sunrise above the bend of the Li River that appears on the back of China's 20-yuan banknote.
End in Shenzhen, a fishing village turned tech metropolis in forty years: a ride in a driverless taxi is reserved ahead for your dates.

Things to do

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Itinerary

Arrivals

Beijing · Day 1 - Day 3

Day 1 · Beijing: the Imperial Axis

Start at the center of it all. One straight line through six centuries.

Tian'anmen & the Forbidden City You start on the Great Square, then walk through the Meridian Gate into the palace completed in 1420. The route takes you the way the court moved: ceremonial halls first, then the residential quarters, then the imperial garden: public grandeur giving way, room by room, to private life. You'll recalibrate what the word "big" means.

Jingshan Hill You climb to the hilltop pavilion and turn around: below you, the golden roofs run to the horizon along Beijing's central axis: one straight line, laid down six centuries ago.

Shichahai hutongs You wander courtyard lanes, lakeside streets and the small shops of old Beijing; your guide knows which lanes still live like lanes. The evening is yours around Houhai.

Day 2 · Beijing: the Great Wall at Mutianyu

The wall, without the crush. Stand where the empire drew its line.

Up to the ridgeline The cable car or open chairlift lifts you to the ridge; the wall carries you from watchtower to watchtower while your guide reads its logic aloud: beacon towers, passes, the sightlines that made it work.

On the brick You'll catch yourself running a hand along the parapet: the same gesture as the soldiers who stood here six hundred years ago.

Lunch below the wall A lunch stop near the foot of the wall; your guide books it, on your account.

Olympic Park Back in the city, you stand between the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube: Beijing's other century, an hour from the Ming one you walked this morning.

Day 3 · Beijing: Temple of Heaven · rail to Xi'an

The emperor's final audience with heaven, then the fast train west.

Temple of Heaven You stand where emperors prayed for the harvest: the Hall of Prayer, the Imperial Vault, the round Circular Mound: architecture doing astronomy around you, circles for heaven, squares for earth.

National Museum In one building, you pick up the backstory for everything you'll see in the next fifteen days: bronzes, ceramics, sculpture, calligraphy.

Hands and leaves You watch layered soles stitched by hand at a cloth-shoe workshop, then sit down to your first proper gaiwan: how to brew, pour and hold it. Both fit around your train; then the high-speed rail carries you west, about 4.5 hours to Xi'an.

High-speed rail

Xi'an · Day 4 - Day 5

Day 4 · Xi'an: the Terracotta Warriors

Meet the army that waited 2,200 years. One emperor, eight thousand faces.

The pits You look down into the pits at an estimated eight thousand soldiers ranked for the first emperor: you learn to tell generals from archers by armour and hairstyle, and if you look closely at the newer excavations, you'll find traces of the original paint.

A Shaanxi lunch stop The hand-pulled noodles the province is famous for; your guide books the place, on your account.

Chinese medicine, gently Someone reads your pulse, opens the herb drawers for you, and walks you through the logic of seasonal balance: a working introduction, not a lecture; any treatment stays optional and unhurried.

Day 5 · Xi'an: City Wall, Sajinqiao, rail to Chengdu

The empire ends on a bicycle. Then the road to Sichuan.

City Wall by bike You pedal the ramparts of one of China's most complete ancient walls, wide enough to ride two abreast; the full circuit is about 14 kilometres: you ride as much as suits you, walk a stretch if you'd rather. Old city on one side of you, new city on the other.

Sajinqiao You eat your way down Xi'an's Muslim culinary quarter, one street from the tourist crowds: roujiamo pressed warm into your hand, crisp bread, slow-braised pork, noodles pulled long on the counter, lamb straight off the charcoal. Your guide steers, you graze.

Rail to Chengdu Your evening train crosses the Qinling range, the mountains that divide China's north from its south; you're in Chengdu in about 3.5 hours.

Private vehicle

Chuanzhusi · Day 6

Day 6 · Into the mountains: Songpan

The old trade road climbs all day: by evening you are about 2,500 metres higher than you woke up.

The drive north Your van climbs out of the Chengdu Plain and into the Aba highlands in long switchbacks; you step out wherever a view or a village market earns it.

Songpan Ancient Town You walk city gates, old streets and a covered bridge on the former Tea-Horse road: for centuries, tea went up to the plateau from here and horses came down, and your guide shows you where Han, Tibetan, Qiang and Hui traders kept shop in the same lanes.

