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Explore itineraries grouped by geographic area
A first trip to China almost always follows the Beijing - Xi'an - Shanghai axis: the imperial capital with the Great Wall, the Terracotta Army and the metropolis on the Huangpu River. Ten days cover this triangle; fifteen let you add the pandas of Chengdu and the karst scenery of Guilin and Yangshuo; three weeks leave room for Zhangjiajie or Yunnan. Most journeys are by high-speed train, with a few domestic flights for the longest legs.
The sensible minimum is 10 days: 4 in Beijing (Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace and a full day for the Wall), 2 in Xi'an and 3-4 in Shanghai, with two train transfers of 4-6 hours each. For a complete first trip, 14-16 days is ideal: enough to add Chengdu and Guilin-Yangshuo without changing city every day. Three weeks let you add one more nature region (Zhangjiajie or Yunnan) plus some slack. Distances are continental: each change of city takes half a day between getting to the station (often far from the centre), security checks and the journey itself. If you enter visa-free, you must also stay within the number of days allowed for your nationality.
Beijing (4 days) with the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the hutongs and a day at the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. High-speed train to Xi'an (about 4-5 hours) and 2 days for the Terracotta Army and the city walls. From Xi'an to Shanghai take a train of about 6 hours or a domestic flight, then 3 days for the Bund, Yu Garden, the Former French Concession and, time permitting, a day trip to Suzhou. Fly into Beijing and out of Shanghai to avoid backtracking.
Beijing (4 days), Xi'an (2), then train to Chengdu (3 days: panda base, Wenshu Monastery, day trip to the Leshan Giant Buddha). Fly to Guilin for 3 days: the Li River cruise down to Yangshuo, the Yulong valley and the Longji rice terraces. Final flight to Shanghai (2-3 days). It is the route that appears most often in first-timers' travel diaries: it alternates big cities and landscapes and needs only two domestic flights.
Beijing (4 days) - Xi'an (2) - Chengdu (3), then a direct train to Zhangjiajie (about 4 hours, line opened in 2025) and 3 days among the sandstone pillars of Wulingyuan park and Tianmen Mountain. There is no simple link from Zhangjiajie to Guilin: a flight or a train with a change is the usual choice, so check current timetables. After 3 days in Guilin and Yangshuo, fly to Shanghai and spend the last 5 days between Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou, all linked by trains of under an hour.
Beijing (4 days) - Xi'an (2) - Chengdu (3), then fly to Kunming for a week in Yunnan: train to Dali (about 2 hours) with Erhai Lake and the old town, then Lijiang (about 2 hours by train), the base for Tiger Leaping Gorge. Fly from Lijiang or Kunming to Shanghai for the last 3-4 days. This is the better option if you want villages, ethnic minority cultures and mountains rather than megacities; Lijiang sits at about 2,400 metres.
Imperial China: the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square and the hutong alleys. The Wall sections most visited by independent travellers (Mutianyu, Jinshanling) each take a full day. Allow at least 3-4 days.
Ancient capital and starting point of the Silk Road. The Terracotta Army lies outside the city, about an hour from the centre, and takes a good half day on its own; the rest of the time goes to the city walls (cyclable) and the Muslim Quarter. Two days are enough.
Shanghai is modern China: the Bund, the Pudong skyline, the Former French Concession and Yu Garden. High-speed trains make day trips easy to Suzhou, with its UNESCO-listed classical gardens, and to Hangzhou with West Lake. From 2-3 days for Shanghai alone to 5 with the side trips.
Chengdu is the city of giant pandas (visit the breeding base early in the morning, when the animals are active), teahouses and fiery Sichuan cooking. The Leshan Giant Buddha, carved into a cliff, is an easy day trip by train. Allow 3 days.
Karst peaks along the Li River: the cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo takes about 4-5 hours, followed by cycling or bamboo rafting in the Yulong valley. One extra day takes you to the Longji rice terraces. Good for nature after the big cities; 3 days.
In Hunan, Wulingyuan park (UNESCO-listed) has thousands of sandstone pillars, walking trails, cable cars and panoramic lifts, plus Tianmen Mountain nearby. Since 2025 a direct train links it to Chengdu in about 4 hours (arriving at Zhangjiajie West, then about half an hour by bus or taxi to Wulingyuan). Allow 2-3 days.
The south-western province of stone-and-timber old towns, ethnic minority cultures (Bai, Naxi) and mountains on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau. Dali and Lijiang are linked to Kunming by fast trains; from Lijiang you can hike Tiger Leaping Gorge. Worth it with at least 5-6 days.
High-speed rail (G and D trains) is the main way to travel: Beijing-Xi'an in about 4-5 hours, Xi'an-Chengdu about 3-4, Beijing-Shanghai about 4.5-6, Chengdu-Zhangjiajie about 4. Tickets are sold on the official 12306 website or app (English version) using your passport, after an identity check; sales usually open 15 days before departure and seats go fast around public holidays. High-speed stations are often on the outskirts (Xi'an North, Beijing West or South, Shanghai Hongqiao): factor in the time to get there, arrive at least 30 minutes early for security, and use the manual gate with your passport, since automatic gates generally cannot read foreign passports. For long south-north legs (Guilin-Shanghai, Chengdu-Kunming) a domestic flight saves many hours. Within cities, use the metro (signposted in English in the big cities) and taxis booked through the Didi app. Renting a car is not practical: international driving permits are not recognised and you would need a Chinese driving permit.
