Itineraries & Trip Planning

Build a China Itinerary Around Time and Season

Start with the month-by-month timing guide and first-timer overview. Then compare the seven-day Beijing–Xi’an–Shanghai route with the 10-day itinerary, and check the budget guide. Confirm transport, opening arrangements and entry requirements before booking.

Badaling and the Great Wall. Photo: Daniel Case, CC BY-SA 3.0. Key Takeaways Count full days separately...

Use this China trip planner to turn available nights, entry conditions and a short list of priorities...

A Shanghai to Hangzhou day trip works best when West Lake is the main reason to go. Choose suitable outward...

Source-based edition, reviewed 5 October 2026. This itinerary is not field-tested or certified step-free....

For a first weekend in Shanghai, use one day for the old town and Bund, then one for a neighbourhood...

With three free hours in Shanghai, choose one route: a Bund riverfront walk, Tianzifang and a nearby...

Choose Dunhuang if Mogao’s Buddhist cave art is the reason you are travelling west. Choose Zhangye...

For a first Silk Road China itinerary, allow 12 days for Xi’an, Lanzhou, Zhangye, Jiayuguan and...

A useful two-day Shanghai winter itinerary puts an indoor visit first and treats outdoor walks as adjustable...

Xi’an is often reduced to a day trip to the Terracotta Army. That misses the city that made the...

Yunnan is too large and varied for one rushed circuit. Kunming and the Stone Forest, Dali and Lijiang,...

Choose purchases you can assess, carry and legally take into your next destination. Tea, textiles, small...

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