How to Plan a 3-Week Itinerary in China (Best 3 Options & Costs)

We had a wonderful time in Hangzhou thanks to China Highlights and especially to our guide Derek! He has done a great job making us confortable! He is very professional and friendly and he taught us a lot of stories and traditions about China!! We highly recommend him for your future visit in Hangzhou

Die Agency (in unserem Fall vertreten durch Tutu Sun) hat für uns eine perfekte Reise organisiert. Sehr gute Kommunikation im Vorfeld der Reise und vor Ort. Zu 100% verl?sslich, immer pünktlich und an jedem Ort sehr freundliche und engagierte Guides. Wir k?nnen eine Buchung bei diesem Unternehmen absolut und uneingeschr?nkt empfehlen. In Beijing hatten wir mit Herrn Chen 3 interessante Tage inklusive einer sehr spannenden individuellen Wanderung auf der grossen Mauer.

The company and Roger Li in particular have been very responsive to customizing our China trip. They provided us clear instructions, full information and helpful links to facilitate the planning of the trip.

We had an excellent trip; we did the 3 day (4 nights) tour and our guide Wendy made it an exceptional experience. She was so informative and planned our itinerary so well - even though the attractions are very busy in the summer season, Wendy made sure that we did our best to avoid the crowds. The sights are beautiful and it is absolutely worth travelling from the bigger cities. Tianmen mountain was the highlight of the trip! We are so glad we booked a private tour. Hotel was also excellent.

Bruce was an amazing guide and very knowledgeable. He got me past ALOT of long lines fast and knew all the best places to go to take pictures! Also provided good recommendations for additional activities! If you get Bruce you’re in good hands!

We contacted China Highlights on a private tour trip to Yunnan , China. Since this is our first time to Yunnan, we also contacted a few other travel agencies. Not all replied but Amber Zhao from China Highlights was one of them. She replied ( on Whatsapp/emails) within a few hours after I sent my inquiry. After a few correspondences, she proposed a very detailed itinerary- thoroughly professional. However, after reviewing all the proposed itineraries/costs from those who replied, we decided to go with a Yunnan-based agency. We informed Amber of our decision, expecting that she will be upset but to our surprise, her reply was very professional & supportive. Part of her reply: “Thank you for getting back to me. I completely understand your decision to proceed with a local Yunnan travel agency for your upcoming trip. Yunnan is a beautiful province with a rich cultural heritage, and having a local guide can greatly enrich your experience there..... I hope you have a wonderful time in Yunnan. Wishing you and your family a safe, pleasant, and meaningful trip filled with lasting memories. May you have fair weather, smooth travels, and find warm hospitality everywhere you go” We will definitely contact Amber/ China Highlights for our next China trip on another province. Thanks so much, Amber.

Another wonderful four-day section of our tailor-made three week China Highlights trip, this time in the region around Guilin, Yangshuo and in the Longji rice terraces with our friendly guide Chase. The 4-hour Li river cruise on a 4-star boat, the bamboo rafting - which our guide kindly got us by queueing from 4am onwards - hike to Moon Hill, bicycle river trip and Liu San Jie light show were all excellent, so was the Yangshuo Mountain Retreat hotel. The hike in the Longji rice terraces from Ping’an to another village, bamboo rice cooking experience and Baike Boutique Hotel with its great views were also all wonderful. We wished we could have stayed longer!

I liked beautiful riverfront with skyscrapers, especially in the evening. The garden is very nice, lots of walkways makes it feel really big. Thanks to the guide the schedule was very flexible. Instead of waiting in a huge queue for the tv tower we went to nearby skyscraper, we also were able to meet with our friends who also visited Shanghai on the same day.

Quelle expérience inoubliable avons-nous vécue à Xian accompagné admirablement par Fanny ! Par la visite du quartier musulman, armée des soldats en terre cuite, la ville et ses remparts, un spectacle grandiose, etc., Fanny à toujours su nous emmener aux endroits parfaits pour notre famille. Avant d’arriver, j’avais peur que cette ville soit sans intérêt pour mon plus jeune enfant, mais Fanny et China Highlights ont proposé des activités variées pour toute la famille et Fanny savait comment naviguer dans les foules avec notre poussette et fut d’une aide précieuse avec les enfants ! Elle nous a aussi beaucoup aidé à mieux comprendre la ville et son histoire. C'était toujours intéressant de l'écouter. Le logement à Somerset Xindicheng était parfait aussi ! Merci pour tout ! Nous en garderons un mémorable souvenir.

