Can I book this today?

Not yet, and we would rather say so. Four items are still open: the Hangzhou ground partner, the Guangzhou to Hangzhou flight timing, the car factory visitor date and the cabin class for the three intercity legs. Until all four are closed we take no order and no deposit. Talk to us now and we will tell you where each one stands and when we expect it to close.

Two days in Hangzhou look empty. What actually happens?

The two nights and both breakfasts are in the price; the daytime program is not, because no ground partner is in place there yet. We are doing one of two things: placing that partner and writing the two days in, or shortening the route and moving those days to Shanghai. Either way you see the final version in writing before you pay, and we do not describe those hours on this page until they are real.

Is the driverless taxi guaranteed?

It is a booked ride on a live commercial route, reserved by date in advance and reconfirmed on the ground. What we cannot promise is the operator's service on any given day: suspensions are their call to make, not ours. If your date is affected, your guide extends the Huaqiangbei walk instead, at no extra charge. That building is where most of the day's understanding comes from anyway.

Why is this route not sold to US guests?

Two reasons, both practical. There is no direct air service from the US into Shenzhen, which is where this route starts. And this is an 11-day plan, which is longer than the stay allowed by the visa-free transit policy US passports would otherwise use. Entering through Hong Kong and crossing the land border is not an approved selling route for this product, so we do not offer it. Whether to open the route to US guests holding a Chinese visa is under review, and we will say so here when it is decided.

We want a first China trip with the Great Wall. Is this it?

No, and it is worth saying plainly. This route holds no Great Wall, no Terracotta Warriors and no pandas; it spends its eleven days on two river deltas and on how this country runs its oldest and its newest ground side by side. If the classic first-visit list is what you want, tell us and we will point you at the route built for it.

Two Clocks, One Map

Overview

Most reporting on this country arrives as one story with two halves: what it used to be, and what it is becoming. Eleven days across two river deltas take that apart. You start in Shenzhen, a city with almost no old in it, and then walk into the walled town it grew around. A short rail hop puts you in Foshan, an evening puts you in Guangzhou, and the last three nights are Shanghai. There a garden of pavilions and rockeries sits within sight of the towers. Nothing on this route is a before and an after. It is one map running two clocks at once. By about the fourth day, you'll notice you've stopped sorting what you see into old and new.

— LyrikTrip travel designers

Every LyrikTrip journey begins with a conversation. Tell us your dates and which end of this route matters more to you, and we shape the eleven days around both. First reply within four hours; a clear price for your dates within one business day. This route is not open for booking yet, so what you get from us today is the plan and a straight account of which four items are still open, not a deposit request.

Why you'll love this trip

Two deltas, one journey. Huaqiangbei, an old walled town, Lingnan lanes and the Bund, with English-speaking guides city by city.
11 days from a driverless taxi to a garden in the old city. See what this country chose to keep.

Ride in a car with no one in the driver's seat, on a live city route, and watch the wheel turn itself while the sensors read the street.
Read one building floor by floor at Huaqiangbei: components low down, prototypes above them, finished machines higher still, with your guide explaining who buys what from whom.
Walk out of the newest city in the delta straight into the walled old town it grew around, in the same afternoon, on foot.
Finish a travel day in the lanes of Lingnan Tiandi in Foshan, with the grey brick going warm under the evening lights.
Stand on the Bund at night with your guide beside you: a row of century-old facades at your back, the towers of the other bank across the water.
Spend an hour at the People's Park marriage market, where parents lay out their children's details in the open and talk terms with strangers.
Unpack twice for six of the ten nights: three in Shenzhen at the start, three in Shanghai at the end.

Things to do

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Itinerary

Arrivals

Shenzhen · Day 1 - Day 3

Day 1 · You land where the country is newest

Nothing scheduled today except getting you settled. The clock this trip is about starts outside the car window.

Arrival in Shenzhen Your driver meets your flight and takes you into the city. The drive in is the first look at the subject: an entire skyline of buildings younger than most of the people using them.

The rest of the day Yours. Your guide can recommend and book dinner near the hotel to suit your taste, at your expense; nothing else is scheduled after a long flight.

