Cycle China: Hong Kong to Beijing by Bike, Rail & Local Bus

Land at HKIA and take the A21 airport bus (~HK$33, about £3.30) down Nathan Road to Jordan/Yau Ma Tei — far cheaper than the Airport Express. Check into a Kowloon hostel dorm (Jordan, Mong Kok or Tsim Sha Tsui are all well placed for tomorrow's border run). Spend the evening on a free wander: Temple Street Night Market, the harbourfront at Tsim Sha Tsui and the Symphony of Lights at 8pm. Buy a local SIM or eSIM data plan (~£10–15) and set up WeChat and Alipay before crossing into the mainland — they are near-essential for paying for anything in China. Sort your mainland visa/e-visa and confirm your onward train and flight bookings.

🚌Airport bus A21 from HKIA (~£3.30)

🛏Hostel dorm in Jordan/Yau Ma Tei (~£22)

• →Temple Street Night Market
• →Tsim Sha Tsui harbourfront and Symphony of Lights
• →SIM/eSIM setup, WeChat Pay and Alipay activation

Cross the border on the MTR East Rail Line to Lo Wu/Luohu (~HK$40), clear immigration on foot, then take the metro or bus to Shenzhen North and a high-speed train to Guilin (roughly 3–3.5 hrs, ~£30–40 second class). From Guilin bus station, catch a local bus to Longsheng (~2 hrs, ~£4) and then a shuttle up to Ping'an or Dazhai village (~£3). Book a family-run guesthouse in the terraces in advance via Booking.com or Trip.com — guesthouses fill in spring and autumn. Dinner of bamboo rice and local smoked pork at the guesthouse.

🚌MTR to Lo Wu, high-speed train Shenzhen–Guilin, local bus Guilin–Longsheng, village shuttle (~£42)

🛏Family guesthouse in Ping'an or Dazhai (~£14)

• →Border crossing on foot at Lo Wu
• →Shenzhen–Guilin high-speed rail
• →Sunset over the terraces

Do the self-guided village-to-village walk the tour does with a leader — the trails between Ping'an, Zhongliu and Dazhai are well marked and take 4–6 hours depending on route. Download an offline map (Maps.me or AllTrails) and follow the stone paths through the rice paddies and Yao and Zhuang villages; you can carry a daypack and forward your bag by village shuttle or leave it at the guesthouse and stay a second night. Stop for lunch in a village en route (~£5). Evening at a Dazhai or Ping'an guesthouse.

🚌On foot; optional village shuttle for luggage (~£3)

🛏Family guesthouse in the terraces (~£14)

• →Self-guided Ping'an–Zhongliu–Dazhai terrace trek
• →Yao and Zhuang village visits
• →Rice terrace viewpoints

Shuttle down from Longji and take a local bus to Guilin, then a bus or train onward to Yangshuo (~£4–6, 1.5 hrs). Rent a mountain bike in Yangshuo town for the next four days — shop around on West Street and the side streets; expect ¥80–150/day (~£9–17) with a deposit and passport copy, and ask for a helmet, lock and repair kit. Cycle west into the countryside to the Shi'ertan area (roughly 25–35 km) along the Yulong River backroads. Note: the operator's own route uses a support vehicle and guide — independently you ride self-supported, so keep days to 30–50 km unless you're confident in remote navigation.

🚌Local bus Longsheng–Guilin–Yangshuo (~£8); bike hire (~£12)

🛏Countryside guesthouse near Shi'ertan/Yulong River (~£13)

• →Bike rental in Yangshuo
• →First countryside ride on Yulong River backroads

A solid countryside day on two wheels, roughly 40–55 km using the county roads and riverside tracks between Shi'ertan and Xingping. Keep the Li River on your right where you can and detour through Gaotian and the smaller villages for lunch (~£5). Chinese maps apps (Amap/Gaode) work far better than Google Maps in China — load the region offline the night before. Arrive in Xingping, the old town village on the ¥20 banknote view, and stay in a riverside guesthouse. Sunset from the Laozhai Hill viewpoint is a 30–40 minute climb and free.

🚌Bike (self-supported, ~40–55 km)

🛏Riverside guesthouse in Xingping (~£13)

• →Countryside cycling through Gaotian and riverside villages
• →Laozhai Hill sunset viewpoint over the Li River

A shorter, scenic ride down the Li River valley to Yangshuo (25–35 km) with karst peaks on both sides. Stop for a bamboo raft drift on the Yulong or at one of the quieter river sections (~£12–18, book locally or via Klook) and lunch in a village. Arrive in Yangshuo, drop your bike at the rental shop or keep it for tomorrow (most shops are fine with that), check into a hostel in the old town and spend the evening on West Street or, better, the quieter streets along the Li.

