01
Overview
Most China routes give you the empire and end with a skyline photograph. This one runs the other way. Shanghai asks how the country lives now: a garden, a museum, an observation deck, and an afternoon in a public park where parents look for husbands and wives for their grown children. Hangzhou asks how the old things connect to the new ones. Shenzhen asks what forty years actually builds, and answers it in a building where components become prototypes become finished machines, floor by floor. Three cities, three questions, in the order that makes each one answer the last. By the third city you'll notice you have stopped taking pictures of buildings and started asking your guide about people.
— LyrikTrip travel designers
Every LyrikTrip journey begins with a conversation. Tell us your dates, who is coming and which passports you hold. 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 Hangzhou stretch and the two Shenzhen venues stand, before you are asked for anything, because half of what makes this itinerary worth doing is that we are not pretending they are settled.
Why you'll love this trip
- Contemporary China, three cities. The Bund, a park marriage market, floors of electronics, an old walled town, with English-speaking guides city by city.
- 9 days from a garden in the old city to a floor of circuit boards. See how China works now.
- Stand on the Bund after dark with your guide beside you: a century of trading-port buildings on one bank, the Pudong towers on the other, one city looking straight at itself across the water.
- Read the city from the observation deck of Shanghai Tower instead of photographing it: your guide finds the river, the old waterfront on the far bank and the gray roofs behind it, and the walk you did yesterday turns into a diagram.
- Spend an afternoon at the People's Park marriage market, where parents come on their own to look for matches for their grown children, and your guide tells you what is being asked for and why.
- Walk Huaqiangbei floor by floor with a guide who reads it to you: trays of components below, prototypes above them, finished machines above that, with the sourcing chain explained as you climb.
- Walk Shekou and Nantou Old Town on foot, the ground that was here before the city was: the counter-evidence to the forty-year story you spent the morning inside.
- Unpack twice in nine days: three nights in Shanghai, three in Shenzhen, and the Shanghai Museum slot booked with your details before you land, because its booking system is hard to use from a non-Chinese phone number.
Things to do
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Itinerary
Arrivals
Shanghai · Day 1 - Day 3
· Land, and let the city wait
Your driver meets your flight, whatever time it lands. Nothing is asked of you on the first day, and the country you flew to shows up in the car window anyway.
· The old city, then the water
A garden, a museum and a waterfront after dark, in that order. Today is the China you already had a picture of, which is what the rest of the week needs to argue with.
· How the country actually lives
An observation deck in the morning, a public park in the afternoon. Today the picture stops being a skyline and turns into people.
High-speed rail
Hangzhou · Day 4 - Day 5
· Plane trees, then the rails
A morning on foot under the plane trees, an afternoon on the train. The Concession streets are the argument that this city was never only one thing.
· A day beside the lake, and the honest state of it
A whole day at West Lake is what this stretch is designed around, unhurried, with no half-day version. It is also the part of this route we have not yet placed with a ground partner, so here is exactly where it stands.
Flightschedule to confirm
Shenzhen · Day 6 - Day 9
· Hangzhou to Shenzhen
A travel day between two very different arguments, and it is planned as a whole day rather than squeezed. Where the plan goes next is the part of China that did not exist when your parents were your age.
· Floor by floor
One building, walked from the components up to the finished machines, with someone who can read it to you. Today the phone in your hand gets taken apart into its origins.
· Forty years, and what was here first
Shekou on foot in the morning, an old walled town beside it after that. Today the city stops being a story about speed and turns into a place with a before.
· Home
Breakfast, a free morning, then the airport. What goes home with you is a way of reading the next news story about this country.
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.
Shanghai
Rezen Meili Hotel (Shanghai City Centre, The Bund)
Rezen Meili Hotel: classic European style in central Shanghai, steps from People's Square, the Bund and Nanjing Road.
Shanghai
CitiGO Huan Ge Hotel, Jing'an Temple, West Nanjing Road, Shanghai
CitiGO Huan Ge Hotel: a vibrant stay in Shanghai's Jing'an Temple district, three minutes from Metro Line 14.
Hangzhou
Four Seasons Hangzhou at West Lake
Shanghai
Pullman Shanghai Zhongganghui Hotel
Pullman Shanghai Zhongganghui Hotel, in Dapuqiao near Tianzifang, steps from Metro Line 9 and the Expo site.
