--- title: "Two Rivers, Two Thousand Years" description: "14 days from a 2200-year-old waterway to the Pearl River skyline still at work" type: "tour" route_id: "china-two-rivers-14-days" total_days: 14 price: 4870 highlights: ["Chengdu", "Xi'an", "Beijing", "Shanghai", "Guangzhou", "Foshan"] url: "https://www.lyriktrip.com/tours/china-two-rivers-14-days" canonical_url: "https://www.lyriktrip.com/tours/china-two-rivers-14-days" locale: "en-US" alternates: {"en-US":"https://www.lyriktrip.com/tours/china-two-rivers-14-days","en-GB":"https://www.lyriktrip.com/en-GB/tours/china-two-rivers-14-days","zh-CN":"https://www.lyriktrip.com/zh-CN/tours/china-two-rivers-14-days","zh-TW":"https://www.lyriktrip.com/zh-TW/tours/china-two-rivers-14-days","de-DE":"https://www.lyriktrip.com/de-DE/tours/china-two-rivers-14-days","fr-FR":"https://www.lyriktrip.com/fr-FR/tours/china-two-rivers-14-days","es-ES":"https://www.lyriktrip.com/es-ES/tours/china-two-rivers-14-days","it-IT":"https://www.lyriktrip.com/it-IT/tours/china-two-rivers-14-days","x-default":"https://www.lyriktrip.com/tours/china-two-rivers-14-days"} --- # Two Rivers, Two Thousand Years 14 days from a 2200-year-old waterway to the Pearl River skyline still at work Five cities, one working country. Pandas, an irrigation system still watering the fields, the Terracotta Warriors, a wall you ride bikes on, the Bund and a Foshan lion dance, with English-speaking guides city by city. - Moderate. The Great Wall climb is done by cable car and the descent by toboggan; the one riding day is flat, on top of a city wall. The Forbidden City and the Terracotta Warriors are long walks on flat ground, cut to one line with places to sit. ## Overview This plan runs west to south, and it holds one idea you can check for yourself: almost nothing here has been retired. The waterworks outside Chengdu still water the fields you drive past. People still ride bikes on top of the Xi'an City Wall. The teahouse chairs in People's Park are filled by neighbors, not visitors. The lion dance in Foshan is danced by people who train in that courtyard. The famous ones arrive in order along the way: pandas, the Terracotta Warriors, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Bund. Somewhere around day four you'll notice you have stopped sorting this country into old and new. — LyrikTrip travel designers Every LyrikTrip journey begins with a conversation. Tell us your dates, who is coming and where you are flying from, and we check both ends of this route against your flights before anything else. First reply within four hours; a clear price for your dates within one business day. On this route we will also tell you plainly where the three museum and palace reservations stand, before you are asked for anything. ## Summary - Route ID: china-two-rivers-14-days - Duration: 14 days / 13 nights - Starting price: $4,870 - Status: active - Highlights: Chengdu, Xi'an, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Foshan - Cover image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/ahG6yC4b.webp ## Hero tags - private - From 1 guest - Max: no fixed limit ## Highlight notes - Five cities, one working country. Pandas, an irrigation system still watering the fields, the Terracotta Warriors, a wall you ride bikes on, the Bund and a Foshan lion dance, with English-speaking guides city by city. - 14 days from a 3rd century BC waterway to the Pearl River skyline. See the whole list. ## Selling points - Stand at the Chengdu panda base in the morning, the hours when the pandas are generally moving, then give the whole afternoon to a bamboo chair in People's Park: your first full day in China asks nothing else of you. - Watch the Dujiangyan irrigation works split a river the way they were built to in the 3rd century BC, and still do: this is the day the rest of the trip gets its premise. - Ride the top of the Xi'an City Wall with the bikes included, old city on one side and the new one on the other: you go around a piece of the city that is still in service, rather than look at it from below. - Take the cable car up to Mutianyu Great Wall and the toboggan back down: the whole day belongs to the wall, and none of it belongs to the climb. - Cross the Huangpu River on the ferry Shanghai takes to work, then stand on the Bund after dark with your guide beside you: a hundred years of skyline looking straight at itself across the water. - Learn the first Wing Chun stance from a Foshan practitioner in the courtyards where the lion dancers train, and close the trip with morning tea at an old-name teahouse: this is the part nobody at your kitchen table is expecting to hear about. ## City highlights - Chengdu (3 days): 成都 - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4BqwVBVY.webp - Xi'an (3 days): 西安 - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/g3xcsnIY.webp - Beijing (3 days): 北京 - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/81YRiSpV.webp - Shanghai (2 days): 上海 - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/j6ftQNZ5.webp - Guangzhou: Plane trees, a ferry, a flight - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/bc310a3e391c.jpg - Guangzhou (2 days): 广州 - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/bc310a3e391c.jpg - Foshan: Tea, then the towers, then home - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/43d3e1c2c3b8.jpg - Foshan (1 days): 佛山 - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/43d3e1c2c3b8.jpg ## Experiences Five cities, one working country. Pandas, an irrigation system still watering the fields, the Terracotta Warriors, a wall you ride bikes on, the Bund and a Foshan lion dance, with English-speaking guides city by city. - Chengdu panda base (Chengdu): the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, a research and breeding center on the edge of the city. Your visit is set for the morning, the hours when the pandas are generally more active; arrive later and you mostly watch them sleep. About three hours on flat, shaded paths. Whether the park's internal shuttle is running in your month, and whether it sits inside your price, is stated in writing in your quote. - Subtitle: the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, a research and breeding center on the edge of the city. - Tags: Nature - Host: Chengdu, Chengdu Lens — Pandas and Sichuan culture - Access: the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, a research and breeding center on the edge of the city. Your visit is set for the morning, the hours when the pandas are generally more active; arrive later and you mostly watch them sleep. About three hours on flat, shaded paths. Whether the park's internal shuttle is running in your month, and whether it sits inside your price, is stated in writing in your quote. - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/5b5d1775d251.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/e650f27937d8.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 - Teahouse sitting in People's Park (Chengdu): an open-air teahouse in a public park in the middle of Chengdu, bamboo chairs at low tables under the trees. You sit down and stay: the table and one gaiwan per guest, the lidded cup China brews in, are in your price, and the kettle comes back as long as you are in the chair. Around you the park does what it does on a weekday, cards at the next table, a tuning fork ringing as an ear cleaner works his way between the tables. Roughly three hours are set aside, because sitting is the content here rather than a pause on the way somewhere. The ear cleaning and anything you eat or drink beyond that one gaiwan are on your own account. - Subtitle: an open-air teahouse in a public park in the middle of Chengdu, bamboo chairs at low tables under the trees, keep your seat and the tea keeps coming. - Tags: City - Host: Chengdu, Chengdu Lens — Pandas and Sichuan culture - Access: bamboo chairs under the trees and a gaiwan each, the lidded cup China brews in, refilled by a man with a long-spouted kettle for as long as you keep the seat. Around you: neighbors playing cards, an ear cleaner working the next table with a tuning fork. Your seat and the refills are in the base price; the snacks and the ear cleaner are your own account. A full afternoon is set aside, because sitting is the content here rather than a pause on the way somewhere. - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/77584e962219.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2bff65c653e6.png, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/34f6c86b2f9f.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/a4c2127aee55.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/6a74f063db8f.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/a27d0f4e6224.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/89eb340e5ae2.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/43f5d1ab4117.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/12ed3c8b6eac.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/54273121005d.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4e4bd21b9b97.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/9d549716c30b.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/9cf32f1b02e8.