One Pace, Three Generations

Overview

Three generations rarely walk at the same speed. This plan is built backwards from whoever walks slowest in your party. Everything else follows from that: every climb has a cable car, each of the three flights gets a whole day, and two more days carry nothing at all. Beijing gives the empire and a workbench. Chengdu gives pandas in the morning and an afternoon nobody has to organise. Four nights in the karst country slow the middle of the trip down. Shanghai sends you home from the water. Grandparents, parents and children see the same thing at the same hour, and that shared hour is what you'll still be talking about at home.

— LyrikTrip travel designers

Every LyrikTrip journey begins with a conversation. Tell us who is coming, including the oldest and the youngest, and your dates. First reply within four hours; a clear price for your dates within one business day. On this route, we will also tell you plainly where the connecting rooms and the Yangshuo days stand, before you are asked for anything.

Why you'll love this trip

The classics, gently. Pandas, the Forbidden City, karst hills and the Bund, with English-speaking guides city by city.
14 days from a Great Wall toboggan to a teahouse chair. Meet China at your family's pace.

Ride the cable car up to the Great Wall at Mutianyu and take the toboggan back down: the grandparents and the eight-year-old reach the same stretch of wall at the same time, and nobody has climbed a single step.
Fly home with a pair of hand-stitched cloth shoes made at the bench you were sitting at: the one thing in fourteen days you carry out of China yourself.
Stand at the panda base in the morning, during the hours when the pandas are actually active: for the youngest in your party, this is the day the whole trip was for.
Spend an afternoon in a People's Park teahouse with a gaiwan that gets refilled as long as you stay: nobody in the family has anywhere to be next.
Unpack once for three nights in Yangshuo, amid the karst hills: no bags, no early alarms, no airport in between.
End on the Bund after dark with your guide beside you: the old waterfront on one bank, the Pudong towers on the other, one city looking at itself across the water.
Give the three flying days to flying: no sights, no early check-out sprints, and two further days with nothing scheduled at all.

Things to do

Farmhouse lunch below the Great Wall, Beijing

Cloth-Shoe Workshop & Tea Ceremony, Beijing

Market Walk & Sichuan Cooking Class, Chengdu

Landmark

Heritage

Great Wall

Family

Meal

Craft

City

Nature

City

Culture

Food

Heritage

City

Landmark

Heritage

Great Wall

Family

Meal

Craft

City

Nature

City

Culture

Food

Heritage

City

Landmark

Heritage

Great Wall

Family

Meal

Craft

City

Nature

City

Culture

Food

Heritage

City

Itinerary

Arrivals

Beijing · Day 1 - Day 4

Day 1 · Land, and do nothing

Your driver meets your flight, whatever time it lands. The first day asks nothing of anyone.

Airport pickup Your driver and vehicle are waiting for the flight number on your confirmation, and the run into the city is yours to sleep through if the grandparents need it.

Beijing through the window Ring roads, then the poplars and the lit shopfronts of a city street; the country you flew to shows up before you have unpacked anything.

Evening Nothing is scheduled. Your guide is reachable, and dinner near the hotel is recommended and booked for you if you want it, on your account.

Day 2 · One axis through the palace

The square first, then the gate, then five centuries in one straight line. This is the day the children work out how old this place is.

Tiananmen Square You cross the ceremonial centre of modern China on foot towards the palace gate. Security screening comes first and it takes its own half hour to an hour, so it sits in the day's budget separately; your guide walks the party to the nearest screening entrance so the older members do not walk the long way around.

The Forbidden City Your timed slot is booked ahead by us, so you walk in on schedule. Inside, one axis: the ceremonial halls where the court did its business, the living quarters behind them, the imperial garden at the end, then out through the north gate. Stand in the middle of the main courtyard and look back through the gates you came in by: they line up, one inside another, all the way out.

Pace The palace is large and guests often find it tiring, so the route stops at the seats we know about and the garden at the end is unhurried.

Day 3 · The wall, without the climb

A cable car takes the party up and a sled brings it down. Everyone gets the same wall on the same morning.

Drive out to Mutianyu The run north out of the city takes a good part of the morning, which is why nothing else is on today; the vehicle stays with you all day.

