Ultimate 21-Day China Tour — From Beijing's Forbidden City to Shanghai's Skyline

Your private guide meets you at Beijing Capital Airport with a warm welcome, holding a sign with your name. Step into your comfortable, smoke-free vehicle while your driver handles luggage and navigates city traffic with ease. At Tiananmen Square, your guide walks you through the vast expanse where modern China was born, pointing out the Great Hall of the People and the Monument. Inside the Forbidden City, golden roofs and marble courtyards unfold across six centuries as your guide reveals stories of emperors and eunuchs behind each gate. Settle into Peking duck at a local restaurant, the crispy skin melting on your tongue, before your driver whisks you to the hotel to rest.

Optional Excursions

Peking Duck Experience (Reservation Assistance)

Enjoy a traditional Peking Duck meal at a renowned Beijing restaurant. Your guide can assist with recommendations and reservations, while the meal cost is paid directly by you. Experience this iconic dish and Beijing’s rich culinary heritage.

+$0.00

Advisor quoted

After breakfast, your driver navigates the mountain road to Mutianyu Great Wall. Your guide helps you choose between cable car or foot climb, then you ascend through watchtowers, each framing a different panorama of stone walls snaking across ridges. At the Ming Tombs, sacred cypress groves and spirit paths lead through ancestral halls where incense smoke carries centuries of prayer. Your guide explains the feng shui principles behind each tomb's positioning. As dusk falls, the Olympic Green skyline glows with the Bird's Nest and Water Cube, a striking contrast to the morning's ancient grandeur, before your driver returns you to the hotel.

At dawn, your guide joins you at the Temple of Heaven, where elderly locals practice tai chi beneath the triple-gabled hall. Your guide explains how the emperor, son of heaven, knelt here to pray for harvests. The echo wall still carries whispers across its curve. Then you slip into a rickshaw for the hutongs, narrow alleys where laundry hangs overhead and courtyard doors open onto glimpses of daily life. A local family invites you for tea. After lunch, board the bullet train to Xi'an, watching the North China Plain scroll past at 300 km/h while your guide shares stories of the cities ahead.

Optional Excursions

Hutong Home Visiting Experience

Discover the charm of Beijing’s Hutongs through a local home visit. Stroll through historic alleys, meet local residents, and gain insight into traditional lifestyles, daily routines, and cultural heritage for an authentic Beijing experience.

+$5.00

Advisor quoted

Hutong Rickshaw Ride

Take a traditional rickshaw ride through Beijing’s hutongs. Relax as you travel along narrow alleys, admire courtyard homes, and experience the history, culture, and authentic charm of old Beijing’s traditional neighborhoods.

+$15.00

Advisor quoted

In Xi'an, your guide drives you to the Terracotta Warriors. Standing before the vast hangar-like pit, thousands of soldiers, horses, and chariots frozen in formation, you feel the weight of over two millennia. Your guide points out the original paint traces and explains how farmers stumbled upon this army in 1974. Each face is unique. In the afternoon, you try shaping clay yourself and practice brushstrokes with a calligraphy master, copying characters that have endured for centuries. That evening, your guide navigates the Muslim Quarter's sizzling street food stalls, helping you taste cumin lamb, biangbiang noodles, and persimmon cakes.

Your guide leads you onto the Ancient City Wall, one of China's best-preserved. You cycle the full 14-kilometer circuit, wind in your hair, old Xi'an stretching one way and modern towers another. Your guide explains the defensive system of moats and watchtowers from the ramparts. Descending, you wander the Muslim Quarter, ducking into mosques where imams chant and sampling lamb paomo, the local bread-soaked mutton stew. At the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, built in 652 AD to house Buddhist sutras, you watch the evening fountain show dance in colored light while your guide recounts the monk Xuanzang's epic journey from India.

Optional Excursions

Xi'an City Wall Bike Ride

If you find yourself with some extra time, a bike ride along the Ancient City Wall is an exhilarating way to enhance your Xi'an experience. This activity allows you to pedal around one of the best-preserved city walls in China, offering a unique and active exploration of its expansive ramparts.