Shenzhen
Futian Shangri-La, Shenzhen
Located in Futian CBD, close to major landmarks and metro lines. Featuring 500+ elegant rooms and suites with exclusive Horizon Club services.
Hangzhou
Hyatt Regency Hangzhou
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.
Shanghai
Rezen Meili Hotel (Shanghai City Centre, The Bund)
Rezen Meili Hotel: classic European style in central Shanghai, steps from People's Square, the Bund and Nanjing Road.
Shanghai
CitiGO Huan Ge Hotel, Jing'an Temple, West Nanjing Road, Shanghai
CitiGO Huan Ge Hotel: a vibrant stay in Shanghai's Jing'an Temple district, three minutes from Metro Line 14.
Hangzhou
Four Seasons Hangzhou at West Lake
Shanghai
Pullman Shanghai Zhongganghui Hotel
Pullman Shanghai Zhongganghui Hotel, in Dapuqiao near Tianzifang, steps from Metro Line 9 and the Expo site.
Shenzhen
Futian Shangri-La, Shenzhen
Located in Futian CBD, close to major landmarks and metro lines. Featuring 500+ elegant rooms and suites with exclusive Horizon Club services.
Hangzhou
Hyatt Regency Hangzhou
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.
Shanghai
Rezen Meili Hotel (Shanghai City Centre, The Bund)
Rezen Meili Hotel: classic European style in central Shanghai, steps from People's Square, the Bund and Nanjing Road.
Shanghai
CitiGO Huan Ge Hotel, Jing'an Temple, West Nanjing Road, Shanghai
CitiGO Huan Ge Hotel: a vibrant stay in Shanghai's Jing'an Temple district, three minutes from Metro Line 14.
Hangzhou
Four Seasons Hangzhou at West Lake
Shanghai
Pullman Shanghai Zhongganghui Hotel
Pullman Shanghai Zhongganghui Hotel, in Dapuqiao near Tianzifang, steps from Metro Line 9 and the Expo site.
Shenzhen
Futian Shangri-La, Shenzhen
Located in Futian CBD, close to major landmarks and metro lines. Featuring 500+ elegant rooms and suites with exclusive Horizon Club services.
Hangzhou
Hyatt Regency Hangzhou
Included / Excluded
What's Included
- Private vehicleAir-conditioned private vehicle for all listed touring in Shanghai and Shenzhen; airport pickup in Shanghai on day one; airport drop-off in Shenzhen on day nine, timed against your departure flight. The Hangzhou ground vehicle is not in this line. This term follows house standard and is being signed off by our commercial team; until it is, your quote states the vehicle scope for your order in writing
- Hotels6 nights with breakfast: Shanghai 3 (nights of days one, two, three) · Shenzhen 3 (nights of days six, seven, eight). Hotels named in your written confirmation. Room tier is being set with our commercial team; until it is stated, your quote states the hotel tier for your order in writing. The two Hangzhou nights are not in the base price
- Meals6 hotel breakfasts, one per morning. Days two, three and four in Shanghai; days seven, eight and nine in Shenzhen. No lunch and no dinner is in the base price. The two Hangzhou breakfasts sit with the Hangzhou stretch
- GuideLicensed English-speaking guide on all touring days in Shanghai and Shenzhen, including the whole first evening on the Bund, start to finish. Hangzhou guiding is not in this line
- Tickets and visits, ShanghaiSeven named items: Yu Garden with the old city quarter · Shanghai Museum, with the timed reservation booked by us · the Bund with the Pudong skyline in the evening, guide accompanied · the former French Concession with Wukang Road on foot · Shanghai Tower observation deck · one Shanghai art venue, named in your written confirmation · People's Park marriage market, a public square with no admission charge
- Tickets and visits, ShenzhenHuaqiangbei electronics market walk with guide commentary, floor by floor · Shekou and Nantou Old Town visit on foot. These are the only two Shenzhen items in the base price
- InsuranceTravel accident insurance. This term follows house standard and is being signed off by our commercial team
Not Included
- International flightsFlights into Shanghai and out of Shenzhen
- VisasVisa fees and processing for guests who need a Chinese visa
- MealsAll lunches and dinners. Recommended and booked by your guide, on your account
- Intercity transportBoth intercity legs of the designed routing, Shanghai to Hangzhou on day four and Hangzhou to Shenzhen on day six. Neither has a stated cabin class yet and the day six leg has no verified current-season service
- Hangzhou ground servicesNothing on the ground in Hangzhou is in the base price: not the hotel and its breakfast, not the vehicle, not the guiding, not the admissions or the paid experiences
- DJI Sky CityNot in the base price; visitor access to the campus is not on record
- Shenzhen urban planning and industry exhibitionNot in the base price; visitor access is not on record
- Meetings with local practitionersThis route does not promise arranged conversations with local practitioners in Shanghai, Hangzhou or Shenzhen. No such meeting is included and none is implied by anything above
- Robotaxi ride RobotaxiSold as an add-on only, priced separately at the time of choosing; never in the base price and never counted as part of what this route promises
- PersonalGratuities · single or extra-room difference · personal spending, including anything bought or paid for inside a venue: purchases, shuttles, lifts, boats · anything not named above
Special Notes
A few things on this route follow the calendar, a supplier's confirmation or a venue's door policy. Here they are, told straight.