Cable car up The climb is done for you. You step off onto a restored stretch of wall with watchtowers running away along the ridge in both directions, and your guide points out the pass below and why the towers stand where they stand. Look along the ridge with the towers stepping down it: that is the picture the family came for. Watching your mother stand on the Great Wall, you'll feel the trip has already paid for itself.

Farmhouse lunch Northern home cooking at a farmhouse near the foot of the wall, made with what grows nearby. Lunch is arranged today rather than left to chance, because the wall is an hour from anywhere.

Toboggan down A seated sled on a metal track through the trees, about twenty minutes, and the party arrives at the bottom together with everybody's knees intact.

Day 4 · A bench and a lane

Nothing today needs early legs. The one thing you carry out of China gets made this morning.

Cloth-shoe workshop An hour at a bench watching layered fabric soles being prepared and stitched by hand, with your own hands in it. What gets finished goes home in your bag.

Shichahai hutongs You walk courtyard lanes and lakeside streets, grey brick and doorway stones on both sides, old Beijing running its afternoon errands. Stand at the water for a minute while the light goes long across the lake and the neighbourhood comes out for its evening.

Rest day This is one of two days in the fourteen with nothing else on it. Both stops shorten if the children run out of afternoon.

Flight

Chengdu · Day 5 - Day 7

Day 5 · Beijing to Chengdu

A flight day, and only a flight day. Door to door this one runs close to six and a half hours.

Transfer and flight Hotel to airport, the flight, then airport to hotel. Your own driver runs both ends and your guide hands you over at the door. The flight number, time and cabin class for your order are written into your quote.

The country changing beneath the wing The dry north gives way to the Sichuan basin, green and hazy, before the wheels are down. Window seats are worth asking for.

Evening Check in and stop. Nothing is scheduled, and dinner near the hotel is recommended and booked for you if you want it, on your account.

Day 6 · Pandas, then nowhere to be

The morning belongs to the youngest of you. The afternoon belongs to no one.

Chengdu Panda Base You are there in the morning, the hours when the pandas are generally moving: eating, climbing down off things, dropping back to sleep in the fork of a tree. Flat shaded paths, benches, and about three hours to use as the family likes. Get the children to the enclosure fence early and let them wait: the animal comes to the fence on its own schedule.

Teahouse sitting in People's Park Bamboo chairs under the trees, and a gaiwan each: the lidded cup China brews in, refilled by someone with a long-spouted kettle as long as you stay. Cards at the next table, an ear cleaner working with a tuning fork two tables over. An hour in, you'll notice that nobody in the family has asked what happens next.

Day 7 · Backstage and a wok

A neighbourhood theatre in the afternoon, a market and a kitchen around it. Today the family does things instead of just looking at them.

Shop at the market with the cooking instructor You walk a local market with the person who is about to teach you, buying what the dishes need: chilies, whole spices, bean paste out of a vat, greens picked over by the stallholder.

Sichuan home cooking Then you cook and eat what you cooked. Children get their own jobs at the bench, and the heat on their portions is set to their taste rather than the adults'.

Sichuan opera, community theatre A neighbourhood house rather than a hotel ballroom. You go backstage before it starts, then watch face-changing from close enough to fail to catch it: the painted mask becomes another mask in the time it takes the performer to swing his head. Sit in the second row and watch the children's faces instead of the stage.

Flight

Guilin · Day 8

Day 8 · Chengdu to Guilin

The second flight day, cleared in the same way as the first. You spend one night in Guilin and move on in the morning.

Transfer and flight Hotel to airport, the flight, airport to hotel. The flight number, times and cabin class for your order are written into your quote, and the autumn and winter schedule on this leg is confirmed for your dates before anything is charged.

Arrival into Guilin The drive in from the airport runs between limestone hills that stand up on their own out of flat ground, one behind another. In the last of the light they read as shapes rather than mountains.

Evening Nothing is scheduled. One night here, bags mostly unopened.

Private vehicle

Yangshuo · Day 9 - Day 11

Day 9 · Into the karst country

A morning in Guilin, then ninety minutes of road to the river town where you'll stay for three nights. The pace slows down here on purpose.

