China Golden Triangle by High-Speed Rail
8-Day Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai Tour
China's new trains make it easy and comfortable to experience the Great Wall, Forbidden City, the Terracotta Warriors and Yuyuan Garden.
Suggested Itinerary
Meet your guide and driver at the airport and get transferred to your hotel for a rest after your journey.
Today you get the feeling of what life of an ancient Chinese emperor was like, heading to the heart of Beijing.
Our first stop is Tian'anmen Square, followed by the impressive Forbidden City.
After Chinese lunch in a local restaurant, your afternoon will be spent at Hutongs, Beijing's traditional neighborhood. First you will get some overall knowledge about Hutong's history at Shi Family Hutong Museum, then hop on a rickshaw and ride through the maze of alleyways to get a nice touch of local life and culture.
The less-crowded section of the Great Wall allows for leisurely walks passing through watch towers while you enjoy a superb view. Cable cars up and down the mountain save you from climbing long and steep steps.
Refresh yourself and have lunch at a garden style Chinese restaurant with farm house dishes, and in the afternoon get back to the city to see the Temple of Heaven. This is a place with an impressive display of architecture, and intricate carvings, where ancient emperors held annual ceremonies to pray for a good harvest.
In the morning, visit China's largest imperial garden – Summer Palace. The lovely landscaped gardens, halls, pavilions and corridors are set around the lake in natural harmony.
After lunch, transfer to train station for high-speed train to Xi'an. It takes only four and a half hours to complete the 1200-kilometer distance on China's fastest and comfortable bullet train. Upon arrival, meet your Xi'an guide and transfer to hotel.
The highlight of a China visit for many is the Terracotta Army. The life-sized warriors have been guarding the underground tomb for thousands of years. Each figure is unique, and the painstaking repair and excavation continues in 3 pits which are protected inside huge hangars.
After lunch, get back to the city and visit the ancient city's symbol – Big Wild Goose Pagoda. The stone pagoda was built in 652 to house precious Buddhist scriptures brought back from India. Climbing up the steep stairs you will enjoy a bird's eye view over the city.
The walls, ramparts, gates and watchtowers form one of the oldest and most complete city defenses that still stand firm, and separate the city into inner and outer parts. If you like, ride a bike on the wall will be a relaxing experience while you take in some good view. Not far is the Muslim Quarters, a lively area where you can find lots of shops, stands and restaurants which will stir your senses.
After lunch, transfer to airport for flight to Shanghai. Upon arrival, your Shanghai guide will greet you at the arrival hall, and transfer to hotel.
Good to Know
We arrange flight from Xi'an to Shanghai (2½hrs) due to long distance between. Overnight bullet trains are also available, costing 11-16 hours depending on different trains. Ticket price is almost the same as flight ticket at discount, but one-night's hotel accommodation is saved if you take overnight train. If you'd like to take the train, feel free to let us know your idea when making an inquiry.
Get a nice touch of Shanghai with modern and traditional mixture. Shikumen is a style of old housing where most Shanghai people were born and raised. There you will see a small exhibition of old Shanghai furniture, but also it has been turned into a chic place with bars, shops and restaurants.
Nestled in the center of Shanghai old quarters, Yuyuan Garden offers tranquility amongst city bustle. This old private Garden has typical Chinese classic architecture and style with rockeries, pavilions, ponds and corridors. Feel the city vibe as you stand atop one of the tallest TV towers in the world – Oriental Pearl TV Tower. Shanghai History Museum at the bottom of the tower reveals Shanghai's history and development.
Trip Notes
1. Tailoring your tour
This tour is very flexible. You can alter the itinerary, extend or shorten it to suit your price, interest and schedule. Feel free to tell us your requirements, and we are happy to help you arrange with our professional knowledge and experience.
2. Riding Bullet Train in China
Make sure you get to the correct train station at least 30 minutes before departure time. Your luggage might be X-ray checked several times. You should carry your valuables on you. Remember to take all your luggage after the security check. Keep your train ticket in place. It might be checked again during the ride and at the exit of train station.
Luggage allowance: The maximum weight of carry-on baggage is 20 kg/adult and 10 kg/children, and the sum of three sides of each item of luggage should be less than 130 cm for bullet trains. Bring some food and drinks for the ride, which come less in varieties and higher in prices on the train.
Your guide will wait for you at the exit of the train station. After you get off the train, follow the crowd to the exit.
Price includes:
Discover real reviews of Highlights Travel Family's best-rated service across trusted platforms.
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The tour was of The Greta Wall of China
The tour was excellent. Selinda was very knowledgeable about all the aspects of our tour. Selinda was very interesting and knew so much Chinese history more
Mar 2024, Alice W
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Beautiful Beijing with Ethan & Mr. Chen
Ethan, our wonderful guide, whose praises we can not sing loudly enough, was compassionate, caring, and overall endearing! His sense of ease and familiarity with each sight, which were unfamiliar wonders to us, provided a sense of peacefulness that facilitated full enjoyment - helped too by his punctuality and attention to detail. more
Feb 2024, apisn2023
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The Highlights and High Life of Beijing with Ethan & Mr. Chen
Ethan, our wonderful tour guide, made our entire trip an absolute joy for us as he was extraordinarily caring, considerate, and generous. Having had the pleasure of taking in the sights of Beijing previously with another lovely guide, Angela, it was spectacular not only to show the family how fantastic the city is but also how high the quality of services provided by China Highlights are. Each day unveiled a new treasure, helpfully detailed by Ethan, and punctuated by delicious and varied local food. Our driver, Mr. Chen, was also a delight, and was equally as key to the overall experience as he was both attentive and almost mystically punctual! more
Feb 2024, Apis
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Great Time in Beijing
Our 4-day experience in Beijing was unforgettable. Our guide, Selinda, opened the doors to the city's millennia-old history and culture with her knowledge, kindness, and courtesy. We discovered magnificent places, tasted delicious food, and stayed in clean hotels, all accompanied by safe and reliable transportation service. We recommend traveling with China Highlights. more
Feb 2024, Nicola B
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3rd time the charm, is being charmed for the 3rd time.
This is my 3rd tour of Beijing in the last 18 months and I think that speaks a little to the quality of service you get with China Highlights. Each time the sites are the same but each tour guide managed to present them in new and wonderful ways. Also some attractions that were undergoing renovations have been completed, so there were new things to see as well.A big thanks to Mr. Michael, our tour this time around. He was very gregarious and knowledgeable about all the sites. more
Feb 2024, Jonathan Mueller
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3rd time the charm, is charmed for the 3rd time
The sites stay the same but each time we have done this tour, the tour guides manage to make it feel like it is the first time you are experiencing it. And, with the constant renovations, this time we were able to see previous areas that were unavailable the last time we came. more
Feb 2024, Jonathan M
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Great trip and experience!
From beginning to end, China Highlights was very courteous, responsive and attentive in planning and executing a great trip!Aspects and execution of the trip was as discussed and was an overall great experience. Our guide, Michael, was very kind and knowledgeable throughout the tour and would address all questions and help us take lots of photos. Would definitely travel with China Highlights again! more
Feb 2024, Karol
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3rd the charm is charmed for the 3rd time
This is my 3rd tour of Beijing in the last 18 months and I think that speaks a little to the quality of service you get with China Highlights. Each time the sites are the same but each tour guide managed to present them in new and wonderful ways. Also some attractions that were undergoing renovations have been completed, so there were new things to see as well.A big thanks to Mr. Michael, our tour this time around. He was very gregarious and knowledgeable about all the sites. more
Feb 2024, jkjmueller
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1 Day in Beijing
Nice views, Not too much people, Jessi (guide ) so friendly and she have a great service & she knows the answer of all your questions more
Feb 2024, Fernando J
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Fabulous day!
Jesse He ,she is a nice tourist guide patience and take good care for us. We had a wonderful time in Beijing,we did the forbidden city and greatwall We love everything ! more
Feb 2024, Charon R
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Private trip in Beijing and Luoyang
We spent 3 days in Beijing with Helen as our guide. We went to TianAnMen, Forbidden City and MuTianYu Great Wall to name a few. Helen took great care of us and is very attentive as I travel with my 60+ years old parents, from asking whether we need restroom breaks to making sure that our lunch were all according to our dietary needs more
Jan 2024, Iriana Iriana
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An excellent day with Linda
Linda (Ling ling)is a great tour guide,provide a lot of knowledge and history of the great wall,and took us to taste very delicious food too,we had a very good time with her!highly recommend her! more
Jan 2024, Angeline Lim
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Great time in Beijing with Bruce
We stayed in Beijing for three days altogether. We went to the summer palace. the Tian'an'men square, the Forbidden City,the Temple of heaven and the Great Wall. Our tour guide Bruce is very friendly and speaks English fluently. He explained every scenic spot to us patiently and humorously. my family are very satisfied with his service. more
Jan 2024, Mayra C
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Bucket List Trip to China
My first stop in China was Beijing. Ethan was my guide there. Daily, they would pick me up and take me to the spots on the itinerary. He helped me plan outside activities like a Chinese acrobat show. He even walked me to my seat in my theater so I could easily find my correct chair. What was most helpful was Ethan waiting with me at the train station and even helping me on to my seat and giving the train attendant my meal order. Very little English was spoken by the train attendant. more
Jan 2024, Megan Sandbothe
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Great Wall at Jinshanling
We went to the Great Wall at Jinshanling which is a very beautiful place which is not that busy. In fact most of the time it felt like we were alone on the wall.The tourguide (Jack) was very knowledgeable and very friendly.A big thumbs up more
Jan 2024, Onno
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Private trip in Beijing and Luoyang
We spent 3 days in Beijing with Helen as our guide. We went to TianAnMen, Forbidden City and MuTianYu Great Wall to name a few. Helen took great care of us and is very attentive as I travel with my 60+ years old parents, from asking whether we need restroom breaks to making sure that our lunch were all according to our dietary needs. We had great 3 days in Beijing.We also visited Luoyang. Our travel advisor arranged a Business class seat for our high speed train to Luoyang. We were picked up at the station by our guide in Luoyang, Lisa. We then visited Dengfeng to see Songyang academy, shaolin temple, Luoyang grottoes. She also took care of us very well and very knowledgeable about the history. more
Jan 2024, lriana lriana
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Beijing 2024
We traveled to Beijing with China Highlights in January 2024. Our tour guide Ethan was organized and knowledgeable which made our trip seamless and very interesting!! He helpfully suggested additional activities if we had time in the evenings and assisted us in booking tickets for them. Visiting the Mutianyu Great wall of China was a big highlight of our time in Beijing! more
Jan 2024, Lydia
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Beijing 2024
We traveled to Beijing with China Highlights in January 2024. Our tour guide Ethan was organized and knowledgeable which made our trip seamless and very interesting!! He helpfully suggested additional activities if we had time in the evenings and assisted us in booking tickets for them. Visiting the Mutianyu Great wall of China was a big highlight of our time in Beijing more
Jan 2024, Explore49612084715
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Beijing
Fantastic couple days in Beijing. Thank you to my guide Mark who eloquently relayed stories about China history and culture. more
Jan 2024, Steve P
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Jack is an excellent guide
Jack is an excellent guide, very patient, punctual, wonderful command of english. I recommend him any day. more
Jan 2024, Brahma
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