- Bookings are not open yet — six things have to be real first. One, Hangzhou ground handling placed, or the route re-cut as the eight-day Shanghai and Shenzhen version. Two, day six settled, either as a whole travel day or against a verified current-season afternoon service, with the cabin class stated for both intercity legs. Three, visitor access secured at DJI Sky City and at the Shenzhen urban planning and industry exhibition, or a named replacement in the same city for each. Four, the Shanghai Museum reservation route settled, including who books it and what happens on dates when the slot cannot be obtained. Five, the sales rules for United States guests written down. Six, the vehicle, hotel tier, breakfast and insurance terms signed off and the price set. Until all six are closed we take no orders and no deposits. Tell us your dates and we will write to you on the day it opens.
- The Hangzhou stretch — two of the nine nights and three designed items sit here, and none of it is procured. The three items are West Lake, the Wensan future technology district and the AI-assisted Chinese medicine consultation at Huqingyu Hall. They are named here so you know what the design intends, not because they are for sale: none is included, none is priced into your quote, and none is presented as a feature of this route. The same holds for the two Hangzhou nights, the Hangzhou vehicle and the Hangzhou guide.
- Day six — our transport reference holds one entry for the Hangzhou to Shenzhen city pair and it books the whole day, so the day is planned as a whole travel day. An afternoon flight has not been verified against the current-season timetable, so the two Hangzhou items designed for that morning are not promised. If a verified service is confirmed for your dates, the released morning is written into your quote before you pay.
- Two Shenzhen venues — DJI Sky City and the Shenzhen urban planning and industry exhibition are in the route as designed, and neither venue's visitor access is on record. A campus or an exhibition hall that turns guests away at the door is a hard failure, so neither is sold until access is secured with the venue and written into the inclusions, or a named replacement in the same city is put in its place.
- The Shanghai Museum reservation — entry is by timed reservation and the booking system is hard to use on a non-Chinese phone number, so we book your slot with the details on your confirmation. The internal route for that booking is still being settled, along with a same-city replacement of the same kind for dates when the slot cannot be obtained. Whichever applies to your dates is written into your itinerary before you pay.
- Local practitioners — this route does not arrange conversations with local practitioners in any of the three cities, and nothing on this page implies one. If that is the thing you came for, tell us and we will say plainly whether we can build it for your dates rather than writing it into a plan first.
- Departure dates — the national holiday week of October 1 to 7, 2026 is not quoted until visitor limits and transport capacity are checked point by point for this route. Departures from October 8 onward are quoted normally.
- Visa window — the 30-day visa-free policy currently runs through December 31, 2026. Because this is a nine-day plan, departures on or before December 23, 2026 finish inside that window; later departure dates are quoted only after the official renewal is announced.
- United States passports — this route is not sold to United States guests. There is no direct air service from Shenzhen to the United States, so the exit port does not clear for that market, and entering or leaving through Hong Kong with a land border crossing is not an approved selling route for this product. Whether to open this route to United States guests is under review; until that is written down, no United States order is taken.
