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Overview
Five cities in one country, and no two of them are for the same thing. Beijing keeps a court's floor plan, and you walk one axis of it. Xi'an still wears the wall it was defended behind, and you ride along the top of it. Chengdu is the one that asks you to sit down, so the middle of this trip slows on purpose. Shanghai put its trade on both banks of a river and lit both of them. Shenzhen makes things, and you climb through a building where that happens tray by tray. You will stop calling all of it China and start telling the cities apart.
— LyrikTrip travel designers
Every LyrikTrip journey begins with a conversation. Tell us your dates, who is coming and which passports you hold. 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 day-count balance, the departure-day routing and the US market position stand, before you are asked for anything, and we will not take a deposit until this route opens.
Why you'll love this trip
- Six cities, one line. Mutianyu, the Terracotta Warriors, pandas, a waterworks from the third century BC and the Bund, with English-speaking guides city by city.
- 14 days from the Forbidden City to a floor of loose components. Understand what each city is for.
- Walk one axis of the Forbidden City, out through the north gate, and then climb the hill standing directly across the street: from the pavilion on top, the golden roofs you just walked between line up in rows and the Beijing Central Axis runs straight through them.
- Ride along the top of the Xi'an City Wall on a hired bicycle, one of the most complete surviving city walls in China, on a flat brick road wide enough to ride two abreast around the whole old city.
- Spend an afternoon in a People's Park teahouse with a gaiwan that keeps getting refilled as long as you stay: cards at the next table, the ear cleaner working the row behind you, and nowhere you are due next.
- Stand at the mouth of the Dujiangyan waterworks and watch the river being divided the way it has been divided since the third century BC, on the day trip out of Chengdu.
- End an evening on the Bund with your guide beside you: the old waterfront buildings on one bank, the Pudong towers on the other, one city looking at itself across the water.
- Walk Huaqiangbei floor by floor with a guide who reads the trade for you: loose components on one level, prototypes above them, finished machines above that, and the buying chain that connects the three.
- Unpack once for three nights each in Beijing, Xi'an and Chengdu: nine of the fourteen days run out of three hotels, and no morning starts with a suitcase.
Things to do
We are loading the host-led experiences for the second half of the page.
Itinerary
Arrivals
Beijing · Day 1 - Day 3
· Land, and do nothing
You land in Beijing and the day asks nothing of you. The trip starts tomorrow, at the gate of a palace.
· One axis, then the hill that looks back
You walk through the palace in a single line and exit at the back. Then you climb the hill facing that gate and see what you have just walked through.
· A whole day on the Wall
The drive out is long, so the wall gets the day to itself. Read the wall instead of photographing it and leaving.
High-speed rail
Xi'an · Day 4 - Day 6
· The square, the altar, the bronzes, then a train
Beijing's public face in the morning, its shapes and its collection after. Leave the capital by rail, at the speed the country moves at now.
· Eight thousand faces, one at a time
The whole day goes to one site, and it needs it. Learn to tell the ranks apart and the pits stop being a crowd.
· On top of the wall, then behind it
Ride the old city's outline in daylight and walk its food lanes after dark. One city at two hours of the day.
High-speed rail
Chengdu · Day 7 - Day 9
· A pagoda, then the mountains
A short morning before a long ride south. Cross the range that separates the two halves of China and arrive somewhere that eats differently.
· Pandas while they are moving, then nowhere to be
The morning is the only time the pandas are worth the trip. The afternoon has nothing to do at all.
· A day trip to the works that waters this plain
Out by rail in the morning, back to the same hotel at night. See what twenty-three centuries of maintenance looks like.
Flight
Shanghai · Day 10 - Day 11
· Three lanes, a mask, and a plane
Chengdu's shopfront in the morning and its neighbourhood theatre after lunch. Leave the city after the last face has changed.
· A garden, a collection, and two banks
Start in the oldest quarter and end at the water after dark. Watch a city look at itself across a river.
Flight
Shenzhen · Day 12 - Day 13
· Plane trees, a commuter ferry, then south
A low-rise morning to balance last night's skyline. Cross the river the way the city crosses it.
· Floor by floor
Components, prototypes, finished machines, in that order and in that building. See what a city built for making actually looks like.
