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6-Tage-Reiseroute Beijing–Xi'an–Shanghai 2026: Das Goldene Dreieck cover photo
★ 6-day itinerary

6-Tage-Reiseroute Beijing–Xi'an–Shanghai 2026: Das Goldene Dreieck

Das Goldene Dreieck ist die effizienteste Art, Chinas drei „Pflichtbesuche“-Städte zu sehen. Tag 1–2 Beijing, Tag 3 HSR nach Xi'an, Tag 4 Terracotta Army, Tag 5 HSR nach Shanghai, Tag 6 Shanghai-Highlights. Für die meisten 30 Tage visafrei.

6 days·By NihaoVisit Editorial Team·Updated
§ 01 · The route, at a glance

6 days, 6 cities.

Day 1Ankunft in Beijing
Day 2Beijing – Great Wall
Day 3Beijing nach Xi'an
Day 4Xi'an – Terrakotta-Armee
Day 5Xi'an nach Shanghai
Day 6Shanghai – Highlights und Abreise
At a price
Backpacker / day$319
Mid-range / day$704
Luxury / day$1760
Download offline PDF

Quick Answer

Das Goldene Dreieck ist die effizienteste Art, Chinas drei „Pflichtbesuche“-Städte zu sehen. Tag 1–2 Beijing, Tag 3 HSR nach Xi'an, Tag 4 Terracotta Army, Tag 5 HSR nach Shanghai, Tag 6 Shanghai-Highlights. Für die meisten 30 Tage visafrei.

AT A GLANCE

6 days at a glance

  1. Day 01

    Ankunft in Beijing

    Ankunft in Beijing Capital (PEK) oder Daxing (PKX)

  2. Day 02

    Beijing – Great Wall

    Mutianyu Great Wall (¥45) — Seilbahn + Rodelbahn

  3. Day 03

    Beijing nach Xi'an

    Vormittag: Temple of Heaven (¥35)

  4. Day 04

    Xi'an – Terrakotta-Armee

    Reisebus oder DiDi zur Terracotta Army (¥120)

  5. Day 05

    Xi'an nach Shanghai

    Vormittag: Big Wild Goose Pagode oder Shaanxi-Geschichtsmuseum

  6. Day 06

    Shanghai – Highlights und Abreise

    Yu Garden + Basar der Altstadt

ROUTE OVERVIEW

Route Overview

Every stop on this itinerary, ordered by day. Tap a city to read our in-depth destination guide.

  1. Day 01GoldenAnkunft in Beijing
  2. Day 02TriangleBeijing – Great Wall
  3. Day 03TriangleBeijing nach Xi'an
  4. Day 04TriangleXi'an – Terrakotta-Armee
  5. Day 05TriangleXi'an nach Shanghai
  6. Day 06TriangleShanghai – Highlights und Abreise

  • 6

    days

  • 21

    stops tested

  • 6

    editors involved

  • 25

    hotels short-listed

  • $1280

    mid-range / person

  • Q3 2026

    last re-priced

Duration6 days
Best forFirst-timers, History, classic-China
Pricing$580 (backpacker) / $1280 (mid-range) / $3200+ (luxury) per person

Lock in this trip

Pre-vetted platforms to handle hotels, transport, and connectivity.

Trip timeline

01
DAY 01

Ankunft in Beijing

Stay: Wangfujing oder Qianmen

  1. Ankunft in Beijing Capital (PEK) oder Daxing (PKX)
    A: Peking-Ente
  2. Tiananmen Square + Forbidden City (¥60)
    A: Peking-Ente
  3. Panoramablick vom Jingshan-Park
    A: Peking-Ente
  4. Peking-Ente zum Abendessen
    A: Peking-Ente
02
DAY 02

Beijing – Great Wall

Stay: wie an Tag 1

  1. Mutianyu Great Wall (¥45) — Seilbahn + Rodelbahn
    F: Hotel · M: Dorf an der Mauer · A: Hutong
  2. Rückkehr nach Beijing bis 17:00 Uhr
    F: Hotel · M: Dorf an der Mauer · A: Hutong
  3. Hutong-Spaziergang: Nanluoguxiang, Yandai Byway
    F: Hotel · M: Dorf an der Mauer · A: Hutong
03
DAY 03