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/d57a819a2152.jpg - Kuanzhai Alley and Taikoo Li (Chengdu): a historic neighborhood built around three parallel lanes, and the newer quarter beside it, walked on foot with your guide and with no ticketed venue involved. Both are commercial and busy, and 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; the guide's time is in your price and anything you buy is on your account. - Subtitle: a historic neighborhood built around three parallel lanes, and the newer quarter beside it, walked on foot with your guide and with no ticketed venue involved. - Tags: City - Host: Chengdu, Chengdu Lens — Pandas and Sichuan culture - Access: a historic neighborhood 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 Sichuan opera (Chengdu): a neighborhood theater rather than a hotel ballroom show. You go backstage before it starts, watch the performers put their faces on, and then see face-changing from close range: the painted mask becomes another one in the time it takes the performer to swing his head. The ticket, the backstage visit and the face-changing piece are in the base price as listed by the theater; if the theater's program for your date turns out to run differently, your quote says so before you pay. Named performer, exact length and time slot are confirmed for your departure rather than promised here. About two hours, seated. - Subtitle: a neighborhood theater rather than a hotel ballroom show. - Tags: Stage - Host: Chengdu, Chengdu Lens — Pandas and Sichuan culture - Access: a neighborhood theater rather than a hotel ballroom show. You go backstage before it starts, watch the performers put their faces on, and then see face-changing from close range: the painted mask becomes another one in the time it takes the performer to swing his head. The ticket, the backstage visit and the face-changing piece are in the base price as listed by the theater; if the theater's program for your date turns out to run differently, your quote says so before you pay. About two hours, seated. - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/984b6ea21914.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/41a954b10a49.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/64ef87441097.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/00bbe0d6022a.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7727dea96809.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/551fdba21a23.jpg - Dujiangyan River Control and Irrigation (Dujiangyan): a river-control system begun in the third century BC and still in service, splitting the river into an inner stream for the fields and an outer one for the flood. It splits the river in two without a dam, sends one part onto the plain and one part downstream, and the farmland it waters is the reason Chengdu could become the city it is. You walk the divide and the spillway and look down on the water doing now what it was designed to do then; your guide shows you where each part does its job. About two and a half hours, with steps and bridges. Whether the site shuttle is operating in your month, and whether it sits inside your price, is stated in writing in your quote; any in-park transport is not included. Most visitors photograph the river and leave; understanding what it is doing is why this gets a full day rather than a stop. - Subtitle: a river-control system begun in the third century BC and still in service, splitting the river into an inner stream for the fields and an outer one for the flood. Admission included; reached by high-speed rail from Chengdu and back the same day. - Tags: Heritage - Host: Guangzhou, Guangzhou Lens — Trade history and southern city life - Access: a river-control system begun in the third century BC and still in service, splitting the river into an inner stream for the fields and an outer one for the flood. You walk the levee between the two flows and your guide shows you where each part does its job. About two and a half hours, with steps and bridges. Whether the site shuttle is operating in your month, and whether it sits inside your price, is stated in writing in your quote. It is worth the day out because almost nothing else on a first trip to China is both this old and still on duty. - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/b973a332521c.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/9d9a43ba2c4d.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/b9a766ee65f9.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/93a75b616069.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/3d2f86879c96.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/630985f2347a.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/9ebdb09b564e.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/73712e678adf.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/d204564d5198.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/0ee050a0ef26.jpg - Mount Qingcheng (Dujiangyan): one of the important Taoist mountains in China, and still working as one. Green, layered, quiet, walked on stone paths under old trees. Included with admission. - Subtitle: one of the important Taoist mountains in China, and still working as one. - Tags: Wellness - Host: Guangzhou, Guangzhou Lens — Trade history and southern city life - Access: one of the important Taoist mountains in China, and still working as one. Green, layered, quiet, walked on stone paths under old trees. Included with admission. - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4219cb235eba.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/510f00cab43f.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/8d05c2ec54d1.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/40a943ac14b8.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/c0d4c6ca3bf5.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/ce595a251ee1.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/0f1828bab889.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/6c462ceaa624.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/0160d2eb08a5.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/cd60585e411c.jpg - A Taoist temple and a conversation (Dujiangyan): a small working temple on the mountain rather than the busiest hall, and a conversation with a Taoist who lives there, translated by your guide: what the practice actually asks of a person day to day. In the base price. - Subtitle: a small working temple on the mountain rather than the busiest hall, and a conversation with a Taoist who lives there, translated by your guide: what the practice actually asks of a person day to day. - Tags: Culture - Host: Guangzhou, Guangzhou Lens — Trade history and southern city life - Access: a small working temple on the mountain rather than the busiest hall, and a conversation with a Taoist who lives there, translated by your guide: what the practice actually asks of a person day to day. In the base price. - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/9143314f4af5.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/0b714d59f119.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/e96fe72e8d75.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/28a41bf8abee.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/c0d4c6ca3bf5.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/0f1828bab889.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/271e2d47194f.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1fc86ccccf53.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/cd60585e411c.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/a4327e5bd248.jpg - Tai chi on the mountain (Dujiangyan): a beginners' session in the temple grounds, taught slowly, no fitness required and nothing to bring. Half an hour to an hour. In the base price. - Subtitle: a beginners' session in the temple grounds, taught slowly, no fitness required and nothing to bring. - Tags: Active - Host: Guangzhou, Guangzhou Lens — Trade history and southern city life - Access: a beginners' session in the temple grounds, taught slowly, no fitness required and nothing to bring. Half an hour to an hour. In the base price. - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/69eea3ce5a13.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/9307c900297e.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/91982417e0e7.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/cd913b9280d2.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/65f3c687ac1c.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/efbd416ecc6b.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/f23a3a708cda.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4d69ecab996b.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/f1ccfbb55664.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/c9f01ed4cff1.jpg - Terracotta Army: Scale and Ambition (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, armor 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 recognized 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 Ancient City Wall Cycling (Xi'an): You go up and ride — gray brick under the wheels, the old grid inside the wall on one hand, the modern city outside it on the other. The full circuit is about 14 km; ride the whole loop, a stretch, or walk part of it. You set your own pace — the gates have ramps, the surface is brick, and there is no traffic on top. The hire time counted in and any charge past it are stated in writing in your quote. This is the longest unsheltered section on the route, and it converts to a walked section when weather or stamina calls for it; November and December departures have the cold-weather arrangement written into the quote. It is also the clearest lesson in Chinese city planning you will get on this trip — old lanes inside the wall, towers without. - Subtitle: one of the most complete surviving ancient city walls in China, wide enough on top to cycle two abreast, still ringed around the old center. Admission and bike hire are in the base price. - Tags: Cycling - Host: Xi'an, Xi'an Lens — Warriors and ancient capital - Access: Active heritage experience on one of China's best-preserved city walls. - Images: https://ak-d.tripcdn.com/images/0353012000p9q9h7p45A9_C_1080_540_Q80.jpg_.webp?_fr=wc, 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/1170df991f6f.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/ad143f00bca6.