Ancient China: Beijing to Chengdu, Self-Launched

Land at Beijing Capital (PEK) or Daxing (PKX) and take the Airport Express metro into the city (~£3) rather than a taxi (~£12–15). Check into a hutong guesthouse or hostel in the Dongcheng area — courtyard hostels around Nanluoguxiang or the Drum & Bell Tower are the sweet spot for atmosphere and location. Spend the late afternoon walking the hutongs, then eat your first proper Beijing meal — zhajiangmian noodles or Peking duck at a neighbourhood restaurant (~£6–10). Sort your metro card/Yikatong and confirm your Great Wall transfer for Day 3.

🚌Airport Express metro from PEK/PKX to central Beijing, ~£3

🛏Hutong hostel or guesthouse, Dongcheng (dorm ~£10–14, private ~£22–30)

• →Airport Express into the city
• →Hutong orientation walk (Nanluoguxiang area)
• →Drum & Bell Tower exterior at dusk
• →Neighbourhood noodle or duck dinner

Get to Tiananmen Square early (security queues build fast — bring your passport). The Forbidden City is timed-entry and sells out: book on the official Palace Museum site or via Trip.com about a week ahead (~£8). Allow 3–4 hours inside. In the afternoon, metro to the Temple of Heaven park (~£4 entry) — the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is the money shot, and the surrounding park is full of locals doing tai chi and card games. Optional extras if you have energy: Lama Temple (~£3) or the Summer Palace (~£7). Evening: snack your way down a food street.

🚌Metro (single rides ~£0.40–0.70); taxi across town ~£4

🛏Hutong hostel or guesthouse, Dongcheng

• →Tiananmen Square (free, passport required)
• →Forbidden City entry (~£8, book ahead)
• →Temple of Heaven entry (~£4)
• →Optional: Lama Temple (~£3)
• →Optional: Summer Palace (~£7)

Book the public tourist bus from Dongzhimen to Mutianyu (bus 916快 to Huairou, then a local shuttle, roughly £4–5 total, ~2.5–3 hrs) or a shared minibus transfer (~£18–22 return) if you want it easier. Mutianyu is the best-restored section with far fewer crowds than Badaling; entry ~£5, plus optional cable car or toboggan ~£11–15 each way. Walk the ridge between towers 14 and 20 for the classic shots, then head back to Beijing in the afternoon. Collect your bags and board the overnight sleeper train to Xi'an from Beijing West — a hard sleeper berth runs roughly £30–40 and takes about 11–12 hours.

🚌Local bus/shuttle to Mutianyu (~£5), overnight train Beijing West → Xi'an (~£30–40)

🛏Overnight sleeper train, hard sleeper berth

• →Mutianyu Great Wall hike (entry ~£5)
• →Optional cable car or toboggan (~£11–15)
• →Ridge walk between towers 14–20
• →Overnight sleeper train

Arrive early morning, drop bags at a hostel inside the city walls (the Bell Tower / South Gate area is ideal) and go straight for breakfast — roujiamo (Chinese 'hamburger') and a bowl of biangbiang noodles for ~£3. Walk or hire a bike on the Ming City Wall (~£6 entry, bike hire ~£5 for two hours) — the full 14km loop takes about 1.5–2 hours and gives you the whole city in one lap. Late afternoon and evening, dive into the Muslim Quarter: Great Mosque (~£3), then graze the food street for yangrou paomo, grilled skewers and persimmon cakes (~£8 total).

🚌Walking plus metro from the station (~£0.50); city wall bike hire ~£5

🛏Hostel or budget hotel inside the city walls (dorm ~£9–13, private ~£20–28)

• →Ming City Wall walk/cycle (~£6 entry + ~£5 bike)
• →Muslim Quarter food crawl
• →Great Mosque (~£3)
• →Bell & Drum Tower area at night (free to walk)

Take metro line 9 or bus 306/游5 from the railway station to the Terracotta Army site (~£1, 1 hr). Entry is ~£13; book an English-speaking local guide at the gate or pre-book a small-group guided entry via GetYourGuide (~£15–20) to make sense of pits 1–3 — the same experience as the tour's included guided visit. Return to Xi'an mid-afternoon, then either rest or catch the Tang Dynasty cultural show with dumpling banquet (~£36, optional — skip if you'd rather eat street food for £5). Sunset walk along the South Gate is free.

🚌Metro/bus to Terracotta Warriors ~£1 each way

🛏Hostel or budget hotel inside the city walls

• →Terracotta Warriors entry (~£13)
• →Local guide or small-group guided tour (~£15–20)
• →Optional Tang Dynasty show + dumpling banquet (~£36)
• →Evening walk on the South Gate

Book an early-afternoon G-series high-speed train from Xi'an North to Chengdu East — about 4 hours and roughly £28–35 in second class. Check into a hostel or guesthouse near Chunxi Road or the Wenshu Monastery area, then do a self-guided wander: Wide and Narrow Alleys (Kuanzhai Xiangzi) for the photogenic lanes, or People's Park for a bamboo-chair teahouse session with a £2 bottomless cup of jasmine tea and an ear-cleaning. Dinner is the real event — Chengdu hotpot, shared and bubbling, ~£8–12 per person.

🚌High-speed train Xi'an North → Chengdu East (~£28–35, ~4 hrs)

🛏Hostel or budget hotel near Chunxi Road / Wenshu (dorm ~£9–13, private ~£20–28)

• →Kuanzhai Xiangzi alleys
• →People's Park teahouse (~£2)
• →Wenshu Monastery (free)
• →Chengdu hotpot dinner (~£10)

Get to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding for opening time (7:30–8:00am) — the pandas are active and feeding then, and by 11am most are asleep. Take metro line 3 to Panda Avenue plus the shuttle bus, or a DiDi/taxi from the centre (~£4). Entry is ~£6. Allow 2–3 hours across the enclosures, including the red panda and cub areas. Head back into town by early afternoon, grab a last bowl of dan dan noodles, and fly out from Chengdu Tianfu (TFU) or Shuangliu (CTU) — book departures after 5:30pm if you're flying the same day.

🚌Metro line 3 + shuttle or DiDi to Panda Base (~£4 return); metro to airport ~£1–2

🛏Not included (departure day) — or add a night in Chengdu if your flight is late

• →Giant Panda Breeding Research Base entry (~£6)
• →Red panda and cub enclosures
• →Dan dan noodles lunch
• →Airport transfer