Self-Launched Highlights of China: Beijing to Shanghai

Land at Beijing Capital or Daxing airport and take the Airport Express plus metro to your hostel in the Dongcheng area (around £4). Check in, get a Chinese SIM/eSIM sorted, confirm Alipay and WeChat Pay are linked to your card, and take an evening stroll through the hutongs near Nanluoguxiang. Skip the group welcome dinner and instead grab dumplings or zhajiangmian noodles at a neighbourhood spot.

🚌Airport Express + metro ~£4

🛏Hostel dorm in Dongcheng/Gulou area (e.g. hutong courtyard hostel), £12-16/night

• →Airport transfer by metro
• →Hutong evening wander
• →Set up Alipay/WeChat Pay and local eSIM

Book your Forbidden City ticket online in advance via the Palace Museum's WeChat mini-program (around £8; passports required, tickets release 7 days ahead and sell out fast). Walk through Tiananmen Square first, then spend the morning in the Forbidden City. In the afternoon take metro line 5 to the Temple of Heaven (around £4.50) and watch locals dancing and playing cards in the surrounding park. Optional: Lama Temple (around £3).

🚌Metro day ticket/subway rides ~£2

🛏Hostel dorm in Dongcheng/Gulou area, £12-16/night

• →Forbidden City ticket (~£8)
• →Temple of Heaven (~£4.50)
• →Lama Temple optional (~£3)

Take the 916 Express bus from Dongzhimen to Huairou (around £1.50) then a local minibus or shared taxi to Mutianyu (around £3-5). Buy the cable car up and toboggan down (around £13-15 each) or hike the restored section between towers. Return to Beijing in the late afternoon. In the evening board the overnight sleeper train from Beijing West to Xi'an (hard or soft sleeper, around £30-40, book on Trip.com or 12306).

🚌Bus to Huairou + minibus ~£6; overnight train Beijing-Xi'an ~£35

🛏Overnight train, soft sleeper berth

• →Mutianyu Great Wall entry (~£6)
• →Cable car up + toboggan down (~£14)
• →Great Wall hike between towers

Arrive mid-morning, drop bags at your hostel inside the city walls, then walk the Muslim Quarter for street food — roujiamo, biangbiang noodles and yangrou paomo. Rent a bike on top of the Ming City Wall (around £6 entry + £6 bike hire) and cycle the 14km loop. Evening: wander the Bell and Drum Tower square or catch the Tang Dynasty show if you fancy it (around £15-35).

🚌Metro/taxi from station ~£2

🛏Hostel dorm near Bell Tower inside the city walls, £10-14/night

• →Ming City Wall entry + bike hire (~£12)
• →Muslim Quarter street food walk
• →Bell & Drum Tower square

Take bus 306/游5 from the Xi'an railway station square to the Terracotta Warriors site (around £1). Entry is around £13; hire an audio guide or join a shared English-speaking group tour on site (around £10-15 via Klook/GetYourGuide) to get the historical context the CEO would normally provide. Return to the city mid-afternoon; optional dumpling banquet dinner in the evening.

🚌Public bus to warriors site ~£2 return

🛏Hostel dorm near Bell Tower, £10-14/night

• →Terracotta Warriors entry (~£13)
• →Audio guide or shared guided tour (~£12)
• →Dumpling banquet optional (~£15)

Take a morning high-speed train from Xi'an North to Chengdu East (around 3.5 hours, £25-30 on Trip.com). Check into a hostel near Chunxi Road or Kuanzhai Alley, then walk the Kuanzhai Alley lanes and People's Park teahouses. For dinner, hit a Sichuan hotpot restaurant — split the cost of a divided pot with other travellers, the exact experience the group dinner gives you.

🚌High-speed train Xi'an-Chengdu ~£28

🛏Hostel dorm near Kuanzhai Alley, £10-14/night

• →Kuanzhai Alley walk
• →People's Park teahouse
• →Sichuan hotpot dinner (~£10-12)

Arrive at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding right at opening (7:30am) — take metro line 3 to Panda Avenue then shuttle, or a Didi (around £3). Entry is around £6; pandas are far more active in the cool morning. Afternoon: metro to Tianfu Square and People's Park for an orientation walk, then an evening of Sichuan snacks in the Yulin or Jinli area.

🚌Metro + Didi ~£4

🛏Hostel dorm near Kuanzhai Alley, £10-14/night

• →Giant Panda Breeding Base entry (~£6)
• →Tianfu Square & People's Park walk
• →Jinli ancient street evening

Take a high-speed train from Chengdu East to Leshan (around 1 hour, £6-8), then bus 601 to the Giant Buddha scenic area. The Buddha is carved into the cliff above the river confluence — walking the stairway down to its feet is free with the around £9 entry, or take the boat for a full-frontal view (around £8). Continue by train or bus to Emeishan city (around 30 minutes) and check into a guesthouse near Baoguo Monastery at the mountain's foot.

