Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai by high-speed rail — imperial China, the Terracotta Army and the modern waterfront. The route almost every first visit takes, for good reason.
8–14 days
BalancedMid-rangeNormal walkingGood first trip
Guilin and Yangshuo's karst peaks and Zhangjiajie's sandstone pillars — the two landscapes people picture when they picture China, with far less queueing than the cities.
Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou — the gentlest route in China and the easiest to do independently. Classical gardens, a free lake and canal lanes, all within an hour by train.
5–10 days
RelaxedMid-rangeLittle walkingGood first trip
Xi'an to Dunhuang's Mogao Caves — the eastern end of the Silk Road and one of the great cave-art sites anywhere. Needs planning: Mogao's tickets are genuinely hard.
Beijing, Datong and Pingyao. Two hours from the capital and badly underrated: UNESCO cave temples, a temple built into a cliff, and a complete Ming walled city.
Beijing and Harbin in deep winter — the Forbidden City under snow with thin crowds, then the ice festival. Dress for −25°C and check the festival dates yourself.
6–10 days
BalancedMid-rangeNormal walkingGood first trip
One or two cities inside the 240-hour transit window, on the way somewhere else. The route most Americans miss, because it needs an onward flight to a third country.
3–10 days
PackedLower costNormal walkingGood first trip
Guangzhou and Shenzhen, half an hour apart by train — the oldest trading city in China and the newest city in the world, with the best eating in the country between them.
4–9 days
RelaxedMid-rangeLittle walkingGood first trip
Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Xiamen, entered overland from Hong Kong in fourteen minutes. The easiest first taste of the mainland there is, and the one most visitors never think of.
7–13 days
BalancedMid-rangeNormal walkingGood first trip
Shanghai, Nanjing and Qingdao by high-speed rail: the modern waterfront, six dynasties of capital, and a German colonial beer town. All within a few hours of each other.
8–14 days
BalancedMid-rangeNormal walkingGood first trip
Beijing out to Inner Mongolia for the steppe and the Kubuqi dunes. A short season and no railway to the good parts, which is exactly why so few foreign visitors go.
Xi'an, Turpan, Urumqi and Kashgar — the Silk Road to the end of it. The longest, hardest and least like the rest of China of anything on this site. Read the travel advisories on the Xinjiang page before you plan it.
These are 16 common shapes of trip, not a catalogue. Tell us what you actually want and we'll put something together — including telling you if what you want doesn't fit the time you have.