Flight
Guangzhou · Day 14
· Dim sum first, then the water
The last morning is spent at a tea table rather than ticking off a checklist. Depart from the newest waterfront along the route.
Departures
Hotels
Hotel pairings continue loading right after the upper journey sections.
Included / Excluded
What's Included
- Private vehicleAir-conditioned private vehicle on all touring days in every city, including the full-day Mutianyu round trip on day three and the ground legs of the Dujiangyan day trip on day nine. Airport transfers are not part of this line: see Not Included
- GuideLicensed English-speaking guide on all touring days in each city, including the Bund evening in Shanghai and the Huaqiangbei walk in Shenzhen
- Hotels13 nights at your chosen level, four-star, five-star or quality boutique, breakfast included: Beijing 3 · Xi'an 3 · Chengdu 3 · Shanghai 2 · Shenzhen 2. The arrival night in Beijing is one of the 13. Hotels named in your written confirmation
- Intercity transportSix legs: day 4 Beijing to Xi'an by high-speed rail · day 7 Xi'an to Chengdu by high-speed rail · day 9 Chengdu to Dujiangyan and back by high-speed rail · day 10 Chengdu to Shanghai by air · day 12 Shanghai to Shenzhen by air · day 14 Shenzhen to Guangzhou by high-speed rail. The rail class and flight cabin for your order are written into your quote
- Tickets & experiences, BeijingTian'anmen Square · the Forbidden City with its timed entry reservation · Jingshan Park · Mutianyu Great Wall admission · the Temple of Heaven · the National Museum of China with its entry reservation
- Tickets & experiences, Xi'anThe Terracotta Army · Xi'an City Wall admission with the wall-top bicycle rental · Giant Wild Goose Pagoda · the Bell and Drum Tower quarter and the Muslim Quarter in the evening, a walking visit with your guide
- Tickets & experiences, ChengduChengdu panda base in the morning · People's Park gaiwan teahouse with the tea seat paid · Kuanzhai Alley and the Taikoo Li quarter as a walking visit · community Sichuan opera with backstage access and a close-range face-changing demonstration
- Tickets & experiences, DujiangyanDujiangyan irrigation works · a visit to a small Qingcheng Taoist temple, including a conversation with a resident priest and a tai chi session
- Tickets & experiences, ShanghaiYu Garden and the old city quarter · Shanghai Museum with its entry reservation · the former French Concession and Wukang Road as a walking visit · the Huangpu River ferry crossing · the Bund and the Pudong skyline in the evening, guide accompanied
- Experiences, Shenzhen & GuangzhouHuaqiangbei with your guide explaining the sourcing chain floor by floor · Haixinsha and Zhujiang New Town
- Meals13 hotel breakfasts, days two through fourteen, plus one arranged Cantonese yum cha on the morning of day fourteen at a long-established tea house on the way to Guangzhou, tea seat and dim sum included
Not Included
- International flightsFlights into Beijing and out of Guangzhou
- VisasVisa fees and processing for any guest who requires a Chinese visa
- Airport transfersArrival pickup and departure drop-off are not included in the base price for this route. The sourcing terms for these two transfers have not yet been signed off, so we list them as excluded rather than implying they are included. Your quote will state in writing whether your booking includes them.
- Lift equipment inside scenic areasThree named places, all excluded on the same footing: the Mutianyu cable car, chairlift and toboggan · the Mount Qingcheng cable car and lake boat · the Dujiangyan scenic shuttle. Any of them can be asked for per order and is priced when you choose it
- MealsAll lunches and dinners other than the day-fourteen yum cha. Food bought in the Muslim Quarter and around Kuanzhai Alley is on your own account. Your guide recommends and books on request
- Travel insuranceThe insurance term for this route has not yet been signed back, so we have marked it as excluded. Please arrange your own travel insurance that covers medical care in China.
- Optional add-onsPriced separately when you choose them; nothing optional is added into the base plan by default
- PersonalGratuities, single or extra-room difference, laundry, personal spending
Special Notes
Several things on this route follow the calendar, a season, or a supplier's signature. Here they are, told straight.
- Bookings are not open yet — This route is still undergoing its own internal review, and until that review concludes, we are not accepting any bookings or deposits. The remaining items must be resolved first. Three are design-related: the day-count balance of the fourteen days, the departure-day routing and the tea house's city, and a second item for the Shenzhen day. Two are commercial: Tell us your dates and we will write to you on the day it opens.