A leather workshop Cut, stitch and stamp a small piece under a Tibetan craftsman's hands; it goes home in your pocket.

Private vehicle

Jiuzhaigou · Day 7 - Day 8

Day 7 · Huanglong

Terraced pools the colour of glacier water, built by the water itself.

The calcite terraces The cable car lifts you up, then you walk the boardwalks down beside pools terraced like rice paddies, their calcite rims holding water in blues and golds. You're above 3,000 metres here, so your pace stays gentle, with rest stops built in and oxygen in your van.

Weather honesty Huanglong closes seasonally and checks the weather daily; if conditions close it, we switch that same day to Mounigou Valley, whose waterfalls and calcite pools fulfil the same wish.

On to Jiuzhaigou The private van carries you on; checked in by evening.

Day 8 · Pandas & the Baima village

The gentlest day in the mountains. A dance, a dish, a village.

Panda conservation centre You spend the morning at the centre, watching keepers' routines and walking the habitat corridors: pandas at close quarters, in their own forests rather than a city enclosure, and you hear how a mountain community lives alongside them.

The Baima welcome The masked Zhou dance in the village square; then flour on your hands, as you join in making potato cakes the home way, and eat them together.

Village lanes The afternoon stays slow: wooden houses, prayer flags, and time to talk. You come through as guests, not as an audience.

High-speed rail

Chengdu · Day 9 - Day 10

Day 9 · Jiuzhaigou

The lakes you've seen in photographs, in every blue the water owns.

The valleys Park shuttles carry you between the tiers of lakes and falls; your guide picks your circuit by season and crowds. You'll want two names: Five-Flower Lake, where sunken logs glow under mineral-clear water below you, and Nuorilang, a waterfall wider than it is tall.

Colour on record You'll take a few pictures, then put the phone away: the lens can't capture it, your eyes can.

Rail back to Chengdu You're out of the park by mid-afternoon, and the new Sichuan–Qinghai line runs you back: you leave the mountains after lunch and are among teahouses by dark.

Day 10 · Chengdu, at Chengdu's pace

A rest day that doesn't feel like one, in a city that never hurries.

People's Park teahouse Bamboo chairs, a lidded cup kept topped up, cards slapping at the next table; if the ear-cleaner's tuning fork rings past, that's part of the furniture. You'll learn the Chengdu way of sitting: not waiting for anything.

Wenshu Monastery You step into an active monastery: monks on their rounds, incense coils, long quiet courtyards, and beside it, a vegetarian kitchen locals queue for. Join the queue.

Kuanzhai Alley & Taikoo Li You walk three restored lanes of Qing courtyards, then Taikoo Li's open-air blocks: in a single glance you take in a temple roofline and a flagship store. Old and new Chengdu, two streets apart.

High-speed rail

Zhangjiajie · Day 11 - Day 13

Day 11 · To Zhangjiajie · Tianmen Mountain

You land, and the mountain already has a doorway open for you.

Morning flight A short flight out of Chengdu; your Hunan guide is waiting at arrivals.

The long cableway One of the longest passenger cableways of its kind carries you 7.4 kilometres from the city centre: rooftops under you first, then forest, then cloud against your window.

Cliff paths & Heaven's Gate You walk the cliff-hung paths, glass underfoot if you choose it, a solid path always beside you, then stand in the great opening itself, about 130 metres high, formed when the cliff face collapsed in AD 263.

Day 12 · Yuanjiajie · Tianzi · Golden Whip Stream

The pillar forest from the balconies, then along its floor.

Yuanjiajie The Bailong Elevator lifts you into the sandstone pillar forest: you stand on platforms above the spires that James Cameron's Avatar borrowed, and cross the natural arch known as the First Bridge Under Heaven.

Tianzi Mountain You look down from the high balconies over the densest stand of pillars: a mountain named for a Tujia leader who called himself the Son of Heaven.

Golden Whip Stream You walk a flat path beside water clear to the pebbles, cliffs closing overhead, macaques supervising you from the boulders; the length is cut to fit your day.

Day 13 · The Glass Bridge & Tujia brocade

Glass over the canyon in the morning, thread on a loom after lunch.

Grand Canyon Glass Bridge You cross 430 metres of clear pane above the gorge, the record-holder at its 2016 opening, a solid walkway beside you, with the canyon floor a long way down through your own feet.

