China & Tibet: Great Wall, Lhasa & Terracotta Warriors — Self-Launched
12 days · China & Tibet (Beijing to Chengdu)
G Adventures charges £4,186
No-markup version: ~£1,940 per person
Estimate only, not a guaranteed price. Always verify costs independently before booking.
A self-launched 12-day version of G Adventures' premium China & Tibet trip, running Beijing → Mutianyu Great Wall → Xi'an → Lhasa → Chengdu. You'll swap private vehicles and upgraded hotels for the bullet train, sleeper trains, shared taxis and well-located hostels/budget guesthouses, and book each highlight (Great Wall, Terracotta Warriors, Potala Palace) directly or via GetYourGuide/Klook. Note: Tibet requires a permit and a licensed guide, which must be arranged through a registered Tibetan travel agency — budget roughly £250–350pp for a 4-day Lhasa permit/guide package. Costs are rough per-person estimates in GBP and exclude international flights.
Day-by-day
Arrive Beijing — hutongs & first night
Beijing
Land at Beijing Capital or Daxing airport and take the Airport Express train or metro into the city (~£4). Check into a hostel or budget hotel in the Dongcheng area near the Drum & Bell Towers — perfect base for the hutongs. Spend the late afternoon wandering Nanluoguxiang and the surrounding alleys, then grab jianbing (savoury crepe) and dumplings for dinner. Buy a Beijing transport card (Yikatong) and get a Chinese SIM/SIM eSIM set up for the days ahead.
🚌Airport Express train ~£4; metro ~£0.50/ride
🛏Hostel/budget hotel, Dongcheng (dorm ~£12, private ~£28)
- →Nanluoguxiang hutong walk
- →Drum & Bell Tower area
- →Local street-food dinner
Tiananmen Square & Forbidden City
Beijing
Walk Tiananmen Square early — the world's largest public square and symbolic centre of Chinese power. Pre-book your Forbidden City ticket online (free entry but timed slots sell out; ID/passport required, ~£8 for the combined museums ticket). Spend 3–4 hours inside, then climb Jingshan Park's hill for the classic rooftops view (~£0.50). Evening: Peking duck dinner in the Qianmen area.
🚌Metro ~£0.50 per ride
🛏Hostel/budget hotel, Dongcheng (dorm ~£12, private ~£28)
- →Tiananmen Square
- →Forbidden City (self-booked timed entry)
- →Jingshan Park viewpoint
- →Peking duck dinner
Mutianyu Great Wall — hike the ridges
Mutianyu (Huairou County)
Take a direct tourist bus or a shared minibus from Dongzhimen to Mutianyu (~£4, 1.5 hrs), or book a small-group transfer on GetYourGuide/Klook. Buy the entry ticket plus the cable car up (~£20 combined) and hike between the 22 towers along the ridges — one of the best-preserved, less-crowded sections. Stay overnight in a village guesthouse at the foot of the wall rather than returning to Beijing, so you get sunset and sunrise on the wall.
🚌Shared bus/minibus to Mutianyu ~£4 each way
🛏Mutianyu village guesthouse (private room ~£24)
- →Mutianyu Great Wall hike between towers
- →Cable car ascent
- →Sunset on the wall
Bullet train to Xi'an — Muslim Quarter night market
Xi'an
Early transfer back to Beijing, then take the high-speed (bullet) train to Xi'an — 4.5 hrs, ~£55 second class, several departures daily (book on Trip.com or at the station). Check into a hostel near the Bell Tower inside the city walls. Get your bearings by walking the walls at dusk, then dive into the Muslim Quarter night market for lamb skewers, roujiamo (Chinese 'burger') and biang biang noodles.
🚌Bullet train Beijing–Xi'an ~£55
🛏Hostel near Bell Tower (dorm ~£10, private ~£24)
- →Beijing–Xi'an high-speed train
- →Xi'an Muslim Quarter night market
- →Walk the illuminated City Walls at dusk
Terracotta Warriors + cycle the City Walls
Xi'an
Get to Xi'an's east bus station and take Bus 306/5(306) to the Terracotta Warriors site (~£1, 1 hr) — buy entry (~£16) and spend the morning at the three excavated pits where roughly 8,000 life-size soldiers and horses stand guard. Back in the city, rent a bike on top of the 14 km Ming-dynasty City Wall (~£3/hr) and cycle the full loop. Evening: Big Wild Goose Pagoda fountain square.