Indicative daily ranges per person in 2026, excluding long-haul flights: budget 50-80 euros (hostels or simple hotels, local eateries and street food, metro and second-class trains); mid-range 100-170 euros (3-4 star hotels in a double room, restaurants, main entry tickets, high-speed trains and some Didi rides); comfort from 220 euros upwards (upscale hotels, domestic flights, private guides). The biggest cost is travel between cities: Beijing-Shanghai in second class costs around 550-700 yuan, Beijing-Xi'an about 500-600. Food is cheap even in big cities, while Shanghai and Beijing are the most expensive places to sleep. Prices vary with season and holidays (Chinese New Year, October's Golden Week) and with exchange rates: treat these figures as a rough guide only.
A vast, varied country. Spring (April-May) and autumn (September-October) are the best times; summer is hot and humid (and rainy in the south), winter harsh in the north. Avoid the major holidays (Chinese New Year, October's Golden Week): huge crowds and sold-out trains.
Updated: October 2026
Yuan / Renminbi (CNY). In practice you pay for almost everything by phone with Alipay or WeChat Pay: set them up BEFORE leaving, linking a foreign card (now possible). Cash and foreign cards are accepted only with difficulty outside hotels.
Mandarin Chinese. English is rare outside the big cities: keep your hotel address written in Chinese and use a translation app (with a VPN).
Until 31 December 2026, citizens of many European countries (and several others) with an ordinary passport can enter visa-free for tourism, business or visits, for up to 30 days. Passport valid for at least 6 months; you must fill in the online "Foreigner Arrival Card". This regime varies by nationality and can change: ALWAYS check the official rules for your country before leaving.
No mandatory vaccines arriving from a non-risk country (yellow fever is required only from travellers coming from at-risk countries). Hepatitis A/B and typhoid are recommended (not required); discuss with your doctor. Travel health insurance is advised.
This is the key point: Google, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and many Western sites are blocked. Install a reliable VPN BEFORE leaving (it's hard to download once in China). Alternatively, an e-SIM or international roaming often bypasses the block.
Excellent 4G/5G network. An international e-SIM (Airalo and similar) that routes traffic outside China is the easiest way to get unrestricted access; local SIMs (China Mobile/Unicom) stay behind the "Great Firewall".
220V, 50Hz, type A, C and I sockets. Two-pin European plugs fit type C sockets; a universal adapter is still handy.
All of China uses a single time zone, UTC+8, with no daylight saving.
Alipay and WeChat Pay are almost essential and link to a foreign card. Still carry some yuan in cash as a backup, since foreign cards and cash are little accepted.
💡 Three things to do BEFORE you leave: install a VPN (it's blocked inside China), set up Alipay or WeChat Pay with your card, and activate an international e-SIM for unrestricted internet. Without them, you risk being left with no Google, no maps and no way to pay.
China currently runs a unilateral visa-exemption scheme for ordinary passport holders from more than 40 countries, allowing stays of up to 30 days for tourism until 31 December 2026. At the time of this update no extension into 2027 had been announced, so travellers departing later should check whether a tourist (L) visa is required. There is also a 240-hour (10-day) visa-free transit for those continuing to a third country, available to citizens of a list of countries and limited to certain ports of entry and provinces. Rules depend on your nationality: always check the official Chinese embassy website for your country before booking.
Almost everything is paid by phone via Alipay or WeChat Pay, which now accept a linked foreign Visa or Mastercard; set them up before you leave. With a foreign card on Alipay, payments up to 200 yuan are generally fee-free, while larger ones usually carry a 3% fee (check current terms), and your bank may add foreign-exchange charges. Still carry a few hundred yuan in cash as a backup: withdraw it from ATMs showing international network logos.
No: on a Chinese SIM or Wi-Fi network, Google (including Maps and Gmail), WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook are blocked. The workarounds are an e-SIM or your home carrier's roaming, which route traffic abroad, or a VPN installed before you leave. For navigation, use a map that works in China, such as Amap or Apple Maps.
Use the official 12306 website or app in English: create an account, enter your name exactly as on your passport and wait for identity verification, which may require a photo of your passport page. Sales usually open 15 days ahead; there is nothing to print, as you board by showing your passport at the manual gate. Alternatively, book through an online agency for a small fee.
At least 10 days for Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai; 14-16 days to add Chengdu and Guilin-Yangshuo at a reasonable pace; 3 weeks to include Zhangjiajie or Yunnan as well. With fewer than 10 days, stick to two cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, linked by trains of just over 4 hours.
Yes, on the classic route: metros, stations and airports in the big cities are signposted in English, and the 12306 app has an English version. Little English is spoken outside hotels, so carry a translation app with camera mode and your hotel address written in Chinese characters to show taxi drivers. Didi and the payment apps have English interfaces.
Yes. The Forbidden City sells named, capped tickets online up to 7 days ahead and is closed on Mondays (except public holidays); entry costs 60 yuan from April to October and 40 from November to March. The Terracotta Army and the Chengdu panda base also use named booking tied to your passport. Around public holidays tickets can sell out within minutes: book as soon as sales open.
April-May and September-October offer the most balanced weather between north and south. Avoid the national holiday weeks: Golden Week from 1 to 7 October, Chinese New Year (late January to February, date varies) and the 1 May holiday, when trains and sights are packed and prices rise. Summer is hot and rainy in the south, winter very cold in Beijing.
Sources consulted: english.beijing.gov.cn, english.shanghai.gov.cn, travelchina.org.cn, highspeed.mtr.com.hk, panda.org.cn, chinaxiantour.com, chinafortravelers.com, wanderinchina.com, chinahighlights.com, qualitytravel.it