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/dabb4f7b21b8.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/6c4bc5467067.jpg - Giant Wild Goose Pagoda (Xi'an): Giant Wild Goose Pagoda reflects Xi'an's role as a Buddhist and Silk Road cultural center. - Subtitle: A Tang dynasty Buddhist landmark - Tags: Pagoda - Host: Xi'an, Xi'an Lens — Warriors and ancient capital - Access: A classic Tang-era landmark connected to ancient Chang'an history. - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2be95bfc5748.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/eb70bbcc8abb.jpg, https://ak-d.tripcdn.com/images/0HJ2z12000qfv3id4A253_W_1440_810_Q80.webp?proc=source%2ftrip, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/f1e0cd6ae0d1.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/94916373f524.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4269d987bac0.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/542e4f255e79.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7d1e365a232d.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/18de0aedb419.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2f0b6d04d98d.jpg - 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 center, 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 neighborhood 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 - The Forbidden City (Beijing): the palace the Ming and Qing courts ran the country from, finished in 1420 and lived in for five centuries. You walk one axis: the ceremonial halls, the living quarters behind them, the imperial garden, then out through the north gate to Jingshan. Entry is by timed reservation and the booking system sits poorly with overseas mobile numbers, so your quote states in writing who books your slot and by when. The admission itself is in the base price. Audio guides and guides hired inside the palace are not. Guests regularly find the site tiring, so the route is cut to that single line with places to sit, and no departure puts this day on a Monday, when the palace closes. - Subtitle: the palace the Ming and Qing courts ran the country from, finished in 1420 and lived in for five centuries. - Tags: Heritage - Host: Beijing, Beijing Lens — Imperial capital and Great Wall - Access: the palace the Ming and Qing courts ran the country from, finished in 1420 and lived in for five centuries. You walk one axis: the ceremonial halls, the living quarters behind them, the imperial garden, then out through the north gate to Jingshan. Entry is by timed reservation and the booking system sits poorly with overseas mobile numbers, so your quote states in writing who books your slot and by when. The admission itself is in the base price. Audio guides and guides hired inside the palace are not. Guests regularly find the site tiring, so the route is cut to that single line with places to sit, and no departure puts this day on a Monday, when the palace closes. - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7f313a6dab74.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/8a6cdb9ca2b9.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/de8d1138706b.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/cb45218f2b95.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/08a2b46a7206.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/43c9d4d18be6.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/49598606918a.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/17cfe569ced7.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/aff552490ca6.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/db0255c2930c.jpg - Jingshan Park (Beijing): Jingshan Park offers one of the best classic views across the Forbidden City rooftops. - Subtitle: A hilltop view over imperial Beijing - Tags: Viewpoint - Host: Beijing, Beijing Lens — Imperial capital and Great Wall - Access: A short climb rewards travelers with a strong city overview. - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/408fc381c4b4.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7f313a6dab74.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/6a3ff539ffc8.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2c700baa4e73.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/00decb026e42.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/51ec43ea0513.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/9604ef61c628.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7dc03e9310a1.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/964e96f11238.jpg - Mutianyu Great Wall (Beijing): A well-restored Great Wall section with open views and easier walking conditions for first-time visitors. - Subtitle: A classic Great Wall section near Beijing - Tags: Great Wall - Host: Beijing, Beijing Lens — Imperial capital and Great Wall - Access: A polished Great Wall experience with flexible cable car or walking options. - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/f6c07b2f8772.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/3a661e194c2f.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1b0f83ddd1e5.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7207d6532c2f.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/e88879531691.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/926d916b9408.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/91465599744f.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/a720fb1678e6.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/608cdc21a04d.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/9b968ec44131.jpg - Tian'anmen Square (Beijing): Tian'anmen Square introduces the scale and symbolism of modern Chinese public space. - Subtitle: Beijing's monumental civic landmark - Tags: Landmark - Host: Beijing, Beijing Lens — Imperial capital and Great Wall - Access: A central orientation stop before or after the Forbidden City. - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/b6a275c3e50d.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/e544ca01550e.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/b85b763e11cd.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/a724165b0cc6.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/410246e2d66a.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/600867e7a2ef.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/cd9c3a758365.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/86b6ca981b8d.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/50c2c4037905.jpg - Temple of Heaven (Beijing): Temple of Heaven combines Ming dynasty ritual architecture with Beijing's lively park culture. - Subtitle: An imperial ritual site with local life - Tags: Culture - Host: Beijing, Beijing Lens — Imperial capital and Great Wall - Access: Pairs grand ceremonial architecture with everyday local morning activity. - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/0d9ea5fe76e1.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/db9b46f1b9cf.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/c545d9594e74.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/dc39cfe33b0d.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/359ba00d37d0.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/b538bb2aa834.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/6d40f9e82d6b.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/212c0e2ea8c8.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7bbec6cd7e80.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/cd8da061f42b.jpg - NMC: One Room for Nine Days (Beijing): the national collection on the east side of the square: bronzes, ceramics, Buddhist figures, calligraphy. Two hours here puts the objects behind the last nine days into one room, which is why it sits on the day you leave Beijing. Entry is by timed reservation and the system sits poorly with overseas mobile numbers, so your quote states in writing who books it and by when. Admission is in the base price; audio guides and guides hired inside are not. - Subtitle: the national collection on the east side of the square: bronzes, ceramics, Buddhist figures, calligraphy. - Tags: Museum - Host: Beijing, Beijing Lens — Imperial capital and Great Wall - Access: the national collection on the east side of the square: bronzes, ceramics, Buddhist figures, calligraphy. Two hours here puts the objects behind the last nine days into one room, which is why it sits on the day you leave Beijing. Entry is by timed reservation and the system sits poorly with overseas mobile numbers, so your quote states in writing who books it and by when. Admission is in the base price; audio guides and guides hired inside are not. - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1cf05dc82e49.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/d076400ad86d.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/55ab6f174707.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/dcce08639678.jpg - Yu Garden: Older than the Skyline (Shanghai): A classical garden of pavilions, rockery, ponds and paths that never run straight, sitting inside the oldest quarter of Shanghai. It is the one place in the city that predates everything the skyline is famous for. A short, level visit — two hours, all of it flat — and it is the last thing on the trip, sized to fit before an afternoon flight. Admission is in your base price. - Subtitle: A classical garden of pavilions, rockery, ponds and paths that never run straight in the oldest quarter of Shanghai, and the one place that predates everything its skyline is famous for. - Tags: Heritage - Host: Shanghai, Shanghai Lens — Skyline and riverfront culture - Access: a classical garden of pavilions, rockery, ponds and paths that never run straight, sitting inside the oldest quarter of Shanghai. Two hours, all of it flat. It is the one place in the city that predates everything the skyline is famous for. - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7c5e906b378e.