The 14-Day (Guangzhou, Guilin, Chongqing, Shanghai & Beijing) China Group Tour: South to North

• Itinerary Summary: Arrival in Guangzhou - Transfer to Hotel - Free Time

• Hotel Star Rating: 4-Star Hotels
• Meals Included: No Food

Welcome to Guangzhou, one of southern China’s most important cities and the birthplace of Cantonese culture. After your arrival, your driver will transfer you to your hotel for check-in.

The rest of the day is free for you to relax after your journey or begin exploring the city at your own pace. In the evening, you can visit Beijing Road Pedestrian Street, one of Guangzhou’s most popular areas for local food and shopping. Here, you can try traditional Cantonese snacks and experience the lively atmosphere of the city center. Nearby, Dafo Temple is also worth visiting at night, when the temple is beautifully illuminated and creates a peaceful contrast with the surrounding urban streets

• Itinerary Summary: Yongqing Fang – Beijing Road (Grand Buddha Temple) – Shamian Island – Haixinsha Park – Canton Tower (Exterior)
• Hotel Star Rating: 4-Star Hotels
• Meals Included: Lunch

Start your morning in Yongqing Fang, a revitalized historic district where old alleyways have been transformed into a lively hub of Cantonese culture, artisan shops, and traditional architecture. From there, walk to Beijing Road, where you‘ll find the Grand Buddha Temple – a serene Buddhist sanctuary tucked right in the middle of the city’s busiest shopping street. After lunch, cross the river to Shamian Island, a leafy colonial-era enclave with 19th-century European buildings that feel a world away from the high-rises across the water. End the day at Haixinsha Park, with a postcard-perfect exterior view of Canton Tower as it lights up for the evening. Recommended free activities: Watch the fountain show from the park with Canton Tower lit up behind it, or head up the tower for a view over the river and city lights. The guide can point you in the right direction depending on the weather — either way, it's a good night out.

• Itinerary Summary: Gulong Gorge – Waterfall – Glass Bridge – Cliff Coaster or QQ Coaster (Optional: Rafting)
• Hotel Star Rating: 4-Star Hotels
• Meals Included: Lunch

After breakfast, your guide and driver will pick you up from the hotel for the 1.5-hour drive to Qingyuan‘s Gulong Gorge. This is where Guangzhou locals escape the city for a dose of nature and adrenaline. The canyon’s “Dinosaur Valley” adds a playful touch with life-sized dinosaur models hidden among the greenery. The gorge is known for its dramatic waterfall and the glass bridge that stretches across the canyon – a transparent walkway with views straight down into the rushing water below. You’ll have the choice between the cliff coaster and the QQ coaster – both are gravity-powered rides that twist along the mountainside. If you‘re visiting during summer, you can opt for the white-water rafting experience instead. It‘s a full day of outdoor thrills before returning to Guangzhou in the evening.

• Itinerary Summary: High-Speed Train to Guilin – Xingping Ancient Town – Boat Cruise to 20-Yuan Scenery(the Lijiang River) – Yangshuo West Street
• Hotel Star Rating: 4-Star Hotels
• Meals Included: Lunch

After breakfast, your driver will take you to the train station for the two-hour high-speed rail journey to Guilin. The landscape shifts from urban sprawl to the dramatic karst peaks that define this part of China. Upon arrival, head straight to Xingping Ancient Town – a quiet riverside settlement that feels preserved in time. A short boat cruise takes you to the exact spot featured on the back of China‘s 20-yuan banknote, where the karst peaks rise sharply from the Li River. It’s one of the most photographed views in the country – and for good reason. End the day in Yangshuo, where West Street buzzes with travelers, street performers, and local restaurants serving beer fish and other regional specialties.

• Itinerary Summary: Yulong River Bamboo Raft – Ten-Mile Gallery – Elephant Trunk Hill
• Hotel Star Rating: 4-Star Hotels
• Meals Included: Lunch

Today is all about getting onto – and into – the landscape. Start with a bamboo raft float along the Yulong River, where the pace is slow and the views are pure Guilin: limestone peaks reflected in the still water, water buffalo cooling off on the banks, and local fishermen casting their nets. It‘s a peaceful contrast to the day before. Then, cycle or drive along the Ten-Mile Gallery, a scenic stretch of road that winds through rice paddies and karst formations. In the afternoon, return to Guilin city to visit Elephant Trunk Hill – the city’s iconic landmark that resembles an elephant drinking from the Li River. It‘s a fitting finale to your time in this landscape – classic Guilin, captured in a single hill.

• Itinerary Summary: High-Speed Train to Chongqing – Free Time
• Hotel Star Rating: 4-Star Hotels
• Meals Included: No Food

Board the high-speed train for the four-hour journey from Guilin to Chongqing – a ride that takes you from karst mountains into the rugged terrain of southwest China. Upon arrival, check into your hotel in the heart of the Chaotianmen area, where the Yangtze and Jialing rivers meet. The rest of the day is yours to explore at your own pace. Chongqing is famous for its hotpot and street food culture, so wander into the city’s backstreets to find a local spot for dinner – the spicier, the better. Or simply soak in the riverside atmosphere as the city lights begin to flicker across the hillside.

• Itinerary Summary: Liziba Light Rail Station – Kuixinglou – Eighteen Steps – Hongya Cave
• Hotel Star Rating: 4-Star Hotels
• Meals Included: Lunch

Chongqing is a city built on hills, and today you’ll experience its unique vertical geography. Start at Liziba Station – the light rail stop that famously passes directly through a residential building. It‘s not a tourist gimmick; it’s how this city actually moves. From there, continue to Kuixinglou, a historic pavilion perched on a cliff, before descending the Eighteen Steps – an ancient staircase that connects the upper and lower parts of the city, lined with old shops and local life. End the day at Hongya Cave, a sprawling stilt-house complex that clings to the cliffside above the Jialing River. When the lights come on, it looks like something from a Studio Ghibli film. If you‘re visiting on a weekend, you may also catch the drone show above the river – your guide will time the visit accordingly.

• Itinerary Summary: Flight to Shanghai – Free Time
• Hotel Star Rating: 4-Star Hotels
• Meals Included: No Food

After breakfast, your driver will take you to the airport for your flight to Shanghai. Once you‘ve checked into your hotel, the rest of the day is yours to explore. If you’re ready to hit the ground running, head to Nanjing Road – one of the world‘s busiest shopping streets, lined with department stores, boutiques, and endless food options. Grab a meal, do some window shopping, and let the neon lights of this city pull you in. Or take it easy – there’s plenty of Shanghai ahead.

• Itinerary Summary: City God Temple – Yu Garden – Zhujiajiao Water Town – The Bund
• Hotel Star Rating: 4-Star Hotels
• Meals Included: Lunch

Start the day at the City God Temple, a Taoist temple tucked in the heart of Shanghai‘s old city, surrounded by lively bazaar streets. From there, step into Yu Garden, a classic Ming-dynasty garden that packs ponds, pavilions, and rockeries into a compact space – it’s a small oasis of calm amid the urban bustle. Then head out to Zhujiajiao, a 1,700-year-old water town on the outskirts of Shanghai. Its canals and stone bridges offer a glimpse of what this region looked like before the skyscrapers. Return to the city in the evening and walk the Bund, Shanghai‘s historic waterfront promenade, where the neon-lit skyscrapers of Pudong face the colonial-era buildings of the former International Settlement. It’s the city‘s postcard view – and it never gets old.

• Itinerary Summary: Wukang Road – Tianzifang – Shanghai Tower
• Hotel Star Rating: 4-Star Hotels
• Meals Included: Lunch

Today takes you to the softer side of Shanghai. Start on Wukang Road, a leafy boulevard lined with Art Deco villas and plane trees – a favourite among walkers and photographers for its old-world charm. From there, wander into Tianzifang, a warren of narrow alleyways filled with art galleries, boutique shops, and hole-in-the-wall cafes. It‘s a maze worth getting lost in. In the afternoon, head to Shanghai Tower – the tallest building in China. Ascend to its observation deck for a panoramic view of the city’s skyline, the Huangpu River curling below. If the weather isn‘t clear, your guide will recommend swapping the tower for a Huangpu River cruise – the view from the water is just as memorable.

• Itinerary Summary: High-Speed Train to Beijing – Free Time
• Hotel Star Rating: 4-Star Hotels
• Meals Included: No Food

Board the high-speed train – one of the fastest in the world – for the 4.5-hour journey from Shanghai to Beijing. Watch the landscape change from the flat farmlands of eastern China to the low mountains of the north. Upon arrival, your driver will meet you at the station and transfer you to your hotel. The rest of the day is yours to explore. Beijing‘s hutongs – the ancient alleyways that crisscross the city – are perfect for an evening wander. Grab a bite at a local restaurant, or simply get your bearings in this sprawling capital.

• Itinerary Summary: Mutianyu Great Wall – Bird‘s Nest Exterior
• Hotel Star Rating: 4-Star Hotels
• Meals Included: Lunch

Head to Mutianyu — a wall you actually walk, not just stand on. It has crenellations on both sides, a rare feature built to guard the imperial tombs nearby. The Zhengguan Terrace is unique: three watchtowers on one platform, found nowhere else along the wall. Take the cable car up, then walk east toward the steepest stretch known as "Eagle Flying Upside Down" — or go west for quieter forest views. The stonework is original Ming Dynasty — worn, uneven, exactly what you came for. On the way back, the Bird's Nest appears on the skyline. It's not just a stadium — its 42,000 tonnes of steel weave into a lattice so complex that no two pieces are identical. No facade hides the skeleton; it looks like it grew, not like it was built.

• Itinerary Summary: Tian’anmen Square – Forbidden City – Temple of Heaven
• Hotel Star Rating: 4-Star Hotels
• Meals Included: Lunch

The last full day begins at Tian’anmen Square, a space so vast it feels more like a plaza than a square. From here, guests walk into the Forbidden City — a walled city within the city, built not for living but for ruling. The scale is difficult to describe: layer after layer of courtyards, halls raised on marble terraces, roofs glazed in imperial yellow. It was designed to make visitors feel small — and it still works. Walking through its gates, past bronze lions and stone tortoises, is less about seeing rooms and more about sensing the weight of five centuries of court life. The afternoon shifts to the Temple of Heaven, a quieter, more contemplative place. Unlike the Forbidden City’s heavy grandeur, the Temple complex feels open, almost airy. Its circular architecture was built to mirror the sky, and the emperors who came here came not to rule, but to ask. The simple act of standing in its wide, empty courtyards — with no walls blocking the view — puts the entire ritual of harvest and heaven into perspective.

Itinerary Summary: Departure from Beijing – Airport Transfer

Hotel Star Rating: N/A

Meals Included: No Food

The final morning. A private driver picks you up from the hotel and takes you to Beijing Capital International Airport or Beijing Daxing International Airport for your departure flight. Fourteen days, five cities — a route that started in the subtropical south and ended in the northern capital. You’ve travelled through China’s diversity: coastal trading cities, karst river valleys, mountain towns, global metropolises, and imperial seats of power.