🚌Bike (~£8 hire); optional bamboo raft (~£15)

🛏Hostel dorm in Yangshuo old town (~£12)

• →Li River valley cycling
• →Bamboo raft drift
• →Yangshuo old town evening

Cycle the classic Yangshuo loop out through Chaoyang, Gongnong Bridge and the Yulong River (25–40 km of flat lanes and farm tracks). In the afternoon, take the market-and-cooking class that the operator sells as an optional extra — book direct with a Yangshuo cooking school or via Klook/GetYourGuide (~£22–30 including a market tour and a multi-dish meal you then eat). If you'd rather just ride, the Moon Hill and Yulong River area will eat a whole afternoon on its own.

🚌Bike (~£8 hire)

🛏Hostel dorm in Yangshuo old town (~£12)

• →Yangshuo countryside cycle loop
• →Market tour and central Chinese cooking class (~£25)
• →Moon Hill area

Bus or train to Guilin in the morning, then fly Guilin–Xi'an (about 1h 45m; book on Trip.com or Ctrip a few weeks out, £60–90, or take the high-speed train at ~9 hrs if you want to skip the flight and save the carbon). In Xi'an, check into a hostel inside or just outside the city wall (the South Gate area is ideal). Rent a bike on the Ming city wall and ride the full 14 km loop (~£8 including wall entry ¥54 and bike ¥45) — do it in the late afternoon light. Then eat your way through the Muslim Quarter: roujiamo, biangbiang noodles, lamb skewers (~£8).

🚌Yangshuo–Guilin bus (~£5), Guilin–Xi'an flight (~£75), metro/DiDi to hostel (~£4)

🛏Hostel dorm near the South Gate (~£13)

• →Ming city wall cycle loop
• →Muslim Quarter street food crawl

Take metro line 9 / bus 306 (the green tourist line from Xi'an railway station) out to the Terracotta Army site (~£1.50, 1 hr). Buy the entry ticket (¥120, ~£13) on site or online and either go self-guided with an audio guide (~£4) or join an English-speaking guide group at the gate (~£10 pp shared) — same experience the tour's included guided visit provides. Back in Xi'an, collect your bags and board the overnight soft-sleeper train to Beijing (~11 hrs, ¥515–¥700, ~£57–77 for a 4-berth soft sleeper; hard sleeper is roughly half). Book 2–4 weeks ahead on Trip.com or the official 12306 app.

🚌Metro/bus to Terracotta site (~£3); Xi'an–Beijing overnight sleeper (~£65)

🛏Overnight soft-sleeper train (4-berth cabin, ~£65 included in transport)

• →Terracotta Warriors with audio guide or local guide
• →Overnight sleeper train experience

Arrive early morning, drop bags at a hostel in the Dongcheng or Qianmen area and go straight out. Tiananmen Square is free but requires a pre-booked reservation (book via the WeChat mini-programme or your hostel a day or two ahead, bring your passport). The Forbidden City (¥60, ~£6.50) is entered from the south and needs a timed ticket booked online in advance — allow 3 hours. In the afternoon, hire a shared bike (Meituan or Hellobike, ~£1) and ride the hutongs of the Drum and Bell Tower area, Shichahai and Nanluoguxiang — the equivalent of the tour's included hutong bike ride and the ideal solo transport in Beijing.

🚌Metro (~£2); shared bike hire (~£1)

🛏Hostel dorm in Dongcheng/Qianmen (~£19)

• →Tiananmen Square (free, reserve ahead)
• →Forbidden City (~£6.50)
• →Hutong cycle loop by shared bike
• →798 Art District (free) if time allows

Get to Mutianyu without a tour: take the 916 Express bus from Dongzhimen to Huairou (¥12, ~1.5 hrs), then a local shuttle or shared taxi up to the Mutianyu entrance (¥10–30). Entry is ¥45 (~£5); the cable car up is ¥120 return if you want to save the climb (~£13), or walk the 20–30 minutes of steps. Hike the wall between towers 14 and 20 for the best views — the restored section at Mutianyu is the same stretch the tour uses. Return to Beijing for a final evening of Peking duck (~£12–18) and a wander around the Drum Tower lakes.

🚌Bus 916 Express to Huairou (~£1.30), shuttle to entrance (~£3), metro (~£2)

🛏Hostel dorm in Dongcheng/Qianmen (~£19)

• →Mutianyu Great Wall hike (~£5 entry)
• →Optional cable car or toboggan (~£13)
• →Peking duck dinner

Final morning for a coffee in the hutongs or a last bowl of jianbing before heading to Capital or Daxing airport on the Airport Express (~£3) or metro. If you have time, the Temple of Heaven park (¥15 for the park, open early for the tai chi crowd) is the best free-ish morning in the city. Depart at any time.

🚌Airport Express (~£3)

🛏—

• →Optional Temple of Heaven park morning