---
title: "Ten Days Without a Visa"
description: "10 days from a forty-year-old city to a 2200-year-old army walking China in reverse"
type: "tour"
route_id: "china-visa-free-10-days"
total_days: 10
price: 3130
highlights: ["Shenzhen", "Guilin", "Yangshuo", "Chengdu", "Xi'an", "Beijing"]
url: "https://www.lyriktrip.com/en-GB/tours/china-visa-free-10-days"
canonical_url: "https://www.lyriktrip.com/en-GB/tours/china-visa-free-10-days"
locale: "en-GB"
alternates: {"en-US":"https://www.lyriktrip.com/tours/china-visa-free-10-days","en-GB":"https://www.lyriktrip.com/en-GB/tours/china-visa-free-10-days","zh-CN":"https://www.lyriktrip.com/zh-CN/tours/china-visa-free-10-days","zh-TW":"https://www.lyriktrip.com/zh-TW/tours/china-visa-free-10-days","de-DE":"https://www.lyriktrip.com/de-DE/tours/china-visa-free-10-days","fr-FR":"https://www.lyriktrip.com/fr-FR/tours/china-visa-free-10-days","es-ES":"https://www.lyriktrip.com/es-ES/tours/china-visa-free-10-days","it-IT":"https://www.lyriktrip.com/it-IT/tours/china-visa-free-10-days","x-default":"https://www.lyriktrip.com/tours/china-visa-free-10-days"}
---

# Ten Days Without a Visa

10 days from a forty-year-old city to a 2200-year-old army, walking China in reverse

The full spread of China. Electronics floors, the Li River, pandas and the Terracotta Warriors, with English-speaking guides city by city.

- Moderate. Two riding sessions, both with a way out: the Yulong River leg can be a bicycle, an e-bike or a seat in the vehicle, and the city wall is flat riding on top of the wall. Five intercity legs in ten days, four of them by train or boat.

## Overview

Most China plans start with the oldest thing they have. This one starts with the newest and works backward. You walk in from Hong Kong across a land port into Shenzhen, a city that was farmland and fishing villages within living memory. Then the karst hills, where the rock is older than anything anyone built. Then Chengdu, where an afternoon is a unit of time rather than a gap between two sights. Xi'an comes last, with an army that went into the ground in the third century BC. Ten days, five stops, five intercity legs. By the fourth city you'll notice you have stopped calling this country old.

— 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, before you are asked for anything, where the land-port entry procedure stands, what your day ten margin looks like against your flight, and what is written per order rather than fixed on this page.

## Summary

- Route ID: china-visa-free-10-days
- Duration: 10 days / 9 nights
- Starting price: $3,130
- Status: active
- Highlights: Shenzhen, Guilin, Yangshuo, Chengdu, Xi'an, Beijing
- Cover image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/ijjtBrUh.webp

## Hero tags

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

## Highlight notes

- The full spread of China. Electronics floors, the Li River, pandas and the Terracotta Warriors, with English-speaking guides city by city.
- 10 days from a city built in 40 years to an army buried in the third century BC. Walk China in reverse.

## Selling points

- Walk Huaqiangbei floor by floor with your guide, loose components on one level and finished machines two floors up: you come out able to explain how a thing actually gets made here.
- Ride the Li River down to Yangshuo instead of driving: the transfer is the day, and the countryside unfolds at boat speed rather than through a car window.
- Take the Yulong River day at the effort you vote for: a bamboo raft first, then a bicycle, an e-bike or a seat in the vehicle, decided on the morning rather than on the booking form.
- Stand at the panda base in the morning, the hours when the animals are actually moving rather than asleep in a tree fork.
- Spend a Chengdu afternoon beneath the trees with a gaiwan refilled for as long as you linger: for three hours, no one asks what you'd like to do next.
- See the Terracotta Warriors on day nine, after a week of new China: an estimated eight thousand figures, standing in the pits where they were found.
- On the final morning, cycle along the top of the Xi'an City Wall on a rented bicycle, on a path wide enough for two of you to ride side by side.

## City highlights

- Shenzhen (2 days): Walk into China
  - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/6216b1a8b87c.jpg
- Guilin (1 days): Forty years, in one room
  - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/e7jgX8Ug.webp
- Yangshuo (2 days): The transfer is the day
  - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/gQNReUuA.webp
- Chengdu (2 days): Yangshuo to Chengdu
  - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/iM7e4Psd.webp
- Xi'an (2 days): Backstage, then a train
  - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/gRKVLNcJ.webp
- Beijing (1 days): On the wall, then the train
  - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/a6s8UpV9.webp

## Experiences

The full spread of China. Electronics floors, the Li River, pandas and the Terracotta Warriors, with English-speaking guides city by city.

