Fourteen days is the sweet spot for a first China trip. It absorbs a rainy day and a slow morning without wrecking the plan, and it adds Chengdu — pandas, Sichuan food and teahouse afternoons — to the standard triangle, which changes the character of the whole trip.
Fly into Beijing, out of Shanghai.
Days 1–4: Beijing#
Day 1 — Arrive. Airport Express to the city, check in near Qianmen or Dongsi, walk the neighbourhood, Peking duck at Siji Minfu, early night.
Day 2 — The imperial axis. Tiananmen Square at opening, the Forbidden City for four hours including the eastern palaces, then Jingshan Park for the roof view. Afternoon in Beihai Park and the hutongs by bike. Dinner near the Drum Tower.
Day 3 — The Great Wall. Mutianyu, out by 07:00, hired car ¥600–800, cable car up and toboggan down, and walk west for the quiet stretch. Foot massage in the evening.
Day 4 — Morning parks and modern Beijing. Temple of Heaven at 07:00 for the park life, then the Lama Temple, then the National Museum of China (free, booked, closed Mondays) or the 798 Art District. Evening train or an overnight stay before an early departure.
Days 5–7: Xi'an#
G-train Beijing → Xi'an, 4h20–6h, ¥515.
Day 5 — Arrive and the walls. Check in inside the city walls. Cycle the 13.7 km wall in the late afternoon (¥54 + ¥45 bike), when the light is good and the lanterns come on. Evening in the Muslim Quarter — eat one street back from Beiyuanmen.
Day 6 — Terracotta Army. Out at opening on bus 5/306 (¥8) or by DiDi. Visit in reverse — bronze chariots, Pit 3, Pit 2, then Pit 1 last. Afternoon: Shaanxi History Museum, one of the best in China.
Day 7 — Choose your day. Either Han Yang Ling (the Han tomb with the glass-floored excavation) plus the Great Mosque and the Forest of Steles, or a full day at Mount Hua (1.5 hours by train), one of the five sacred Taoist mountains, with the famous plank walk.
Evening: enjoy Xi'an's Tang-themed night district, Datang Everbright City, which is unashamedly a reconstruction and a genuine spectacle.
Days 8–10: Chengdu#
G-train Xi'an → Chengdu, 3h, ¥263.
Day 8 — Arrive and slow down. Check in near Chunxi Road or the Wide & Narrow Alleys. Afternoon in a teahouse — Heming in People's Park, or the quieter courtyard at Wenshu Monastery. Look in on the matchmaking corner of People's Park. Hotpot in the evening; order the split pot.
Day 9 — Pandas and the city. Chengdu Panda Base at 07:30 opening — non-negotiable, since pandas sleep from about 10:00. Take the shuttle to the nursery first and walk back. Afternoon: Jinsha Site Museum (a 3,000-year-old Shu civilisation site, excellent and under-visited) or the Wuhou Shrine and Jinli Street. Evening: Sichuan opera and face-changing.
Day 10 — Day trip. Leshan Giant Buddha (1 hour by train + bus) — 71 m carved into a cliff in the 8th century, the largest stone Buddha in the world. Take the boat for the view rather than queueing two hours for the stairs. Or Mount Qingcheng and Dujiangyan, the birthplace of religious Taoism plus a 2,300-year-old irrigation system still in use.
Alternatively, a Sichuan cooking class — a market visit and then learning mapo tofu and kung pao chicken properly. Among the best half-days in China.
Days 11–14: Shanghai#
Fly Chengdu → Shanghai (2h30) or take the G-train (7–8h). Flying makes sense on this leg.
Day 11 — Arrive, the Bund. Check in in the former French Concession. Afternoon walking Wukang Road and Anfu Road. The Bund at dusk, then the ¥2 ferry across the river and back.
Day 12 — Old Shanghai. Yu Garden at opening, soup dumplings, then the Shanghai Museum (free, booked, closed Mondays). Afternoon: Tianzifang, Xintiandi and the CPC First Congress site, or the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum.
Day 13 — Suzhou or Hangzhou. Suzhou (25 min, ¥40) for one classical garden at opening plus Pingjiang Road and the I. M. Pei museum, or Hangzhou (45 min) for West Lake at dawn and the Longjing tea villages.
Day 14 — Last morning, fly. Shanghai Tower floor 118 if clear, or a final wander. Pudong is 45 minutes by metro or 7.5 minutes by Maglev. Allow three hours.
Variations#
Swap Chengdu for Guilin/Yangshuo. Landscape instead of food and pandas — the Li River, cycling through karst countryside, and the Longji rice terraces. Fly Xi'an–Guilin.
Swap Chengdu for Zhangjiajie. The Avatar mountains. Spectacular, and logistically more demanding.
Add Datong and Pingyao between Beijing and Xi'an, dropping a Shanghai night. The Yungang Grottoes and a complete Ming walled city, and almost no other foreign visitors.
Add Hong Kong at the end. A 50-minute train from Guangzhou or a direct flight from Shanghai, and a useful third-region exit if you are travelling under the 240-hour visa-free transit scheme.
Budget#
| Item | Mid-range, per person |
|---|---|
| Hotels, 13 nights at ¥420 | ¥5,460 |
| Food, ¥200/day | ¥2,800 |
| Trains: Beijing–Xi'an, Xi'an–Chengdu | ¥778 |
| Flight Chengdu–Shanghai | ¥800 |
| Great Wall day | ¥500 |
| Entry tickets and Leshan day | ¥1,400 |
| City transport | ¥600 |
| eSIM, insurance, extras | ¥900 |
| Total, excl. international flights | ≈ ¥13,240 (US$1,865) |
Frequently asked questions#
What is the best 14-day itinerary for China?#
Four nights in Beijing, three in Xi'an, three in Chengdu and three in Shanghai, connected by high-speed rail and one internal flight. It covers the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Terracotta Army, pandas, Sichuan food and the Shanghai skyline at a sustainable pace.
Is two weeks enough time in China?#
Yes — two weeks is the standard and arguably ideal length for a first trip. It covers four major cities with time for day trips, and leaves enough slack to absorb a bad-weather day without collapsing the plan.
Should I fly or take the train between Chinese cities?#
Take the train for legs under about five hours: Beijing–Xi'an, Xi'an–Chengdu and Shanghai–Suzhou are all faster door to door by rail. Fly the long legs, such as Chengdu to Shanghai, which is 7–8 hours by train and 2.5 by air.
Is Chengdu worth including in a China itinerary?#
Yes. It changes the character of the trip — teahouses, the best regional cuisine in China, the Panda Base, and day trips to Leshan and Mount Qingcheng. Three nights is the right allocation, and it is 3 hours by train from Xi'an.
How much does two weeks in China cost?#
About ¥13,200 (US$1,865) per person mid-range excluding international flights, covering hotels at roughly ¥420 a night, meals, three intercity legs, a Great Wall day and all entry tickets. Backpacker budgets run near ¥6,500; comfortable ones exceed ¥32,000.