Classic Wonders
This 11-day China top cities tour covers the most popular four destinations and five World Heritage sites in China. It makes an ideal tour for first-time visitors who would like to discover China's history, culture, modernization and landscape.
The itinerary below is only one possibility. Tips to tailor-make your trip are offered as inspiration. Tell us your preferences and our travel experts will customize this trip to suit your interests, tastes, and budget.
Suggested 11-Day Itinerary
| Day | Highlights |
|---|---|
| 1-4 Beijing |
Experience rich history: the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace and Tian'anmen Square |
| 5-6 Xi'an |
Uncover the Terracotta Warriors, bike along the ancient City Wall, explore the lively Muslim Quarter and Xi'an History Museum |
| 7-9 Guilin & Yangshuo |
Admire the stunning Longji Rice Terraces, enjoy a scenic Li River cruise, and relax in the charming countryside of Yangshuo |
| 10-11 Shanghai |
Explore modern Shanghai: the iconic Bund, panoramic views from Shanghai Tower, and a personalized city experience |
Beijing-Xi'an-Guilin-Shanghai Tour Map
Tour 'Wow' Points
Unveil the Lives of China's Royal Family in their Hidden Halls
Get off the ordinary sightseeing route in the Forbidden City. Listen to the interesting stories of the famous personalities that are not told by typical tour guides.
Witness the Great Wall and Enjoy the Dreamy Night Views
Walk on the spectacular Great Wall at Mutianyu. See both a restored section and a wild section of the Wall. See the Simatai Wall lit up along a mountain ridge at night.
Understand Beijing by Tasting Its Traditional Food
Enjoy an authentic Beijing roast duck dinner in a time-honored brand restaurant.
Unveil the Secrets of the Terracotta Army and Make Your Own Terracotta Warriors
Your local guide will show you around the Terracotta Army and unveil some secrets of the world wonder. See the life-size warriors at the site, get to know how ancient craftsmen made them. Visit a traditional cave dwelling and learn how to make warriors.
Enjoy a Cruise in the Painting Gallery of the God
Relax on a top-class guided Li River cruise, enjoying spectacular landscapes. Find the exact sight on the note of RMB20
Feast Your Eyes on the Best Scenery of the Rice Terraces.
The Longji Rice Terraces are known widely for the awe-inspiring view. Standing on top of such a huge man-made wonder is itself an extraordinary experience.
Visit a Minority Family and Explore Their Centuries-Old Lifestyle.
Enjoy lunch with a Yao family who invite you into their home. Learn how to stuff and cook rice inside a bamboo tube, sip the freshly-extracted oil tea.
Discover the Rural China by Exploring the Less Touristy Villages
To experience the daily life of the local farmers will let you see another side of China.
Discover the Hidden Stories of the Bund and Ascend Shanghai Tower
Travel back in time to the golden age of the Bund in the 1920s. You will walk a route that seldom tourist will find by themselves, see the most original bricks, and hear some interesting stories that you'll never find in history books.
Enjoy a Half-Day Customized Icing-on-the-Cake Experience.
Whether you want to relax, experience fashion, appreciate art, explore folk customs, or shop; from having fun in a fancy bar to exploring an art center, trying nail beauty, testing your popularity in the marriage market, or just buying some lovely gifts, we will make it happen.
Discover real reviews of Highlights Travel Family's best-rated service across trusted platforms.
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Excellent 3 Day Beijing Tour with guide and driver
Our China Highlights 3 Day tour was amazing. The tour guide, Olivia spoke English very clearly and was extremely knowledgeable. She helped us fit in all our sites including the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Terracotta Warriors, the Great Wall and more! Excellent tours, tour guide and driver. more
Mar 2025, Robramsduarte
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Beauty of Beijing
Colin (our tour guide) and Xia (our driver) were excellent! Colin took us to the places where it is not as crowded, took us to ecellent restaurants. He is also very knowledgeable with the history. Xia made sure our drive is smooth and dropped us off as close as possible to the areas to limit walking. A great team! Will request for them in the future when we come back. God bless! more
Mar 2025, Len
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China Sightseeing
The trip was amazing. Laura was my private tour guide and she exceeded all expectations. The sights and sounds were beautiful. Wonderful time. more
Mar 2025, Andrew S
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Itinerary Quick Look
Here is a suggested itinerary. We are happy to customize a tour according to your interests and schedule.