- Confirmation and changes — the confirmation-time commitment and the change and refund terms are being finalized with our ground partners. Until they are settled, each quote states in writing its own confirmation deadline and its change and refund conditions, and no order is taken without them in writing. Note that this routing holds several kinds of inventory at once, so a date change touches transport, hotels and timed venue reservations in the same move.
Is Nine Days Your Length?
Fewer than nine days?
Fewer than nine days?
The three cities come apart cleanly. Shanghai stands on its own at three or four nights, Shenzhen at two or three, and the Hangzhou stretch is the one that comes out first, which is also the eight-day version we would build today. Tell us your dates and we cut cities rather than cut the pace.
Good to Know
- Group
- Private, just your party. From 1 guest. No fixed maximum party size.
- Pace
- Three cities in nine days: Shanghai 3 nights, Hangzhou 2, Shenzhen 3. Two of the nine days are travel days
- Effort
- City walking on flat ground, with a private vehicle between stops in Shanghai and Shenzhen. The longest continuous walk is a market building you go through floor by floor, with lifts
- Ports
- Shanghai in, Shenzhen out, open jaw: you do not return to the entry city. Airport pickup on day one and drop-off on day nine
- Visas
- Visa-free entry for stays days, checked order by order against your dates. Western Europe: France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium. Southern Europe: Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece. Then the UK, Ireland, the Nordic countries and Central Europe. Then Canada, Australia and New Zealand. This route is not sold to United States passport holders
- Language
- Licensed English-speaking local guides on all touring days in Shanghai and Shenzhen
- 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. "Or similar" never means a quiet downgrade
- Season
- Selling window October to December 2026. No quotes for October 1 to 7; departures on or before December 23, 2026 finish inside the current visa-free window
Your Private Concierge
Jenessa
Private China Route Concierge
“A bilingual planning desk for tailor-made China journeys.”
Our China team tunes pacing, hotels and local hosts around each route style.
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
E
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
C
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
L
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
M
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
R
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 traveler 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 traveler.
Before You Book
Everything worth knowing before you book.
That is exactly what this route is built to avoid. There is one view from height in nine days and it is used as a reading exercise, with your guide finding the streets you walked the day before. Everything else is people and mechanism: parents in a park looking for husbands and wives for their grown children, a market walked floor by floor from components to finished machines, and an old walled town that the city was built up against. If you want the skyline picture you will get it in ten minutes on day three, and then we move on.
It is an optional add-on, booked by date in advance, priced separately when you choose it, and reconfirmed on the ground. We do not promise it, because the service runs on a commercial operator's own network and whether it runs on your day is not ours to decide. If the operator is not running, the ride is not charged and nothing is quietly substituted into your plan. What holds either way is the Shenzhen day itself: Huaqiangbei floor by floor with your guide is in the base price and does not depend on anyone else's fleet.
Honestly: that is not settled, and we would rather say so. The design puts a full day at West Lake there. What we have not done is place a ground partner in Hangzhou. That means the hotel, the vehicle, the guide and every admission there sit outside your base price; none of it is sold to you in advance. There are two working outcomes and you will be told which one applies to your dates before you are asked for anything: we place a ground handler and quote those two days properly, or the route is re-cut as an eight-day Shanghai and Shenzhen version. Shanghai and Shenzhen, which are the two cities this route is really about, are unaffected either way.
Because Beijing answers a question this route is not asking. This is a nine-day plan about how the country works now, and Shenzhen is the shortest way to see that: a market where a phone comes apart into its parts and its sourcing chain, and, twenty minutes away, an old walled town that was here before the city. Beijing, the Great Wall and the Terracotta Warriors are all worth nine days of their own, and we build those routes too. Tell us if you want both and we will tell you honestly how many days that takes.
Most guests on this route do not. Visa-free entry for stays days covers Western Europe: France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium. It covers Southern Europe: Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece. It also covers the UK, Ireland, the Nordic countries and Central Europe. Canada, Australia and New Zealand are covered too. We check your nine days plus any extra days in China against that window before you pay. The current policy runs through December 31, 2026. Departures on or before December 23, 2026 finish inside it; later dates are quoted after the official renewal is announced. United States passports are different: this route is not sold to United States guests, because there is no direct air service from Shenzhen to the United States. If that is your passport, tell us and we will point you at a routing that exits somewhere it can.
