7 days in China: itinerary

The route is a straight line, not a loop: land in Beijing, take the train south to Shanghai, fly home from Shanghai. Both cities have the airport links, hotel stock and English signage a first trip needs, and the rail leg between them is the one long transfer you cannot avoid.

Keep the Great Wall as a day trip from Beijing and Suzhou or Hangzhou as a day trip from Shanghai. That gives you seven nights in two beds, which is the most a week can carry without spending it in stations.

Days 1–4, Beijing. Give the Forbidden City a full morning: enter at opening, walk north to Jingshan for the view back over the roofs, then eat lunch in the hutongs. Put the Great Wall on day 3 and leave early; Mutianyu is the usual first-trip choice, Badaling is closer but busier. Day 4 is flexible: the Summer Palace if the weather is clear, the 798 art district or the Temple of Heaven if it is not.

Days 5–7, Shanghai. Take a morning train so you arrive with the afternoon free. The Bund is best at dusk, when the Pudong towers light up across the river; Yu Garden and the old town fill a morning. Use day 6 for Suzhou's gardens or Hangzhou's West Lake, both easy return trips. Keep day 7 light: a museum, a last bowl of noodles, then the airport.

Book the Forbidden City and the big museums online in advance; several Beijing and Shanghai sights sell timed slots and close on Mondays (check).

The Beijing–Shanghai high-speed line is the backbone of this route. Trains run through the day and the trip takes roughly 4.5–6 hours depending on service; book a few days ahead on the official rail app or at the station, and bring your passport, which is your ticket. Second class is fine for this distance.

Inside both cities the metro is cheap, fast and signed in English; buy a stored-value card or use the metro QR code in Alipay. Taxis and ride-hailing work but stall in rush hour. For the Great Wall, a tour bus or a hired car with a driver is simpler than public buses.

Fly the long diagonals. Beijing to Shanghai by air is not worth it against the train once you count airport time, but if you swap in Xi'an or Chengdu, fly the leg that does not sit on the rail line.

In Beijing, stay inside the Second Ring near a metro line: Dongcheng around the hutongs and the Drum Tower puts the Forbidden City within walking distance, while Sanlitun and the CBD suit travellers who want restaurants and bars at night. In Shanghai, the Bund and the old town are for first-timers, the French Concession for cafés and lanes, and People's Square for the most central metro interchange.

Two beds in seven nights is the limit. Every extra hotel change costs you half a day of packing, checking out and finding the new place, so resist adding a third city unless you cut a night from Beijing or Shanghai.

Excluding international flights, budget about ¥6,000–11,000 per person for the week (roughly $850–1,550). That covers mid-range hotels or private hostel rooms, high-speed rail, metro and taxis, one Great Wall day trip, one Suzhou or Hangzhou day trip, and three meals a day at a mix of street food and sit-down restaurants. Luxury hotels and private guides push it well past that.

Two things cut the bill: eat where locals queue rather than in hotel restaurants, and use the metro instead of taxis. Attraction tickets are a small share of the total, but book them online to avoid touts and queues.

Swap Shanghai for Xi'an if the Terracotta Army matters more to you than the Bund: Beijing 4 nights, train 4.5 h to Xi'an, 3 nights there, fly home from Xi'an. You lose the Shanghai day trips but gain the walls, the Muslim Quarter food and the army.

If you have more time, the classic triangle (Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai) needs 10 days, and adding Chengdu and Guilin needs 14. With only 7 days, resist the temptation to bolt on a third city; the rail legs eat the days you came for.

If you hold a passport eligible for China's visa-free transit, a Beijing-in, Shanghai-out routing can qualify under the 240-hour rule (check the current conditions before booking).