🚌Bus 306 to warriors ~£1; metro/bike locally
🛏Hostel near Bell Tower (dorm ~£10, private ~£24)
- →Terracotta Warriors Museum (self-booked entry)
- →Cycle the Xi'an City Walls
- →Big Wild Goose Pagoda square
Fly to Lhasa — acclimatise on Barkhor Street
Lhasa, Tibet
Fly Xi'an → Lhasa (direct ~3 hrs, ~£140 one way if booked ahead). You must already have your Tibet Travel Permit and be met by your licensed Tibetan agency guide — arrange the 4-day permit + guide + permits package in advance (~£250–350pp, covers permit, guide and entry logistics). Take it very easy today: Lhasa sits at 3,650 m. Stroll Barkhor Kora circuit with pilgrims and sip sweet tea in a teahouse. Hydrate and rest.
🚌Flight Xi'an–Lhasa ~£140
🛏Lhasa guesthouse/hostel near Barkhor (private ~£30)
- →Xi'an–Lhasa flight
- →Barkhor Street kora circuit
- →Tibetan sweet-tea house
Potala Palace & Jokhang Temple
Lhasa, Tibet
With your guide, tour the Potala Palace — the magnificent 17th-century winter palace of the Dalai Lamas, with their burial stupas inside (timed entry ~£22). Afternoon at the Jokhang Temple, Tibet's holiest shrine (~£9), and walk the Barkhor again as pilgrims prostrate. Keep the pace slow; altitude is still an adjustment. Optional: Sera Monastery monks' debate in the late afternoon.
🚌Local taxi/shared taxi ~£5
🛏Lhasa guesthouse/hostel near Barkhor (private ~£30)
- →Potala Palace tour (guided, permit-linked)
- →Jokhang Temple
- →Sera Monastery monk debates (optional)
Drepung Monastery & Tibetan culture day
Lhasa, Tibet
Visit Drepung Monastery on the outskirts of Lhasa — once the world's largest monastery, home to thousands of monks. In the afternoon, join a small Tibetan cooking class or thangka-painting workshop (book via your local agency or GetYourGuide, ~£25), or simply people-watch over yak-butter tea. Last full day in Tibet; confirm onward transport.
🚌Local bus/shared taxi ~£4
🛏Lhasa guesthouse/hostel near Barkhor (private ~£30)
- →Drepung Monastery
- →Tibetan cooking class / thangka workshop
- →Norbulingka summer palace (optional)
Fly or overland to Chengdu — Sichuan hotpot
Chengdu
Fly Lhasa → Chengdu (~2.5 hrs, ~£120) — the practical route, as overland requires a longer permit window. Check into a hostel in the Chunxi Road / near-Jinli area. Ease into Sichuan with a communal hotpot dinner and a wander through Jinli Ancient Street's lantern-lit lanes and snack stalls.
🚌Flight Lhasa–Chengdu ~£120
🛏Hostel in Chengdu centre (dorm ~£10, private ~£24)
- →Lhasa–Chengdu flight
- →Jinli Ancient Street
- →Sichuan hotpot dinner
Giant Pandas + Chengdu teahouses
Chengdu
Arrive at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding at opening (~£8 entry; take metro Line 3 + a short taxi, or a shared shuttle from central hostels). Pandas are most active early. Afternoon: People's Park teahouse for bamboo-chair people-watching and a cup of jasmine tea, then Wenshu Monastery and the Wide & Narrow Alleys. Evening: Sichuan opera face-changing show (~£15).
🚌Metro + shared taxi ~£5
🛏Hostel in Chengdu centre (dorm ~£10, private ~£24)
- →Chengdu Panda Base
- →People's Park teahouse
- →Wenshu Monastery
- →Sichuan opera face-changing show
Leshan Giant Buddha day trip
Leshan (day trip from Chengdu)
Take a high-speed train from Chengdu to Leshan (~1 hr, ~£8) and see the 71 m Leshan Giant Buddha, carved into the cliff face where two rivers meet (entry ~£11; optional boat view ~£10 for the full front-on shot). Return to Chengdu by train in the evening. Farewell Sichuan dinner: mapo tofu and dan dan noodles.
