Three weeks lets you run China’s classic north-to-south line, from imperial Beijing to the karst peaks of Guangxi, finishing in Hong Kong. The itinerary suits travelers on a first or second trip who want the headline sights plus a few village nights. The pace is moderate: most stops get three to five nights, and there is one longer travel day with a flight. You’ll need high-speed trains, one domestic flight from Chengdu to Guilin, regional buses in Guangxi, and city metros.
Days 1-6: Beijing
Five nights in
Beijing covers the big sights with room to recover from the flight. Book the
Forbidden City online several days ahead (60 yuan, US$8, from April to October and 40 yuan in winter; closed Mondays), and allow a full morning for the side halls as well as the main axis. Give a separate day to the
Great Wall of China at Mutianyu, 1.5 to 2 hours out. Its towers are well restored and the walk is steep, and you can take a toboggan down if your knees vote for it. Spend an afternoon at the
Summer …
read more 👉Three weeks lets you run China’s classic north-to-south line, from imperial Beijing to the karst peaks of Guangxi, finishing in Hong Kong. The itinerary suits travelers on a first or second trip who want the headline sights plus a few village nights. The pace is moderate: most stops get three to five nights, and there is one longer travel day with a flight. You’ll need high-speed trains, one domestic flight from Chengdu to Guilin, regional buses in Guangxi, and city metros.
Days 1-6: Beijing
Five nights in Beijing covers the big sights with room to recover from the flight. Book the Forbidden City online several days ahead (60 yuan, US$8, from April to October and 40 yuan in winter; closed Mondays), and allow a full morning for the side halls as well as the main axis. Give a separate day to the Great Wall of China at Mutianyu, 1.5 to 2 hours out. Its towers are well restored and the walk is steep, and you can take a toboggan down if your knees vote for it. Spend an afternoon at the Summer Palace, Beijing, rowing on Kunming Lake below Longevity Hill, and end at least one night over Peking duck.Days 6-9: Xi’an
The high-speed train to Xi’an takes 4.5 to 6 hours and costs about 515 yuan (US$72) in second class. Reach the Terracotta Warriors early (120 yuan, about 1 hour by bus from town). Head to Pit 1 first, before the tour groups crowd the viewing rail. The Shaanxi History Museum has free timed tickets that go quickly, so reserve them as soon as your dates are fixed. In the evenings, cycle the top of the city wall at sunset and eat your way through the Muslim Quarter: biangbiang noodles, roujiamo and persimmon cakes fried on the spot.Days 9-12: Chengdu
Three to four hours by train (about 260 yuan) brings you to Chengdu, the slowest-moving big city in the country. Arrive at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding when it opens at 7:30 a.m., since the pandas feed and play in the first couple of hours and spend the afternoon asleep. Pass the rest of your time in the bamboo chairs of People’s Park teahouse, where the ear cleaners do their rounds, and at a hotpot restaurant where the broth arrives an alarming shade of red.Days 12-14: Emeishan and the Leshan Buddha
Take the 1 to 1.5 hour train to Emeishan. On your arrival afternoon, make the 30-minute trip to the Mount Emei Scenic Area (Leshan Giant Buddha), a 71-meter Buddha carved into a riverside cliff. Take the steep stairway down beside it to appreciate the scale. The next day belongs to Mount Emei National Park. Ride the bus and cable car to the 3,077-meter Golden Summit, then hike some of the lower monastery trails, keeping food out of sight around the macaques.Days 14-16: Guilin and the Longji Rice Terraces
Day 14 is the trip’s long one: a train back to Chengdu, then a flight of about 2 hours to Guilin. Sleep there, and the next morning take the roughly 2-hour bus into the hills for the Longji Rice Terraces. Stay overnight in a wooden guesthouse in Ping’an or Dazhai, home to Zhuang and Yao villagers, and walk the ridgetop paths. The terraces are flooded and mirror-like in spring and turn gold around September and October.Days 16-19: Yangshuo
Head back through Guilin and take the onward bus, 3 to 4 hours in total, to Yangshuo, where limestone peaks rise behind the guesthouses. Three nights is the minimum. Rent a bike for the lanes along the Yulong River, drift down it on a bamboo raft, and make a trip to Xingping for the river bend printed on the 20-yuan note. Climbers will find bolted routes and gear-rental shops all over town.Days 19-21: Hong Kong
A direct high-speed train to West Kowloon takes roughly 3 to 4 hours. Hong Kong runs its own immigration, and many nationalities enter visa-free. Spend your two nights on dim sum, Star Ferry crossings and the Dragon’s Back ridge walk above the South China Sea, then fly out on day 21.
If you add a day in Beijing, take the bus out to Cuandixia, a Ming and Qing era village of stone courtyard houses in the western hills about two to three hours from the city.v2.webp){kind=logo}
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