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/07b39b023295.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/075884fd7738.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/3623b2d6ff22.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/c3f4af921585.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7bc088a35094.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/b4ff42f10f39.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/8ab6fa3c88e9.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/793d4d9ec24d.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/a1dac8269a5f.jpg - Shanghai Museum (Shanghai): bronzes, ceramics, painting and calligraphy, arranged so you can walk one material through three thousand years. About two hours. Entry is by timed reservation with limited English in the booking system, so your quote states in writing who books it and by when, and which branch your visit uses. Admission is in the base price. - Subtitle: bronzes, ceramics, painting and calligraphy, arranged so you can walk one material through three thousand years. - Tags: Museum - Host: Shanghai, Shanghai Lens — Skyline and riverfront culture - Access: bronzes, ceramics, painting and calligraphy, arranged so you can walk one material through three thousand years. About two hours. Entry is by timed reservation with limited English in the booking system, so your quote states in writing who books it and by when, and which branch your visit uses. Admission is in the base price. - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/553f9e5daffa.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/463009b942cf.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/09ed444fa597.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/f449d01924e3.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1c391e422dd6.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/3062838f53d8.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/5fe4f8f934ce.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1ff4b8a733b8.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1c6a0e2a66d2.jpg - Wukang Road: A Loose Walk (Shanghai): plane-tree streets, walled houses from the concession decades, and the independent shops that have taken over their ground floors. You walk it at street speed, and it is the loosest hour of the route — the low, relaxed counterweight to the skyline you looked at the night before: no ticket, no queue, no gate. About two hours on flat pavement. In the base price. - Subtitle: plane-tree streets, walled houses from the concession decades, and the independent shops in their ground floors — the loose, low-rise counterweight to the skyline. About two hours, no ticket, no queue, no gate. - Tags: City - Host: Shanghai, Shanghai Lens — Skyline and riverfront culture - Access: plane-tree streets, walled houses from the concession decades, and the independent shops that have taken over their ground floors. You walk it at street speed, and it is the loosest hour of the route: no ticket, no queue, no gate. About two hours. - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/a469e3c35b36.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/ff2e7b6f2ffc.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/769ee0838cac.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/664544b5b738.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/be6f02f8c66f.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/b1c8a477961a.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/738425c31d43.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/b5ee2850407d.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/dc30a72b34d4.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7e7256ca585e.jpg - Huangpu Commuter Ferry (Shanghai): the commuter crossing, not a sightseeing cruise: a few minutes at the rail with people going to work and their scooters, the same water the Bund was built to face. Cheap and short, the last thing the route does before the airport, and the far bank arrives quickly. In the base price. - Subtitle: the commuter crossing, not a sightseeing cruise: a few minutes at the rail with commuters and their scooters, the same water the Bund was built to face. In the base price. - Tags: City - Host: Shanghai, Shanghai Lens — Skyline and riverfront culture - Access: the commuter crossing, not a sightseeing cruise: a few minutes at the rail with people going to work and their scooters, the same water the Bund was built to face. Cheap, short, and the last thing the route does before the airport. - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/77334b45911c.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/3035dd70ef19.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/c5ed3afb6c7c.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/31ab98f95965.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/c1a4fff775c6.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/29527e0c5132.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/dde04b2f55e4.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/b511339a7702.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/ab1024d4f1e7.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/35255aa13b0d.jpg - The Bund by Night: Two Banks, a Century Apart (Shanghai): the row of trading-house and bank buildings on one bank of the Huangpu, the Pudong towers on the other, and a hundred years between them, facing each other across the water. About an hour and a half. Your guide is with you for the whole evening, which also settles the practical question: the tea-house and language-practice approaches that work this waterfront are a known scam, and with a guide you never have to decide alone whether a stranger's invitation is genuine. In the base price. - Subtitle: the row of trading-house and bank buildings on one bank of the Huangpu, the Pudong towers on the other, and a hundred years between them. Your guide is with you for the whole evening; it is in the base price. - Tags: City - Host: Shanghai, Shanghai Lens — Skyline and riverfront culture - Access: the row of trading-house and bank buildings on one bank of the Huangpu, the Pudong towers on the other, and a hundred years between them. Your guide is with you for the whole evening, which is also how we deal with the tea-house and language-practice approaches that work this waterfront: nobody has to decide alone whether a stranger's invitation is genuine. - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/44b4c59711e7.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/819f854bed70.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/25f3fbf391b7.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/ab3be6b19c59.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/520402ec044f.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/eed1a59d8207.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/8851a6617c7b.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2e92d8293a47.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/b3c382b7f98f.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/d9f1a5421f27.jpg - Foshan Ancestral Temple (Foshan): admission to the old temple complex that Foshan's religious life, its martial arts and its neighborhood life all grew around. Inside are courtyards, decorative architecture and cultural displays. Admission is in the base price. - Subtitle: admission to the old temple complex that Foshan's religious life, its martial arts and its neighborhood life all grew around. - Tags: Heritage - Host: Foshan, Foshan Lens — Martial arts, temple traditions and Lingnan streets - Access: admission to the old temple complex that Foshan's religious life, its martial arts and its neighborhood life all grew around. Inside are courtyards, decorative architecture and cultural displays. Admission is in the base price. - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/e63decabec6c.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4060f37c2872.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/76c15ba6ae4d.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2da36a0b81c8.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4a4e86a40460.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/ecf9904580d9.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/3f7f3e0940a4.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/c8982f41d30d.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/9925807ca62a.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/46457618859d.jpg - Lion dance and martial arts at the temple (Foshan): a performance of about 45 minutes in the temple grounds, lion dance and martial arts by performers who train here, followed by the courtyards and the displays. In the base price. The daily performance times are being confirmed with the site, so your quote states in writing the time your day four is built around. - Subtitle: a performance of about 45 minutes in the temple grounds, lion dance and martial arts by performers who train here, followed by the courtyards and the displays. - Tags: Stage - Host: Foshan, Foshan Lens — Martial arts, temple traditions and Lingnan streets - Access: a performance of about 45 minutes in the temple grounds, lion dance and martial arts by performers who train here, followed by the courtyards and the displays. In the base price. The daily performance times are being confirmed with the site, so your quote states in writing the time your day four is built around. - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/ce602709993e.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/00a0f32ba0ae.