🚌Trains Chengdu-Leshan-Emeishan ~£14

🛏Guesthouse near Baoguo Monastery, Emei Shan, £12-16/night

• →Leshan Giant Buddha entry (~£9)
• →Optional Buddha river boat (~£8)
• →Evening stroll around Baoguo Monastery

Buy your Emei Shan scenic-area ticket (around £18, covers two days) and take the shuttle bus up to Wannian Monastery parking (around £5). Hike the classic lower-route trail past Qingyin Pavilion, the Monkey Zone (hold onto your snacks!) and Fuhu Monastery down to Baoguo Monastery — around 5-7 hours, moderately steep with stone steps. Book the same guesthouse for a second night and refuel with a monastery vegetarian meal or local Emei tofu dishes.

🚌Scenic shuttle bus ~£5 each way

🛏Guesthouse near Baoguo Monastery, £12-16/night

• →Emei Shan entry ticket (~£18)
• →Full-day hike: Wannian Monastery to Qingyin Ge to Baoguo
• →Monkey Zone at Qingyin Pavilion

Head back to Leshan or Chengdu for a high-speed train toward Yangshuo (Guilin/Guiyang change, around 6-8 hours total, £45-55 — book on Trip.com a few days ahead). Arrive in Yangshuo and check into a hostel on West Street or the quieter Xi Jie area. Evening orientation walk along the Li River and dinner at a riverside restaurant — beer fish is the local speciality.

🚌High-speed trains with one change ~£50

🛏Hostel dorm in Yangshuo town, £10-14/night

• →Arrival orientation walk along the riverside
• →Beer fish dinner (~£8-10)

Local bus or Didi to Xingping pier (around £2). The Xingping-to-jiǔmǎhuàshān bamboo raft is the stretch featured on the ¥20 note (around £20-25 per raft, shareable, book on Klook or at the jetty). Afterwards cross the river by the local ferry, walk into the villages and stop for lunch at a rural family restaurant — the community-lunch equivalent of the Jia Community Restaurant moment. Optional tai chi class in the morning (around £11), or the Impression Liu Sanjie show in the evening (around £33).

🚌Local bus to Xingping + ferry ~£4

🛏Hostel dorm in Yangshuo town, £10-14/night

• →Li River bamboo raft from Xingping (~£20 shared)
• →Village walk & local family lunch (~£8)
• →Optional tai chi class (~£11)
• →Optional Impression Liu Sanjie show (~£33)

Rent a bike from any shop in town (around £3-4/day) and follow the Yulong River loop — rice paddies, water buffalo and farmer fields. Climb Moon Hill for the view through the arch (around £2, 30-40 minutes up steep steps), and stop for lunch with a local family or at a countryside cafe. Optional: a cooking class in town in the afternoon (around £15) covering Yangshuo beer fish and dumplings.

🚌Bike rental ~£4

🛏Hostel dorm in Yangshuo town, £10-14/night

• →Bike hire and Yulong River loop (~£4)
• →Moon Hill entry & hike (~£2)
• →Optional Chinese cooking class (~£15)

Train to Guilin (around 1 hour, £8) then fly Guilin to Shanghai Pudong (around £50-65 if booked a few weeks ahead, or a full-day high-speed rail for around £80). Check into a hostel near People's Square or the Bund, then walk the Bund at dusk as the Pudong skyline lights up — exactly the orientation walk the group does. Optional: Shanghai Tower observation deck (around £20) or Yuyuan Garden by day (around £4.50).

🚌Train to Guilin ~£8; domestic flight to Shanghai ~£58; metro ~£1

🛏Hostel dorm near People's Square, £14-18/night

• →Bund evening walk
• →Nanjing Road stroll
• →Optional Shanghai Tower (~£20)

Visit the Shanghai Museum (free entry, book a slot online) and the Yuyuan Garden in the old town (around £4.50). Wander the plane-tree lanes of the French Concession, grab coffee and noodles at local spots, then finish with an evening acrobatics show at the Shanghai Circus World or the more classic Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe performance (around £20-30, book on Klook or Trip.com).

🚌Metro ~£2

🛏Hostel dorm near People's Square, £14-18/night

• →Shanghai Museum (free, pre-book)
• →Yuyuan Garden (~£4.50)
• →French Concession walk
• →Acrobatics show (~£25)

Final morning for a last bowl of xiaolongbao and any souvenir shopping in the Tianzifang area, then metro line 2 or the Maglev to Pudong airport for your flight home. If time allows, pop into Jing'an Temple or the Propaganda Poster Art Centre on the way out.

🚌Metro or Maglev to Pudong airport ~£1-5

🛏—

• →Tianzifang shopping
• →Maglev ride to airport
• →Xiaolongbao breakfast