Three weeks is where a China trip becomes a proper journey rather than a highlights reel. The route below keeps the classic four cities and adds two of China's best landscapes — the karst country of Guangxi and the mountains of Yunnan.
The route at a glance#
| Days | Place | Nights |
|---|---|---|
| 1–4 | Beijing | 4 |
| 5–7 | Xi'an | 3 |
| 8–10 | Chengdu | 3 |
| 11–13 | Guilin & Yangshuo | 3 |
| 14–18 | Yunnan (Kunming, Dali, Lijiang) | 5 |
| 19–21 | Shanghai | 3 |
Fly into Beijing, out of Shanghai. Two internal flights: Chengdu→Guilin and Lijiang→Shanghai.
Days 1–10: the classic core#
Follow the 14-day itinerary for Beijing, Xi'an and Chengdu exactly as written — four nights, three nights, three nights.
Highlights: the Forbidden City and Mutianyu Great Wall; the Terracotta Army, the Xi'an city wall by bicycle and the Muslim Quarter; the Panda Base at 07:30, teahouses, hotpot and a day at Leshan or a Sichuan cooking class.
Days 11–13: Guilin & Yangshuo#
Fly Chengdu → Guilin (1h45).
Day 11. Transfer straight to Yangshuo (1h20 by bus) and stay in a guesthouse along the Yulong River rather than in town. Afternoon cycling through the paddies.
Day 12. Bus to Xingping and take a bamboo raft or the local ferry on the Yangdi–Xingping stretch of the Li River — the exact view on the ¥20 note, and better value than the four-hour cruise. Climb Laozhai Hill above Xingping for the panorama. Afternoon: Moon Hill or rock climbing.
Day 13. Longji rice terraces at Longsheng (2 hours from Guilin). Dazhai/Jinkeng is the more dramatic of the two village areas. Best flooded in May–June or golden in late September. Ideally stay overnight in a village guesthouse; otherwise it is a long day.
Days 14–18: Yunnan#
Fly Guilin → Kunming (1h20), then high-speed rail.
Day 14 — Kunming. Arrive, visit the Yunnan Provincial Museum (free, excellent on minority cultures) and Green Lake Park. One night.
Day 15–16 — Dali. Rail Kunming → Dali, 2h. The Bai heartland on Erhai Lake below the 4,000 m Cangshan range. Cycle or scooter the eastern lakeshore, visit Xizhou's morning market, walk the Cangshan mountainside path. Two nights.
Day 17–18 — Lijiang. Rail Dali → Lijiang, 2h. The Naxi old town, UNESCO-listed and very busy — stay in Shuhe or Baisha instead, and see the old town at dawn. Day trip to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (cable car to 4,506 m; take the altitude seriously) or the Baisha murals. Two nights.
Days 19–21: Shanghai#
Fly Lijiang → Shanghai (3h30).
Day 19. Arrive, check into the former French Concession, walk Wukang and Anfu Roads, then the Bund at dusk and the ¥2 ferry.
Day 20. Yu Garden at opening, Shanghai Museum, then Tianzifang or the Jewish Refugees Museum.
Day 21. Suzhou day trip (25 min) for a classical garden at opening, or a slow last morning before the flight home.
Three alternative three-week routes#
The Silk Road#
Xi'an → Lanzhou → Zhangye → Dunhuang → Turpan → Urumqi → Kashgar. Rainbow mountains, the Mogao Caves, desert oases, Uyghur bazaars and the Pamirs. A completely different China. See the Silk Road itinerary.
Southern landscape#
Shanghai → Huangshan → Hongcun → Zhangjiajie → Fenghuang → Guilin/Yangshuo → Hong Kong. Mountains, Huizhou villages, the Avatar pillars and karst rivers, ending with an easy exit through Hong Kong.
Slow east#
Beijing → Datong → Pingyao → Xi'an → Luoyang → Nanjing → Suzhou → Hangzhou → Shanghai. Grottoes, walled cities, Ming tombs and classical gardens, entirely by rail, with almost no other foreign visitors outside the big two cities.
Budget#
| Item | Mid-range, per person |
|---|---|
| Hotels, 20 nights at ¥400 | ¥8,000 |
| Food, ¥190/day | ¥4,000 |
| Rail: 3 legs | ¥1,050 |
| Flights: Chengdu–Guilin, Guilin–Kunming, Lijiang–Shanghai | ¥3,000 |
| Entry tickets and activities | ¥3,000 |
| City transport and local buses | ¥1,000 |
| eSIM, insurance, extras | ¥1,200 |
| Total, excl. international flights | ≈ ¥21,250 (US$3,000) |
Practical notes for a long trip#
- Laundry — most hostels and many hotels offer it for ¥20–40 a load. Pack for a week, not three.
- Pace — build one genuinely empty day per week. You will need it.
- Rail booking — the pre-sale window is around two weeks, so book legs progressively as you travel rather than all at once before departure.
- Altitude — Lijiang is 2,400 m and the Jade Dragon cable car reaches 4,506 m. Take it slowly.
- Visa — 21 days exceeds the 240-hour transit allowance, so this route needs either unilateral visa-free eligibility (30 days) or a tourist visa. See our visa guide.
Frequently asked questions#
What can you see in China in three weeks?#
Comfortably: Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu, the karst landscape around Yangshuo, a Yunnan loop through Dali and Lijiang, and Shanghai. That covers imperial history, the Terracotta Army, pandas, two of China's best landscapes and the modern coast.
Is three weeks too long for China?#
No — China is the size of Europe, and three weeks is still a highlights trip. The risk in three weeks is over-scheduling rather than boredom; build in one empty day per week.
Do I need a visa for a three-week China trip?#
Yes, unless your nationality qualifies for 30-day unilateral visa-free entry. The 240-hour visa-free transit scheme only covers ten days, so it cannot support a 21-day itinerary.
Should I fly or take trains on a long China itinerary?#
Both. Take high-speed rail for anything under about five hours — Beijing–Xi'an, Xi'an–Chengdu, Kunming–Dali–Lijiang. Fly the long diagonal legs such as Chengdu to Guilin and Lijiang to Shanghai, which would otherwise consume whole days.
What is the best three-week route in China for a second visit?#
The Silk Road from Xi'an to Kashgar, which is culturally and visually a different country, or a slow eastern route through Datong, Pingyao, Luoyang, Nanjing, Suzhou and Hangzhou that concentrates on grottoes, walled cities and classical gardens.