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/f3185f56aacf.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/33f9a0abfa59.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/07dda953aec2.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4f62f1d18cec.jpg - Wing Chun session (Foshan): led by a local practitioner who starts with where the style comes from and what it is built on, close range, straight lines, economy of movement, and then puts you into the basic stance and moves your hands and feet until the shape is right. It sits in the temple that Foshan's martial arts tradition is attached to, which is why this is the place to try it rather than a hotel function room. No fitness required, nothing to bring. In the base price. - Subtitle: led by a local practitioner who starts with where the style comes from and what it is built on, close range, straight lines, economy of movement, and then puts you into the basic stance and moves your hands and feet until the shape is right. - Tags: Folk - Host: Foshan, Foshan Lens — Martial arts, temple traditions and Lingnan streets - Access: led by a local practitioner who starts with where the style comes from and what it is built on, close range, straight lines, economy of movement, and then puts you into the basic stance and moves your hands and feet until the shape is right. It sits in the temple that Foshan's martial arts tradition is attached to, which is why this is the place to try it rather than a hotel function room. No fitness required, nothing to bring. In the base price. - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/979bc77425de.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/9e35927f723c.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/f23a3a708cda.jpg - Haixinsha and Zhujiang New Town (Guangzhou): about 120 minutes on foot along the contemporary waterfront and through the towers of Guangzhou's newer center, public spaces, the river and the skyline the Greater Bay Area puts on its postcards. No ticket item. - Subtitle: about 120 minutes on foot along the contemporary waterfront and through the towers of Guangzhou's newer center, public spaces, the river and the skyline the Greater Bay Area puts on its postcards. - Tags: City - Host: Guangzhou, Guangzhou Lens — Trade history and southern city life - Access: about 120 minutes on foot along the contemporary waterfront and through the towers of Guangzhou's newer center, public spaces, the river and the skyline the Greater Bay Area puts on its postcards. No ticket item. - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1bca40b03bf3.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/d02edcb53073.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/b365687f933b.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/e5dadda275c9.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/8de205c488c4.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/5d49d29f76f1.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/cfb77aaa5d36.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/db09cbf1ac4f.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/c1d66b265ace.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/245d78eac6d4.jpg - Cantonese morning tea in Foshan (Foshan): at an old-name teahouse on the last morning: har gow (shrimp dumplings), siu mai, cheung fun (steamed rice rolls), char siu bao (barbecued pork buns) and whatever the season brings. Morning tea in this part of China is the way a neighborhood spends a morning together rather than a meal you finish and leave, so it gets the whole morning. This is the only sit-down meal included in the fourteen days. In the base price. - Subtitle: at an old-name teahouse on the last morning: har gow (shrimp dumplings), siu mai, cheung fun (steamed rice rolls), char siu bao (barbecued pork buns) and whatever the season brings. - Tags: Meal - Host: Foshan, Foshan Lens — Martial arts, temple traditions and Lingnan streets - Access: at an old-name teahouse on the last morning: har gow (shrimp dumplings), siu mai, cheung fun (steamed rice rolls), char siu bao (barbecued pork buns) and whatever the season brings. Morning tea in this part of China is the way a neighborhood spends a morning together rather than a meal you finish and leave, so it gets the whole morning. This is the only sit-down meal included in the fourteen days. In the base price. - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/9b9edc758c81.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/a8406c73439d.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/12ed3c8b6eac.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1a7ab36f8208.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4a4e86a40460.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/3f7f3e0940a4.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7dbccb340673.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/30b7a82727d6.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/6c261dd4029f.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/c8982f41d30d.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 ### Two Rivers, Two Thousand Years - 14 days Journey #### Chengdu (3 days) - Subtitle: 成都 - Recommendation: Your driver meets your flight, whatever time it lands. Nothing else is asked of you today. - Transport: High-speed rail - Transport mode: train Airport pickup · Chengdu through the window · Evening - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4BqwVBVY.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/37Mf4mO1.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2sL1auf0.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/9JT2zDi2.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2iDGv07g.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1BPFDek8.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4mDgLfna.webp ##### Day 1: Land in Chengdu - (transport) — your driver and vehicle wait for the flight number on your confirmation, and the run into the city is yours to sleep through. - (sight) — wide roads, a wall of plane trees, then hotpot signs lit up two floors high. The city you flew this far to reach is outside the glass before you have unpacked anything. - (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) Atour Hotel Chengdu Taikoo Li Chunxi Road Pedestrian Street — Hotel stay in Chengdu. ##### Day 2: Pandas, then a chair - (sight) — you are there in the morning, the hours when the pandas are generally moving: eating, climbing down off a platform, folding back into a tree fork to sleep. Flat shaded paths, benches, about three hours. Get to an enclosure fence early and wait there: the animal comes over on its own schedule, not on yours. - (sight) — bamboo chairs under the trees, a gaiwan each (the lidded cup China brews in), and a man with a long-spouted kettle who tops you up as long as you stay in the chair. Cards at the next table, an ear cleaner working two tables over with a tuning fork. The whole afternoon is set aside for it. An hour in, you'll notice nobody at your table has asked what happens next. - (sight) — this is one of the two easy days built into the fourteen. Both stops shorten if jet lag says so. ##### Day 3: Water that never stopped - (transport) — a short run out of Chengdu and back the same evening, so the hotel room stays yours and the bags stay closed. The train itself is the first look at how the country moves now. - (sight) — begun in the 3rd century BC and never taken out of service. It splits the Min River without a dam: one part onto the plain to be drunk and farmed with, one part on downstream. Stand above the divide and watch the water take both routes at once. That is your fifteen seconds, and the plain it feeds is why Chengdu exists. - (sight) — stone paths under old trees on one of the important Taoist mountains in China. You visit a small working temple rather than the busiest hall, sit down with a Taoist who lives there, with your guide translating, and then take a slow beginners' tai chi session on the temple grounds. #### Xi'an (3 days) - Subtitle: 西安 - Recommendation: A morning of the city Chengdu is today, then an afternoon of track to the city China used to be run from. - Transport: High-speed rail - Transport mode: train Kuanzhai Alley and Taikoo Li · Sichuan opera, community theater · High-speed rail to Xi'an - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/g3xcsnIY.