10 days in China: itinerary

The classic triangle is the only 10-day route that works without a flight: Beijing in the north, Xi'an in the middle, Shanghai on the coast. The high-speed network joins all three, so you sleep in a bed, not an airport.

Going west or south instead — Chengdu, Guilin and Yangshuo, Yunnan — adds a flight and eats a day at each end. That is a 14-day trip, not a 10-day one.

Beijing, days 1–4. Day 1 is arrival: settle the phone, payment apps and a SIM or eSIM before anything else, then walk a hutong near your hotel. Day 2 is the Forbidden City and Tiananmen, booked in advance, with the Temple of Heaven in the afternoon. Day 3 is the Great Wall at Mutianyu or Badaling — a full day, leave early. Day 4 is the Summer Palace or 798, then an evening train or an early night before it.

Xi'an, days 5–6. Morning train from Beijing, arriving around lunch. Afternoon on the city wall by bike, evening in the Muslim Quarter for lamb skewers and roujiamo. Day 6 is the Terracotta Army, half a day with the drive, then the Great Mosque or Shaanxi History Museum if tickets allow.

Shanghai, days 7–9. Train from Xi'an, or a flight if you want the afternoon back. Day 7 is the Bund at dusk and Nanjing Road. Day 8 is the French Concession lanes, Yu Garden and the Shanghai Museum. Day 9 is a day trip to Suzhou gardens or Hangzhou's West Lake, both under an hour by rail. Day 10 is departure.

High-speed rail is the backbone. Beijing–Xi'an and Xi'an–Shanghai are both direct, city-centre to city-centre, and you can book seats online or at the station with your passport. Arrive 45–60 minutes before departure for security and platform access.

Inside each city, the metro is cheap and signed in English; taxis and ride-hailing work but need a Chinese payment app. For the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army, a booked day tour or a hired car removes the bus guesswork.

Flights make sense only for the long diagonals — Xi'an–Shanghai if you are short of time, or anything involving Chengdu, Guilin or Yunnan.

Beijing: stay inside the Second Ring near a metro line — Dongcheng around the hutongs, or Chaoyang for hotels and nightlife. Anything near Wangfujing or Qianmen puts the Forbidden City within walking distance.

Xi'an: the walled city centre, near the Bell Tower or South Gate, keeps the Muslim Quarter and the wall on foot. The Terracotta Army is an hour out, so there is no reason to sleep near it.

Shanghai: the Bund and Nanjing Road for first-timers, the French Concession for cafés and lanes, or People's Square for the metro hub. Book all three cities before you fly; the good mid-range places fill in April–May and September–October.

A mid-range 10-day trip — three-star or good boutique hotels, high-speed trains, metro and taxis, paid sights and two proper meals a day — runs about ¥8,000–14,000 per person, or roughly $1,100–1,950, excluding international flights (2026 estimate). Backpacker style, with hostels and overnight trains, can land near ¥4,500–6,500.

Sights are the small line: Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Great Wall, Terracotta Army and Shanghai's museums together are a few hundred yuan. The trains are the big one. Book early for the cheapest seats.

Swap Shanghai for Chengdu if pandas and Sichuan food matter more than the Bund: Beijing 4 nights, Xi'an 2, Chengdu 3, flying Xi'an–Chengdu and Chengdu out. You lose the coast and gain a slower, cheaper city.

Swap Xi'an for Guilin and Yangshuo if you want the karst river landscape: Beijing 4, fly to Guilin, 3 nights split between Guilin and Yangshuo, then fly to Shanghai for 2. It is tighter and costs more in flights.

With 7 days, do Beijing and Shanghai only. With 14, add Chengdu and Guilin to the triangle. Both are already mapped on the country itineraries page.