13-Day China Highlights: Beijing, Xi’an, Chongqing, Yangtze Cruise & Shanghai

Arrive at Beijing airport or railway station and continue by private transfer to your hotel in the city. After check-in, settle in before the late-afternoon sightseeing begins.

Visit Jingshan Park in the late afternoon. A short climb leads to the hilltop viewpoint directly north of the Forbidden City, where Beijing’s central axis, palace roofs, and modern skyline unfold in one broad panorama. Stay for the changing evening light before returning to your hotel.

Begin at the Meridian Gate and follow the ceremonial axis through the Forbidden City's Outer Court. Explore the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Hall of Central Harmony, and Hall of Preserving Harmony, then continue into the Inner Court and Imperial Garden while your guide explains court ritual, architecture, and daily life inside the palace.

After lunch, walk through Beihai Park to Qionghua Island, the White Dagoba, and the Nine-Dragon Screen. Continue into the lanes around Shichahai and Houhai, where courtyard homes, small workshops, and the lakeside show a quieter neighbourhood side of central Beijing before a roast-duck dinner.

Leave Beijing early for Mutianyu and ride the cable car to the Great Wall. Walk between stone watchtowers and broad viewpoints across the mountain ridges, then descend and return to the city after lunch. The route keeps enough time on the wall for a genuine walk instead of a brief photo stop.

In the afternoon, explore the Temple of Heaven from the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests to the Echo Wall and Circular Mound Altar. End the day around Nanluoguxiang, where restored hutong lanes, snack shops, small restaurants, and neighbourhood courtyards provide a relaxed final evening in Beijing.

Leave Beijing and travel to Xi’an by high-speed train. On arrival, meet your private transfer and continue to a centrally located hotel. Take time to settle in before beginning a relaxed first exploration of the old-city centre.

Walk around Bell and Drum Tower Square as the monuments become illuminated, then continue toward the Muslim Quarter. The lanes here are known for busy food stalls, local pastries, noodles, grilled dishes, and small shops. This is free-exploration time, so you can browse and taste what interests you instead of following a fixed dining schedule.

Travel east of Xi’an to the Qin Shi Huang Imperial Tomb Museum. Explore the principal archaeological displays and see ranks of life-size warriors, horses, and chariots created for China’s first emperor. Learn how the figures differ in rank and expression, how the pits were discovered, and why excavation and conservation continue decades after the first finds.

After the museum visit, take part in a clay-warrior workshop. Shape a small figure by hand and keep the finished piece as a personal reminder of the day.

Continue to Huaqing Palace at the foot of Mount Li. Walk through landscaped courtyards and historic bathing-pool areas while hearing stories associated with the Tang court and the palace’s long imperial history. The quieter garden setting provides a contrast to the scale of the morning’s archaeological site before you return to Xi’an.

Start on Xi’an’s Ming-era city wall, one of the best places to understand the rectangular plan of the old capital. Walk a substantial section of the ramparts, pausing at gates and watchtowers for views over both the historic centre and the modern city. Pause for a simple tea break near the wall and watch the daily rhythm of the surrounding neighbourhood.

Continue to Yongxingfang, where regional food stalls and cultural displays introduce flavours from across Shaanxi. Sample local specialities during the visit, then watch a short shadow-puppetry presentation in the cultural area.

In the afternoon, visit Xi’an Museum for a broader view of the city’s development and the dynasties that made it an imperial capital. Then continue toward Daci’en Temple and the Big Wild Goose Pagoda area before nightfall. As the evening lights come on, walk through Great Tang Everbright City, a broad pedestrian district where illuminated architecture, public performances, and Tang-inspired displays create a lively finish to the day.

Travel from Xi'an to Chongqing and meet the private transfer on arrival. After hotel check-in, begin around Jiefangbei, the commercial heart of the city, then walk through Bayi Food Street for a first introduction to Chongqing noodles, hotpot, and other local flavours.

Continue after dark to Hongya Cave and the Qiansimen Bridge, where hillside buildings, river traffic, and illuminated bridges reveal Chongqing's vertical geography. Finish at Jiangbeizui Riverside Park for broad views across the Jialing River before returning to the hotel.

Begin at Chongqing Zoo with time in the giant-panda area, then continue to Eling Second Factory and Liziba Light Rail Station. The former printing works now hold studios and viewpoints, while Liziba shows the city's monorail passing directly through a residential building.

After lunch, walk part of the Mountain City Trail and Shibati to experience the steep lanes and layered neighbourhoods between Chongqing's upper and lower city. Continue to Chaotianmen Pier in the late afternoon, board the Yangtze cruise, attend the safety briefing, and watch the night skyline as the ship leaves Chongqing.

Begin with breakfast on board as the river landscape opens beyond Chongqing. Disembark for a guided visit to Fengdu Ghost City, where temples, gates, and sculpted figures express a distinctive mixture of Taoist, Buddhist, Confucian, and folk beliefs about judgement and the afterlife.

Return to the ship for lunch and an afternoon of river viewing and cultural activities. In the evening, attend the onboard programme scheduled for the sailing, then continue downstream toward the Three Gorges.

Sail through Qutang Gorge in the morning, watching the river narrow between high cliffs as onboard commentary introduces the geology, landmarks, and navigation history of the Three Gorges. Continue through Wu Gorge after lunch, where forested slopes and mist often frame the river.

In the afternoon, transfer to a smaller sightseeing boat for Shennv Stream. The tributary winds between steep green mountains and quiet settlements, with views toward hanging-coffin sites and side valleys before the boat returns to the main ship for dinner and the evening programme.

Disembark at Maoping Pier after breakfast and continue to the Three Gorges Dam. Visit the project viewpoints, museum displays, and flood-control memorial area to understand the scale of the locks, reservoir, navigation system, and hydroelectric project.

Finish at the Yichang visitor centre, collect the transferred luggage, and continue to the airport for the domestic flight to Shanghai. Meet the private transfer on arrival and settle into the hotel, keeping the evening light after the day's river, road, and air travel.

Begin at the Shanghai History Museum, where reconstructed shopfronts, vintage transport, photographs, and everyday objects trace the city’s change from a river settlement into an international metropolis.

Continue to Yu Garden, moving through rockeries, ponds, pavilions, and narrow passages designed to reveal a different composition at every turn. Outside the garden, explore the City God Temple area, where Taoist traditions sit alongside a lively market district. Browse traditional crafts and pause to taste Nanxiang soup dumplings and pear-syrup sweets.

After lunch, move into the former French Concession for a walking exploration of Wukang Road and Anfu Road. Look for Art Deco and Neoclassical details, shaded villa streets, and former residences associated with figures from modern Chinese history. Small galleries, bookshops, and cafés make it easy to pause and experience the neighbourhood rather than simply drive through it.

Return to the Bund in daylight to examine the waterfront’s mixture of Classical, Renaissance, Gothic, Baroque, and other European-influenced façades. From the promenade, compare the historic west bank with the contemporary Pudong skyline opposite.

Board a public ferry across the Huangpu River and continue to the Pudong Art Museum. Exhibitions change through the year, so the visit focuses on the current programme and the museum’s riverside architecture. Finish with a walk along Binjiang Road, where the Bund can be seen from the eastern bank as boats move along the river and the city lights begin to appear.

Keep the final morning unhurried for breakfast, packing, and hotel check-out before the departure transfer. No additional sightseeing stop is scheduled, so the timing can remain safely aligned with the confirmed onward service.

At the agreed time, meet the private transfer at the hotel and continue to the airport or railway station. The pickup time is planned around the confirmed flight or train, leaving sufficient time for check-in and departure formalities.