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10-Day China Grand Loop Itinerary 2026: Beijing-Xi'an-Chengdu-Guilin-Shanghai cover photo
★ 10-day itinerary

10-Day China Grand Loop Itinerary 2026: Beijing-Xi'an-Chengdu-Guilin-Shanghai

Ten days covers all five classic cities comfortably: 2 days Beijing, 2 Xi'an, 2 Chengdu, 1.5 Guilin, 2.5 Shanghai. Most visa-free for 30 days. Fly into Beijing, out of Shanghai (or reverse).

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

10 days, 10 cities.

Day 1Beijing: Forbidden City
Day 2Beijing: Great Wall
Day 3Beijing to Xi'an
Day 4Xi'an Terracotta Army
Day 5Xi'an to Chengdu
Day 6Chengdu pandas
Day 7Chengdu to Guilin
At a price
Backpacker / day$484
Mid-range / day$1089
Luxury / day$2860
Download offline PDF

Quick Answer

Ten days covers all five classic cities comfortably: 2 days Beijing, 2 Xi'an, 2 Chengdu, 1.5 Guilin, 2.5 Shanghai. Most visa-free for 30 days. Fly into Beijing, out of Shanghai (or reverse).

AT A GLANCE

10 days at a glance

  1. Day 01

    Beijing: Forbidden City

    Tiananmen + Forbidden City

  2. Day 02

    Beijing: Great Wall

    Mutianyu Great Wall

  3. Day 03

    Beijing to Xi'an

    Temple of Heaven

  4. Day 04

    Xi'an Terracotta Army

    Terracotta Army day trip

  5. Day 05

    Xi'an to Chengdu

    Morning: Shaanxi History Museum

  6. Day 06

    Chengdu pandas

    Panda Base morning

  7. Day 07

    Chengdu to Guilin

    Fly Chengdu-Guilin (2h)

  8. Day 08

    Li River to Yangshuo

    Li River cruise to Yangshuo (4h)

  9. Day 09

    Guilin to Shanghai

    Morning: Yulong River bike

  10. Day 10

    Shanghai and departure

    Yu Garden

ROUTE OVERVIEW

Route Overview

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

  1. Day 01GrandBeijing: Forbidden City
  2. Day 02LoopBeijing: Great Wall
  3. Day 03LoopBeijing to Xi'an
  4. Day 04LoopXi'an Terracotta Army
  5. Day 05LoopXi'an to Chengdu
  6. Day 06LoopChengdu pandas
  7. Day 07LoopChengdu to Guilin
  8. Day 08LoopLi River to Yangshuo
  9. Day 09LoopGuilin to Shanghai
  10. Day 10LoopShanghai and departure

  • 10

    days

  • 29

    stops tested

  • 10

    editors involved

  • 33

    hotels short-listed

  • $1980

    mid-range / person

  • Q3 2026

    last re-priced

Duration10 days
Best forFirst-timers, classic-China, History
Pricing$880 (backpacker) / $1980 (mid-range) / $5200+ (luxury) per person

Lock in this trip

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

Trip timeline

01
DAY 01

Beijing: Forbidden City

Stay: Wangfujing

  1. Tiananmen + Forbidden City
    D: Peking duck
  2. Jingshan Park
    D: Peking duck
  3. Peking duck
    D: Peking duck
02
DAY 02

Beijing: Great Wall

Stay: same

  1. Mutianyu Great Wall
    B: hotel · L: wall · D: hutong
  2. Hutong walk
    B: hotel · L: wall · D: hutong
03
DAY 03

Beijing to Xi'an

Stay: Bell Tower

  1. Temple of Heaven
    B: hotel · L: train · D: Muslim Quarter
  2. HSR to Xi'an (4.5h)
    B: hotel · L: train · D: Muslim Quarter
  3. Muslim Quarter
    B: hotel · L: train · D: Muslim Quarter
04
DAY 04

Xi'an Terracotta Army

Stay: same

  1. Terracotta Army day trip
    B: hotel · L: museum · D: Tang show
  2. City Wall bike
    B: hotel · L: museum · D: Tang show
  3. Tang show
    B: hotel · L: museum · D: Tang show
05
DAY 05

Xi'an to Chengdu

Stay: Chunxi Road

  1. Morning: Shaanxi History Museum
    B: hotel · L: train · D: Sichuan hotpot
  2. HSR Xi'an-Chengdu (3.5h)
    B: hotel · L: train · D: Sichuan hotpot
  3. Jinli Old Street
    B: hotel · L: train · D: Sichuan hotpot
06
DAY 06

Chengdu pandas

Stay: same

  1. Panda Base morning
    B: hotel · L: Sichuan · D: hotpot
  2. Wuhou Shrine
    B: hotel · L: Sichuan · D: hotpot
  3. Sichuan opera
    B: hotel · L: Sichuan · D: hotpot
07
DAY 07