- Huaqiangbei Electronics Market (Shenzhen): Huaqiangbei Electronics Market showcases the speed, scale and density of China's hardware ecosystem.
  - Subtitle: Shenzhen's legendary electronics district
  - Tags: Electronics
  - Host: Shenzhen, Shenzhen Lens — Drones and future mobility
  - Access: A street-level look at Shenzhen's maker and electronics culture.
  - Images: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Huaqiangbei_walking_street.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/8a25e1e49329.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/48a3076950e9.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/d6e8cf38ea06.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/87375a9720fa.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7b098456d4ee.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7015fe72256b.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/6ae7699e7cef.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/e85c085378d9.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/499337ce1b97.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
- 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 Cycling (Yangshuo): an afternoon ride at a relaxed pace through the countryside along the Yulong River, on the same day you arrive from Shanghai. The route passes rice fields, farming villages, riverside paths and limestone peaks: rural southern China at handlebar height, hours after you left one of its biggest cities.
  - Subtitle: an afternoon ride at a relaxed pace through the countryside along the
  - Tags: Active
  - Host: Yangshuo, Yangshuo Lens — Countryside and karst calm
  - Access: The route passes rice fields, farming villages, riverside paths and limestone peaks: rural southern China at handlebar height, hours after you left one of its biggest cities.
  - 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/60d1bfc0b970.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/d129588d0b34.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/5943b2f5538d.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/f3ad04674ebb.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
- 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
- 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
- Xi'an City Wall (Xi'an): the Ming-era rampart that still rings the old city, broad enough on top to walk or cycle. You go up in the late afternoon and take it at your pace: a stretch on foot, or a longer run by bike, with the gate towers ahead of you and the moat below. Why it earns its hour: from up here the city explains itself, old streets inside the wall, tower blocks beyond it.
  - Subtitle: the Ming-era rampart that still encircles the old city, broad enough on
  - Tags: Active
  - Host: Xi'an, Xi'an Lens — Warriors and ancient capital
  - Access: Why it earns its hour: from up here the city explains itself, old streets inside the wall, tower blocks beyond it.
  - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/daf832e303d0.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/8f7c7a922b33.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/f864b69ac4b1.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/9c4dc5e6e575.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/b69829f31585.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/ad143f00bca6.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/dabb4f7b21b8.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/e3a18a929d13.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/6c4bc5467067.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2a992375c8dd.jpg
- Bell and Drum Tower square and the Muslim Quarter by night (Xi'an): After dark, Bell and Drum Towers face off over smoky food lanes. Pulled noodles, persimmon cakes, roujiamo, and naan ovens line the Hui quarter. Your guide explains what to eat and how—walking included, tower entry extra, snacks cheap and self-paid. Centuries of Silk Road history stay edible here tonight.
  - Subtitle: At dusk, the timekeeping Bell and Drum Towers face off across the old centre, while behind them the Hui quarter's lanes come alive. Your guide walks you through, decoding each stall—what's worth it, what's for tourists, how to eat. About two hours; tower entry extra, snacks self-paid and cheap.
  - Tags: City
  - Host: Xi'an, Xi'an Lens — Warriors and ancient capital
  - Access: the two towers that once kept the city's time, and behind them the lanes of the Hui neighbourhood after dark, at the hour they are actually busy. Your guide walks it with you and reads the food stalls: what is worth stopping for, what is a tourist item, and how each thing is eaten. Climbing the Bell Tower or the Drum Tower is a separate on-site ticket and is not in your price; food is on your own account.
  - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/be2d09d79b66.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/02e10943b0b8.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/a89c8581e5c7.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/281d43f0922e.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/467e9f21253b.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/be17d6a5ce49.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2be0c598ad8d.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/cc45951bdee2.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/68851d1cd2f1.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/40f5c954821f.jpg
### Capture banner

- Label: Save this itinerary
- Title: Send the full route to your inbox
- Subtitle: We will include the latest hotels, hosts and pacing notes.
- Placeholder: Email address
- CTA: Send route
- Sent label: Sent


## Itinerary

### Ten Days Without a Visa - 10 days

Journey

#### Shenzhen (2 days)

- Subtitle: Walk into China
- Recommendation: The country starts at a walkway rather than a jet bridge. Today asks nothing else of you.
- Transport: High-speed rail
- Transport mode: train

Landing in Hong Kong · The port crossing · First look at the city · Evening

- Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/6216b1a8b87c.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 1: Walk into China

- (sight) — your international flight lands on the Hong Kong side, and the mainland is a short run away at a land port rather than another airport at the far end of another flight.
- (sight) — You go through immigration on the Hong Kong side, walk through the connecting hall, and clear the mainland side at Shenzhen with your passport in your own hand. It takes as long as the queue takes, and the day is built with that slack in it. How your party gets from the port to the Shenzhen hotel is set out in your quote in advance, together with whether that leg sits inside your base price: at this stage it does not, and we would rather say so than let you assume it.
- (sight) — high-rises stand in ranks all the way to the water, and almost none of them existed when your parents were your age. Look up from the hotel forecourt before you go in: that skyline is the first thing this route wants you to have seen.
- (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) Kempinski Hotel Shenzhen — Hotel stay in Shenzhen.