Day 2 · The market and the machine

A building sold by the component, then a car with no one driving it. Today you meet how the city actually works.

Huaqiangbei You go up floor by floor: connectors and chips in trays on the lower levels, prototype boards and half-built devices above, finished machines higher up. Your guide reads the floors as a supply chain, who sells to whom and at what stage, so a wall of parts turns into an explanation. Stand in one aisle for a minute and listen: it sounds like a trading floor and looks like a hardware store.

Lunch Nearby, booked by your guide, on your account.

Robotaxi You call the car on a screen and get in with the driver's seat empty. Sensors and cameras read the street; the wheel turns by itself at every corner. Watch the traffic through the windshield rather than the wheel: this is a working commercial route, not a demonstration loop. If the operator suspends service on your date, your guide extends the Huaqiangbei walk instead at no extra charge. Two blocks in, you'll catch yourself narrating it out loud, and then you'll stop and just watch.

Day 3 · The plan, then the town it went around

The city explains itself in the morning; in the afternoon you walk the part it did not replace.

Shenzhen urban planning exhibition Models, plans and industrial exhibits laid out as one argument. What was here, what was drawn, what got built and in what order. Ask your guide to take you to the earliest model first; everything after it reads differently.

Lunch Booked by your guide, on your account.

Shekou and Nantou Old Town You walk in through a town gate and the scale drops: lanes wide enough for two people, low houses, laundry, doorways in use. Look down any lane toward its end and the towers are standing there, right behind the roofline. Your guide keeps to the lanes that people still live on, and the harbour district beside it fills the rest of the afternoon. You'll lower your voice in the lanes without anyone asking you to.

High-speed rail

Foshan · Day 4

Day 4 · Half an hour of rail, six centuries of habit

The delta is close enough that a short train journey changes the century. Tonight you walk instead of ride.

Optional morning The Shenzhen Science Museum is available as an add-on for this morning, quoted separately and only if it clears your own rail departure time. Without it, the morning is free and the hotel keeps your bags.

High-speed rail to Foshan A short high-speed run west across the delta, seats booked for you, the cabin class for your booking stated in writing with your quote. Take the window: the built-up ground barely stops between the two cities.

Lingnan Tiandi The old block at the middle of Foshan, grey brick lanes now holding shops, tea houses and courtyards. You arrive as the lights come on and the block fills with people who live here rather than people photographing it. Nothing is timed tonight; your guide walks at your pace and points out what the buildings used to be.

Private vehicle

Guangzhou · Day 5

Day 5 · An open morning, then east

Foshan's own experiences are not yet available, so this morning remains honestly empty. The drive east is the day's picture.

Foshan morning The three Foshan experiences this route was designed around are not included in the price and cannot be booked yet, as workable schedules have not been confirmed with the suppliers. These are the old-house morning tea, a Wing Chun session, and the lion dance at the temple. We do not sell them on this page, nor do we include them in your itinerary. Until they are confirmed, the morning is yours to enjoy, with the block from last night just five minutes from the hotel and a different crowd in it before nine.

Road to Guangzhou A short drive east by private vehicle. Watch out the window for the join: Foshan's blocks run into Guangzhou's without a field in between, which is the whole argument for treating this as one place.

Flight

Hangzhou · Day 6 - Day 7

Day 6 · The new centre, then a flight north

One morning in the city that was doing this before Shenzhen existed. Then you leave the delta.

Haixinsha and Zhujiang New Town Guangzhou's contemporary centre, walked rather than photographed from a car: the newer towers, the open ground between them, the river frontage. Your guide takes you through it at the time of day when the plazas are actually in use, so you see who these spaces were built for.

The car factory The smart car plant designed into this day is not included in the price and cannot be booked at present; the plant admits visitors only on its own calendar and no date is secured. It is quoted separately once it can be booked, and until then this day includes only the city centre.

Flight to Hangzhou A domestic flight north out of the delta, in the price, with the cabin class for your booking stated in writing with your quote. The evening departure is still being checked against this season's timetable; if it moves to the following morning, day six and day seven swap their running order, and the fixed version is in writing before you pay.

Day 7 · A day we are not selling you yet

The hotel and breakfast are included in the price. The daytime programme is not, and we say so rather than padding it out with words.

