Destinations

China is not one destination, and the itineraries that treat it as one are the reason people come home exhausted. What follows is not a list of everything that exists in the country. It is the ground we actually cover: the places where we hold our own hotel contracts, work with guides we have known for years, and know which train to put you on.

Two things decide a China itinerary before taste gets a vote. The first is distance: Xi’an to Dunhuang is a two-hour flight or a nineteen-hour train, and the answer changes the whole shape of the trip. The second is order. Beijing, then Xi’an, then Shanghai is a cliché because it works; Yunnan is better at the end of a long trip than at the beginning, when the altitude and the pace still have something to prove.

If you already know roughly where you want to go, start with the journeys — they carry day counts and real prices. If you are starting from nothing, the classic circuit below is where most first trips land, and the Yunnan pages are where most second trips go.

Every page here is written by the people who operate it. Where a place is not worth the detour in a given month, the page says so.

5 places

The classic circuit

The five places that appear in almost every first trip, and the order most travellers put them in.

Beijing Imperial palaces, the Wall at Mutianyu, and hutongs that still work for a living. Xi'an The Terracotta Army, a city wall you can cycle, and the start of the Silk Road. Shanghai The art-deco Bund on one bank, Pudong on the other, and 430 km/h to the airport. Guilin Karst peaks, the Li River down to Yangshuo, and rice terraces at Longji. Yellow Mountain Granite pillars above a sea of cloud, with Ming merchant villages at the foot.

7 places

Yunnan, in depth

One province, four climates, and the part of China most repeat visitors wish they had done first.

Yunnan The whole province in one journey: Kunming, Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La. Yunnan Ready-made Yunnan itineraries, four to twelve days, priced per person. Kunming The mild-winter capital, and the Stone Forest two hours out of town. Dali Erhai Lake, the Three Pagodas, and a walled town older than the Ming. Lijiang Naxi old town, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, and the road north. Shangri-La / Deqen Travel Guide and City Tibetan monasteries at 3,200 m, and the gorges below them. Yunnan City Discovery Single-city add-ons when you are already in the province.

4 places

The far west and the high country

Longer journeys for travellers who have already seen the east, or who came for one thing only.

Xizang(Tibet) Lhasa, Everest Base Camp, and the permits that must be arranged before you book. Silk Road Xian to Kashgar by rail and road, through Dunhuang and Turpan. Guizhou Miao and Dong villages and waterfalls that most itineraries skip. Yangtze River Cruise and Three Gorges Three days on the river between Chongqing and Yichang.

7 places

Landmarks worth the detour

Single places that justify a stop of their own, with the practical detail that decides whether they work.

Great Wall Which section to walk, and which ones to avoid at a weekend. Li River of Guilin The 83 km between Guilin and Yangshuo, and where to sit on the boat. Longji Rice Terraces of Guilin Terraces stacked to 1,000 m, at their best from May to October. Tiger Leaping Gorge One of the deepest gorges on earth, and a two-day walk through it. Jade Dragon Snow Mountain of Lijiang A 5,596 m peak you can reach by cable car from Lijiang. Kunming Stone Forest Limestone pinnacles two hours from Kunming, best before the tour buses. Lugu Lake of Lijiang A plateau lake with Mosuo villages along the shore.

4 places

Yunnan, practically

The questions that decide the itinerary before any of the above matters.

Airports in Yunnan Which airport to fly into, and how the connections actually work. Travel By Train in Yunnan The rail lines that replaced the old mountain roads. Festivals and Holidays in Yunnan Torch Festival, Third Month Fair, and when to plan around them. Yunnan Golf Courses at altitude, played in a shirt-sleeve winter.

Next step

Not sure which of these you need?

All journeys

Send us your dates and the two or three places you would not skip. We will tell you which combinations actually work by train, and which ones only look good on a map.

Plan a trip