- The day-count balance — our own review found the current fourteen-day plan runs over once transfer time is counted, by something between one and two days. That is being rebalanced now, most likely by moving one or two of the day-four Beijing items onto another Beijing day. Until it balances we promise no daily timings to anyone, and the day-by-day above is a design in review rather than a confirmed schedule.
- Departure dates — no departures between 1 October and 7 October. This is the national holiday week: four cities on this route experience holiday-peak crowding and the Terracotta Army site is at its busiest of the year. Dates are also arranged so that day two never falls on a Monday, when the Forbidden City is closed; if your dates would place it there, days two and three swap places.
- Timed-entry reservations — three sites need a slot booked ahead, the Forbidden City at least seven days out, the National Museum of China, and Shanghai Museum. The admissions are in your base price. Who books each slot, us or you, is stated in writing in your quote, because that responsibility is still being settled internally and we would rather write it down per order than leave it vague.
- The day-fourteen tea house — It sits on the road between Shenzhen and Guangzhou, and the exact house is being fixed together with the departure-day routing against your outbound flight. That is why this page names no city for it. It is named in your written itinerary before you book.
- December departures — December falls in the cold season for Beijing and Xi'an, and both the wall day and the wall-top bicycle ride are outdoor days. Indoor alternatives for those two cities are being worked out on the design side and are not promised here. For a December departure we confirm that stretch against your exact dates before you pay.
- The Great Wall climb — the cable car, chairlift and toboggan at Mutianyu are all excluded from the base price, so unless you add one, the climb to the wall is on foot. We say this here rather than letting it surface on the day.
- US passports — the US is not on the 30-day visa-free list, and fourteen days is longer than the ten-day visa-free transit policy allows, so the only lawful path for a US guest on this route is a valid Chinese tourist or business visa. The compliance review of this market is still open on our side, so this route is not sold to US guests today and we take no US orders until that review is closed in writing. We would rather say that than sell you a route we have not finished checking.
- Visa window — the 30-day visa-free policy currently runs through December 31, 2026. Because this is a fourteen-day plan, departures on or before December 18, 2026 finish inside that window; later dates are quoted only after the official renewal is announced.
- Guests already in China on transit-policy entry — Fourteen days is longer than the ten-day transit policy permits, so this route cannot be taken on that entry. We say so before payment, and we do not look for workarounds.
- Intercity timetables — the six legs are included in your base price, but the 2026 Q4 timetables are still being verified, so the day-to-day sequencing is confirmed order by order rather than promised on this page.
- Group — Private, just your party. From 1 guest. No fixed maximum party size.
- 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. Worth knowing why it matters here: this route holds two internal flights and four rail legs, so a date change touches four inventories at once: air, rail, hotels and timed-entry slots.
Is Fourteen Days Your Length?
Fewer than fourteen days?
Fewer than fourteen days?
The six stops come apart cleanly. Beijing and Xi'an stand together as the classic pair, Chengdu can go or be shortened, and the Shanghai to Guangzhou stretch works on its own as a shorter modern-China line. Tell us your dates and who is coming, and we cut stops rather than compress the days that are left.
Good to Know
- Group
- Private, just your party. From 1 guest. No fixed maximum party size.
- Pace
- Six cities plus one day trip in 14 days: Beijing 3 nights, Xi'an 3, Chengdu 3, Shanghai 2, Shenzhen 2. Two light days built into the middle, and the Dujiangyan day trip between them is the fullest day of the trip
- Effort
- Moderate walking on every touring day. The Great Wall climb is on foot unless you add the cable car, chairlift or toboggan, all of which are excluded and priced separately. Jingshan is stairs to the top; the city wall ride is flat.
- Ports
- Fly into Beijing, out of Guangzhou. Airport transfers at both ends are not included in the base price on this route.
- Visas
- Visa-free entry for days: UK · France · Germany · the Netherlands · Belgium · most of the rest of Europe · Canada · Australia · New Zealand. Checked order by order against your dates. This route is not sold to US passport holders at present
- 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. December departures fall in the cold season for Beijing and Xi'an and are confirmed against your exact dates
Your Private Concierge
LT
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.
20+
Years
300+
Trips Designed
24/7
On-Trip Care
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
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