Tujia brocade You watch Tujia brocade grow thread by thread on a wooden loom, and try a few rows yourself when the workshop is open.

High-speed rail

Guilin · Day 14

Day 14 · Rail to Guilin · the lit waterways

Change stones: sandstone out, limestone in, and the country turns soft.

Rail south Your train runs south at high speed; the karst starts crowding your window before Guilin arrives.

Old town on foot You drift through pedestrian streets and riverside snacks, beneath the osmanthus trees for which the city is named, at whatever pace your afternoon has left.

Two Rivers & Four Lakes cruise Your boat threads the ring of waterways inside the city: banyan banks slide past you, the twin pagodas stand lit on the water, and bridge after bridge passes over your head, each a different silhouette.

High-speed rail

Yangshuo · Day 15 - Day 16

Day 15 · Yangshuo: the slow day

Two weeks in, the trip exhales.

Bamboo raft on the Yulong Your poler steers from the stern while rice paddies, stone bridges and water buffalo slide past you. Half an hour in, you'll realise you haven't said anything, and haven't needed to.

Country lanes by bike You follow quiet lanes between paddies and peaks; bike, e-bike or car: your legs decide.

Coffee on the hillside A table waits for you on the slope above the valley, karst ranked away on both sides, nothing on your schedule until dinner.

Day 16 · Xianggong Hill & underground karst

The Li River's great bend, from above and from inside the rock. What water does, given time.

Xianggong Hill You start before dawn and climb a short stair of stone steps; below you opens the river's most photographed bend, layered peaks turning silver, then gold, as the light comes up around you.

A karst cave You walk underground among stalactites, stone curtains and still pools: the same mineral-rich water you watched building Huanglong's terraces last week, caught working underground.

Back to Yangshuo The rest of the day is yours: the river, a pool chair, or the town's cafe streets.

High-speed rail

Shenzhen · Day 17 - Day 18

Day 17 · Shenzhen: the driverless ride

The last city runs on a different clock. Forty years, one city.

Rail from Yangshuo Your train runs about three hours south into the Pearl River Delta; outside your window, the karst gives way to container ports and towers.

Robotaxi Reserved ahead for your dates: you book the ride on a screen, sensors and cameras read the street, and the wheel turns itself at the first corner. You'll stare at the empty steering wheel for a long moment, and then laugh.

Huaqiangbei You climb floor after floor of components, prototypes and finished gadgets; your guide decodes who buys what here, and where your own phone was probably born.

Day 18 · Departure

The morning bends to your flight. Home, with a longer answer.

Optional science museum Aerospace, AI and robotics exhibits, if your departure time allows and booking opens for your date.

Onward After a leisurely lunch (at your own expense), a private transfer to Bao'an Airport or the railway station, with time to spare.

Departures

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Hotels

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Included / Excluded

What's Included

Private vehiclesAir-conditioned private vehicles for all listed sightseeing and transfers, including station and airport pick-ups
Hotels17 nights in selected four-star, five-star or quality boutique stays, breakfast daily
GuidesLicensed English-speaking guides throughout every region
Tickets & experiencesAll listed attractions, plus: city-wall bikes · cloth-shoe & tea sittings (Beijing) · Chinese medicine intro (Xi'an) · leather craft (Songpan) · Baima village programme · Yulong rafting & bikes · hillside cafe afternoon tea · Tujia brocade visit
AlsoBottled water on touring days · travel accident insurance

Not Included

Long-haulInternational flights to Beijing and onward travel from Shenzhen
Internal legsThe Chengdu–Zhangjiajie flight and inter-city rail tickets are quoted with your confirmation: one figure, no surprises
MealsBeyond the included meals, lunches and dinners stay flexible: each day your guide recommends and books around the group's tastes
PersonalVisas, gratuities, single supplement, personal spending, and any optional treatments or museum reservations not included in your confirmation

Special Notes

A few things on this route depend on weather, seasons or operators. Here they are, told straight: with the backup already planned.

