China itinerary: routes for 10 days, 2 weeks and 3 weeks

Three weeks is enough for China’s classic route by high-speed train: Shanghai, Beijing, Xi’an, Chengdu, Guilin and Yangshuo, leaving through Hong Kong. Two weeks covers four of those stops, ten days three. Each leg below is timed and priced from 12306, the national railway’s booking site, on the timetable it sold for 20 October 2026.

Which route for how long?

Updated: October 30, 2026

The three routes share a spine: Beijing for the imperial city and the Great Wall, Xi’an for the Terracotta Army, Shanghai for the modern city and the canal towns around it. Time beyond ten days buys the south-west: the pandas of Chengdu, then the karst peaks of Guilin and Yangshuo.

Book flights into one city and out of another. Coming back to the city you landed in costs a day of travel, and on the three-week route it would mean the slowest leg of the whole map.

Three weeks: Shanghai to Hong Kong by train

This order keeps every leg on a direct high-speed train. The six legs add up to about 20 and a half hours on the fastest trains, and to about 2,400 to 2,650 yuan in second class, roughly 335 to 370 dollars at the 2025 average rate (worked out from the fares below). If I had three weeks, I would book it this way round, because the alternative, finishing in Shanghai, means a seven-hour train or a flight from Guilin.

Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou

Four nights: two days for the city itself, set out in the Shanghai guide, and two day trips. Suzhou is 21 to 25 minutes from Shanghai by train, for 30 to 46 yuan in second class; its classical gardens open from 7:30 to 17:00 from November to February, last ticket check 16:30, according to the city’s gardens bureau. Hangzhou is 45 minutes from Hongqiao on the fastest trains, to Hangzhou East, 57 to 87 yuan. West Lake is free, and the Lingyin temple area has been free since 1 December 2025, with a time slot booked up to seven days ahead.

The train out: Shanghai Hongqiao to Beijing South, 38 G trains a day, the fastest in 4 h 24, for 661 yuan in second class on the fast trains.

Beijing

Four nights, three of them for the city and one day for the Great Wall. The Beijing guide covers the sights and the passport bookings; the Forbidden City releases its tickets at 20:00 seven days ahead and sells none on the day. For the wall, Badaling and Mutianyu both cost 40 yuan; Badaling books up to seven days ahead and is 19 minutes from Qinghe by high-speed train, Mutianyu up to 30 days ahead and quieter. The Great Wall guide compares them with the wilder sections.

The train out leaves from Beijing West: Beijing South has no direct train to Xi’an. There are 17 G trains a day to Xi’an North, the fastest in 4 h 10, for 587 yuan in second class on the fast ones and 494 to 618 across the day. With three or four more days, the trip splits into two stages on Shanxi’s high-speed line, stopping at Datong and Pingyao.

Xi’an

Three nights. The Terracotta Army costs 120 yuan, booked online in your name with your passport, and stops selling once 65,000 tickets are gone for the day; ticket sales close at 17:00, and at 16:30 from 16 November. Since 29 August 2026, bus 306 runs from the new Xi’an East station straight to the museum, from 7:00 to 19:00, according to the city government’s account; from the centre, metro line 9 to Huaqingchi and bus 613 is the other way in. Back in town, the city wall costs 54 yuan and bikes on top 45 yuan for three hours, and the Shaanxi History Museum is free, booked on its WeChat account five days ahead from 17:00. The rest of the city, from the Bell Tower to Huashan, is in the Xi’an guide.

The train out: Xi’an North to Chengdu East, more than 60 trains a day, the fastest in 3 h 05, for 263 to 316 yuan.

Chengdu

Three nights. The Giant Panda Base costs 55 yuan, booked up to 14 days ahead, passports accepted. From November to February the morning entry opens at 8:00 instead of 7:30, and the afternoon one closes at 16:30. Metro line 3 to Panda Avenue, exit A, then shuttle bus 408 reaches the south gate, according to the base’s own transport page. The Leshan Giant Buddha is a day trip: 41 to 53 minutes by train, 51 to 54 yuan. The rest of the city, from the teahouses to Sanxingdui, is in the Chengdu guide.

The train out needs a morning start. Chengdu East has 16 or 17 direct trains a day to Guilin, nearly all leaving between 07:00 and 12:38; the fastest, G917, takes 4 h 58, for 415 to 538 yuan across the trains.

Guilin, Yangshuo and Hong Kong

Four nights around the Li River, then two in Hong Kong. The classic cruise covers about 60 km in about four hours, one way, from Mopanshan pier (215 yuan, the three-star boats) or Zhujiang pier (360 yuan with lunch, the four-star ones) down to Yangshuo. It stops for high water: the river authority suspended the core route from 6 to 8 July 2026 and again in late July, according to its own notices.