+$7.00

Advisor quoted

Dumpling Feast & Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show

Enjoy a traditional dumpling feast featuring a variety of handmade dumplings while watching a captivating Tang Dynasty music and dance performance. Experience Xi’an’s culinary heritage and the elegance of ancient Tang culture through delicious flavors, graceful dances, and traditional melodies.

+$76.00

Advisor quoted

Local Family Visit and Dumpling Making Experience

For an authentic taste of Xi'an’s culinary traditions, visit a local family and learn the art of making dumplings from scratch. From kneading the dough to preparing the perfect filling and wrapping each dumpling, you’ll be guided through every step of the process.

+$24.00

Advisor quoted

Your guide leads you through the Shaanxi History Museum, where over 3,000 artifacts span the Zhou, Qin, Han, and Tang dynasties. Each display case holds relics that shaped Chinese civilization, and your guide brings each era alive with stories of conquest and culture. After lunch, stand beneath the Bell Tower and Drum Tower at the city's ancient center. Your guide climbs with you to hear the drums and bells that once regulated time across Xi'an. Free time follows to explore the surrounding streets for souvenirs or tea. That evening, your guide gathers everyone for the famous Xi'an dumpling banquet, each shape and filling telling its own story.

Your guide escorts you to Xi'an North Station for the bullet train to Chengdu. Watch the landscape shift from Shaanxi's loess plateaus through the Qinling Mountains' tunnels and bridges into Sichuan's lush red basin. Your guide narrates the geography and history of each region you cross, pointing out terraced hillsides and river towns. Arriving in Chengdu, your driver meets you at the station with a comfortable vehicle. Your guide checks you into the hotel and recommends a nearby spot for dinner, suggesting the mild dumplings of Sichuan cuisine to ease your palate into the spicy days ahead.

At the Panda Base, you arrive early when the bears are most active. Watch them tumble, climb, and strip bamboo while your guide explains conservation efforts and each panda's personality. Afterward, your driver takes you to People's Park, where locals gather for matchmaking corners and ear-cleaning. Your guide leads you into a traditional tea house, pouring jasmine tea from covered bowls while mahjong tiles click around you. That evening, your guide walks you through the Wide and Narrow Alleys, Qing Dynasty lanes now buzzing with restaurants. You try mapo tofu and dan dan noodles, the Sichuan peppercorn numbing your tongue in ways you never imagined.

Optional Excursions

Sichuan Opera Face Changing Experience at Shufeng Yayun

Experience one of Chengdu’s most iconic cultural performances at Shufeng Yayun Sichuan Opera Theater. Enjoy the famous Sichuan face-changing performance, traditional opera, folk music, and other local artistic shows while experiencing Chengdu’s classic tea house culture. Different seating options are available with different prices. The listed price is based on the standard seat; premium or VIP seating upgrades can be arranged upon request with an additional cost.

+$26.00

Advisor quoted

Chengdu Hot Pot Restaurant Reservation Service

Enjoy an authentic Chengdu hot pot experience without worrying about long waiting times. Your guide will help recommend suitable local hot pot restaurants and arrange advance reservations based on your preferred spice level, dining style, and group size. Perfect for first-time visitors who want to experience Chengdu’s famous hot pot culture.

+$0.00

Advisor quoted

Your guide walks you to Chengdu's train station for the bullet train to Chongqing. The landscape shifts from Sichuan's flat basin to steep gorges as your guide shares stories of the Three Gorges ahead. Arriving in Chongqing, your driver escorts you to the cruise ship dock. Your guide helps with check-in and shows you to your cabin, your floating hotel for three days. That evening, the captain welcomes everyone at dinner. As the ship pulls away, Chongqing's skyline of towers and bridges glows against the night sky. Your guide points out landmarks from the sun deck before you settle into the rhythm of river life.