##### Day 2: How a thing is made

- (sight) — your guide takes you up through the electronics quarter in the order the trade itself runs: trays of loose components on one level, prototype boards and half-built machines above that, finished products on a shelf higher up. Stand at a component counter and look along the aisle: hundreds of stalls, each holding one kind of part, and a whole industry sorted into drawers.
- (sight) — your guide walks the path with you, from a part on a tray to the machine on the shelf that uses it, and explains who buys what from whom in these buildings. It is the reason this stop is here and not a viewpoint.
- (sight) — kept deliberately light, because you crossed a border yesterday and the pace picks up from tomorrow. Your guide and the vehicle are with you either way, and anything you buy in the market is your own.
- (sight) — A driverless taxi ride operates in parts of this city on a commercial operator's own route network. It is not included in the base price and is not part of this itinerary. If you would like to add it, we will provide a written quote when you select it, book it for a specific date, and reconfirm it after you arrive: as the service is provided by the operator, we cannot guarantee its availability in advance.

#### Guilin (1 days)

- Subtitle: Forty years, in one room
- Recommendation: The evidence first, the rock afterwards. By tonight you sleep among hills that took rather longer to arrive.
- Transport: Li River cruise
- Transport mode: car

The city explaining itself · Which venue, and when it opens · High-speed train to Guilin

- Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/e7jgX8Ug.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/5ElOR2GL.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/5Mke9ayW.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/6451wQWE.webp
##### Day 3: Forty years, in one room

- (sight) — models, maps and dated photographs of the same ground, fields and fish ponds in one frame and the current skyline in the next. Find the pair of photographs shot from the same spot decades apart and stand in front of them for a minute: that is the whole first act of this trip in two pictures.
- (sight) — The specific venue for your departure is named in your written confirmation, and your day three is checked against that venue's published opening days before your order is confirmed, so this morning is never planned onto a closing day.
- (transport) — an afternoon train out of Shenzhen, station in the city and station in the city at the other end, no airport at either end. Look out of the window as the delta gives way to farmland and then to the first limestone hills standing up alone out of flat ground. The train number and the travel class booked for your order are written into your quotation.
- (accommodation) Shangri-La Hotel Guilin — Hotel stay in Guilin.

#### Yangshuo (2 days)

- Subtitle: The transfer is the day
- Recommendation: You do not drive to Yangshuo. You float there, and the day is the journey.
- Transport: Flight
- Transport mode: airplane

Board at Guilin · The river · Ashore at Yangshuo

- Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/gQNReUuA.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 4: The transfer is on the day

- (sight) — a passenger cruise boat, downstream, with seating inside and deck room outside. Bags travel with you; there is no midday repacking because the boat is also the transfer.
- (sight) — peaks arrive one behind another on both banks, the near ones sharp and the far ones flat grey, and between them: bamboo at the waterline, water buffalo standing in the shallows, fishermen's rafts tied up along the bank. One stretch of this river is the scene printed on China's 20-yuan banknote; your guide will call it out from the deck before it comes level with you.
- (sight) — you step off in the middle of a small river town with the hills standing around it in every direction, close enough that a street can end in one. You stay here for two nights, so nothing gets repacked tomorrow.
- (accommodation) Yangshuo Ancient Garden Boutique Hotel — Hotel stay in Yangshuo.

##### Day 5: The river, at your own effort

- (sight) — a two-person raft of lashed poles on a set section of the river, punted by a boatman standing at the back. There is no engine, so the loudest thing in ten minutes is the pole going into the gravel. Low weirs along the way drop the raft a foot and send water over the front: shoes off, phone away.
- (sight) — the lanes between rice fields, farmhouses and peaks, taken by bicycle, by e-bike or from a seat in the vehicle on the same road. You decide this morning rather than at booking, and a party can split three ways without anyone waiting. Your guide sets the turnaround point by how the group is actually riding.
- (sight) — mid-afternoon, sat down by the water with the peaks on the far bank, tea and something to eat with it. Halfway through the pot you'll notice that nobody has looked at a phone since the raft.

#### Chengdu (2 days)

- Subtitle: Yangshuo to Chengdu
- Recommendation: A travel day, and only a travel day. Road to the airport, one flight, and the country changes underneath you.
- Transport: High-speed rail
- Transport mode: train

Road to Guilin airport · Flight to Chengdu · Evening

- Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/iM7e4Psd.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/37Mf4mO1.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4BqwVBVY.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4mDgLfna.webp
##### Day 6: Yangshuo to Chengdu

- (transport) — back up the road you came down by water, in your own vehicle, timed with room to spare rather than trimmed to the minute. The same hills read differently from a car window than they did from the deck.
- (transport) — airport to hotel at the other end, with your Chengdu guide taking over at the door. The flight number, times and cabin class booked for your order are written into your quote.
- (note) — nothing is scheduled. You are in a basin city of some twenty million people, and it carries on until tomorrow. Dinner near the hotel is recommended and booked for you if you wish, at your expense.
- (accommodation) Atour Hotel Chengdu Taikoo Li Chunxi Road Pedestrian Street — Hotel stay in Chengdu.

##### Day 7: Pandas, then nowhere to be

- (sight) — you are there in the morning, during the hours the animals are generally on the move: eating, coming down from a platform, dropping back to sleep in the fork of a tree. Flat shaded paths, benches, about three hours. Get to an enclosure fence early and wait there rather than walking the loop twice: 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, an ear cleaner working with a tuning fork two tables over, the sound of both carrying across the whole courtyard. An hour in, you'll notice you've stopped planning the rest of the day.
- (sight) — The seat and the refills are included in the base price. Ear cleaning and the other services that come around the tables are charged separately, and you settle up on the spot with whoever provides them.