Ms Yeliz Wong acted as a very professional agent. All my questions were answered in short time. I am very fond of her

In case you didn't know, ALL foreigners MUST be on an organized tour to visit Tibet. However, what was great about this China Highlights tour was that we were givenq the choice of what kind of hotel to stay in (3 or 4 stars), and though the days were planned, our tour guide gave us a lot of flexibility (on day seven he let us decide as group if we wanted to see another monastery... we had had our full by then!) and the evevings were always free. The culture, the scenery and the people of Tibet are almost indescribable, and I was moved so many times and in multiple places. That said, what really made my time traveling aacoss Tibet so fulfiling was our tour guide, E. Ten Zin. He dealt with seven different personalities with professional ease, communicated clearly what was happening at all times (there are multiple check points, so he needed to take our passports frequently), had an answer for every question and topic, and quickly learned what each of us liked and gave us more of that... I was quietly fascinated by some farmland, and E. Ten Zin took me aside, took my camera and said "you need a photo here". And when we arrived at Everest and she was hiding behind some clouds, he sat down, patted the ground beside him for us to join him and told us "just wait. You will see"... half an hour later, he was right, and Everest was spectacular. This was not my first time with China Highlights, and it won't be my last. Highly highly recommended.

Kris was an excellent tour guide in Shanghai and flexible with our travel plans. Mervyn has impressive knowledge of history and culture in Xi'an and did a stellar job navigating the crowds of tourists seeing the Terra-cotta Army. Cactus brings a depth of historical knowledge to the tours that is super interesting, and she has great enthusiasm that makes the tour enjoyable. All our drivers were very good and helped ensure that we got from one destination to the next as safely and quickly as possible. The air conditioning in the comfortable cars during the exceptionally hot summer was appreciated, as well. Our itinerary included Shanghai, Xi'an, and Beijing, plus a few days trips such as a small water town outside Shanghai and the Terra-cotta Army outside Xi'an. We took high speed trains between all our destinations, and the China Highlights team did everything they could remotely to pre-arrange those logistics and also escorted us as far as they were able to at each train station. We traveled first class whenever the tickets were still available, and we stayed in quality hotels that were clean and centrally-located for most tourist activities in each city. It was maybe the greatest culinary trip of our lives. :)

The representative (Ms Maggie Jiang) assigned was responsive and customer service oriented. Our trip was well organised with quality tour guides and drivers. My family and I had a wonderful Yunnan experience.

All the drivers and guides in each city were excellent and really enhanced our experience.we had Jennifer in .Beijing, Mervyn in Xi’an, Chase in Guilin and Kris in Shanghai. If we travel in this region again, will definitely use China Highlights, thanks for an unforgettable trip!

My mom and I visited China for two weeks using China Highlights and had Jennifer (Beijing), Mervyn (Xi'an), Chase (Guilin / Yangshou County), and Kris (Shanghai) as our guides. Our guides were knowledgeable about their local regions and very friendly. Each guide went above and beyond to make our experience memorable and special! Thank you, China Highlights!

The trip included Shanghai where Kris was our amazing guide, Guilin and Yangshuo with Gary who did an amazing job at adjusting the schedule to meet our needs given the incredible heat, Chengdu with Helen who shared her passion for the Pandas with us, had fun in the peoples park with us and introduced us to the local opera which was fascinating and ensured we were able to taste amazing Sizhuan food without burning up! We then moved on to Xian with Jenny who ensured we got to the Terracotta army early enough to get an amazing view, took us to try our hand at making our own warriors, was very knowledgable about the history of Xian which was very interesting and lastly allowed us to try making dumplings which we all loved. Our final stop was Beijing. Ethan was our tour guide and he again did an amazing job ensuring we got to the Great Wall of China early enough to see the amazing wall without too many people and whilst it was still relatively cool, share his great knowledge of the Forbidden City and Summer Palace with us, introduced us to the Beijing Hot Pot and importantly ensured we were able to celebrate our sons 18th birthday in style and with his favourite Chinese food!! Thank you again for making our 2 weeks so special and we will for sure be back very soon.

We toured Shanghai with Kris from China Highlights as our guide, he was friendly, helpful and made the trip a lot of fun! He also went above and beyond when we traveled to my daughter’s birthplace helping to get information and connect with people from the orphanage where my daughter was adopted from.Highly recommend!!

Kris with China Highlights was friendly and personable during our trip. He told us the history of Shanghai in an interesting way, and gave us great recommendations to avoid crowds but still see the highlights of Shanghai. He also traveled with us to the city I was born and was very helpful in helping us communicate with locals. He made sure we had a memorable and very special experience.