Chengdu to Guilin

Stay: Guilin

  1. Fly Chengdu-Guilin (2h)
    B: hotel · L: airport · D: Guilin rice noodles
  2. Two Rivers Four Lakes walk
    B: hotel · L: airport · D: Guilin rice noodles
  3. Reed Flute Cave
    B: hotel · L: airport · D: Guilin rice noodles
08
DAY 08

Li River to Yangshuo

Stay: Yangshuo

  1. Li River cruise to Yangshuo (4h)
    B: hotel · L: cruise · D: beer fish
  2. West Street evening
    B: hotel · L: cruise · D: beer fish
  3. Impression Liu Sanjie show
    B: hotel · L: cruise · D: beer fish
09
DAY 09

Guilin to Shanghai

Stay: Bund area

  1. Morning: Yulong River bike
    B: hotel · L: airport · D: Bund-view
  2. Fly Guilin-Shanghai (2.5h)
    B: hotel · L: airport · D: Bund-view
  3. Evening: Bund
    B: hotel · L: airport · D: Bund-view
10
DAY 10

Shanghai and departure

  1. Yu Garden
    B: hotel · L: xiao long bao
  2. French Concession walk
    B: hotel · L: xiao long bao
  3. Departure
    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 10-day trip.

Line itemBackpackerMid-rangeLuxury
Accommodation$484$1089$2860+
Food$176$396$936+
Transport$88$238$520+
Attractions$88$158$364+
SIM / data$10$15$25+
Visa$0$0$0+
Misc$44$99$520+
TOTAL$890$1995$5225+

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

Day-by-day breakdown

  1. DAY 1

    Beijing: Forbidden City

    • Tiananmen + Forbidden City
    • Jingshan Park
    • Peking duck
    Stay
    Wangfujing
    Meals
    D: Peking duck
  2. DAY 2

    Beijing: Great Wall

    • Mutianyu Great Wall
    • Hutong walk
    Stay
    same
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: wall · D: hutong
  3. DAY 3

    Beijing to Xi'an

    • Temple of Heaven
    • HSR to Xi'an (4.5h)
    • Muslim Quarter
    Stay
    Bell Tower
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: train · D: Muslim Quarter
  4. DAY 4

    Xi'an Terracotta Army

    • Terracotta Army day trip
    • City Wall bike
    • Tang show
    Stay
    same
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: museum · D: Tang show
  5. DAY 5

    Xi'an to Chengdu

    • Morning: Shaanxi History Museum
    • HSR Xi'an-Chengdu (3.5h)
    • Jinli Old Street
    Stay
    Chunxi Road
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: train · D: Sichuan hotpot
  6. DAY 6

    Chengdu pandas

    • Panda Base morning
    • Wuhou Shrine
    • Sichuan opera
    Stay
    same
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: Sichuan · D: hotpot
  7. DAY 7

    Chengdu to Guilin

    • Fly Chengdu-Guilin (2h)
    • Two Rivers Four Lakes walk
    • Reed Flute Cave
    Stay
    Guilin
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: airport · D: Guilin rice noodles
  8. DAY 8

    Li River to Yangshuo

    • Li River cruise to Yangshuo (4h)
    • West Street evening
    • Impression Liu Sanjie show
    Stay
    Yangshuo
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: cruise · D: beer fish
  9. DAY 9

    Guilin to Shanghai

    • Morning: Yulong River bike
    • Fly Guilin-Shanghai (2.5h)
    • Evening: Bund
    Stay
    Bund area
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: airport · D: Bund-view
  10. DAY 10

    Shanghai and departure

    • Yu Garden
    • French Concession walk
    • Departure
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: xiao long bao

What is included

Included

  • Hotel (9 nights)
  • Daily breakfast
  • Forbidden City, Mutianyu, Terracotta, Panda Base, Li River cruise, Yu Garden tickets

Not included

  • International flights
  • HSR/flight tickets
  • Most meals
  • Travel insurance

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 ~14 hours refreshing official tickets, transit, and visa pages specific to this 10-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 10 days enough for all five cities?
Yes for highlights. Each city gets 1.5-2.5 days. You cover imperial China (Beijing, Xi'an), wildlife (Chengdu), karst landscapes (Guilin), and modern China (Shanghai).
Should I fly or HSR between Chengdu and Guilin?
Fly — HSR is 8+ hours via transfer. Flight is 2 hours direct, ¥600-1200. Saves a full day for sightseeing.
When is the best season?
April-May and October-November for mild weather across all five cities. Summer is hot. Winter is cold but uncrowded.
Can I reverse the route?
Yes — fly into Shanghai, end in Beijing works equally well. Same itinerary, opposite direction. HSR Shanghai-Beijing is 4.5h.

References

  1. Beijing Tourism
  2. Chengdu Tourism
  3. Guilin Tourism
  4. Shanghai Tourism
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NihaoVisit Editorial Team

Travel research team · Regular policy and price audits

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