#### Xi'an (2 days)

- Subtitle: Backstage, then a train
- Recommendation: A morning in two neighborhoods a century apart, an opera house in the middle of the day, then the rails north. Today is the hinge of the trip: you leave the present tense behind.
- Transport: High-speed rail
- Transport mode: train

Kuanzhai Alley and Taikoo Li · Sichuan opera, community theater · High-speed train to Xi'an

- Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/gRKVLNcJ.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 8: Backstage, then a train

- (sight) — three parallel lanes of restored courtyard housing, then a low-rise retail quarter built around a surviving temple compound a short drive away. Both are commercial and busy, and that is the thing to look at: an old street pattern kept intact and traded against at the same time. Walk the narrow lane rather than the wide one and look up at the doorframes.
- (sight) — a neighbourhood house rather than a hotel ballroom. You go backstage first, where the performers paint their faces and dress, and then you watch face-changing from the third row: the painted mask becomes another mask in the time it takes him to swing his head, and you will not see how, from any seat in the room.
- (transport) — An afternoon train through the mountains that separate the Sichuan basin from the northern plain, in long tunnels and short stretches of daylight. The train number and cabin class booked for your order are written into your quote, and your Xi'an guide meets the train.
- (accommodation) Somerset Xindicheng Xi'an — Hotel stay in Xian.

##### Day 9: Eight thousand men

- (sight) — the guard army of China's first emperor, fired in clay and buried near his tomb in the third century BC, found in 1974 by farmers digging a well. You walk the galleries above the pits while your guide teaches you to read rank on sight: armour, headgear and the knot of the hair separate a general from a crossbowman from an infantryman. In the newer excavation areas, traces of the original paint are still on some of the figures. Standing over the front rank, you'll find you have lowered your voice without deciding to.
- (sight) — this is the busiest site on the route, so it takes up day nine's morning rather than being fitted around something else, and the afternoon back into the city is unhurried.
- (sight) — The two towers stand lit at the old centre of the city, and the lanes behind them belong to Xi'an's Hui Muslim community: hand-pulled noodles thrown against the bench, flatbread stamped and baked in the doorway, skewers over coals, all of it running late and loud. Your guide walks it with you and names each thing before you decide whether you want it. What you eat and buy in the lanes is your own.

#### Beijing (1 days)

- Subtitle: On the wall, then the train
- Recommendation: The last morning is spent on top of a wall. The rest of the day is a train and a flight, and we plan it out loud.
- Transport: Flight
- Transport mode: airplane

Xi'an City Wall ride · High-speed train to Beijing · The connection, in writing · Or one more night

- Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/a6s8UpV9.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 10: On the wall, then the train

- (sight) — one of the most complete ancient city walls still standing in China, a closed rectangle around the old centre. You ride a rented bicycle on the wall surface itself, wide enough for two of you side by side, above the traffic and level with the roofs. Ride out as far as the morning allows and turn back at the gate your guide names: the loop is long and the train does not wait.
- (transport) — an afternoon train north to Beijing, then your driver takes you from Beijing railway station straight to Beijing Capital Airport for your flight home. The station transfer and the airport run are both included in the base price.
- (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. Do NOT split a source into multiple translations even if it contains many list items or paragraphs — the whole source becomes exactly one translation string. Do NOT split a source into multiple translations even if it contains many lines, list items, paragraphs, or sub-sections — the whole source becomes exactly one output string. Do NOT split a source into multiple translations even if it contains many lines, list items, paragraphs, or sub-sections — the whole source becomes exactly one output string. Do NOT split a source into multiple translations even if it contains many lines, list items, paragraphs, or sub-sections — the whole source becomes exactly one output string.
- (sight) — guests entering on the 30-day visa-free policy can add a Beijing hotel night on day ten and fly out the next morning instead. It is priced separately when you choose it, and it is not open to guests entering on the transit policy: see Special Notes.

## Daily plan

### Day 1 — Walk into China

The country starts at a walkway rather than a jet bridge. Today asks nothing else of you.

- Landing in Hong Kong: your international flight lands on the Hong Kong side, and the mainland is a short run away at a land port rather than another airport at the far end of another flight.
- The port crossing: you clear the Hong Kong side, walk the connecting hall, and clear the mainland side at Shenzhen with your passport in your own hand. It takes as long as the queue takes, and the day is built with that slack in it. How your party gets from the port to the Shenzhen hotel is written into your quote in advance, together with whether that leg sits inside your base price: at this stage it does not, and we would rather say so than let you assume it.
- First look at the city: high-rises stand in ranks all the way to the water, and almost none of them existed when your parents were your age. Look up from the hotel forecourt before you go in: that skyline is the first thing this route wants you to have seen.
- 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: Shenzhen
- Meals: None included today

### Day 2 — How a thing gets made

One market, read floor by floor. You start this trip understanding the present tense.

