the first-timer route
10 days, 4 cities, all by bullet train
realistic itineraries, not fantasies.
- the classic loop: beijing (3) → xi'an (2) → chengdu or chongqing (2) → shanghai (3). trains between all of it except one hop.
- fly the chengdu/chongqing → shanghai leg. it's 7+ hours by train and flights are often cheap.
- book the forbidden city and terracotta warriors exactly 7 days out — they sell out.
- train tickets open 15 days before departure on 12306 (14 on trip.com). set a reminder.
- avoid golden week (oct 1–7) and spring festival unless you love crowds of biblical scale.
okay so you’ve got ten days and zero idea where to start. this is the route basically every first-timer should do, because it hits the big four flavors of china: imperial beijing, ancient xi’an, spicy sichuan chaos, and futuristic shanghai. and you can do nearly all of it on bullet trains, which are honestly a highlight on their own.
before anything: check if you even need a visa. a lot of passports get in visa-free now, and the transit rules are generous. read the visa-free guide first, then come back.
the 10-day china itinerary at a glance
| day | where | the main thing | getting there |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–3 | beijing | forbidden city, great wall, hutongs | fly in |
| 4–5 | xi’an | terracotta warriors, muslim quarter, city wall bike ride | g train, ~4.5–6 hrs |
| 6–7 | chengdu or chongqing | pandas + hotpot / neon cyberpunk hillsides | g train, ~3–4 hrs |
| 8–10 | shanghai | the bund, french concession, day trip to a water town | fly, ~2.5–3 hrs |
rough second-class fares as of late 2026: beijing → xi’an around $70–80, xi’an → chengdu around $40–45. prices move with demand now, so treat these as ballpark and check the live fare.
days 1–3: beijing
day 1 — the imperial core. land, sort your esim and payments (see below — and here’s what the first 48 hours in china actually feel like), then tiananmen square and the forbidden city. the forbidden city is closed on mondays (except public holidays), and tickets drop at 8pm beijing time exactly 7 days ahead. you book with your passport number and bring that same passport. popular days go in minutes.
after: walk up to jingshan park for the view back over the golden roofs. sunset here is unreal. dinner is peking duck, obviously.
day 2 — the great wall. mutianyu is the move for first-timers: restored, gorgeous, not insane, and there’s a toboggan down. leave early. full breakdown of every section in our great wall guide.
day 3 — hutongs + temple of heaven. temple of heaven in the morning (go early, watch the locals do tai chi and play hacky sack), then get lost in the hutongs around nanluoguxiang and the drum and bell towers. evening: houhai lake bars. more in the beijing guide.
days 4–5: xi’an
grab a morning g train from beijing west. it’s around 4.5 hours on the fastest services, longer on the ones with more stops. you tap your passport at the gate, no paper ticket. the whole system is explained in the china train guide. (or go overnight and save a hotel night — the beijing to xi’an sleeper train is a whole experience.)
day 4 — city vibes. check in, then rent a bike on top of the ming city wall (14km loop, about 2–3 hrs at a chill pace). at night, the muslim quarter: roujiamo, biangbiang noodles, yangrou paomo. it’s busy and touristy, and it’s still fun.
day 5 — terracotta warriors. about an hour out of town. tickets are around $18 in peak season, real-name, and they open 7 days ahead too. a guide genuinely changes this one, because without context it’s “a lot of clay guys” and with context it’s “wait, every face is different??” more in the xi’an guide.
days 6–7: chengdu or chongqing (pick one)
this is the fork in the road. both are sichuan-adjacent, both are spicy, but they hit different. our chengdu vs chongqing comparison goes deep if you’re stuck.
- chengdu = pandas, teahouses, slow living, the best food city in china (fight me). go here if you want chill. chengdu guide.
- chongqing = an 8d city built on mountains. the light rail goes through a building. hongyadong at night looks like spirited away. go here if you want main-character footage. chongqing guide.
xi’an → chengdu is roughly 3–4 hours by g train. xi’an → chongqing is similar-ish, a bit over 5 on some services.
if chengdu: panda base at opening (they’re sleepy by 11, trust), then people’s park teahouse and ear cleaning. night: hotpot, then jiuyanqiao bars.
if chongqing: liziba station (the train-through-a-building one), hongyadong at dusk, the yangtze river cableway, ciqikou old town. eat the hotpot. cry a little.
days 8–10: shanghai
fly this leg. chengdu or chongqing to shanghai is 7+ hours even on the fastest train, and domestic flights are often under $120 if you book a bit ahead. hongqiao airport is closer to downtown than pudong, so pick that if the price is close.
day 8 — the classics. the bund at sunset, then a huangpu river cruise or just the nanjing road walk. pudong skyline lights up around dusk and it’s the most shanghai thing ever.
day 9 — the cute part. former french concession: plane trees, wukang road, cafés, vintage shops. yu garden in the morning before the crowds. xiaolongbao for lunch, every lunch.
day 10 — water town or chill. zhujiajiao is the easy metro-accessible water town (line 17). or just do more eating. fly out of pudong. more in the shanghai guide.
the 7-day version (beijing → xi’an → shanghai)
if you only have a week, drop the sichuan leg. it hurts, but it’s doable.
| day | where |
|---|---|
| 1–3 | beijing (forbidden city, great wall, hutongs) |
| 4–5 | xi’an (warriors, city wall, muslim quarter) |
| 6–7 | shanghai (bund, french concession) |
xi’an → shanghai is around 6 hours by train or about 2.5 hours flying. on a 7-day trip, fly it. you can’t spare a day on the train.
the 14-day version (add guilin + yangshuo)
two weeks is the sweet spot. you get to breathe.
| day | where |
|---|---|
| 1–4 | beijing (add the summer palace + a second great wall section) |
| 5–6 | xi’an |
| 7–8 | chengdu |
| 9 | chongqing |
| 10–11 | guilin + yangshuo (li river, karst mountains, bamboo rafting) |
| 12–14 | shanghai (+ a hangzhou or suzhou day trip) |
chongqing → guilin is a long-ish train or a short flight. guilin → shanghai, fly. yangshuo is the “oh wow” scenery moment of the whole trip, the landscape on the back of the ¥20 note. see the guilin + yangshuo guide.
hangzhou (west lake) is under an hour from shanghai by train. suzhou (classical gardens) is about 30 minutes. both are easy day trips.
logistics that will make or break this trip
internet. google, instagram, whatsapp — blocked on local networks. a roaming esim fixes it instantly. install before you fly. full rundown in internet in china.
payments. china is basically cashless. set up alipay and/or wechat pay with your foreign card before you go. it works now, mostly smoothly. how to set up alipay + wechat pay.
apps. amap or apple maps (google maps is not reliable here), didi for taxis, trip.com for trains. the full list is in china travel apps.
booking windows to know:
- trains: open 15 days ahead on 12306, about 14 on trip.com
- forbidden city: 7 days ahead, 8pm beijing time
- terracotta warriors: 7 days ahead
- panda base: book a day or more ahead, especially weekends
when to go. april–may and september–october are peak-perfect, but avoid october 1–7 (golden week) and spring festival. all the details in best time to visit china.
money. this route runs roughly $30–400+/day depending on how bougie you go. we broke it down in the china travel budget guide.
the vibe check
beijing → xi’an → chengdu/chongqing → shanghai is the classic for a reason. it flows north to west to east, the trains do the heavy lifting, and you get four completely different chinas in ten days. book the timed stuff 7 days out, fly the one long leg, and leave room to just wander. the unplanned noodle shop is always the best part.
the kit for this trip
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