Guilin morning The plan for this morning is in final product review with our local partners; it is named in your written itinerary before you book, and we do not sell it to you in advance. Your guide, vehicle and the morning itself are included either way.

Road to Yangshuo Ninety minutes by private vehicle in the afternoon, not the four-hour river boat: with children and grandparents in the party, the boat is too long a sit and it lands you at the same town. Watch the window on the right: the hills come in a wall, then a gap, then a wall again.

Day 10 · A full day in Yangshuo

One town, one hotel, three nights, no packing. Today is where the trip stops moving.

The day's plan The full-day plan for today is in final product review with our local partners, and is named in your written itinerary before you book. Nothing here is sold to you in advance, and nothing here is priced into your quote until it is named.

What is fixed today Your guide, the private vehicle and the hotel are yours for the whole day, and the day is built for a party that includes both a child and a grandparent.

The town You wake up with the hills standing around the town in every direction, close enough that the street ends in one. Walk out of the door before breakfast and look up the street: that is the fifteen seconds worth filming.

Day 11 · The second rest day

Nothing moves today either. The second Yangshuo day is planned the same way as the first.

The day's plan In final product review, named in your written itinerary before you book, sold to you only once it is named. In December the river activities here run into low water and cold, so a December departure has this day confirmed against your exact dates and written into your quote.

What is fixed today The second of the two rest days in fourteen. Guide, vehicle and hotel stay with you, and if the family wants to spend it doing nothing at all, that was the point of putting three nights here.

The river town The hills go blue in layers toward the end of the day, nearest to farthest, and the town gets quiet early. By the second evening here you'll notice you've stopped counting what is left of the trip.

Flight

Shanghai · Day 12 - Day 14

Day 12 · Yangshuo to Shanghai

The last flight day, and the last time the bags move before home.

Road back to Guilin airport The same ninety minutes in reverse, in your own vehicle, timed with room to spare rather than trimmed to the minute.

Flight to Shanghai Airport to hotel at the other end, with your Shanghai guide taking over at the door. Flight number, times and cabin class for your order are written into your quote.

Evening Nothing is scheduled. The city sits outside the window, and it keeps until tomorrow.

Day 13 · The garden, the ferry, the water

A classical garden in the morning, a commuter boat in the afternoon, the waterfront after dark. The last full day answers the first one.

Yu Garden and the old city Pavilions, rockeries, ponds and a path that never runs straight, set in the oldest part of the city. Flat all the way. Send the children ahead around the rockery and let them come back to you: the path is a loop and always brings them back.

Huangpu River ferry You cross the river on the boat people take to work, standing at the rail with commuters and their scooters, rather than on a sightseeing deck. A short ride, and the far bank arrives fast.

The Bund after dark The old bank buildings line one bank of the river, while the Pudong towers stand on the other, a hundred years apart and facing each other across the water. Your guide stays with you for the whole evening. Standing between the two skylines, you'll feel the fourteen days draw together into a single picture.

Day 14 · Home

Breakfast, then the airport. The plan ends the way it started, with a driver and no hurry.

Airport drop-off Your driver takes the family to the airport, timed to your flight with room to spare; if a late flight leaves the day open, tell us and we plan the gap around your check-out rather than around a schedule.

Departures

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Hotels

These are sample stays typically included in the itinerary. Final pricing depends on the hotel level selected.

Shanghai

Shanghai Royal Garden Hotel (Shanghai International Resort)

Shanghai Royal Garden Hotel: a luxury garden hotel near Pudong Airport and Disneyland, with free shuttle service to both.

Yangshuo

Yangshuo Mountain Retreat

A peaceful riverside retreat for travellers who want Yangshuo's karst scenery to feel close, quiet and unhurried.

Beijing

Beijing Marriott Hotel Northeast

International luxury hotel in Beijing, ideal for business trips and city breaks.

Shanghai

Pullman Shanghai Zhongganghui Hotel

Pullman Shanghai Zhongganghui Hotel, in Dapuqiao near Tianzifang, steps from Metro Line 9 and the Expo site.