- Huaqiangbei, floor by floor: your guide takes you up through the electronics quarter in the order the trade itself runs: trays of loose components on one level, prototype boards and half-built machines above that, finished products on a shelf higher up. Stand at a component counter and look along the aisle: hundreds of stalls, each holding one kind of part, and a whole industry sorted into drawers.
- The supply chain, out loud: your guide walks the path with you, from a part on a tray to the machine on the shelf that uses it, and explains who buys what from whom in these buildings. It is the reason this stop is here and not a viewpoint.
- The rest of the day: kept deliberately light, because you crossed a border yesterday and the pace picks up from tomorrow. Your guide and the vehicle are with you either way, and anything you buy in the market is your own.
- Optional, quoted separately: a driverless taxi ride runs in parts of this city on a commercial operator's own route network. It is not in the base price and it is not part of this plan. If you want it, we quote it in writing when you choose it, book it for a set date and re-check it after you land: the service belongs to the operator, so its availability is not something we will promise you in advance.
- Stay: Shenzhen
- Meals: Breakfast at the hotel

### Day 3 — Forty years, in one room

The evidence first, the rock afterwards. By tonight you sleep among hills that took rather longer to arrive.

- The city explaining itself: models, maps and dated photographs of the same ground, fields and fish ponds in one frame and the current skyline in the next. Find the pair of photographs shot from the same spot decades apart and stand in front of them for a minute: that is the whole first act of this trip in two pictures.
- Which venue, and when it opens: the specific venue for your departure is named in your written confirmation, and your day three is checked against that venue's published opening days before your order is confirmed, so this morning is never planned onto a closing day.
- High-speed train to Guilin: an afternoon train out of Shenzhen, station in the city and station in the city at the other end, no airport at either end. Watch the window as the delta gives way to farmland and then to the first limestone hills standing up alone out of flat ground. The train number and the cabin class booked for your order are written into your quote.
- Stay: Guilin
- Meals: Breakfast at the hotel

### Day 4 — The transfer is the day

You do not drive to Yangshuo. You float there, and the day is the journey.

- Board at Guilin: a passenger cruise boat, travelling downstream, with seating inside and deck room outside. Your luggage travels with you; there is no midday repacking as the boat also serves as your transfer.
- The river: peaks arrive one behind another on both banks, the near ones sharp and the far ones flat gray, and between them: bamboo at the waterline, water buffalo standing in the shallows, fishermen's rafts tied up along the bank. One stretch of this river is the scene printed on China's 20-yuan banknote; your guide will call it out from the deck before it comes level with you.
- Ashore at Yangshuo: you step off in the middle of a small river town with the hills standing around it in every direction, close enough that a street can end in one. You sleep here two nights, so nothing gets repacked tomorrow.
- Stay: Yangshuo
- Meals: Breakfast at the hotel

### Day 5 — The river, at your own effort

A raft in the morning, wheels or a seat in the afternoon. This is the day the trip stops moving forward and simply stays.

- Bamboo raft on the Yulong: a two-person raft of lashed poles on a set section of the river, punted by a boatman standing at the back. There is no engine, so the loudest thing in ten minutes is the pole going into the gravel. Low weirs along the way drop the raft a foot and send water over the front: shoes off, phone away.
- Along the river: the lanes between rice fields, farmhouses and peaks, taken by bicycle, by e-bike or from a seat in the vehicle on the same road. You decide this morning rather than at booking, and a party can split three ways without anyone waiting. Your guide sets the turnaround point by how the group is actually riding.
- Riverside afternoon tea: mid-afternoon, sat down by the water with the peaks on the far bank, tea and something to eat with it. Halfway through the pot you'll notice that nobody has looked at a phone since the raft.
- Stay: Yangshuo
- Meals: Breakfast at the hotel, plus the riverside afternoon tea

### Day 6 — Yangshuo to Chengdu

A travel day, and only a travel day. Road to the airport, one flight, and the country changes underneath you.

- Road to Guilin airport: back up the road you came down by water, in your own vehicle, timed with room to spare rather than trimmed to the minute. The same hills read differently from a car window than they did from the deck.
- Flight to Chengdu: airport to hotel at the other end, with your Chengdu guide taking over at the door. The flight number, times and cabin class booked for your order are written into your quote.
- Evening: nothing is scheduled. You are in a basin city of some twenty million people, and it keeps until tomorrow. Dinner near the hotel is recommended and booked for you if you want it, on your account.
- Stay: Chengdu
- Meals: Breakfast at the hotel

### Day 7 — Pandas, then nowhere to be

The morning is the one everyone photographs. The afternoon is the one people describe at home.

- Chengdu Panda Base: you are there in the morning, the hours the animals are generally moving: eating, coming down off a platform, dropping back to sleep in the fork of a tree. Flat shaded paths, benches, about three hours. Get to an enclosure fence early and wait there rather than walking the loop twice: 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, an ear cleaner working with a tuning fork two tables over, the sound of both carrying across the whole courtyard. An hour in, you'll notice you have stopped planning the rest of the day.
- What is yours to pay: The seat and the refills are included in the base price. Ear cleaning and the other services that come around the tables are charged separately, and you settle up on the spot with whoever provides them.
- Stay: Chengdu
- Meals: Breakfast at the hotel, plus the teahouse sitting

### Day 8 — Backstage, then a train

A morning in two neighbourhoods a century apart, an opera house in the middle of the day, then the rails north. Today is the hinge of the trip: you leave the present tense behind.