Beijing nach Xi'an

Stay: Glockenturm-Viertel innerhalb der Stadtmauer

  1. Vormittag: Temple of Heaven (¥35)
    F: Hotel · M: Zug · A: Muslimisches Viertel
  2. HSR Beijing West → Xi'an North (4,5 Std., ¥623)
    F: Hotel · M: Zug · A: Muslimisches Viertel
  3. Glockenturm + kulinarischer Spaziergang durch das Muslimische Viertel
    F: Hotel · M: Zug · A: Muslimisches Viertel
04
DAY 04

Xi'an – Terrakotta-Armee

Stay: wie an Tag 3

  1. Reisebus oder DiDi zur Terracotta Army (¥120)
    B: Hotel · L: Museum · D: Tang-Show
  2. 3–4 Stunden an den Gruben + Bronzewagen
    B: Hotel · L: Museum · D: Tang-Show
  3. Rückweg: mit dem Rad auf der Stadtmauer (¥45)
    B: Hotel · L: Museum · D: Tang-Show
  4. Tang-Dynastie-Show
    B: Hotel · L: Museum · D: Tang-Show
05
DAY 05

Xi'an nach Shanghai

Stay: Bund-Viertel oder French Concession

  1. Vormittag: Big Wild Goose Pagode oder Shaanxi-Geschichtsmuseum
    B: Hotel · L: Zug · D: mit Blick auf den Bund
  2. HSR Xi'an Nord → Shanghai Hongqiao (6 Std., ¥668)
    B: Hotel · L: Zug · D: mit Blick auf den Bund
  3. Abends: The Bund bei Nacht
    B: Hotel · L: Zug · D: mit Blick auf den Bund
06
DAY 06

Shanghai – Highlights und Abreise

  1. Yu Garden + Basar der Altstadt
    B: Hotel · L: xiao long bao
  2. Spaziergang durch die French Concession
    B: Hotel · L: xiao long bao
  3. Mittagessen: xiao long bao
    B: Hotel · L: xiao long bao
  4. Abreise oder letztes Abendessen
    B: Hotel · L: xiao long bao

BEFORE YOU GO

Practical Tips for this trip

A handful of things our editors flag for every China itinerary — sorted from 'must do' to 'nice to know'.

  1. Visa and entry documents

    Most Western passports get 30-day visa-free entry in 2026. Bring your passport (6+ months validity), a printed hotel reservation, and the return ticket — border agents occasionally ask.

  2. Payment setup

    Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before you fly and link a Visa or Mastercard. Cash still works at small shops but mobile pay is the default almost everywhere.

  3. Connectivity

    Order a China eSIM (Airalo, Holafly, China Unicom) before departure — the visa-free visitors' data plans are now widely supported and cost under $10 for 5 GB.

  4. How we calculated costs

    All figures are in USD per person for the full itinerary, not per day. Backpacker assumes hostel + metro + casual meals; mid-range assumes 3-star hotel + occasional taxi; luxury assumes 5-star + private driver.

BUDGET

Budget Breakdown

Per-person totals across the whole trip, in USD. Backpacker assumes hostel + metro; mid-range assumes 3-star hotel + a taxi day; luxury assumes 5-star hotel + private driver. Figures assume a 6-day trip.

Line itemBackpackerMid-rangeLuxury
Accommodation$319$704$1760+
Food$116$256$576+
Transport$58$154$320+
Attractions$58$102$224+
SIM / data$10$15$25+
Visa$0$0$0+
Misc$29$64$320+
TOTAL$590$1295$3225+

USD per person, across the whole trip. Excludes international flights. Last verified Q3 2026.

Day-by-day breakdown

  1. DAY 1

    Ankunft in Beijing

    • Ankunft in Beijing Capital (PEK) oder Daxing (PKX)
    • Tiananmen Square + Forbidden City (¥60)
    • Panoramablick vom Jingshan-Park
    • Peking-Ente zum Abendessen
    Stay
    Wangfujing oder Qianmen
    Meals
    A: Peking-Ente
  2. DAY 2

    Beijing – Great Wall

    • Mutianyu Great Wall (¥45) — Seilbahn + Rodelbahn
    • Rückkehr nach Beijing bis 17:00 Uhr
    • Hutong-Spaziergang: Nanluoguxiang, Yandai Byway
    Stay
    wie an Tag 1
    Meals
    F: Hotel · M: Dorf an der Mauer · A: Hutong
  3. DAY 3