Guilin

Sheraton Guilin Hotel

Sheraton Guilin Hotel is situated on the banks of the Li River, offering comfortable rooms and convenient access to Guilin's attractions.

Chengdu

Hilton Chengdu Chenghua

A practical Chengdu base for travellers who want easy city access, relaxed days out, and a comfortable return after sightseeing.

Yangshuo

Yangshuo Elite Garden

Located in central Yangshuo near West Street and the Li River, Yangshuo Elite Garden Hotel is a comfortable four-star hotel offering convenient access to the area’s main attractions.

Beijing

DoubleTree by Hilton Beijing East Third Ring Road

International upscale hotel in Beijing, suitable for business and leisure stays.

Shanghai

Atour S Hotel Shanghai Hongqiao Centre Aegean

Atour S Hotel in Hongqiao: steps from Aegean Place and Metro Line 10, six km from the National Exhibition and Convention Centre.

Guilin

China Southern Airlines Pearl Hotel Guilin

China Southern Airlines Pearl Hotel Guilin is situated near Guilin Railway Station, offering comfortable accommodation and convenient amenities for both business and leisure travellers.

Chengdu

The Temple House

Boutique luxury hotel set within a restored Qing-dynasty courtyard near Taikoo Li, boasting one of Chengdu's most striking design statements.

Shanghai

Shanghai Royal Garden Hotel (Shanghai International Resort)

Shanghai Royal Garden Hotel: a luxury garden hotel near Pudong Airport and Disneyland, with free shuttle service to both.

Yangshuo

Yangshuo Mountain Retreat

A peaceful riverside retreat for travellers who want Yangshuo's karst scenery to feel close, quiet and unhurried.

Beijing

Beijing Marriott Hotel Northeast

International luxury hotel in Beijing, ideal for business trips and city breaks.

Shanghai

Pullman Shanghai Zhongganghui Hotel

Pullman Shanghai Zhongganghui Hotel, in Dapuqiao near Tianzifang, steps from Metro Line 9 and the Expo site.

Guilin

Sheraton Guilin Hotel

Sheraton Guilin Hotel is situated on the banks of the Li River, offering comfortable rooms and convenient access to Guilin's attractions.

Chengdu

Hilton Chengdu Chenghua

A practical Chengdu base for travellers who want easy city access, relaxed days out, and a comfortable return after sightseeing.

Yangshuo

Yangshuo Elite Garden

Located in central Yangshuo near West Street and the Li River, Yangshuo Elite Garden Hotel is a comfortable four-star hotel offering convenient access to the area’s main attractions.

Beijing

DoubleTree by Hilton Beijing East Third Ring Road

International upscale hotel in Beijing, suitable for business and leisure stays.

Shanghai

Atour S Hotel Shanghai Hongqiao Centre Aegean

Atour S Hotel in Hongqiao: steps from Aegean Place and Metro Line 10, six km from the National Exhibition and Convention Centre.

Guilin

China Southern Airlines Pearl Hotel Guilin

China Southern Airlines Pearl Hotel Guilin is situated near Guilin Railway Station, offering comfortable accommodation and convenient amenities for both business and leisure travellers.

Chengdu

The Temple House

Boutique luxury hotel set within a restored Qing-dynasty courtyard near Taikoo Li, boasting one of Chengdu's most striking design statements.

Shanghai

Shanghai Royal Garden Hotel (Shanghai International Resort)

Shanghai Royal Garden Hotel: a luxury garden hotel near Pudong Airport and Disneyland, with free shuttle service to both.

Yangshuo

Yangshuo Mountain Retreat

A peaceful riverside retreat for travellers who want Yangshuo's karst scenery to feel close, quiet and unhurried.

Beijing

Beijing Marriott Hotel Northeast

International luxury hotel in Beijing, ideal for business trips and city breaks.

Shanghai

Pullman Shanghai Zhongganghui Hotel

Pullman Shanghai Zhongganghui Hotel, in Dapuqiao near Tianzifang, steps from Metro Line 9 and the Expo site.

Guilin

Sheraton Guilin Hotel

Sheraton Guilin Hotel is situated on the banks of the Li River, offering comfortable rooms and convenient access to Guilin's attractions.