- Kuanzhai Alley and Taikoo Li: three parallel lanes of restored courtyard housing, then a low-rise retail quarter built around a surviving temple compound a short drive away. Both are commercial and busy, and that is the thing to look at: an old street pattern kept intact and traded against at the same time. Walk the narrow lane rather than the wide one and look up at the doorframes.
- Sichuan opera, community theatre: a neighbourhood house rather than a hotel ballroom. You go backstage first, where the performers paint their faces and dress, and then you watch face-changing from the third row: the painted mask becomes another mask in the time it takes him to swing his head, and you will not see how, from any seat in the room.
- High-speed train to Xi'an: an afternoon train through the mountains that separate the Sichuan basin from the northern plain, in long tunnels and short stretches of daylight. The train number and cabin class booked for your order are written into your quote, and your Xi'an guide meets the train.
- Stay: Xi'an
- Meals: Breakfast at the hotel

### Day 9 — Eight thousand men

The oldest thing on this route gets the whole morning. The evening gives it back to the living city.

- The Terracotta Warriors: The guard army of China's first emperor, fired in clay and buried near his tomb in the third century BC, found in 1974 by farmers digging a well. You walk the galleries above the pits while your guide teaches you to read rank at a glance: armour, headgear and the knot of the hair separate a general from a crossbowman from an infantryman. In the newer excavation areas, traces of the original paint are still visible on some of the figures. Standing over the front rank, you'll find you have lowered your voice without deciding to.
- The morning slot: this is the busiest site on the route, so it takes up day nine's morning rather than being fitted around something else, and the afternoon back into the city is unhurried.
- The Bell and Drum Towers after dark: the two towers stand lit at the old centre of the city, and the lanes behind them belong to Xi'an's Hui Muslim community: hand-pulled noodles thrown against the bench, flatbread stamped and baked in the doorway, skewers over coals, all of it running late and loud. Your guide walks it with you and names each thing before you decide whether you want it. What you eat and buy in the lanes is your own.
- Stay: Xi'an
- Meals: Breakfast at the hotel

### Day 10 — On the wall, then the train

The last morning is spent on top of a wall. The rest of the day is a train and a flight, and we plan it out loud.

- Xi'an City Wall ride: one of the most complete ancient city walls still standing in China, a closed rectangle around the old centre. You ride a rented bicycle on the wall surface itself, wide enough for two of you side by side, above the traffic and level with the roofs. Ride out as far as the morning allows and turn back at the gate your guide names: the loop is long and the train does not wait.
- High-speed train to Beijing: an afternoon train north to Beijing, then your driver takes you from Beijing station straight to Beijing Capital Airport for your flight home. The station transfer and the airport run are both in the base price.
- The connection, in writing: This is the tightest day on the itinerary, and we do not pretend otherwise. Before your order is confirmed, we check the booked train’s Beijing arrival time against your departure flight time and record the margin between them in your confirmation. If we judge that margin too narrow, the order is re-dated or Day Ten is re-planned before we confirm it, rather than after.
- Or one more night: guests entering on the 30-day visa-free policy can add a Beijing hotel night on day ten and fly out the next morning instead. It is priced separately when you choose it, and it is not open to guests entering on the transit policy: see Special Notes.
- Stay: Trip ends
- Meals: Breakfast at the hotel

## Hotels

### 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

### Atour Hotel Chengdu Taikoo Li Chunxi Road Pedestrian Street

- City: Chengdu
- Description: A simple Chengdu stay near Chunxi Road, ideal for travellers who want easy walks, food stops and short city transfers.
- Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/bUOsDqAb.webp

### Kempinski Hotel Shenzhen

- City: Shenzhen
- Description: A Nanshan hotel beside the Houhai commercial district, with easy access to Shenzhen's western business and cultural areas.
- Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2mFLzVk5.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

### 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

### Yangshuo Ancient Garden Boutique Hotel

- City: Yangshuo
- Description: A characterful Yangshuo stay with a countryside feel, suited to travellers who prefer charm over a standard city hotel.
- Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/hHS5RgEc.webp

