Curated China routes for international travellers
Route-first itineraries across China — tested day by day, with verified hotel benefits and the transport already worked out. Built by a Guangzhou travel house that has been booking China for 26 years.
Start here
Every route below is one we have walked. Days are ordered by what makes sense geographically and by opening hours, not by how much fits in.
North, South & East China
11days
The most complete first trip to China that still fits in two weeks. Two northern imperial cities, two days in the karst country, and the finale in Shanghai — sequenced so the pace never breaks and no leg is wasted on transit.
From US$1,890per person
North & East China
8days
The single most requested China route, and the right first multi-city trip. Three cities, two high-speed rail journeys, and the three sights that decide whether a first visit lands: the Forbidden City, the Terracotta Army and the Bund.
From US$1,550per person
Northwest China
6days
The route the caravans actually took, now run on scheduled trains. Six days covers Xi’an, the Gansu corridor and the Mogao caves, with an overnight in Dunhuang that gets you into the desert at dawn rather than at midday with everyone else.
From US$2,150per person
East China
7days
The three cities that make a first trip to eastern China, plus the thing most itineraries skip: a night in a water town, after the day coaches have gone. Seven days is enough for both if you plan the transfer days properly.
From US$2,100per person
Southwest China
9days
The full Yunnan traverse, done in the right direction: fly into Kunming, climb slowly through the Erhai lakeside and the Naxi old town, and finish on the Tibetan plateau at Shangri-La. Nine days, three cultures, one altitude curve that actually works.
From US$2,450per person
Southwest China
5days
Two full days inside the sandstone range that borrowed its silhouette to cinema, the cliff arch above the city, and a night in the stilt-house river town four hours west. Five days, no wasted transit.
From US$1,100per person
Where to go
A destination on its own is not a trip. These are the places our routes pass through, with the honest reason to go to each.
South China
Guangzhou has been a trading port for two thousand years and still runs on food, commerce and a particular kind of unhurried confidence. Foreigners mostly know it as a transit point to Hong Kong — which is a waste of a genuinely interesting city.
South China
Shenzhen is the proof that China can build a city from nothing. It is home to the Huawei campus, the Design Society museum and a waterfront that looks like it was drawn by an architect with a grudge against Hong Kong.
South China
Fifteen million people on a hilly scrap of coast, running on speed, money and a food culture that never got centralised. It rewards the traveller who moves fast and eats well.
East China
The Bund, the Shikumen lanes, the art scene, the coffee, and an argument with itself about what it wants to be. Shanghai rewards a few days more than any other Chinese city.
East China
A city built around water and horticulture, with a scholarly reputation that goes back a thousand years. Suzhou is where classical Chinese aesthetics stopped being an idea and became a daily way of living.
East China
West Lake has been the subject of Chinese poetry for a thousand years, and it justifies the attention. Hangzhou pairs it with the tea country above the city and the Song-dynasty villages beyond.
North China
Seven centuries of capital, an imperial axis running due north, and hutongs that still hold the city together at street level. Beijing is bigger and louder than most visitors expect, and the Wall is worth the early start.
Southwest China
Sichuan cooking, teahouses that have not changed in a century, and a laid-back pace that most Chinese cities have not managed to keep. Chengdu is also the gateway to Jiuzhaigou.
Where you sleep
Not a list of "best hotels" — these are properties where we can confirm the breakfast, the credit and the stay-and-pay terms are actually part of the rate.
Mandarin Oriental · Luxury
On the Pearl River in Zhujiang New Town, this is the Guangzhou address most international travellers want to be based at — river views from the higher floors, a short metro hop from Canton Tower.
From US$340 per night
Valid to 2026-12-31
Peninsula · Luxury
The grand dame of Tsim Sha Tsui, across from the Star Ferry pier. The lobby still has the famous afternoon tea, and the harbour view from the upper floors is the best in the district.
From US$1,070 per night
Valid to 2026-12-31
Mandarin Oriental · Luxury
A private bay on the south-west coast of Hainan with over a kilometre of beach in front of the hotel. The closest thing to a tropical resort inside China.
From US$470 per night
Valid to 2026-12-31
Aman · Ultra Luxury
A relocated Ming-dynasty camphor tree and a collection of antique villas set inside a forest in Jing’an. Forty minutes from the Bund, and the most quietly spectacular hotel in Shanghai.
From US$960 per night
Valid to 2026-12-31
Waldorf Astoria · Luxury
On the second floor of Chengdu’s tallest residential tower, with a 55-metre lap pool on the 5th floor and the best Sichuan kitchen in the building.
From US$1,050 per night
Valid to 2026-12-31
The Peak · Luxury
A disused sugar mill on the Li River bank, turned into a design hotel with a clifftop infinity pool. The most photographed address in Yangshuo.
From US$220 per night
Valid to 2026-10-31
Before you go
Visa categories, payment setup, rail booking and connectivity — the four things that actually derail a China trip if you leave them to the airport.
Entry
Can I enter China without a visa? For 50 passports — the UK, Canada, most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and a handful of others — yes, up to 30 days. Not the United States: US passports need a visa, or one of the transit and Hainan workarounds. If you are only passing through, the 240-hour transit rule covers 57 countries and lets you leave the airport. Here is what you actually need at the border, and where the 31 December 2026 expiry leaves trips planned for 2027.
Entry
Most visitors to China do not need a visa on arrival — they enter visa-free, or on the 240-hour transit rule. This page covers the narrow set of cases where a visa genuinely has to be issued at the border, and what to do if your passport is on none of the lists.
Money
Cash still works, but mobile payment is faster and better. This covers what actually works with a foreign card, the fee threshold that catches most visitors out, the setup steps that take ten minutes, the places where cash is still the answer, and the departure tax refund down to the actual numbers.
Transport
China’s high-speed rail is the best way to move between the major cities, and it is entirely usable as a visitor. This covers the booking mechanics that are specific to a foreign passport, and the station names that cause confusion.
Practical
Connectivity is the one thing that can genuinely derail a China trip if it is not arranged in advance. This covers the options ranked by reliability, and the app and payment situation that depends on it.
Money
China is cheaper than most Western travellers expect for daily life, and more expensive than they expect for good hotels. This is a realistic breakdown rather than a headline saving.
Custom itinerary
Send us your dates, your pace and how many nights you want to spend moving. We will come back with a day-by-day plan and the exact hotels with the best rate we can verify.