The ship docks at Fengdu Ghost City. Your guide leads you up steep stone steps past temples filled with demonic statues and murals depicting the afterlife in Chinese mythology, explaining each figure and its meaning. The air smells of incense and centuries of belief. Back on board, the ship glides through widening gorges. At Shibaozhai, a twelve-story wooden pagoda clings to the cliff without a single nail. Your guide explains how it was built during the Qing Dynasty and later raised above the rising waters. At the captain's dinner, you toast with fellow passengers as the ship cuts through quiet gorges under the stars.

Today the ship enters the heart of the Three Gorges. Standing on deck, you watch Qutang Gorge narrow to just 100 meters wide with thousand-meter cliffs on both sides. Your guide points out hanging coffins wedged into cliff crevices, left by the ancient Ba people. After lunch, transfer to a smaller boat for Shennong Stream, emerald water winding through a narrow gorge where monkeys call from the mountainside. Tribal boatmen sing traditional songs echoing off the walls. Continuing into Wu Gorge, twelve peaks rise like screens against the sky. Your guide identifies Goddess Peak, its pillar of stone catching the last light as evening falls over the gorge.

The ship docks at Yichang. Your guide leads you off for the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydroelectric project. Standing on the observation deck, your guide explains the engineering that lifts ships 120 meters through five lock stages. After a farewell lunch with the crew, your driver transfers you to the airport for the flight to Guilin. Arriving in the evening, your new guide and driver meet you at the gate. The drive to the hotel passes through streets lined with banyan trees and the faint scent of osmanthus flowers. You settle in, resting for the karst landscapes ahead.

Your guide takes you to Elephant Trunk Hill at dawn, where morning mist makes the hill's trunk appear to sip from the Li River. Inside Reed Flute Cave, thousands of stalactites and stalagmites glow in shifting colors. Your guide points out formations named Dragon Pagoda and Flower Fruit Mountain. After lunch, your driver navigates the mountain road to Longsheng. Terraced rice paddies climb every slope. Arriving at the village, your guide introduces you to the Long-hair Yao women, their hair flowing past their knees. They share a traditional meal and dance, their silver jewelry catching firelight as the evening deepens.

Boarding a bamboo raft at dawn, you drift down the Li River while karst peaks rise on every side like a landscape painting come to life. Your guide points out Water-Splashing Hill and the Fishing Village while cormorant fishermen pole their boats past. The water runs so clear you can count pebbles on the riverbed. At West Street, the mood shifts entirely. Bars, restaurants, and craft shops crowd the narrow lanes. Your guide helps you navigate the crowd to find the best beer fish, Yangshuo's signature dish cooked with local tomatoes and green peppers. Evening settles over the karst skyline in shades of amber and violet.

Optional Excursions

Impression Liu Sanjie (B1 Zone Premium VIP Seat)

Discover the magic of Impression Liu Sanjie, where the Li River, karst mountains, folk culture, and live performance merge beneath the night sky. As the river reflects the lights and performers move across the water, the entire landscape becomes part of the stage. Choosing B1 means stepping up to an individual black rattan chair and a higher position, giving you a broader, more comfortable view.

+$65.00

Advisor quoted

5-Star Li River Cruise Upgrade Experience

Upgrade from a 4-star to a 5-star Li River cruise for a more premium journey. Enjoy a more spacious cabin, upgraded seating, better viewing areas, and a refined onboard atmosphere, offering greater comfort while taking in Guilin’s iconic karst scenery.

+$80.00

Advisor quoted

Before dawn, your guide leads you to a misty field for tai chi with a local master. Each movement feels slow and deliberate as the sun lifts over the karst skyline. After breakfast, visit a tea plantation where you learn to pick the tenderest leaves and taste the fresh brew. Then your guide hands you a bicycle and leads you through the countryside on narrow paths between rice paddies, stopping at a village where farmers work the fields and children splash in irrigation channels. At Moon Hill, you hike to a natural arch framing the moon-shaped view. Your guide prepares a village-home lunch of dishes grown right there in the fields.

