Beijing, Xi’an, Guilin & Shanghai: The 11-Day Grand Tour

Arrive at Peking International (PEK) or Daxing (PKX) and transfer into the centre. Keep the afternoon light: Tiananmen Square, the Meridian Gate, and the view down onto the Forbidden City roofline from Jingshan Hill. Five minutes of climbing for the single best orientation you will get.

Morning

Airport arrival and transfer

Afternoon

Tiananmen Square and Jingshan Hill

Evening

Peking duck dinner

Meals

Dinner included

Night 1 Rosewood Beijing

Note. Buy the Forbidden City ticket now — it sells out days ahead and the slot system is strict.

Enter through the Meridian Gate as it opens and walk north against the flow, so the ceremonial halls are nearly empty for the first ninety minutes. Exit through the Imperial Garden and continue to the Shikumen lanes and the Drum Tower with a private guide.

Morning

The Forbidden City, north to south

Afternoon

Imperial Garden and the hutongs

Evening

Courtyard dinner

Meals

Breakfast included

Night 2 Rosewood Beijing

Note. Arrive fifteen minutes before your timed slot. Going north-to-south against the flow is the whole trick.

Drive east to Jinshanling, about 70 minutes out. Cable car up, walk the towers westward for two to three hours, and the toboggan down. Back in the city for the Temple of Heaven at dusk, when the locals practice tai chi under the cypress trees.

Morning

Jinshanling, cable car and the wall

Afternoon

Return to the city

Evening

Temple of Heaven at dusk

Meals

Breakfast included

Night 3 Rosewood Beijing

Note. A private car with a fixed return time is far more reliable than public transport for a full day here.

Morning bullet train from Beijing West to Xi’an North, four and a half hours. Check in near the Bell Tower and walk or cycle the Ming city wall — 14 kilometres of rampart, and the best single view of Xi’an. The Muslim Quarter street food in the evening.

Morning

High-speed rail to Xi’an, check in

Afternoon

The Ming city wall

Evening

Muslim Quarter

Meals

Breakfast included

Night 4 Sofitel Beijing Central

Note. Biking the wall beats walking it — the whole circuit takes about ninety minutes that way.

The Terracotta Army is 40 kilometres east of Xi’an and needs half a day. Go at opening, and take a guide with an archaeology background. Pit 1 for the scale, Pit 3 for the preservation, and the Bronze Chariots in Pit 2, which most visitors walk straight past.

Morning

The Terracotta Army, Pits 1 and 3

Afternoon

Bronze Chariot Hall and the museum

Evening

Free evening, Tang West Market

Meals

Breakfast included

Night 5 Sofitel Beijing Central

Note. Book the official museum ticket online — it includes the shuttle bus from the city.

A short flight from Xi’an to Guilin, then an hour by car to Yangshuo — the karst basin where the peaks close in around the town. Check in and walk the West Street and the evening market, then dinner on the Li River.

Morning

Flight to Guilin, transfer to Yangshuo

Afternoon

Check in, West Street

Evening

Li River dinner

Meals

Dinner included

Night 6 Yangshuo Camphor Villa

Note. Yangshuo is a town, not a city. Walk it rather than trying to drive it.

At the Yulong Bamboo Sea entrance at opening — the walk is 1.5 kilometres into the grove and four back out through the valley, with the peaks closing in as you go. Back to Yangshuo for lunch, rest through the hottest part of the afternoon, and walk the old town at night when the lanterns are lit.

Morning

Yulong Bamboo Sea at opening

Afternoon

Return to Yangshuo, rest

Evening

Yangshuo old town and the river banks

Meals

Breakfast included

Night 7 Yangshuo Camphor Villa

Note. The bamboo sea is a completely different experience at 8am than at noon. Go early.

A private bamboo raft from a quiet upstream mooring down to the Xingping bend — the stretch of river that appears on the back of a Chinese banknote. No engine, no noise, and the bends open up one after another. Lunch in Xingping, then Silver Cave in the afternoon.

Morning

Private bamboo raft to Xingping

Afternoon

Silver Cave

Evening

Farewell dinner in Yangshuo

Meals

Breakfast included · Lunch included · Dinner included

Night 8 The Sugar Loaf

Note. The standard group raft uses a motorised bamboo and pulls in to the bank for the photo stop. A private raft keeps you on the water the whole way.

Morning train from Guilin North to Shanghai Hongqiao, about five hours. Check in and go straight out. The Bund is best in the evening — the colonial buildings lit against the Pudong skyline, with the Huangpu in between. Walk west along the promenade afterwards.

Morning

High-speed rail to Shanghai

Afternoon

Check in, the French Concession

Evening

The Bund promenade at dusk

Meals

Breakfast included · Dinner included

Night 9 Aman Yangyun

Note. The maglev from Pudong to Longyang Road takes eight minutes and is worth it if you arrive with energy.

Yu Garden and the bazaar in the morning, then the Shikumen lanes and the old city wall. The afternoon goes to the French Concession — plane trees, villas, cafés — and a museum if the weather turns. Finish with a dinner on a rooftop above the Bund.

Morning

Yu Garden and the old city

Afternoon

French Concession and a museum

Evening

Rooftop dinner above the Bund

Meals

Breakfast included · Dinner included

Night 10 Aman Yangyun

Note. A private guide for the old city and the lanes for three hours is the best-value hour of the trip.

A last morning by the river, then transfer to Pudong or Hongqiao for the flight. With an extra night, spend it in one of the Jiangnan water towns — Zhouzhuang, Wuzhen or Tongli are all on the rail line, and overnight is when they are at their best.

Morning

Free morning by the river

Afternoon

Transfer to the airport

Evening

Departure

Meals

Breakfast included

Note. If your flight is from Hongqiao, allow an extra hour from the old city.