China itinerary for 7, 10 and 14 days

7 days: Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai

• Days 1 to 3, Beijing: the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the Temple of Heaven, and a day at the Great Wall (Mutianyu is a popular section).
• Days 4 and 5, Xi'an: the Terracotta Warriors, the city walls by bike and the Muslim Quarter. Beijing to Xi'an is about 4.5 to 6 hours by high-speed train.
• Days 6 and 7, Shanghai: the Bund, Yu Garden, the former French Concession and the Pudong skyline. Fly from Xi'an or take an overnight or high-speed train.

10 days: add Chengdu

• Follow the 7-day route to Xi'an, then take the train to Chengdu (about 3 to 4 hours).
• Days 6 to 8, Chengdu: the giant panda base early in the morning, teahouses in People's Park, hotpot and Sichuan opera.
• Days 9 and 10, Shanghai: fly from Chengdu.

14 days: add Chongqing and Guilin

• Beijing (3 days), Xi'an (2), Chengdu (2) and Chongqing (2; about 1 to 1.5 hours from Chengdu by train): the hillside city of Hongyadong and the Yangtze.
• Guilin and Yangshuo (3): the Li River cruise and the karst countryside by bike. Fly from Chongqing.
• Shanghai (2): fly from Guilin, with a day trip to Hangzhou or Suzhou if you have time.
• Prefer mountains to rivers? Swap Guilin for Zhangjiajie, the sandstone pillars of the Wulingyuan scenic area, reached by air or by high-speed train to Zhangjiajie West station.

How much does a week in China cost?

Hotels: 7 nights on the 7-day route cost about $261 at the typical 3-star price and $440 at the typical 4-star price, from the prices Staylist has observed: Beijing $43 or $72 a night (3 nights), Xi'an $26 or $38 a night (2 nights), Shanghai $40 or $74 a night (2 nights). Two people sharing a room halve that. So $1,000 covers a week for one person before international flights: about $600 to $840 in total at the 3-star level, and about $1,020 with 4-star hotels and generous spending.

• Trains: a long high-speed leg such as Beijing to Shanghai costs about ¥550 to ¥700 (roughly $75 to $100) in second class, so two long legs come to about $150 to $200.
• Food: a bowl of noodles or a set lunch often costs ¥20 to ¥40 ($3 to $6); budget about $15 to $30 a day eating locally, more for hotpot and Peking duck.
• Sights: the Forbidden City is ¥60 in high season (April to October) and the Terracotta Army ¥120; most big sights cost ¥40 to ¥150 each.
• Getting around a city: metro rides cost a few yuan, and a DiDi across the centre usually ¥20 to ¥50.

Trains, payments and hotels

Book high-speed trains on Trip.com or the 12306 app with your passport, set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before you fly, and book hotels that accept foreign guests. Check whether you can enter visa-free first. Our China travel guide covers each step.

Where to stay on the route

Each city guide compares the areas on typical price, transit and what guests say, so you can pick a hotel close to the station or the sights: where to stay in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Chongqing. For Xi'an and Guilin, see the best-rated hotels in Xi'an and hotels in Guilin.