Chengdu

Hilton Chengdu Chenghua

A practical Chengdu base for travellers who want easy city access, relaxed days out, and a comfortable return after sightseeing.

Yangshuo

Yangshuo Elite Garden

Located in central Yangshuo near West Street and the Li River, Yangshuo Elite Garden Hotel is a comfortable four-star hotel offering convenient access to the area’s main attractions.

Beijing

DoubleTree by Hilton Beijing East Third Ring Road

International upscale hotel in Beijing, suitable for business and leisure stays.

Shanghai

Atour S Hotel Shanghai Hongqiao Centre Aegean

Atour S Hotel in Hongqiao: steps from Aegean Place and Metro Line 10, six km from the National Exhibition and Convention Centre.

Guilin

China Southern Airlines Pearl Hotel Guilin

China Southern Airlines Pearl Hotel Guilin is situated near Guilin Railway Station, offering comfortable accommodation and convenient amenities for both business and leisure travellers.

Chengdu

The Temple House

Boutique luxury hotel set within a restored Qing-dynasty courtyard near Taikoo Li, boasting one of Chengdu's most striking design statements.

Included / Excluded

What's Included

Private vehicleAir-conditioned private vehicle for all listed touring at all five stops, including the full-day Great Wall round trip and the 90-minute road transfer from Guilin into Yangshuo; airport pickup on day one and drop-off on day fourteen; hotel and airport transfers for all three internal flights
Internal flightsThree domestic flights: Beijing to Chengdu, Chengdu to Guilin, Guilin to Shanghai. The flight numbers, times and cabin class for your order are stated in writing in your quote
Hotels13 nights at your chosen level, four-star, five-star or quality boutique, breakfast included: Beijing 4 · Chengdu 3 · Guilin 1 · Yangshuo 3 · Shanghai 2
GuideLicensed English-speaking local guide on every touring day at each stop, including the whole Bund evening in Shanghai
Tickets & experiences, BeijingTian'anmen Square · the Forbidden City with the timed reservation booked by us · Mutianyu Great Wall with cable car up and toboggan down · the cloth-shoe workshop with the finished piece to take home · the Shichahai hutong walk
Tickets & experiences, ChengduThe panda base in the morning · the gaiwan teahouse in People's Park · the community Sichuan opera theatre with a backstage look and face-changing up close · the market visit and Sichuan home-cooking class
Guilin & YangshuoThe stay itself: 1 night in Guilin and 3 nights in Yangshuo, with vehicle, guide and hotels as above. The day plans for this stretch are in final product review and are not part of the inclusions yet
Tickets & experiences, ShanghaiYu Garden and the old city · the Huangpu River ferry crossing · the Bund and the Pudong night view, guide accompanied
MealsAll 13 hotel breakfasts, days two through fourteen, plus one arranged lunch: the farmhouse lunch below the Great Wall. That lunch's pricing basis is being finalised, so your quote states in writing whether it sits inside your base price.
InsuranceTravel accident insurance

Not Included

International flightsFlights into Beijing and out of Shanghai
VisasVisa fees and processing for guests who require a Chinese visa, including all US guests on this route
MealsBeyond the 13 breakfasts and the one arranged lunch: lunches and dinners are recommended and booked by your guide, on your account
Optional add-onsNone on this route at present. Any future optional item is priced separately when you choose it and is never added by default
PersonalGratuities, single or extra-room difference, personal spending