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 4: Three lanes, then a train - (sight) — three parallel lanes of restored courtyard housing, now shops and teahouses, and a short move to the Taikoo Li blocks, grey tile roofs at street level with the towers standing up behind them. Told straight: the lanes are commercial and busy. Stand where the tiled eaves end and the glass storefronts begin and take the picture; that pair is the point. - (sight) — a neighborhood house, not a hotel ballroom. Backstage first, close enough to see how a face gets painted, then face-changing from a few rows out: the mask becomes another mask in the time it takes the performer to swing his head, and you will not catch it. - (transport) — the afternoon train north out of the Sichuan basin, mountains and tunnels for a long stretch of it. Your own vehicle runs both ends, hotel to station and station to hotel, and your Xi'an guide takes over at the door. The cabin class for your order is written into your quote. - (accommodation) Somerset Xindicheng Xi'an — Hotel stay in Xian. ##### Day 5: Eight thousand faces - (sight) — the guard buried with China's first emperor, standing in the pits it was dug out of. An estimated eight thousand figures, no two faces alike. Your guide teaches you to read one: armor tells you rank, the hairstyle tells you unit, the kneeling crossbowmen are at the front and the officers stand behind. In the newer excavation areas, look for the traces of paint still on the clay: all of them were colored once. - (sight) — you walk them the way they were dug, so the scale arrives in stages rather than all at once at the door. Standing at the rail of the first pit, you'll find you have lowered your voice without deciding to. - (sight) — this is the busiest site on the route, so the day carries nothing else and the visit is timed against the crowd pattern; departures are not taken in the October 1 to 7 holiday week at all. ##### Day 6: On top of the wall - (sight) — you go up onto one of the most complete surviving city walls in China and ride the top of it. Gray brick under the wheels, the old grid on the inside, the modern city on the outside, and the ramparts running ahead of you until they turn a corner. Admission and bike hire are included; the pace is yours and the guide sets a turnaround point rather than a lap time. - (sight) — the two towers that mark the center of the old city, floodlit by the time you get there. - (sight) — the lanes behind the towers, where Xi'an's Muslim community trades and cooks. Hand-pulled noodles slapped against the board, roujiamo (crisp-baked bread packed with slow-braised pork), whole spices in open sacks. Your guide walks it with you and tells you what each thing is; what you eat here is on your own account. #### Beijing (3 days) - Subtitle: 北京 - Recommendation: A slow morning under the pagoda, an afternoon on the train to Beijing. Xi'an lets you go gently. - Transport: High-speed rail - Transport mode: train Giant Wild Goose Pagoda · High-speed rail to Beijing · Arrival in Beijing - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/81YRiSpV.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 7: A pagoda, then the capital - (sight) — the brick pagoda over the south of the city, with squares, water and the cultural area laid out around it. The morning is deliberately unhurried, because the train is not until the afternoon and there is nothing to be early for. - (transport) — your vehicle takes you station-side, and the train does the rest. Watch the window for the moment the loess gives way to the North China Plain: flat, dry, wide, and it goes on for hours. - (sight) — your Beijing guide meets you at the station and your driver takes you in. Nothing is scheduled for the evening. - (accommodation) Novotel Beijing Peace — Hotel stay in Beijing. ##### Day 8: One axis, then the view back - (sight) — the palace the Ming and Qing courts ran the country from, finished in 1420. You walk one axis and only one: the ceremonial halls where the court did its business, the living quarters behind them, the imperial garden at the end, then out through the north gate. Stand in the middle of the main courtyard and look back through the gates you came in by: they line up, one inside another, all the way out. - (sight) — the palace is large and guests often tell us it wore them out, so the route is cut to that single line and stops at the seats we know about. The imperial garden at the end is not rushed. - (sight) — straight out of the north gate and up the steps to the pavilion. From there the roofs you spent the morning under lie below you in one gold sheet, and the Beijing Central Axis runs out of the frame in both directions. That is your fifteen seconds, and it is worth waiting for the light to move. ##### Day 9: The wall, and only the wall - (transport) — the run north out of the city takes a good part of the morning, which is why nothing else is scheduled today; the vehicle stays with you all day. - (sight) — the climbing is done for you. You step off onto a restored stretch of wall with watchtowers running away along the ridge in both directions, and your guide reads it: beacon towers, the pass below, why the sightlines run where they do. Look along the ridge with the towers stepping down it. Standing between two towers with the wall going out of sight both ways, you'll feel the fourteen days were worth booking for this alone. - (sight) — the restored section connects, so you walk from tower to tower and turn back whenever you want. There is no target and no loop to finish. - (sight) — a single seated sled on a fixed metal track through the trees, and you control your own speed the whole way. On a day the toboggan is not running, your guide arranges a permitted alternative way down at no extra charge. #### Shanghai (2 days) - Subtitle: 上海 - Recommendation: The square, the altar and the museum in the morning half, the afternoon on the rails to Shanghai. This is the fullest day of the fourteen. - Transport: Flight - Transport mode: airplane Tian'anmen Square · Temple of Heaven · National Museum of China · High-speed rail to Shanghai - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/j6ftQNZ5.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/13x1KtnS.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1Q9afrZn.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1Riqjj0n.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1VrlDwIi.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1vYpI6NZ.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/3PEjxTGx.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4EbDdFHb.webp ##### Day 10: The ceremonial city, then the train - (sight) — you cross the ceremonial center of modern China on foot. Everyone is screened to enter and that queue takes half an hour to an hour, so it is budgeted separately rather than taken out of your time on the square; your guide walks you to the nearest screening entrance. - (sight) — three structures on one line, the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the Imperial Vault of Heaven and the round altar. Your guide gives you the grammar first, round for heaven and square for earth, and then you cannot stop reading it off the buildings. The park around it is where Beijing does its morning exercise. - (sight) — the indoor hour that puts the last nine days into order, bronzes to ceramics to sculpture to calligraphy, in sequence. You have now seen the objects in the ground at one end of the country and the objects on the shelf at the other. - (transport) — the order of the three stops above is set by your guide against your train time on the morning itself, so the day ends at the station without a sprint. Your vehicle runs both ends and your Shanghai guide takes over at the door. - (accommodation) Bellagio by MGM Shanghai on the Bund — Hotel stay in Shanghai. ##### Day 11: The garden, the shelf, the water - (sight) — pavilions, rockery, ponds and a path that never runs straight, dropped inside the oldest quarter of the city, with the bazaar lanes around it. Flat the whole way. - (sight) — bronzes, ceramics, painting and calligraphy, and the crafts galleries. Go to the bronzes first: you saw the army at Xi'an, and this is the workshop culture that made casting like that possible. - (sight) — the row of old trading and bank buildings on one bank and the Pudong towers on the other, a hundred years apart, looking straight at each other across the water. Your guide stays with you for the whole evening, and that is also how we deal with the tea invitation and language practice approaches that work this waterfront. #### Guangzhou - Subtitle: Plane trees, a ferry, a flight - Recommendation: The loosest morning of the fourteen, then an afternoon in the air heading south. - Transport: Flight - Transport mode: airplane Former French Concession and Wukang Road · Huangpu River ferry · Flight to Guangzhou · Rest day - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/bc310a3e391c.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/5wcQq4Zx.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7rOa5eZw.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1983e458756c.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1bca40b03bf3.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7a614a04d484.jpg #### Guangzhou (2 days) - Subtitle: 广州 - Recommendation: The loosest morning of the fourteen, then an afternoon in the air heading south. - Transport: Flight - Transport mode: airplane Former French Concession and Wukang Road · Huangpu River ferry · Flight to Guangzhou · Rest day - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/bc310a3e391c.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/5wcQq4Zx.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7rOa5eZw.webp, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1983e458756c.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/1bca40b03bf3.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7a614a04d484.jpg ##### Day 12: Plane trees, a ferry, a flight - (transport) — plane-tree streets, historic houses behind low walls, small independent shops, all of it at walking pace. Sit down for coffee if you want to; nothing today has to be finished. - (transport) — you cross the river on the boat Shanghai takes to work, standing at the rail with commuters and their scooters instead of on a sightseeing deck. The fare is included. Film the crossing: the far bank arrives in about the time it takes to hold up your phone. - (transport) — the afternoon flight south, with your own vehicle at both ends and the checked-baggage allowance of the operating airline included. The flight number, time and cabin class for your order are written into your quote. - (sight) — the second of the two easy days. Nothing is scheduled in Guangzhou tonight. - (accommodation) Conrad Guangzhou — Hotel stay in Guangzhou. ##### Day 13: A temple that still trains - (sight) — a temple complex tied to Foshan's religious life, its martial arts and its community life, and still used for all three. You walk the courtyards, the decorative architecture and the displays before anything starts. - (sight) — performed in the grounds by the people who train there. A lion is two people and a drum: the drum sets the beat, the head decides where the animal is looking, and the whole thing stands or falls on the timing between them. Stand near the drum rather than in front of the lion, and you will hear the cue before you see the jump. - (sight) — a local practitioner takes it, history and principles first, close range and straight lines and no wasted movement, then he puts you into the basic stance and moves your feet, your elbows and your hands until the shape is right. No fitness needed. When he corrects your elbow for the third time, you'll notice you have stopped being a visitor here. #### Foshan - Subtitle: Tea, then the towers, then home - Recommendation: The last morning is spent the way this region spends a morning. Then the newest skyline on the route, and the airport. - Transport: Flight - Transport mode: airplane Cantonese morning tea in Foshan · Timing · Haixinsha and Zhujiang New Town · Airport drop-off - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/43d3e1c2c3b8.