### 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

### 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

### 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

### 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

### 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

### Mercure Chengdu Chunxi Taikoo Li

- City: Chengdu
- Description: A convenient Chengdu base near Taikoo Li and Chunxi Road, close to shopping, dining, and city sights.
- Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/3CDoZ1Yd.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: Five legs: high-speed train Shenzhen to Guilin on day three; the Li River boat Guilin to Yangshuo on day four, which is both the transfer and a listed experience; the road leg to Guilin airport plus the flight to Chengdu on day six; high-speed train Chengdu to Xi'an on day eight; high-speed train Xi'an to Beijing on day ten. The cabin class booked for your order on each of the four train legs and the flight is written into your quote
- Private vehicle: Air-conditioned private vehicle for all listed touring in Shenzhen · Guilin · Yangshuo · Chengdu · Xi'an; every station and airport transfer within mainland China, including the Beijing station to Beijing Capital airport transfer on day ten
- Hotels: 9 nights with breakfast: Shenzhen 2, Guilin 1, Yangshuo 2, Chengdu 2, Xi'an 2. The tier and the named hotel for each city on your order are written into your quote
- Guide: Licensed English-speaking local guide on every touring day in each mainland city, including the Huaqiangbei walk and the evening walk in Xi'an
- Tickets & experiences, Shenzhen: The Huaqiangbei electronics market walk, guide-led, no admission charge · the Shenzhen urban planning and industry exhibition, admission included, venue named in your written confirmation
- Tickets & experiences, Guilin and Yangshuo: The full-length Li River cruise, boat fare included · the Yulong River bamboo raft on a set section, raft fare included · the Yulong River ride, bicycle, e-bike or a seat in the vehicle chosen on the day, rental or vehicle included · the riverside afternoon tea on day five
- Tickets & experiences, Chengdu: The panda base in the morning, admission included · the gaiwan teahouse sitting in People's Park, seat and refills included · the Kuanzhai Alley and Taikoo Li walk, no admission charge · the community Sichuan opera theater with the backstage look and face-changing up close, admission included
- Tickets & experiences, Xi'an: The Terracotta Warriors, admission included · the Xi'an City Wall ride, wall admission and bicycle rental both included · the Bell and Drum Tower square and the Muslim Quarter evening walk, guide-led
- Meals: 9 hotel breakfasts, days two through ten, plus two arranged items: the gaiwan tea sitting in Chengdu on day seven and the riverside afternoon tea in Yangshuo on day five

### Not Included

- International flights: Flights into Hong Kong and out of Beijing
- The Hong Kong side: Anything in Hong Kong: hotel, meals, local transport, and any stay before you cross into Shenzhen. The port to hotel leg is set out in Special Notes
- Visas and entry formalities: Visa fees and processing for guests who require a Chinese visa; any charges arising from entry formalities at the land port.
- Insurance: Not included in the base price at this stage. The arrangement is being finalised, and each quote states in writing whether that order includes insurance and on what terms.
- Meals: All lunches and dinners across the ten days, beyond the two arranged items above. Recommended and booked by your guide, on your account
- Spending inside listed venues: Street food in the Muslim Quarter, purchases at Huaqiangbei, ear cleaning and other vendor services at the teahouse, and any paid attraction inside a listed venue
- Bell and Drum Tower climbs: Climbing either tower carries its own admission. The base price covers the square and the Muslim Quarter walk
- Optional add-ons: The driverless taxi ride in Shenzhen and the final night in Beijing are priced separately when you choose them, and no optional extras are included in the base plan.
- Personal: Gratuities, single or extra-room difference, personal spending

### Special Notes

A few things on this route follow a border, a calendar or a supplier's confirmation. Here they are, told straight.

- You enter mainland China on foot: this route crosses at a Shenzhen land port rather than flying into a mainland airport. Two things follow. First, the transfer from the Hong Kong port to your Shenzhen hotel is not in the base price at this stage; a cross-border arrangement for that leg is being finalised, and until it is settled every quote states in writing how your party gets from the port to the hotel and whether that leg sits inside your base price. No order is taken without that in writing. Second, the entry formality itself is described below.
- The 10-day visa-free transit policy is not yet available for purchase: the procedure for entering mainland China at a land port under that policy is being confirmed with the port authority. Until it is confirmed and stated here, we take no order and no deposit on that policy. This matters most to US guests: see the passport note below.
- Passports: these passports currently enter mainland China visa-free for stays days, and the Shenzhen land port is an entry point for them: UK · French · German · Dutch · Belgian · Italian · Spanish · Portuguese · Greek · Nordic · Central European · Irish · Canadian · Australian · New Zealand. The current policy runs through December 31, 2026; because this is a 10-day plan, departures on or before December 22, 2026 finish inside that window, and later departures are quoted after the official renewal is announced. US passports are not on that list. A US guest takes this route either on the 10-day visa-free transit policy, which is what the plan is built around and which is not open for sale yet, or on a valid Chinese visa. Which one applies is settled in writing before any payment, and visa fees and processing time are your own.
- Checks we run for transit-policy guests: once that policy opens, three checks run against your actual tickets before your order is confirmed. Your stay length, counted from the recorded entry time at the Shenzhen port to the departure time of your Beijing flight, has to fall inside what the policy permits. The flight arriving into the region before you enter and your first flight after you leave must not go to the same country or region. And every city on the plan has to sit inside the stay area the policy permits, with no leaving and re-entering that area. An order that does not clear these is not taken.
- Day ten is the tight one: Xi'an city wall in the morning, the train to Beijing in the afternoon, the departure flight that night. Before your order is confirmed we check the booked train's Beijing arrival time against your flight time and write the margin into your confirmation; if the margin is too thin, the order is re-dated or day ten is re-planned before it is confirmed. Guests on the 30-day visa-free policy can add a Beijing hotel night and fly out the next morning instead, priced separately at the time of choosing. That extra night is not open to transit-policy guests, because it puts the stay past what that policy permits.
- Departure dates: no departures October 1 to 7, the national holiday week, when the panda base restricts visitor numbers. The closing day of the Shenzhen exhibition venue on day three is being confirmed; until it is, every order has its day three checked against that venue's published opening days before the order is confirmed.
- The Li River boat in the fourth quarter: Day four is a boat day, and that boat is both your transfer and the day's experience. The autumn and winter operating schedule on this stretch is confirmed for your exact dates before anything is charged. If the sailing cannot be confirmed for your dates, we tell you before you pay and re-plan that day rather than sell it.
- Optional add-ons: two on this route, both priced separately at the time of choosing and never added by default. The driverless taxi ride in Shenzhen runs on a commercial operator's own route network, is booked for a set date and re-checked after you land; its availability belongs to the operator and we do not promise it in advance. The Beijing final night is for guests on the 30-day visa-free policy only.
- Cabin class, hotels and insurance: The cabin class on the four train legs and the flight, the hotel tier and named hotels, and whether your order carries insurance are each written into your quote in advance. No order is taken without them in writing. We would rather write them per order than print a promise here we have not yet secured for every departure.
- 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 when you pick dates: this route holds four train legs, one flight and one boat leg, so a date change touches rail, air and boat inventory at once.