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 — Two things have to be real first. One, a bookable connecting or family room type confirmed for every night, including the riverside family hotel in Yangshuo. Two, the Guilin and Yangshuo day plans settled and named. Until both are done we take no orders and no deposits. Tell us your dates and we will write to you on the day it opens.
Three days in final review — the Guilin morning on day nine and the full days in Yangshuo on days ten and eleven are in final product review. Until they are named in writing they are not part of the inclusions, they are not sold as highlights, and no order is priced on them.
December departures — the river activities around Yangshuo run into low water and low temperatures in December. For a December departure, that stretch is confirmed against your exact dates and written into your quote before you pay.
Departure dates — no departures between 1 and 8 October, the national holiday week, because crowd caps and holiday pricing on the Beijing and Guilin legs are not settled. 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, day two and the day-four workshop day swap places.
Security screening at the square — everyone is screened to enter Tian'anmen Square. The queue takes half an hour to an hour and it is budgeted separately, on top of your time on the square, so the palace reservation still lands on time.
Internal flights — three of them, so a date change touches airline inventory as well as hotels. The flight numbers, times and cabin class for your order are written into your quote, and the autumn and winter schedule on the Chengdu to Guilin leg is confirmed for your dates before anything is charged.
Visa window — the 30-day visa-free policy currently runs through December 31, 2026. Because this is a 14-day plan, arrivals on or before December 18, 2026 finish inside that window; later arrival dates are quoted only after the official renewal is announced.
US passports — the US is not on the 30-day visa-free list, and 14 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. First-time applicants attend a consulate appointment in person for fingerprints, so allow several weeks. We confirm visa status before any payment.
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 change and refund conditions.

Is Fourteen Days Your Length?

Fewer than fourteen days?

The five stops come apart cleanly: Beijing and Chengdu stand on their own, and the karst stretch can go or shorten. Tell us your dates and who is coming, and we cut days rather than cut the pace.

Good to Know

Group: Private, just your party. From 1 guest. No fixed maximum party size.
Pace: Five stops in 14 days. Beijing 4 nights, Chengdu 3, Yangshuo 3. One Guilin night and two in Shanghai. Two full rest days and three clear travel days
Effort: Paced to the slowest member of your party. Every climb has a cable car, the Great Wall descent is by toboggan, and each of the three flight days carries no sightseeing
Ports: Arrive in Beijing, depart from Shanghai; airport pickup on day one and drop-off on day fourteen
Visas: UK and most European passports enter visa-free for days; so do Canadian, Australian and New Zealand ones. Checked order by order against your dates. US passports need a Chinese visa for this route
Language: Licensed English-speaking local guides throughout, city by city
Payment: When this route opens for booking: From 1 guest. A 10% deposit (minimum $399) locks your dates. The balance is due 14 days before departure
Season: Selling window October to December 2026. No departures October 1 to 8; December departures have the Yangshuo days confirmed against your exact dates

Your Private Concierge Service

Jenny

China Private Travel Route Consultant

“A concierge desk offering bilingual planning services for bespoke China journeys”

Our China team carefully tailors the pace of the itinerary, hotel arrangements, and local reception services to suit the style of each route.

20+

Years

300+

Trips Designed

24/7

On-Trip Care

Step 01

Tell us what excites you

Not your dates and budget — your curiosity. Where have you always wanted to go? What do you want to feel? We start there.

24h

First concept delivered

Step 02

We design it around you

Your specialist builds the itinerary from scratch — routes, hosts, hotels, and experiences you won't find anywhere else.

100%

Private, never off-the-shelf

Step 03

Lock it in with 30%

When the plan feels right, a 30% deposit holds your trip. Balance due 30 days before departure.

30%

Deposit to confirm

Step 04

Travel. We handle the rest.

Your Trip Pack arrives before you fly. On the road, your concierge is one message away — for the expected and everything you didn't plan for.

24/7

Support throughout your journey

Cancellation terms agreed in writing

English-speaking concierge

Secure payment via Stripe

Guest Reviews

4.9 / 5 · from 523 verified reviews

Emily Carter

🇺🇸 Seattle, USA

Perfect for couples

“My partner and I had an amazing time in China. Everything was arranged for us — transfers, hotels, guides. No stress at all.”

May 2026

Claire Brooks

🇬🇧 London, UK

Great for families

“Traveled with my two kids and had zero issues. The team made sure the pace wasn't too rushed and included things the kids would enjoy. Communication was easy throughout. Will definitely use them again for our next Asia trip.”

Apr 2026

Laura Bennett

🇨🇦 Toronto, Canada

Alisa made the whole experience easy

“Alisa was our point of contact throughout and she was brilliant — patient, knowledgeable, and always quick to reply. The trip itself was wonderful. Beijing and Guilin were highlights.”

Mar 2026

Mark Henderson

🇺🇸 Denver, USA

Good service, minor hiccup but sorted quickly

“Really good service. There was a small mix-up with one of our restaurant bookings but it got sorted quickly. The rest of the trip was seamless.”