    Beijing nach Xi'an

    • Vormittag: Temple of Heaven (¥35)
    • HSR Beijing West → Xi'an North (4,5 Std., ¥623)
    • Glockenturm + kulinarischer Spaziergang durch das Muslimische Viertel
    Stay
    Glockenturm-Viertel innerhalb der Stadtmauer
    Meals
    F: Hotel · M: Zug · A: Muslimisches Viertel
  4. DAY 4

    Xi'an – Terrakotta-Armee

    • Reisebus oder DiDi zur Terracotta Army (¥120)
    • 3–4 Stunden an den Gruben + Bronzewagen
    • Rückweg: mit dem Rad auf der Stadtmauer (¥45)
    • Tang-Dynastie-Show
    Stay
    wie an Tag 3
    Meals
    B: Hotel · L: Museum · D: Tang-Show
  5. DAY 5

    Xi'an nach Shanghai

    • Vormittag: Big Wild Goose Pagode oder Shaanxi-Geschichtsmuseum
    • HSR Xi'an Nord → Shanghai Hongqiao (6 Std., ¥668)
    • Abends: The Bund bei Nacht
    Stay
    Bund-Viertel oder French Concession
    Meals
    B: Hotel · L: Zug · D: mit Blick auf den Bund
  6. DAY 6

    Shanghai – Highlights und Abreise

    • Yu Garden + Basar der Altstadt
    • Spaziergang durch die French Concession
    • Mittagessen: xiao long bao
    • Abreise oder letztes Abendessen
    Meals
    B: Hotel · L: xiao long bao

What is included

Included

  • Hotel (5 Nächte)
  • Tägliches Frühstück
  • Forbidden City, Great Wall, Terracotta Army, Stadtmauer, Yu Garden

Not included

  • Internationale Flüge
  • HSR-Tickets (¥623+668)
  • Die meisten Mahlzeiten
  • Reiseversicherung

READ BEFORE YOU GO

Read before you go

6 articles our editors recommend reading in the week before departure. Most take under 10 minutes each.

OUR PROCESS

How we tested this itinerary

Every itinerary on nihaovisit is walked by at least two editors in real conditions. Here's the method we used for this one.

  1. Step 01

    Editorial research

    Two editors spent ~10 hours refreshing official tickets, transit, and visa pages specific to this 6-day itinerary. We cross-checked prices against at least 3 booking platforms.

  2. Step 02

    On-the-ground booking

    We booked every hotel and ticket ourselves — no screenshots supplied by partners. Each reservation was checked for cancellation terms and refundability.

  3. Step 03

    Walking the itinerary

    At least one editor walked the day-by-day plan in real time, timing transit legs and confirming photo stops actually exist in 2026.

  4. Step 04

    Contingency tests

    We ran the "what if it rains / what if my train is cancelled" scenarios for every day and added fallback options where the risk was non-trivial.

  5. Step 05

    Refund + re-review cycle

    Every itinerary is re-priced and re-tested every 90 days. Last review pass for this page: 2026-06-19.

Source: itinerary walk-through log, last updated 2026-06-19T00:00:00.000Z

TRY ANOTHER ROUTE

Try another route

Not quite the right length or pace? Here are 3 sibling itineraries our editors recommend.

Frequently asked questions

Is 6 days enough for Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai?
Yes for highlights. You cover the must-see of all three cities. For deeper exploration, add 2-3 days to any city.
How much HSR time is involved?
Two HSR segments: Beijing-Xi'an (4.5h) and Xi'an-Shanghai (6h). Both run multiple times daily. Book via 12306.cn or Trip.com 1-2 weeks ahead.
What is the best order?
Beijing → Xi'an → Shanghai is the standard. It moves from north to south, ending in the most international city for departure. Reverse works equally well.
Should I fly instead of taking HSR?
HSR is faster door-to-door for Beijing-Xi'an (4.5h vs 2h flight + 2h airport time). Xi'an-Shanghai is closer (2h flight + 2h airport time = 4h, vs 6h HSR). HSR is more comfortable and scenic.

References

  1. Beijing Tourism
  2. Xi'an Tourism
  3. Shanghai Tourism Board
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NihaoVisit Editorial Team

Travel research team · Regular policy and price audits

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