Another wonderful four-day section of our tailor-made three week China Highlights trip, this time in the region around Guilin, Yangshuo and in the Longji rice terraces with our friendly guide Chase. The 4-hour Li river cruise on a 4-star boat, the bamboo rafting - which our guide kindly got us by queueing from 4am onwards - hike to Moon Hill, bicycle river trip and Liu San Jie light show were all excellent, so was the Yangshuo Mountain Retreat hotel. The hike in the Longji rice terraces from Ping’an to another village, bamboo rice cooking experience and Baike Boutique Hotel with its great views were also all wonderful. We wished we could have stayed longer!

We were treated to the most amazing, full, tailor-made, unique & personalised tour of Guilin & Yangshuo over 4 days.. Our excellent guide Vincent went the extra mile to give us the best experience and included local, personalised activities & adventures, hidden gems off the beaten track! We had the best time, using every minute tfor both 'wow" & 'local' experiences and with helpful advice always. His helper Karpo was also amazing & helped us a lot, as did our driver Mr Tan. It all flowed effortlessly for us, while they were working hard behind the scenes! ..and also to meet our every need. We are so grateful. Thank you for showing us the best of Guilin & Yangshuo, & for looking after us so well, while also avoiding the crowds in high season.

Our tour guide Tony was indeed very knowledgeable and helpful the entire trip. His explanation and description of the villages in English is very good. Tony is very accommodating to our requests too. The hike up in the mountains was really good and exciting and Tony managed to bring us to most of the recommended viewpoints and waited for us to catch our breath when we’re too exhausted hiking. I fully recommend getting Tony as your guide.

My girlfriend and I went to Yellow Mountain during the Labor Day Holiday in China, and honestly were amazed by the actual beauty of it all. Our tour guide Sunny (thank you so much for your exquisite work) made our trip even better. The hotels that were chosen by the China Highlights agency were perfect, the Shanshui Boutique in the heart of the Huangshan city was so convenient to walk from, and the Xihai Hotel on the mountains was a perfect stop for the hiking we did for two days. The tour that we did was not enough to see everything of course so we shall be returning in the near future. We were so lucky about the weather and the crowds (holiday) that the perfect visit was even more marvelous as I proposed to my girlfriend on the Flying Rock peak during a breathtaking sunset. This will always be our rock and for that I am very grateful since Sunny the tour guide made it perfect for us.

In April 23 China Highlights organised a 3 day, 2 night trip for us from Shanghai to Huangshan. From the Bullet Train to the scenery at the World Heritage Yellow Mountains to the Tea ceremony - It's a must visit for anyone visiting China, however, not often on Western Tourist Programs.

In April 23 China Highlights organised a 3 day, 2 night trip for us from Shanghai to Huangshan in the Anhui Province. From the Bullet Train to the scenery at the World Heritage Yellow Mountains, the meals and the Tea ceremony - It's a must visit for anyone visiting China, however, not often on Western Tourist Programs. Liberman who arranged the trip, and Tony who was our guide were always available to assist us. 10/10 - Thanks very much. Adam Liaws, "Destination Flavour China"(S1 Episode2 visits the Anhui province - worth a watch to see how beautiful the region is.

We three ladies took a three-day trip away from our families to enjoy the peace of the countryside and the inspiring beauty of Huangshan. China Highlights and our tour guide, Jack Fan, made the trip everything we had hoped for an even more. We started the first day with bicycle and foot tours in Bishan Village- absolutely charming! We then moved to Huangshan and… wow! It’s easy to see what artists and poets have been inspired throughout the centuries. Jack has spent years on the mountain and knows every corner of it. He made sure to take us to the best places in the limited time we had and made it all extra special by sharing the history and stories. He also knew exactly how long every path would take and planned to maximize our time with a steady pace. Early rain quickly passed and left us with the views of the moving “sea of clouds” that everyone talks about. We are all so glad we didn’t miss Huangshan- there’s a reason everyone says it’s the most beautiful mountain in China. Thanks, Jack, for a wonderful tour!

Tony was an enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide, who skillfully dealt with any issues as they arose to make sure the days passed seamlessly and enjoyably.

My husband and I were in awe of the natural beauty of the Yellow Mountain. Our guide Phillip Tong, with China Highlights, gave us an exceptional experience at our pace. (As an older couple this was greatly appreciated.) He shared his vast knowledge of history and cultural significance as we trekked over and around the mountain, touring Bishan, and Hongcun. We concluded our trip by making fish lanterns. China Highlights has once again provided us with great memories.

I did a 4 day trekking in the Yellow Mountains with China Highlights and it was even more stunning than I thought it would be. Spend two nights in the mountains and one in Huangshan, totally worth is. This is a place you must visit and according to my guide every season had it’s own beauty. I will definitely come back! Coco planned the whole trip according to my wishes and Tony was a perfect guide being very knowledgeable and supportive. If you don’t have 4 days I’m sure a three, or even two, day trip will be very nice as well!

