Still in Use

Special Notes

A few things on this route follow the calendar, the season or a supplier's confirmation. Here they are, told straight.

• Bookings are not open yet — the remaining items have to be settled first. One,: whether this route sells to your party alone or Two, the October and December departure handling below. Until both are settled we take no orders and no deposits. Tell us your dates and we write to you the day it opens.
• Departure dates — no departures between October 1 and October 7, the national holiday week: Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai are all inside their no-go window that week and the Terracotta Warriors site runs at its heaviest load of the year. Dates are also set so that day two never falls on a Monday, when the Forbidden City closes; if your dates would put it there, days two and three swap and the Great Wall moves to day two.
• Timed reservations — the Forbidden City, the National Museum of China and Shanghai Museum all require a timed reservation, and the booking systems sit poorly with overseas mobile numbers. Whether our ground partner books these on your behalf, and how many days ahead, is not yet confirmed. Your quote states in writing who books each of the three and by when. The admission itself is in your price either way.
• November and December departures — two points on this route turn on the weather. The winter operating rules for the Mutianyu ascent transport are not yet on file with us, and the Xi'an wall-top cycling section is the longest unsheltered outdoor stretch here. For departures in those two months, your quote states the arrangement for both in writing before you pay.
• In-park shuttles — named one by one so that none is read in by implication. Three site shuttles: the Terracotta Warriors, the panda base and Dujiangyan. Two more at Mount Qingcheng: the cableway and the lake boat. Whether each is operating in your month, and whether it sits inside your price, is stated in writing in your quote. The one ascent transport already inside your price on this route is the Mutianyu cable car or chairlift.
• The two personal encounters — The backstage visit and face-changing in Chengdu, and the conversation with a resident Taoist plus the tai chi introduction at Mount Qingcheng, are both included in your price. Neither has been re-confirmed with our ground partner for this selling season. Until it is, we promise you no named person, no fixed length and no fixed time slot for either.
• Rail and flight schedules — three rail segments and one flight. The 2026 fourth-quarter rail timetable and flight schedule for these four segments have not yet been checked against the operating season, so both sit on our standing assumption and are re-checked for your dates before your confirmation is issued.
• Shanghai Museum branch — The itinerary states Shanghai Museum. The specific branch visited on day eleven is being finalised, and your quotation specifies the branch in writing.
• Bicycle hire on the city wall — the wall-top cycling section and the bicycle for it are included in your price. The hire duration is counted in, and any charge beyond it, as stated in writing in your quote.
• Security screening at the square — everyone is screened to enter Tian'anmen Square. That queue takes half an hour to an hour and is budgeted separately, on top of your time on the square, so the rest of day four still lands on time.
• Visa window — the 30-day visa-free policy currently runs through December 31, 2026. Because this is a 12-day plan, departures on or before December 20, 2026 finish inside that window; later departure dates are quoted only after the official renewal is announced.
• US passports — the US is not on the 30-day visa-free list, and 12 days is longer than the 10-day visa-free transit policy allows, so every US guest on this route holds a Chinese tourist or business visa, including a ten-year multiple-entry one. The fee and the processing are the guest's own and processing time has to be allowed before departure. We confirm visa status before any payment. Guests who entered China on the 10-day transit policy cannot take this trip, and we say so rather than looking for a way around it.
• Confirmation and changes — the confirmation-time commitment and the change and refund terms are being finalised with our ground partners. Until they are settled, each quote states in writing its own confirmation deadline and its own change and refund conditions. Worth knowing why this one takes care: a date change here touches rail inventory, flight inventory and three museum reservations at once.