Feb 2026

Rebecca Miller

🇺🇸 Boston, USA

Really listened to what we wanted

“Really helpful team. They listened to what we wanted and delivered. Beijing and Xi'an were incredible.”

Jan 2026

China Ready

We've solved the hard parts. Here's everything a first-time Western traveller needs to know before arriving.

Do this before you fly

VPN & Internet Access

What's blocked

Google, Gmail, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and most Western news sites are inaccessible in China without a VPN.

Download before you leave

It's nearly impossible to download a VPN once inside China. Install and test at home. Recommended: Astrill (most reliable), Mullvad, ExpressVPN — subscribe to at least two in case one stops working.

Hotel Wi-Fi tip

Some hotels block VPN connections on their Wi-Fi. Use your phone's mobile data as a hotspot if the VPN drops.

Good news

WhatsApp works perfectly through a VPN, so your messaging stays unchanged. Apple iMessage and Signal also work.

Your concierge sets this up on Day 1

Paying in China

China is cashless

Alipay and WeChat Pay are used for almost everything — restaurants, taxis, markets, tickets. Cash is rarely accepted in cities.

International cards now work

Foreign Visa/Mastercard can now link directly to Alipay (set up in minutes, $5,000 single transaction limit). Your concierge walks you through the setup on your first morning.

Carry some cash

We recommend ¥500–800 RMB in cash for the rare vendor that won't accept digital payment, and for small towns.

Booking this trip

Your deposit and balance are charged via Stripe — the same trusted platform used by Airbnb and Booking.com. USD billing, no surprise conversion fees.

We handle the paperwork

Visa & Entry

Do you need a visa?

Most US, UK, EU, Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand passport holders need a tourist (L) visa for stays over 10 days. We provide a visa invitation letter with every booking — it significantly speeds up approval.

240-hour visa-free transit

Citizens of 55+ countries (including USA, UK, most of EU, AUS, NZ, Canada) can enter China visa-free for up to 10 days if transiting through eligible ports. This covers our 12-day itinerary only if you have a confirmed onward flight.

Processing time

Apply 4–6 weeks before departure. Standard processing: 4–7 business days. Express (3 days) and same-day options available at most Chinese consulates.

What we provide

Visa invitation letter, hotel confirmation for all nights, suggested itinerary document — everything the consulate needs, formatted correctly.

Our responsibility, always

Safety & Practical Tips

Is China safe?

China consistently ranks among the safest countries for foreign tourists. Violent crime against visitors is extremely rare. Cities have extensive CCTV coverage and a visible police presence.

Emergency numbers

Police: 110. Ambulance: 120. Your concierge is your first call for any non-emergency situation — she has local contacts for every city on the itinerary.

Health & medications

Bring a full supply of any prescription medication. International pharmacies exist in major cities but may not carry your brand. Travel insurance is required — we can recommend policies that cover China specifically.

Language

English fluency outside hotels and tourist sites is limited. Your guides all speak English. We provide a printed pocket card with essential Chinese phrases and emergency contacts for every traveller.

Before You Book

Everything worth knowing before you book.

My parents are in their seventies. Will they keep up with my children?

That is the question this route was built around. The whole plan is paced to the slowest walker in your party: every climb is done by cable car, the Great Wall descent is a seated sled, and two of the fourteen days have nothing scheduled. Each of the three flights takes a whole day, so nobody is rushed through an airport after a full morning out. Where a site is long, the route is cut to one line with places to sit.

We need connecting rooms. Can you guarantee them?

Not yet, and we won't pretend otherwise. We haven't secured a bookable connecting or family room type for every night of this route, including the riverside family hotel in Yangshuo, so bookings are not open: no orders, no deposits. What you can do now is tell us your dates, and we'll write to you the day the room types are confirmed and the route opens.

What exactly happens on the Guilin and Yangshuo days?

Four nights sit there: one in Guilin and three in Yangshuo. The vehicle, guide and hotels are included the same as everywhere else. The day plans themselves are in final product review with our local partners, and in December the river activities there run into low water and cold, so we will not sell you a plan we cannot yet name. Before you book, those three days are named in your written itinerary and confirmed against your exact dates. What holds either way: one hotel for three nights, no packing in the middle of the trip, and the slowest stretch of the fourteen days.

