14-Day China Highlights Tour: Shanghai to Beijing

On arrival at Shanghai Airport, a private vehicle transfers you to your hotel for check-in. The rest of the day is free. Rest and adjust to the time difference after your flight, or take a short walk near the hotel to get your bearings in Shanghai. There is no fixed sightseeing schedule today, so you can settle in at your own pace before the guided China highlights itinerary begins.

After meeting in the hotel lobby, visit Yu Garden, a classical Ming Dynasty garden in old Shanghai. Continue through the Former French Concession for tree-lined streets and period architecture. Ascend the Shanghai Tower observation deck on the 118th floor for skyline views, then take a Huangpu River cruise before walking the Bund among its historic waterfront buildings and returning to your hotel for the night.

Gallery: Yu GardenThe Bund Shanghai

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Your guide meets you in the hotel lobby according to your flight schedule and transfers you to the airport for your flight to Zhangjiajie. On arrival, continue directly into Zhangjiajie National Forest Park for a hike along Golden Whip Stream among the park’s sandstone cliffs and forest valleys. After the walk, check in to your Zhangjiajie hotel and rest for the peak sightseeing days ahead.

After breakfast, return to Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. Ride the park shuttle to the Bailong Elevator for the short cliffside ascent to Yuanjiajie, then walk to Avatar Hallelujah Mountain. Continue to Yangjiajie and the Natural Great Wall before visiting Tianzi Mountain, including views such as the Imperial Brush Peaks. Descend by cable car in the afternoon and return to your hotel in the evening.

Gallery: Tianzi Mountain PeaksTianzi Mountain Cable Car Views

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This morning, visit Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon, including the glass bridge walk where offered on your route through canyon streams and cliff paths. In the afternoon, continue to Tianmen Mountain, one of Zhangjiajie’s highest peaks, to see Tianmen Cave and walk the glass skywalk sections included on your ticket. Return to your hotel afterward to rest before tomorrow’s high-speed train to Guilin.

Gallery: Tianmen Mountain

After breakfast, transfer to the railway station for your high-speed train from Zhangjiajie to Guilin. On arrival, your local guide meets you and transfers you to your Guilin hotel. The remainder of the day is free to rest after the journey or take a short walk near the hotel before tomorrow’s Li River cruise through the karst landscape of northern Guangxi.

Your guide takes you from the hotel to the pier for a Li River cruise through Guilin’s karst landscape. Watch for landmarks such as Nine-Horse Mural Hill and Yellow Cloth Shoal as the boat moves toward Yangshuo. In Yangshuo, join a scenic countryside cycling ride among the rice fields and limestone peaks before returning to your Guilin hotel for dinner as listed.

Gallery: Li River Cruise

After breakfast, take a bamboo raft along the Yulong River among the karst hills outside Yangshuo. Drive back to Guilin to visit Reed Flute Cave and its illuminated limestone chambers, then continue to Elephant Trunk Hill, the city’s landmark karst peak beside the Li River. Return to your hotel afterward for a free evening before your flight to Xi’an the next day.

Gallery: Reed Flute Cave FormationsReed Flute Cave Chambers

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Your Guilin guide and driver take you to the airport for your flight to Xi’an. On arrival, visit the Ming Dynasty Xi’an City Wall for panoramic city views, with time to walk or cycle along the ramparts if you wish. End the day with a stroll through the Muslim Quarter before checking in to your Xi’an hotel for the night.

Gallery: Muslim QuarterXi’an City Wall

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After breakfast, drive to the Museum of Qin Shi Huang’s Terracotta Army, including time in the main excavation pits and a terracotta figurine-making stop where offered on site. Sample local Xi’an cuisine around the visit, then return downtown to the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, linked with the Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang. Return to your hotel in the evening after the pagoda visit.

Gallery: Terracotta Army

In the morning, take the included high-speed train from Xi’an to Beijing. After afternoon arrival and a short rest at your hotel, join a rickshaw tour through Beijing hutongs and visit a traditional siheyuan courtyard house with your local guide. The ride introduces everyday alley life in the old city lanes before you return to the hotel for evening rest.

Drive from your hotel to the Mutianyu Great Wall, a well-preserved Ming Dynasty section of the Wall near Beijing, using the Mutianyu cable car as included on this sightseeing day. In the afternoon, return to the city for the Summer Palace, walking lakeside corridors and palace halls in China’s largest surviving imperial garden before hotel drop-off later in the day.

Gallery: Mutianyu Great Wall RampartsMutianyu Great Wall Watchtowers

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Your guide picks you up for Tiananmen Square and the Palace Museum (Forbidden City), the former imperial palace of halls and courtyards at the heart of Beijing. Continue to the Temple of Heaven, including the Echo Wall area, where Ming and Qing emperors once prayed for good harvests. Return to your hotel afterward for a free evening before departure day.

Gallery: Forbidden City Hall of Supreme HarmonyForbidden City Courtyard

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After breakfast, enjoy free time at leisure until your scheduled departure transfer from the hotel. According to your flight time, a private vehicle takes you to the airport for your onward journey, ending this 14-day China highlights tour from Shanghai through Zhangjiajie, Guilin, and Xi’an to Beijing. Thank you for traveling this route with East Marvel, and have a pleasant flight.