🚌High-speed train Chengdu–Leshan ~£8 each way
🛏Hostel in Chengdu centre (dorm ~£10, private ~£24)
- →Leshan Giant Buddha (cliff stairway or boat view)
- →High-speed train day trip
- →Farewell Sichuan dinner
Depart Chengdu
Chengdu
Final morning for souvenirs or a last bowl of noodles, then head to Chengdu Tianfu or Shuangliu airport by metro/train (~£4). Depart for home or continue your China travels. If you're on a gap-year or working-holiday trip, use today to sort a local SIM top-up and onward transport bookings.
🚌Metro to Chengdu airport ~£4
🛏—
- →Souvenir shopping / last Sichuan meal
- →Metro to airport
Self-launched vs. G Adventures
| This itinerary (self-launched) | G Adventures | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per person | ~£1,940 | £4,186 |
| Duration | 12 days | 12 days |
| Who books it | You and your group, direct | Tour operator, guided group |
| Savings | £2,246 per person (54%) | |
Estimate only, not a guaranteed price. Always verify costs independently before booking.
Want to see more G Adventures-style trips? Check them out here.~£1,940
estimated per person
You never pay Travel Crew for this — you pay hostels, transport, and activity providers directly, the same as if you'd booked it all yourself.
This publishes your dates so other travellers can find and join you — no tour operator needed.
Customise with Tour BusterCreated by
Travel Crew
0 trips
Frequently asked questions
How much does China & Tibet: Great Wall, Lhasa & Terracotta Warriors — Self-Launched cost?+
Doing it yourself with this self-launched itinerary costs an estimated £1,940 per person for 12 days in China & Tibet (Beijing to Chengdu). This is an AI-generated estimate based on typical budget-traveller prices — actual costs will vary by season and how you book.
Is this cheaper than booking with G Adventures?+
Yes — G Adventures charges around £4,186 per person for a similar tour. Doing the same route independently, using the same standard of accommodation and activities, costs an estimated £1,940 — a saving of roughly £2,246 (54%) per person.
How long is the China & Tibet (Beijing to Chengdu) trip?+
This itinerary runs 12 days, covering 12 day-by-day stops through China & Tibet (Beijing to Chengdu).
How do I join this trip?+
You can join an existing open departure using this itinerary if one is scheduled, or launch your own departure with your own dates and invite other travellers to join you — no tour operator required.
Isn't it easier to just use a tour operator?+
Well, yes, a tour operator will book all the individual parts of your travel for you and provide a guide. That's obvious, but doing this has the potential to save the group thousands, which can in turn improve your itinerary substantially or save you huge amounts of money. Also, when you launch a departure, Travel Crew has tools in place to help you book the individual sections of the trip or make it easier for you to do this as a group. Really, you do not need a middle man. If you are more comfortable paying more and using a middle man, then you should certainly do this.
Is it safer to book through a tour operator?+
Arguably, there isn't much difference. A self-launched trip runs on the same principle as a group travel crew: collective responsibility, everyone looking out for each other, the same way it would if a group of friends organised the trip themselves — because that's exactly what's happening. You should always take out travel insurance before you go, self-launched or not; that doesn't change either way. Every open departure is published publicly with real dates and a real trip organiser, so it's never an anonymous arrangement, and our support team is reachable any time you need help, including in an emergency while you're away. Longer-term, we're building direct relationships with ground DMCs in popular destinations, offered as an optional paid add-on for extra on-the-ground support. Ultimately, though, the group is responsible for its own conduct and safety on a self-launched trip, same as on any trip you plan yourself.
What kind of trip is this?+
This is a culture, adventure, hiking trip through China & Tibet (Beijing to Chengdu), self-launched rather than run by a tour operator — you organise it with a group you find or bring yourself.
Would you like to name the operator, name the trip, or have any suggestions about how to improve this itinerary?
Drop your comment below — if you've done a similar route, tell us what worked, what you'd add, or what you'd skip.
No comments yet — be the first to share your take.
Sign in to leave a comment.