Three internal flights in fourteen days. Is that a lot of time spent at airports?

It is three days, and we gave each of them the whole day rather than squeezing sights around it. Your own vehicle runs hotel to airport and back at both ends, and your guide hands you over at the door. The flight number, time and cabin class for your order are written into your quote. The Beijing to Chengdu leg alone runs close to six and a half hours door to door, which is why nothing else is on that day.

Do we need a visa?

Most guests on this route do not. Most European passports enter visa-free for stays of up to 14 days; so do UK, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand ones. We check your 14 days plus any extra days in China against that window before you pay. The current policy runs through December 31, 2026, so arrivals on or before December 18, 2026 finish inside it. US passports are different: the US is not on that list and 14 days is longer than the 10-day transit policy allows, so US guests hold a Chinese tourist or business visa, applied for in person the first time. We confirm visa status before any payment, and if the dates do not fit, we say so instead of selling.

Tian'anmen Square

Forbidden City

Mutianyu Great Wall

Mutianyu Great Wall Toboggan

Farmhouse lunch below the Great Wall

Cloth-Shoe Workshop & Tea Ceremony

Hutong & Shichahai Walk

Chengdu Panda Base

People's Park Tea

Community Opera Theatre

Market Walk & Sichuan Cooking Class

Yu Garden & the Old City

The Bund & the Huangpu Ferry

01. Tian'anmen Square

02. Forbidden City

03. Mutianyu Great Wall

04. Mutianyu Great Wall Toboggan

05. Farmhouse lunch below the Great Wall

06. Cloth-Shoe Workshop & Tea Ceremony

07. Hutong & Shichahai Walk

08. Chengdu Panda Base

09. People's Park Tea

10. Community Opera Theatre

11. Market Walk & Sichuan Cooking Class

12. Yu Garden & the Old City

13. The Bund & the Huangpu Ferry

01. Tian'anmen Square

02. Forbidden City

03. Mutianyu Great Wall

04. Mutianyu Great Wall Toboggan

05. Farmhouse lunch below the Great Wall

06. Cloth-Shoe Workshop & Tea Ceremony

07. Hutong & Shichahai Walk

08. Chengdu Panda Base

09. People's Park Tea

10. Community Opera Theatre

11. Market Walk & Sichuan Cooking Class

12. Yu Garden & the Old City

13. The Bund & the Huangpu Ferry

01. Tian'anmen Square

02. Forbidden City

03. Mutianyu Great Wall

04. Mutianyu Great Wall Toboggan

05. Farmhouse lunch below the Great Wall

06. Cloth-Shoe Workshop & Tea Ceremony

07. Hutong & Shichahai Walk

08. Chengdu Panda Base

09. People's Park Tea

10. Community Opera Theatre

11. Market Walk & Sichuan Cooking Class

12. Yu Garden & the Old City

13. The Bund & the Huangpu Ferry

Beijing · Day 1 - Day 4Collapse

Day 1 · Land, and do nothing

Day 2 · One axis through the palace

Day 3 · The wall, without the climb

Day 4 · A bench and a lane

Chengdu · Day 5 - Day 7Collapse

Day 5 · Beijing to Chengdu

Day 6 · Pandas, then nowhere to be

Day 7 · Backstage and a wok

Guilin · Day 8Collapse

Day 8 · Chengdu to Guilin

Yangshuo · Day 9 - Day 11Collapse

Day 9 · Into the karst country

Day 10 · A full day in Yangshuo

Day 11 · The second rest day

Shanghai · Day 12 - Day 14Collapse

Day 12 · Yangshuo to Shanghai

Day 13 · The garden, the ferry, the water

Day 14 · Home

Read it on your own time

Answers to all your trip questions

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What's Included

Not Included

Special Notes

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Jenny

Beijing · Day 1 - Day 4

Chengdu · Day 5 - Day 7

Guilin · Day 8

Yangshuo · Day 9 - Day 11

Shanghai · Day 12 - Day 14