Yangshuo’s railway station is in Xingping, about 30 km from Yangshuo town; the Special Line 1 bus covers the distance in about an hour for 20 yuan. There are 24 trains a day between Guilin and Yangshuo, 20 to 50 minutes depending on the Guilin station.

The way out: three direct trains a day from Guilin West to Hong Kong West Kowloon, 3 h 11 to 3 h 16, up to 450 yuan in second class, on MTR’s timetable. They all leave Guilin West between 12:41 and 15:43.

Two weeks: Beijing to Shanghai

Fly into Beijing and out of Shanghai. Four nights in Beijing, three in Xi’an and three in Chengdu follow the first legs of the three-week route, by the same trains: 4 h 10 to Xi’an, 3 h 05 to Chengdu.

From Chengdu, fly to Shanghai. Trip.com’s monthly average on the Shanghai to Chengdu route was about 110 dollars one way in October 2026, an average of fares found, which a given flight may beat or exceed. Three nights in Shanghai leave room for one day trip, to Suzhou or Hangzhou.

The other two-week shape drops Chengdu for the south. Shanghai, Beijing and Xi’an take ten nights; from Xi’an, a flight reaches Guilin for three nights by the Li River, and Hong Kong is three hours away by train for the flight home.

Ten days: Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai

Four nights in Beijing, two in Xi’an and three in Shanghai. Xi’an North to Shanghai Hongqiao has 22 direct trains a day, but only two, G92 and G96, take under six hours (5 h 52 and 5 h 50); the rest take seven to nine. Their second-class fare is 756 yuan. Book one of those two the day sales open, or fly.

The simpler ten days skip Xi’an: four nights in Beijing, four in Shanghai with a day in Suzhou or Hangzhou, and a single 4 h 18 train between them, the fastest Beijing to Shanghai service.

A single week fits the same shape with three nights in each city. Leave Xi’an out at that length: it adds ten hours of trains, 4 h 10 in from Beijing and 5 h 50 on to Shanghai, and the Terracotta Army takes most of a day on its own.

Ten days is also the length that works without a visa for an American passport. The 240-hour transit exemption, open to 57 countries according to the National Immigration Administration, counts from 0:00 the day after entry and requires a confirmed onward ticket to a third country or region. Beijing, Shaanxi and Shanghai are all inside the permitted areas, and entering at one designated port and leaving from another is allowed. Hong Kong as the onward destination appears in airline and MTR guidance but in no immigration text, so a ticket to a third country is the safer reading.

Getting between the stops

Updated: October 30, 2026

Times and fares are 12306’s for travel on 20 October 2026, and the number of trains a day is rechecked for 29 October to 10 November; the Hong Kong trains also appear on MTR’s timetable. How to buy them is in the train tickets guide.

Train or plane

Up to about five hours, the train usually wins, since it runs between city stations such as Beijing West, Xi’an North and Shanghai Hongqiao. Beyond that, compare. Guilin to Shanghai is the case on this map: two direct trains, 7 h 25 at best and leaving from Guilin station, against a flight of about 2 h 10 to 2 h 25, according to Trip.com, a single commercial source.

Luggage, seats and gates

The railway rules in force since 1 June 2026, published on 12306, allow an adult 20 kg of luggage, with each item no larger than 130 cm in length, width and height combined on G, D and C trains. Every seat is assigned, though 12306 also sells standing tickets at the second-class price on busy trains. Your passport is the ticket. Plan on the staffed lane at the gates: the 12306 list of documents read by the automatic gates does not include foreign passports.

Where to sleep along the route

Prices fall from east to west. For the same standard of hotel, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s latest city breakdown, for the summer of 2024, a peak season, gives these averages a night:

Updated: October 30, 2026

On the Li River, split the stay. The cruise piers at Mopanshan and Zhujiang are about 27 km from Guilin’s main station and the boats leave between about 9:00 and 12:05, according to a 2026 guide to the river, so the night before the cruise is easiest in Guilin; the boats land in Yangshuo, where the following nights can be spent. Leave a night in Guilin again only if your train to Hong Kong leaves early: they depart from Guilin West between 12:41 and 15:43, which the Yangshuo trains reach in about 20 minutes.

Each stop has its own page on areas and hotels: where to stay in Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, Xi’an, Chengdu and Guilin. The full budget, night by night, is in China trip cost.

Changing the route

Zhangjiajie

The sandstone pillars of Wulingyuan need three nights. The fastest way in is from Chongqing East, 2 h 06 to Zhangjiajie West, or from Changsha station, 1 h 45; a single slow train a day links Guilin, in 7 h 12, and one runs to Hong Kong in 6 h 41. The park ticket costs 165 yuan, 236 with the eco-bus, and lasts four consecutive days. Two closures shape the plan. The whole park shut for record rain from 20 to 23 June 2025, the first such closure, according to the geopark administration, and from 13 October 2026 the main Tianmen Mountain cableway stops entirely, with only the C route sold, according to the operator’s notice as relayed by booking platforms. Wulingyuan and Tianmen are covered in the Zhangjiajie guide, and the choice of base between them in where to stay in Zhangjiajie.