Hangzhou Your two nights here, with breakfast, are included in the price. The daytime programme for this day is being arranged with a ground partner and is not sold on this page, so we make no promise about what you do with these hours. Two working options stand for this route: either place the ground partner and write the two days in, or shorten the route and move these days to Shanghai. Which one it becomes is fixed in writing before this route opens for booking, and you will see the final version before you pay.

High-speed rail

Shanghai · Day 8 - Day 11

Day 8 · Out of the lake city, into the port city

The second open morning, then a train that lands you in the final chapter.

Hangzhou morning As with day seven, the daytime programme here is being placed and is not included in the price. Breakfast is, and so is the rail leg that follows.

High-speed rail to Shanghai An afternoon high-speed run east, seats booked for you, cabin class for your booking stated in writing with your quote. Sit facing forward and watch the water towns and the warehouse country slide past; this stretch is the delta the other end of the trip is named for.

Evening Unscheduled. Your guide recommends and books dinner if you want it, on your account.

Day 9 · Height, art, and other people's arrangements

A city read from above, then at eye level, then from a park bench.

Shanghai Tower The observation deck over Pudong. From up here the river draws one line through the whole argument: the low old rows on one bank, the towers you are standing in on the other. Your entry is arranged ahead, so you go up on schedule.

Shanghai art venue An afternoon in one of the city's art venues, admission included in the price. The venue is named in your written confirmation; we are finalising the choice with our partners and will confirm it in writing before you pay.

People's Park marriage market On the park's paths, parents set out their adult children's details in writing and negotiate introductions with other parents in the open, for hours at a time. Your guide reads the notices aloud in English so you can follow the terms being offered. You'll find you've been standing at the same notice board for ten minutes without saying anything.

Day 10 · A garden, then the two banks

The oldest thing on this route and the newest are one metro stop apart. Tonight they are in the same photograph.

Yu Garden and the old city A classical garden of pavilions, rockeries, ponds and winding paths. It was designed to be explored at a leisurely pace and to conceal its true extent. Surrounding it is the old city quarter. Stand at the edge of a pond and look up beyond the roof tiles: the towers are framed from within the garden.

Lunch In the old city, booked by your guide, on your account.

The Bund The evening walk along the riverfront row, your guide with you for the whole visit. The buildings at your back went up in Shanghai's treaty port years; the bank across the water is the global city it turned into, and both are lit at once. Standing between the two, you'll feel the argument this trip has been making finally close.

Day 11 · Departure from Shanghai

One last breakfast on the same river, then the airport.

Departure from Shanghai Your driver takes you to the airport, timed to your flight with room to spare. If your flight is late in the day, your guide suggests where to spend the free hours nearby; nothing else is scheduled. Trip ends

Departures

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Hotels

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Included / Excluded

What's Included

Private vehicleAir-conditioned private vehicle for all listed touring in Shenzhen, Foshan, Guangzhou and Shanghai. Also the road transfer from Foshan to Guangzhou on day five, your arrival transfer in Shenzhen on day one and your airport transfer in Shanghai on day eleven
Intercity travelHigh-speed rail from Shenzhen to Foshan, domestic flight from Guangzhou to Hangzhou, and high-speed rail from Hangzhou to Shanghai, all included in the base price, with the cabin class for your booking stated in writing with your quote.
Hotels10 nights at your chosen level, four-star, five-star or quality boutique, breakfast included
Meals10 hotel breakfasts, one each morning from day two to day eleven
GuideLicensed English-speaking guide on all touring days in Shenzhen, Foshan, Guangzhou and Shanghai, including the evening visit to the Bund
Tickets and experiencesShenzhen urban planning exhibition admission · Shekou and Nantou Old Town · Huaqiangbei walk with guide commentary · one booked Robotaxi ride · Lingnan Tiandi · Haixinsha and Zhujiang New Town · Shanghai Tower deck · Yu Garden and the old city · the Bund evening · one Shanghai art venue · People's Park marriage market
InsuranceTravel accident insurance