Huanglong — opens seasonally and reads the weather daily; if conditions close it, we switch the same day to Mounigou Valley: waterfalls and calcite pools that answer the same wish.
Jiuzhaigou circuit — your guide picks the valleys by season, crowds and the confirmed train time; the visit runs to mid-afternoon so the evening rail to Chengdu is never a rush.
Day 11 afternoon — Yuanjiajie is paced to your actual landing time in Zhangjiajie; if the flight runs late, the pillars simply wait for the next morning.
Tianmen evening lights — a seasonal programme on the attraction's official calendar; we confirm it for your date before you fly.
Guilin night cruise — scheduled once your train arrival is fixed; if the evening departures are sold out, we move it to your Yangshuo return.
Bamboo rafting — subject to river levels and safety rules on the day; the riverside cycling and afternoon tea go ahead either way.
Robotaxi — reserved ahead on the operator's routes and confirmed before you land; on a rare service pause, Huaqiangbei still puts Shenzhen's future in your hands.
Brocade workshop & science museum — the hands-on session follows the workshop's daily hours; the museum is an optional add-on, fitted to its calendar and your departure time.
Hotels & venues — named in your confirmation; "or similar" always means the same class and comparable location, never a quiet downgrade.

Is Eighteen Days Your Length?

Tell us your dates and who's coming: we'll shape the length around you.

Have the full window?

This is the whole arc, empire, high country, old earth, future, in their proper order.

Shorter on days?

We trim a region, not the pace: tell us what matters most and we'll cut the line to fit.

Travelling with older parents or kids?

The highland days can soften further, and every climb has a cable-car answer.

Good to Know

Group: Private; from 1 guest: no minimum
Arrival: The programme starts the morning after you land in Beijing: we plan your arrival evening with you
Language: English-speaking guides throughout
Shopping Policy: No shopping stops or commission detours on the route; your time is dedicated solely to the places listed here.
Tailoring: Fully flexible. Days, stops, and pace can be added, removed, or swapped. We'll reshape the plan together before you confirm and pay.
Payment: A 10% deposit (minimum $399) secures your dates and resources; the balance is due 14 days before departure
Flexibility: Walking distances adapt to your pace throughout; weather-dependent items and their backups are listed in Special Notes
Best season: Spring and autumn are ideal across all six regions; summer is green and full, winter quiet and crisp.
Ports: Beijing In · Shenzhen Out
Gateway markets: Lead country marker: FR. Gateway markets from inventory: WEU, SEU. Shenzhen outbound access is narrower than the inbound side.

Your Private Concierge

Jason Hu

Private China Route Concierge

“A bilingual planning desk for tailor-made China journeys.”

Our China team tailors the pacing, hotels and local hosts to suit each route style.

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Beijing · Day 1 - Day 3Collapse

Day 1 · Beijing: the Imperial Axis

Day 2 · Beijing: the Great Wall at Mutianyu

Day 3 · Beijing: Temple of Heaven · rail to Xi'an

Xi'an · Day 4 - Day 5Collapse

Day 4 · Xi'an: the Terracotta Warriors

Day 5 · Xi'an: City Wall, Sajinqiao, rail to Chengdu

Chuanzhusi · Day 6Collapse

Day 6 · Into the mountains: Songpan

Jiuzhaigou · Day 7 - Day 8Collapse

Day 7 · Huanglong

Day 8 · Pandas & the Baima village

Chengdu · Day 9 - Day 10Collapse

Day 9 · Jiuzhaigou

Day 10 · Chengdu, at Chengdu's pace

Zhangjiajie · Day 11 - Day 13Collapse

Day 11 · To Zhangjiajie · Tianmen Mountain

Day 12 · Yuanjiajie · Tianzi · Golden Whip Stream

Day 13 · The Glass Bridge & Tujia brocade

Guilin · Day 14Collapse

Day 14 · Rail to Guilin · the lit waterways

Yangshuo · Day 15 - Day 16Collapse

Day 15 · Yangshuo: the slow day

Day 16 · Xianggong Hill & underground karst

Shenzhen · Day 17 - Day 18Collapse

Day 17 · Shenzhen: the driverless ride

Day 18 · Departure

Read it on your own time

Answers to all your trip questions

Something specific in mind?

What's Included

Not Included

Special Notes

Is Eighteen Days Your Length?

Have the full window?

Shorter on days?

Travelling with older parents or kids?

Jason Hu

Tell us what excites you

We design it around you

Lock it in with 10%

Travel. We handle the rest.

Beijing · Day 1 - Day 3

Xi'an · Day 4 - Day 5

Chuanzhusi · Day 6

Jiuzhaigou · Day 7 - Day 8

Chengdu · Day 9 - Day 10

Zhangjiajie · Day 11 - Day 13

Guilin · Day 14

Yangshuo · Day 15 - Day 16

Shenzhen · Day 17 - Day 18