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/00a0f32ba0ae.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/346da520a391.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4060f37c2872.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4fea866568c3.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/64ff5c6f754a.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/6ff2ccdfd38c.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7a614a04d484.jpg #### Foshan (1 days) - Subtitle: 佛山 - Recommendation: The last morning is spent the way this region spends a morning. Then the newest skyline on the route, and the airport. - Transport: Flight - Transport mode: airplane Cantonese morning tea in Foshan · Timing · Haixinsha and Zhujiang New Town · Airport drop-off - Images: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/43d3e1c2c3b8.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/00a0f32ba0ae.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/346da520a391.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4060f37c2872.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/4fea866568c3.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/64ff5c6f754a.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/6ff2ccdfd38c.jpg, https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/7a614a04d484.jpg ##### Day 14: Tea, then the towers, then home - (dining) — at an old-name teahouse: har gow, siu mai, cheung fun, char siu bao and whatever the season brings. Here a morning tea is how a neighborhood spends a morning together rather than a meal you finish and leave, so it gets the whole morning and the trolleys keep coming. This is the only sit-down meal included in the fourteen days. - (sight) — this is your departure day, so the Foshan morning is checked against your flight time before your dates are confirmed. When the flight is too early for it, the morning tea moves to day thirteen and day fourteen stays inside Guangzhou. - (sight) — the island stage and the tower district Guangzhou built on the river in the last twenty years. Stand on the axis and look back: the country that dug the channels at Dujiangyan is the same one that poured this, and neither of them has stopped. - (transport) — your driver takes you to Guangzhou Baiyun airport with room to spare against your flight. ## Hotels ### Shanghai Royal Garden Hotel (Shanghai International Resort) - City: Shanghai - Description: Shanghai Royal Garden Hotel: a luxury garden hotel near Pudong Airport and Disneyland, with free shuttle service to both. - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/a07e8f886100.jpg ### Beijing Marriott Hotel Northeast - City: Beijing - Description: International high-end hotel in Beijing, suitable for business and city stays. - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/bWOFYezP.jpg ### 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 ### 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, good for travellers who want easy walks, food stops, and short city transfers. - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/bUOsDqAb.webp ### Shangri-La Hotel - City: Xian - 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: Xian - 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 ### Conrad Guangzhou - City: Guangzhou - Description: A curated hotel option in Guangzhou, used as the shared route hotel resource. - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/gAlT7wLC.webp ### Mandarin Oriental, Guangzhou - City: Guangzhou - Description: Mandarin Oriental, Guangzhou. A selected stay in Guangzhou. - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/8a41f79830b6.jpg ### Bellagio by MGM Shanghai on the Bund - City: Shanghai - Description: A curated hotel option in Shanghai, used as the shared route hotel resource. - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/9u9jCkFL.webp ### Pullman Shanghai Zhongganghui Hotel - City: Shanghai - Description: Pullman Shanghai Zhongganghui Hotel, in Dapuqiao near Tianzifang, steps from Metro Line 9 and the Expo site. - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/5xOD9FRB.webp ### Hilton Beijing - City: Beijing - Description: Established international hotel in Beijing with reliable service and central access. - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/jU1EgACp.webp ### Atour S Hotel Shanghai Hongqiao Centre Aegean - City: Shanghai - Description: Atour S Hotel in Hongqiao: steps from Aegean Place and Metro Line 10, six km from the National Exhibition and Convention Center. - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/ciHY2Qvs.webp ### The Temple House - City: Chengdu - Description: Boutique luxury hotel inside a restored Qing-dynasty courtyard near Taikoo Li with one of Chengdu's strongest design statements. - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/2Dh9ApbX.webp ### Foshan Marriott Hotel - City: Foshan - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/8D0ZZr4Q.webp ### Guangzhou Marriott Hotel Tianhe - City: Guangzhou - Description: Guangzhou Marriott Hotel Tianhe. A selected stay in Guangzhou. - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/fed425e7b60a.jpg ### Sofitel Beijing Central - City: Beijing - Description: Luxury international hotel in central Beijing with refined comfort and service. - Image: https://cdn.lyriktrip.com/s/itT5uc1l.webp ## Included / Excluded ### What's Included - Private vehicle: Air-conditioned private vehicle for all listed touring in all five cities, including the Dujiangyan day return on day three and the Foshan day returns on days thirteen and fourteen; airport pickup in Chengdu on day one and drop-off at Guangzhou Baiyun on day fourteen; hotel to station and hotel to airport transfers for all five intercity legs. Fuel, tolls, parking and the driver service allowance are inside the price - Guide: Licensed English-speaking guide on every touring day in every city, including both day returns, and accompanying the whole Bund evening in Shanghai - Intercity transport: Five legs: day 3 Chengdu to Dujiangyan and back by high-speed rail · day 4 Chengdu to Xi'an by high-speed rail · day 7 Xi'an to Beijing by high-speed rail · day 10 Beijing to Shanghai by high-speed rail · day 12 Shanghai to Guangzhou by air, with the operating airline's standard checked-baggage allowance. The cabin class of each leg for your order is stated in writing in your quote - Hotels: 13 nights at your chosen level, four-star, five-star or quality boutique, breakfast included with the room: Chengdu 3 · Xi'an 3 · Beijing 3 · Shanghai 2 · Guangzhou 2. Hotels are named in your written confirmation - Tickets & experiences, Chengdu: The panda base in the morning · the gaiwan teahouse sitting in People's Park · Kuanzhai Alley and Taikoo Li · the community Sichuan opera theater with the backstage look and face-changing up close - Tickets & experiences, Dujiangyan day return: Dujiangyan irrigation system admission · Mount Qingcheng with the small Taoist temple visit · the conversation with a resident Taoist and the tai chi session - Tickets & experiences, Xi'an: Terracotta Warriors admission · Xi'an City Wall by bike, admission and bike hire both included · Giant Wild Goose Pagoda · the Bell and Drum Tower area with the Muslim Quarter after dark - Tickets & experiences, Beijing: Forbidden City admission · Jingshan Park · Mutianyu Great Wall admission with the cable car up and the toboggan down · Tian'anmen Square · Temple of Heaven · National Museum of China. When the toboggan is not running on your day, a permitted alternative way down is arranged at no extra charge - Tickets & experiences, Shanghai: Yu Garden and the old city · Shanghai Museum · former French Concession and Wukang Road · the Huangpu River ferry crossing with the fare included · the Bund and the Pudong skyline after dark, guide accompanied - Tickets & experiences, Guangzhou and Foshan: Foshan Ancestral Temple admission · the lion dance and martial arts performance at the temple · the Wing Chun session with a local practitioner · Haixinsha and Zhujiang New Town - Meals: 13 hotel breakfasts, days two through fourteen, with the room, plus one sit-down meal: the Cantonese morning tea at an old-name teahouse in Foshan. That morning tea is the only sit-down meal in the fourteen days - Insurance: Travel accident insurance ### Not Included - International flights: Flights into Chengdu and out of Guangzhou, and any international connection at either end. A domestic connecting leg we book for you on request is quoted separately and never folded into the base price - Visas: Visa fees and processing for guests who need a Chinese visa, including every US guest on this route - Timed reservations: Booking of the three timed name-registered