Not Included

International flightsYour flights into Shenzhen and out of Shanghai
VisasVisa fees and processing, for guests who require a Chinese visa
MealsAll lunches and dinners: your guide recommends and books around your taste each day, on your account
Hangzhou daytime programmeGuiding, vehicle, admissions and experiences on day seven and day eight; the two Hangzhou nights and breakfasts are included in the price, but the touring content of those two days is not.
Foshan experiencesThe old-house morning tea, the Wing Chun session and the lion dance: not included in the price and not yet bookable
Guangzhou car factory visitNot included in the price; cannot be booked until the plant's visitor date is confirmed
Meetings with local practitionersThis route does not promise arranged conversations with local practitioners in any of the five cities
Optional add-onsQuoted separately when you choose them; nothing optional is added by default
PersonalGratuities, single supplement, personal spending and anything not named above

Special Notes

Several things on this route are still being settled. Here they are, told straight.

Not open for booking yet — This route is a plan, not a product on sale. Four things must be finalised first: the Hangzhou ground partner, the Guangzhou to Hangzhou flight timing, the car factory visitor date, and the cabin class for the three intercity legs. Until all four are confirmed, we take no orders and accept no deposits. You can talk to us about it now, and we will tell you where each item stands.
The two days in Hangzhou — hotel and breakfast for both nights are included in the price; the daytime programme is not, and is being arranged with a ground partner. The alternative is to shorten the route and move those days to Shanghai. Whichever it becomes is written into your plan before you pay.
Guangzhou to Hangzhou flight — The evening departure is being checked against this season's timetable. If it moves to the following morning, day six includes the city centre only and day seven starts later; the fixed running order is provided in writing with your quote.
Robotaxi — the ride is booked by date in advance and reconfirmed on the ground. Service availability sits with the operator, not with us. If it is suspended on your date, your guide extends the Huaqiangbei walk instead, at no extra charge and with nothing added to your price.
The three Foshan experiences — the morning tea, the Wing Chun session and the lion dance are designed into day five but have no confirmed supplier schedules, so they are neither in the price nor orderable. We will not list them as highlights of this route until they are.
Guangzhou car factory — the plant admits visitors only on its own calendar. Until a visitor date is secured, the visit is not sold, not quoted and not part of day six.
The Shanghai art venue — one venue is included in the price and will be named in your written confirmation; we are finalising which one with our partners.
National holiday week — departures between 1 and 7 October 2026 are not quoted until visitor limits and transport capacity are checked point by point for this route. From 8 October onward, quotes are provided as normal.
Departure dates and the visa window — the current visa-free policy runs through December 31, 2026. Because this is an 11-day plan, departures on or before December 20, 2026 finish inside that window; later departures are quoted once the official renewal is announced.
Hotels and venues — named in your confirmation; "or similar" always means the same class and comparable location, never a quiet downgrade.

Is Eleven Days Your Length?

Fewer than 11 days?

The two ends of this route stand on their own: Shenzhen with the delta, or Shanghai with the lake city. Tell us your dates and which end interests you more, and we shape backward from that.

Good to Know

Group: Private, just your party. From 1 guest. No fixed maximum party size.
Ports: Shenzhen in, Shanghai out; you do not return to the entry city. Arrival transfer and departure airport transfer both included
Visas: The UK, most of Europe and Canada enter visa-free for stays days; so do Australia and New Zealand. We confirm your dates fit that window before you pay. This route is not sold to US guests
Language: English-speaking licensed guides in Shenzhen, Foshan, Guangzhou and Shanghai
Intercity travel: Two high-speed rail legs and one domestic flight, all included in the price; the cabin class for your booking is stated in writing with your quote
Payment: A 10% deposit (minimum $399) secures your dates; the balance is due 14 days before departure
Flexibility: The change and refund terms for your dates are set out in writing with your quote; this route comprises one flight, two rail legs and five separate hotel bookings, so any date changes affect all of them.
On the Bund: Strangers sometimes approach visitors to practise their English or invite them to a tea tasting; your guide stays with you for the whole evening visit
Season: October to December in the delta is mild and dry, though Shanghai and Hangzhou turn cold in December; outdoor walks are best taken during the warmer part of the day.

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.

20+

Years

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Trips Designed

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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.

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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.

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Two Clocks, One Map

Overview

Why you'll love this trip