We had a memorable experience hiking the Yellow Mountain in Huangshan. Our trip was complicated by the typhoon that hit the area and we had to have a flexible itinerary, China Highlights helped with this. Once we arrived, Tony was very helpful & was able to tailor the experience for the different fitness levels in the group.

Our guide for the 3 days was Tony, who was very knowledgeable, friendly, polite and spoke good english. Tony even went out of his was last minute to organize a birthday cake for my wife. He was a terrific guide. --Travel 73002

--

Great tour arrangement by Coco Yang. We had a fabulous time with April Yao. She is courteous, knowledgeable about Huangshan and spoken excellent English. She is very caring and very patient especially during our hike to ensure we enjoy the scenery with no rush at all. She goes beyond her duty and is always helpful to take group photos of us including short video clips of the amazing scenery. THANK YOU April Yao for an amazing and unforgettable trip with you. Would definitely recommend China Highlights for a customized private tour. Money well spent! Make sure you ask for April Yao as your guide in Yellow Mountains. -----fongsherina Sydney, Australia

I recently visited the much fabled Huangshan aka Yellow mountain in my second visit to China. I had seen pictures when I was researching my trip but the place simply took my breath away. Amazing rock formations and trees growing out of granite create a surreal landscape! The place is simply a natural wonder. We first visited Tunxi (Huangshan city) which is pretty special in itself as it has merely 100,000 people and offers a little old town with fabulous handicrafts (wood carvings, bags etc.) and local eats (try hairy tofu!....it may look daunting but it tastes delicious!) Next day we started our exploration of Huangshan mountain. Huangshan offers many many hiking trails in the different scenic areas. The hiking path is man-made steps and based on one‘s ability and appetite there are many to choose from. One can take a comfortable cable car ride up to the mountain that offers stunning vistas so be ready to snap some amazing scenery. Then one starts hiking down the mountain. There is a monorail to take you back up the mountain should you be staying in one of the hotels on the mountain. We ourselves did various hikes with our fantastic guide Tony who is very knowledgeable and really took care of us starting from preparing snacks for the day and showing us the most spectacular views. We spent about 2.5 days exploring the mountain and if I had an extra pair of legs I would have done more! ;-) We stayed two nights on top of the mountain. While the accommodations offered all the basic creature comforts, the mountain itself retains an unspoilt aura which makes the experience just perfect. So one gets to enjoy almost unadulterated nature without sacrificing on the essentials. Finally, in our China trip, we visited four other mountains and my personal recommendation is that if one had to choose one mountain to visit in China, then it should be Huangshan! It is less than 2 hours from Shanghai by bullet train and there is no other place like it! I for sure would love to visit again and this time for longer! ---36debim

We booked a 2 day trip Huangshan / Yellow Mountains with China Highlights. April Yao was our guide and she reallly could read our wishes and feelings.... Before I start: "Hiking" in the Yellow Mountains means walking on a paved path and "climbing" up and down steps. The main routes are very, very crowded. There is no "wild" or natural path hiking like Europeans use to do... She guided us quickly away from the chinese tourist masses to some spectacular "lonley" points (you will never be alone in China). The late afternoon hike with breathtaking views and a beautiful sunset on the eastern side of the park was a highlight. Especially after 4pm most of the tourists go back down and the place becomes calmer. However, there are still many people on the mountain in the various hotels. We were in the Xihai Hotel 5*- very comfortable, quite a good level. Be aware: go for dinner early, we collected the food left after 7.30 pm and at 8 they started to clean (officially open till 8.30 pm). Next Morning: watch the sunrise - our one was not as spectacular as sunset. After breakfast we did a tour to the highest point, some more spectacular views and headed back for an excellent lunch to the valley. On the way back we visited a village close by (forgot the name) and in the evening we took a massage in Haungshan City - I felt like a cooked noodle afterwards... but great program. What would I do different? Next time I would ask for an extended tour including the cable train on the backside of the mountain. This seemed to be quite spectacular but would probably require 2 -3 more hours of hiking. And I would probably not go up there on a weekend or in highseason. --Patrick.Teufen

I had the pleasure of staying in the most wonderful 10-bedroom hotel called the Pig's Inn in Bishan and Bishan itself is a lovely village to explore and to go cycling. The Huangshan Mountains are spectacular and I would definitely recommend to spend the better part of three days or more hiking there and not just a day trip as you will miss so much if limited to one day. I have also been hiking in the Huashan Mountains with China Highlights and they are also spectacular too, but if you have been to Huashan do not think it is more of the same in Huangshan.