reservations on this route, the Forbidden City on day 8, the National Museum of China on day 10 and the Shanghai Museum on day 11. Admission to all three is included; the booking of the slot is not in the base price today. See Special Notes - Meals: Every meal other than the 13 hotel breakfasts and the one Foshan morning tea: lunches and dinners are recommended and booked by your guide, on your account - Optional items: This route carries no optional add-on. Anything you ask for beyond the included list is quoted separately when you choose it and is never added into the base plan - Personal: Gratuities · single-room or extra-room difference · personal spending · spending inside the listed sites beyond admission and the items named above ### Special Notes A few things on this route follow the calendar, the season or a booking system. Here they are, told straight. - Bookings are not open yet: three points on this route take a timed name-registered reservation, and how those slots get booked is not settled. Until that arrangement is in place, written into the included list and priced, we take no orders and no deposits. Tell us your dates and we will write to you on the day it opens. - The three timed reservations: the Forbidden City on day 8, the National Museum of China on day 10 and the Shanghai Museum on day 11. Admission to all three is included in the price. The reservation systems are name-registered and hard to use on an overseas mobile number, and the Shanghai Museum booking pages are only partly in English. Your quote states in writing who books each slot and what it costs. Where a slot cannot be secured for your date, we tell you before you pay and rearrange that day rather than sell you a closed door. - Departure days: no Monday departures, because day 8 falls on the same weekday as day 1 and the Forbidden City closes on Mondays. No departures October 1 to 7, the national holiday week, when the Terracotta Warriors site and the Chengdu panda base run at their most crowded. - December departures and the two outdoor items: the Mutianyu cable car and open chairlift on day 9 and the Xi'an City Wall ride on day 6 are outdoors, and their winter operating rules are being confirmed with the sites. For a December departure your quote states in writing what happens to each of those two items if the site suspends it on your day. - Group: Private, just your party. From 1 guest. No fixed maximum party size. - Cabin class: the cabin class of the four high-speed rail legs and the one domestic flight is being finalized for this route. Until it is fixed, the cabin class of each leg for your order is stated in writing in your quote, and we take no order without it. - Day 14 timing: the last day holds the Foshan morning tea, Haixinsha and your flight out of Guangzhou Baiyun. We check it against your departure time before your dates are confirmed; when the flight is too early, the morning tea moves to day 13 and day 14 stays inside Guangzhou. - Security screening: everyone is screened to enter Tian'anmen Square on day 10, and the queue takes half an hour to an hour. It is budgeted separately on that day, on top of your time on the square. - Visa window: the 30-day visa-free policy currently runs through December 31, 2026. This is a 14-day plan, so departures on or before December 18, 2026 finish inside that window; later departures are quoted only after the official renewal is announced. - US passports: the US is not on the 30-day visa-free list, and 14 days is longer than the 10-day visa-free transit policy allows, so every US guest on this route holds a Chinese tourist or business visa, ten-year multiple-entry included. Allow processing time before your departure date. We confirm visa status before any payment. - Guests already in China on the transit policy: if you entered China under the 10-day visa-free transit policy, this route does not work for you, because 14 days is longer than that policy allows. We say so before payment, with no workaround. - Confirmation and changes: the confirmation-time commitment and the change and refund terms are being finalized with our ground partners. Until they are settled, each quote states in writing its own confirmation deadline and its change and refund conditions. This route holds four rail legs and one flight, so a date change touches rail and airline inventory as well as hotels. ## Is Fourteen Days Your Length? Fewer than fourteen days? ### Fewer than fourteen days? The five stops come apart cleanly. Chengdu with the Dujiangyan day return stands on its own, Xi'an and Beijing are the pair most first trips keep, and the Shanghai and Guangzhou end can shorten to one city. Tell us your dates and who is coming, and we cut stops rather than cut the pace. ## Good to Know - Group: Private, just your party. From 1 guest. No fixed maximum party size. - Pace: Five cities in 14 days: Chengdu 3 nights, Xi'an 3, Beijing 3, Shanghai 2, Guangzhou 2. Two day returns, to Dujiangyan and to Foshan, with no change of hotel. Two easy days, day 2 and day 12 - Effort: Moderate. The Great Wall is done by cable car up and toboggan down; the one riding day is flat, on top of the city wall; the Forbidden City and the Terracotta Warriors are long flat walks, cut to one line with places to sit - Ports: Chengdu in, Guangzhou out. Airport pickup on day one and drop-off at Guangzhou Baiyun on day fourteen - Visas: UK, most European, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand passports enter visa-free for stays days, checked order by order against your dates. US passports need a Chinese tourist or business visa for this route - Language: Licensed English-speaking guides throughout, city by city, including both day returns - Payment: When this route opens for booking: From 1 guest. A 10% deposit (minimum $399) locks your dates. The balance is due 14 days before departure. "Or similar" never means a quiet downgrade - Season: Selling window October to December 2026. No Monday departures and none October 1 to 7. December departures have the two outdoor items confirmed in writing against your 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 tunes pacing, hotels and local hosts around 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 traveler 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 traveler. ## Before You Book Everything worth knowing before you book. ### Fourteen days, five cities. Is that too much moving for a first trip? Four of the moves are high-speed rail and one is a flight, and each of them takes a half day rather than a whole one. You unpack five times in fourteen days, and both of the out-of-town days, Dujiangyan and Foshan, are day returns that leave your room and your bags where they are. Two days are deliberately easy: the Chengdu teahouse afternoon on day 2 and the Shanghai morning on day 12. If it still sounds like a lot, tell us and we cut a stop rather than speed the rest up. ### Can you actually get us into the Forbidden City? Here is the honest state of it. Three places on this route, the Forbidden City, the National Museum of China and the Shanghai Museum, take a timed reservation registered to a name, and those systems are hard to use on an overseas phone number. Admission to all three is inside your price. What is not settled is who books the slots and at what cost, which is exactly why this route is not open for booking yet: we are not going to sell you a day that depends on a booking we cannot yet promise. Your quote will state in writing how each slot is handled, and if a date cannot be secured we rearrange that day and tell you before you pay. What holds either way: the Beijing days are never set on a Monday, when the palace closes. ### We're coming in December. Is that a bad time? December is a fine month to see most of this route: the Terracotta Warriors and the museums are indoors, and the crowds are down everywhere. Two things are outdoors and we cannot promise them: the Mutianyu cable car and open chairlift on day 9 and the Xi'an City Wall ride on day 6. Their winter operating rules are being confirmed with the sites, so a December quote states in writing what happens to each one if the site suspends it on your day. If the wall ride is off, that morning goes to the wall on foot and the Bell and Drum Tower area instead; if the chairlift is off, the site's permitted alternative way up and down is used. Either way you get the wall and you get the wall day to yourself. ### None of us has done martial arts. Is the Wing Chun session going to be awkward? It is built for people who have never done it. The practitioner opens with where the style comes from and what it is built on, so the first stretch is listening rather than doing. Then it is one stance and a few basic movements, with him walking around correcting your feet and elbows. There is no sparring, no fitness requirement and nothing to bring. It happens in the courtyards of Foshan Ancestral Temple, where the people performing the lion dance that morning actually train, which is the reason it is on this route rather than a hotel function room. ### Do we need a visa? Most guests on this route do not. UK, most European, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand passports enter visa-free for stays days, and before you pay we check your 14 days plus any further days in China against that window. The current policy runs through December 31, 2026, so departures on or before December 18, 2026 finish inside it. US passports are different: the US is not on that list and 14 days is longer than the 10-day transit policy allows, so US guests hold a Chinese tourist or business visa and the fee and appointment are their own. We confirm visa status before any payment, and if your dates do not fit the window we say so instead of selling.