## Is Ten Days Your Length?

Fewer than ten days?

### Fewer than ten days?

The route comes apart at the seams: Shenzhen plus the karst stretch stands on its own, and so does Chengdu plus Xi'an. Tell us your dates and where you fly in and out, and we cut stops rather than compress the days that are already tight.

## Good to Know

- Group: Private, just your party. From 1 guest. No fixed maximum party size.
- Pace: Six cities in ten days, five intercity legs: four by train or boat, one by air. Two nights each in Shenzhen, Yangshuo, Chengdu and Xi'an, one in Guilin. Day six is a clear travel day and day five is a river day with nothing to catch.
- Effort: Moderate. Two riding sessions, both with a way out: the Yulong River leg can be a bicycle, an e-bike or a seat in the vehicle, chosen on the morning; the city wall is flat riding on the wall surface. The Terracotta Warriors and Huaqiangbei are walking on the level
- Ports: Hong Kong in, by land port into Shenzhen; Beijing out on day ten. The leg from the port to the Shenzhen hotel is included in your quote and is not part of the base price at this stage.
- Visas: UK and most European passports enter visa-free for days. Canadian, Australian and New Zealand passports do too, checked order by order against your dates. US passports need either the 10-day visa-free transit policy, which is not open for sale yet, or a Chinese visa
- Language: Licensed English-speaking local guides on every touring day, city by city
- Payment: 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 are quoted against the current policy window, and the day four boat schedule is confirmed for your 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.

### We walk into China from Hong Kong? What actually happens at the border?

You clear the Hong Kong side, walk through the connecting hall, and clear the mainland side at a Shenzhen land port, passport in your own hand. Day one is built with that queue in it and nothing else is scheduled. One thing we will not blur: the transfer from the port to your Shenzhen hotel is not in the base price at this stage. A cross-border arrangement for that leg is being finalized, and until it is settled your quote states in writing how your party gets from the port to the hotel and whether that leg is inside your base price. No order is taken without it in writing.

### I hold a US passport. Can I book this now?

Not on the transit policy yet, and we will not take a deposit as if you could. The US is not on the 30-day visa-free list, so a US guest takes this route either on the 10-day visa-free transit policy, which is what this plan is built around, or on a valid Chinese visa. The transit policy route is not open for sale because the land-port entry procedure is still being confirmed with the port authority: we take no order and no deposit on it until that is done. What you can do now: tell us your dates, and we will either write to you the day it opens, or price the same ten days for you on a Chinese tourist visa, which is available today and which we will lay out with the fees and the appointment timing before you commit.

### Day ten looks tight. Wall in the morning, train, then a night flight?

It is the tightest day on the route, and it is planned out loud rather than glossed over. Before your order is confirmed we check the booked train's Beijing arrival time against your departure flight time and write the margin between them into your confirmation. If we judge that margin too thin, we re-date the order or re-plan day ten before confirming it. If you are on the 30-day visa-free policy you have a second option: add a Beijing hotel night and fly out the next morning, priced separately when you choose it. Transit-policy guests cannot add that night, because it puts the stay past what the policy permits, which is exactly why we check the margin in writing for them instead.

### Is the Li River boat running in November and December?

That leg is a scheduled passenger service on the river, and it is both your day four transfer and the day itself. We do not control the operating calendar or the water level, so we confirm the sailing for your exact dates before anything is charged rather than after. If it cannot be confirmed for your dates, you hear it before you pay, and that day is re-planned by road into Yangshuo with the two river days there kept intact, so you still sleep two nights in the same river town and still get the Yulong River day.

### Six cities in ten days. Is that a sprint?

It is a route with range rather than a slow one, and the honest shape of it is this: five intercity legs, four of them by train or boat with city-center stations at both ends, and no city more than two nights. Two days are deliberately unloaded: day five on the Yulong River, where the only decision is bicycle, e-bike or a seat in the vehicle, and day six, which is the flight day and carries no sightseeing. Beijing appears on day ten as the departure city only, with no sightseeing and no hotel night. If you want to unpack once and stay put, this is not the plan, and we would rather say so here than have you find out on day six.