Chongqing

Chongqing slots between Chengdu and Guilin at almost no cost. Chengdu East to Shapingba takes 1 h 02 on the fastest trains, and Chongqing West to Guilin West 3 h 43, with 17 direct trains a day. One or two nights fit; Zhangjiajie is then two hours away from Chongqing East. The city itself is in the Chongqing guide, and its districts in where to stay in Chongqing.

Hong Kong at the start

Turning the route around works by the same trains. Hong Kong West Kowloon has one daytime train a day to Beijing West, 8 h 11 for 1,248 yuan, and two to Shanghai Hongqiao, from 8 h 08, plus a sleeper train to Shanghai every night. West Kowloon has been a designated entry port for the 240-hour transit since 5 November 2025, according to the immigration administration.

Huangshan

The granite peaks of Huangshan pair with Shanghai or Hangzhou. Huangshan North is 2 h 16 from Shanghai Hongqiao on the fastest train and 1 h 13 from Hangzhou West, with 25 direct trains a day from the latter, 87 to 114 yuan in second class. A coach then climbs to Tangkou, at the foot of the mountain, for 30 yuan, according to the Huangshan government’s account. Entry costs 190 yuan, 150 in the winter season, and two nights let you sleep on or near the mountain.

When to go on this route

April, May, September and October suit it best, outside the 1 to 5 May and 1 to 7 October holidays. On the 1991 to 2020 normals set out in the guide to the best time to visit China, April highs run from 20 °C in Shanghai to 24 °C in Guilin, and October highs from 19 °C in Beijing to 26 °C in Guilin.

The south and the north pull in different directions. Guilin counts 14 to 15 rainy days a month from March to June against 5 or 6 in October and November, so autumn is the safer season for the Li River, which can also close for floods in July. Beijing drops to minus 7 °C on January nights, while Guilin still reaches 12 °C by day. The Spring Festival, on 6 February in 2027, brings its own crowds and closures, covered in the guide to Chinese New Year in China.

Before you fly

The entry rules come first. The 30 visa-free days count from the day after entry, apply at every port open to foreigners and can be used more than once, according to the embassies’ FAQ: three weeks fit, open-jaw included. The exemption ends on 31 December 2026, and no extension had been announced on 10 October 2026; the details are in the visa-free guide. Hotels register you with the police; in a private rental, you or your host register within 24 hours, online since 21 September 2026, the first time with the host’s help, according to the immigration administration.

Then book in this order:

• the flights, open-jaw;
• each train as 12306 opens it, 15 days ahead, travel day included;
• the panda base, up to 14 days ahead;
• the Forbidden City, 7 days ahead at 20:00;
• the Shaanxi History Museum, 5 days ahead at 17:00;
• Alipay or WeChat Pay and an eSIM, before you leave.

Avoid the holiday weeks for the long train days, and check the months in the guide to the best time to visit China. What the whole trip costs, day by day, is in China trip cost.

Frequently asked questions

How many days do you need in China? Ten days give a first look at two or three cities. Three weeks let you add the pandas and the karst south without a rushed day, with a night or two to spare.

Where should I go in China for two weeks? Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai, plus either Chengdu or Guilin. The first adds the pandas and Sichuan food, the second the Li River and Yangshuo.

Is three weeks enough for China? For the classic loop, yes: the six stops above leave three or four nights each. Adding Tibet, Xinjiang or Yunnan would mean dropping one of them.

Should I start in Beijing or Shanghai? For three weeks ending in Hong Kong, Shanghai: the route then runs north and west without doubling back. For two weeks, either works, as long as you fly out of the other.

Can you travel around China by train only? On this map, almost. Every leg has direct high-speed trains except Guilin to Shanghai, where two slow-ish trains make the flight the better choice.

Can I fit Zhangjiajie into a China itinerary? Yes, with three nights and a route through Chongqing or Changsha. Coming from Guilin, the single direct train takes over seven hours.

How much does two weeks in China cost? Count roughly 30 to 40 dollars a day each on a tight budget and 60 to 90 in mid-range hotels, for a couple sharing, plus the long-haul flights and the trains above.

Can I enter China in Beijing and leave from Shanghai? Yes. The 30-day exemption applies at every port open to foreigners, and the 240-hour transit allows entry and exit at any of its designated ports.

What is the best month for this route? October, if you can choose: dry in Guilin, mild in Beijing, and the holiday week over after the 7th. Spring is the second choice, with more rain in the south.

Do I need to book trains in advance? For the holiday weeks, the day sales open. Outside them, watch the two fast Xi’an to Shanghai trains and the morning trains from Chengdu to Guilin: they are the only ones that keep those legs short.