Welcome to majestic Beijing! To ensure your arrival is stress-free, your private tour guide will meet you in the arrivals hall and transfer you to your hotel in a private car. Your luggage and hotel check-in will be taken care of.
Hotel options:
Novotel Beijing Peace
Crowne Plaza Beijing Chaoyang U-Town
Start your journey at the Temple of Heaven, a dignified complex of religious buildings, symbolizing the relationship between Earth and Heaven. There you will see local people doing morning exercise in their unique ways. Lunch is served in a popular local restaurant with authentic local food. Your guide will help you to order the dishes you like.
Walk through Tian'anmen Square to explore the mysterious Forbidden City. Being the largest imperial palace in the world. Get off the ordinary sightseeing route in the Forbidden City. Listen to the interesting stories of the famous personalities that are not told by typical tour guides.
Tips to Tailor-Make Your Tour
Do you want to discover more about the life of Beijingers? Take a rickshaw tour through the hutongs, make dumplings in a local family's home, or experience a local market — let us know what you would like to do on the form to the right.
The Temple of HeavenAfter breakfast, travel to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. Listen to the stories about this world wonder. Your guide will show you the most recommended section to have a walk.
Head to Simatai Great Wall in the afternoon. Spend the afternoon wandering around the Guibei Water Town, which is at the foot of the Great Wall. You can also enjoy a soak in a hot spring if you want to.
When it gets dark, your guide will accompany you to take the cable car up to the Simatai section to enjoy the stunning night views, which is a different experience from the day version. It's the only section that's open and lit up at night.
Tips to Tailor-Make Your Tour
Would you like a more romantic experience? Go there between April and October to enjoy a nice dinner at a special restaurant, from where you can see the Simatai section of the Great Wall lit up all along the mountain ridges at night.
Hotel options:
William Edgar Hotel
Beijing Water Town Hot Spring Resort
Visit the Great Wall at NightEnjoy breakfast and travel back to Beijing city to explore the Summer Palace, a royal masterpiece of Chinese landscaped gardens.
Take a high-speed train to Xi'an after lunch.
Tips to Tailor-Make Your Tour
- Do you love hiking? We can arrange a 2-hour, 4-hour, or even multi-day wild Great Wall hiking experience for you.
Hotel options:
Somerset Xindicheng Xi'an
Wyndham Grand Xi'an South
The Summer PalaceIn the morning, uncover the mystery of the underground army that dates back thousands of years at the Terracotta Army Museum.
Then discover a local craftsman's cave dwelling and learn how to make a mini terracotta warrior.
In the afternoon, visit the ancient city wall that has been guarding the inner city for 600 years.
Walking along the wall provides a good view of the city. You can also rent a bike to cycle around the wall.
The Terracotta ArmyDiscover more of Xi'an and China's ancient history at Xi'an History Museum and Little Wild Goose Pagoda, then head to the Muslim Quarter and wander through the alleys to taste the local Muslim cuisine.
Fly to Guilin in the afternoon.
Hotel options:
Lijiang Waterfall Hotel
Shangri-La Hotel Guilin
The Big Goose PagodaBegin your day by exploring the Longji Terraced Rice Fields.
Built into the hillsides, the terraces are beautiful when the sun reflects on the water of the paddy fields, and the fields glow when the harvest is ripe.
The Zhuang minority have lived there for generations in wooden houses, and the people eat their own unique food, such as bamboo rice and oil tea.
Sit around a bonfire in a traditional kitchen, make bamboo rice with the host.
Tips to Tailor-Make Your Tour
Are you very active and love hiking? Then you'll love the 5-hour hiking trip between the villages of Ping'an and Dazhai through the Longji Terraced Rice Fields.
Cook in a local home in the Longji Terraced FieldsA cruise along the Li River is an unforgettable experience. Between spectacular limestone peaks, you will see graceful bamboo groves, farmers tending rice paddies, and lumbering water buffalo cooling off in the river.
Disembark in Yangshuo town around 1:30 pm and explore the famous West Street. Transfer to the cozy hotel in the countryside and enjoy your free time in the rest of the day.