Your guide escorts you to the morning flight to Shanghai, watching karst peaks shrink below the clouds. At Yao Mountain, the cable car ride offered a final panoramic view of Guilin's landscape. Arriving in Shanghai, your driver meets you at the airport. Your guide checks you into a hotel near the Bund. That evening, you walk the waterfront promenade. Colonial buildings line one side while Pudong's futuristic skyline glows across the river. Your guide points out the Custom House clock tower and the old HSBC building, sharing stories of Shanghai's rise from fishing village to global financial hub.

Your guide leads you into Yu Garden as morning light filters through lattice windows. Each moon gate and koi pond was designed by Ming Dynasty scholars for contemplation. You cross the Nine-Turn Bridge, its zigzags meant to ward off evil spirits. After lunch on Nanjing Road, your guide navigates the crowds and neon signs, pointing out century-old shops. At dusk, board a Huangpu River cruise. The Bund's golden domes fade behind you as Pudong's towers light up around you. Your guide identifies each landmark, from the Oriental Pearl Tower to the Shanghai Tower, while the river carries you through three centuries of the city's ambition.

Optional Excursions

World’s Largest Starbucks Reserve Roastery Experience

Visit the world’s largest Starbucks Reserve Roastery located on West Nanjing Road, Shanghai – bigger than the original Seattle flagship. This one-of-a-kind venue functions like an exclusive coffee museum, showcasing the full coffee roasting process, rare global coffee beans and exclusive limited-edition merchandise. Your experience includes one signature in-store coffee drink to enjoy while exploring this iconic landmark before wrapping up your Shanghai trip.

+$15.00

Advisor quoted

Themed Huangpu River Night Cruise with Buffet Dinner

Upgrade to a premium themed Huangpu River night cruise. Glide along the Huangpu River and enjoy sweeping views of the illuminated Bund “Exhibition of World Architecture” and Lujiazui neon skyline. While admiring the stunning riverside nightscape, indulge in a rich Chinese and Western buffet dinner onboard.

+$54.00

Advisor quoted

Your guide takes you to a silk mill, where you watch weavers work and feel the fabric between your fingers. Then walk through the French Concession's plane-tree-lined streets, where colonial villas now house cafes and galleries. Your guide pauses at a cafe to share stories of 1930s Shanghai, the era of jazz and intrigue. After lunch, your driver takes you to the acrobatic theater. Performers defy gravity with impossible contortions and chair-balancing acts, the audience gasping at each turn. Back at the hotel, your guide recommends a late-night stroll along nearby streets for a taste of Shanghai's modern nightlife.

Your driver takes the highway to Suzhou for a day trip. Your guide leads you into the Humble Administrator's Garden, a UNESCO masterpiece where pavilions, lotus ponds, and moon gates frame perfect views at every turn. Each rock was placed to evoke mountains, each pond to suggest oceans. At a silk factory, watch weavers at their looms and feel the fabric slide through your hands. After lunch, your guide takes you on a canal ride through the city's waterways, wooden boats gliding past whitewashed houses and stone bridges. Your guide explains how Suzhou earned its name as the Venice of the East.

A free morning to sleep in, wander nearby streets, or shop for tea and silk. Your guide reunites you for a farewell dinner at a local restaurant, where the table fills with Shanghai's signature dishes. Over soup dumplings and river fish, your guide toasts to three weeks of journey across China's greatest cities and landscapes. You share stories and laughter, the clinking of glasses marking the end of an adventure that stretched from the Great Wall to the Li River, from ancient capitals to modern skylines. Your guide helps you plan the next morning's departure with care and warmth.

Enjoy a leisurely morning at the hotel. Your guide accompanies you to check-out and helps with any last-minute shopping. The driver takes you to Pudong International Airport, chatting about the journey and sharing stories along the way. Your guide walks you through the departure terminal, answering questions and offering tips for the flight home. With a handshake and a warm farewell, you leave behind three weeks of memories, from the Great Wall's stone steps to the Li River's emerald waters, from terracotta soldiers to neon-lit skylines, carrying China's ancient and modern spirit with you.