Tips to Tailor-Make Your Tour
Yangshuo offers a relaxing atmosphere and various activities: a cooking class, a tai chi lesson, a farming experience, and even rock climbing.
Tell us what you want to try in the right form so that we can enrich your tour.
Hotel options:
Yangshuo Mountain Retreat
Yangshuo Ancient Garden Boutique Hotel
The Li RiverCountryside of YangshuoDrive toward the south of Yangshuo to explore the peaceful villages. You might meet someone on his way to the fields with a water buffalo or someone working in the paddy.
Visit an old couple who still live in a traditional house. Learn about their lifestyle and philosophy of living.
Continue to drive pass an old ferry along the Li River. The old buildings in the ancient style are the memory of the busy water transportation on the Li River in the past. Then you will take a ferry and a local farmer's taxi (a kind of motorbike with three wheels) to the local market.
Your guide will show you around to explain the different types of food and show you the local people's daily necessities.
Fly to the modern city of Shanghai in the afternoon.
Hotel options:
Sunrise On The Bund
Wanda Reign Hotel
Experience of countryside LifestyleDo you just want to take one or two selfies in the Bund as most tourists do? Let's travel back in time to the golden age of the Bund in the 1920s during our In-depth Bund Culture Discovery Tour.
Enjoy lunch and ascend to the highest building in China, Shanghai Tower, where you will not only enjoy a panoramic view of Shanghai but will also see the future of China.
Half-Day Customized Icing-on-the-Cake Experience
After traveling in China for around 10 days, you might want to do something different at the end. Do you want to have some relaxation time? Do you have any unfulfilled trip wishes? In Shanghai, your private guide will make your wishes come true!
Whether you want to relax, experience fashion, appreciate art, explore folk customs, or shop; from having fun in fancy bar to exploring an art center, trying nail beauty, testing your popularity in the marriage market, or just buying some lovely gifts, we will make it happen. Just tell us what you're interested in.
If you don't know what you want, just let your guide make the arrangements. You will not be disappointed!
Shanghai TowerAs your China trip comes to end, your tour guide and driver will collect you from your hotel and transfer you to Shanghai Pudong International Airport for your flight home.
Trip Notes
Every element of the tour above can be tailored. Feel free to tell us your ideas and we will be happy to make adjustments for you.
Extend the tour:
- Suzhou and/or Hangzhou: add 1–4 days — water towns, gardens, the Grand Canal, and West Lake
- Chengdu: add 2–3 days — a panda keeper program, have your photo taken next to a panda, and the Leshan Giant Buddha
- Hong Kong: add 2–3 days — Victoria Peak, Hong Kong Disneyland, and a day-tour of Macau
- Free days: Yangshuo and Shanghai are popular destinations to add one or more free days to explore on one's own.
- More destinations: Zhangjiajie, Huangshan, and Tibet... Inform us of your interests and we will offer you some recommendations.
2. Accommodation
Various types of accommodation are available, including famous 5-star hotel chains, 4-star hotels in the best locations, good value 3-star hotels, or boutique hotels that reflect the style of the region. Whatever your accommodation preferences are, our travel experts will seek out and find the perfect one for you.
Most hotels in China allow at most three people in one room. If there are more than three people in your group, we will check if there is a family room available or do our best to arrange interconnecting rooms or adjoin rooms.
3. Transportation
China is a huge country, so to make your travel experience more efficient, we usually arrange flights to connect to your destinations.
China's high-speed rail network is a fast-paced way to travel. We recommend taking high-speed trains for journeys of less than 6 hours to interested customers — please tell us if you are one of them.
4. Meals
Lunches at popular local restaurants are included for you so you can taste authentic Chinese food. Your guide will assist you with ordering the dishes.
Vegetarian, halal, kosher, Indian, or gluten-free — all your dietary requirements can be taken care of by our experienced private guides. Let us know if you have any of these dietary requirements during your booking.
Hotel Selection
—the Icing on the Cake
Boutique hotels are recommended to enrich your travel experience.
5-star option: Hotel Eclat Beijing4-star option: Yangshuo Mountain Retreat5-star option: MaxX By Steigenberger Shanghai on the BundTour Price
Price includes: