If you can spend only a week in China, you obviously have to focus on a limited region, typically around one or two major cities. Thanks to the vast and capillary high-speed railway network covering large distances is no longer a major obstacle but careful planning is highly advised.
Major destinations for a seven-day journey to China are typically Beijing, Xi’An and Shanghai.We suggest you choose only two of these cities.
In this page we briefly outline a selection of seven-day itineraries in China. For each programme we give suggestions on how to organise the transfers.
Contents
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First journey to China (choice of the itinerary, main destinations, side trips)
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Recommended 7-day itineraries(1 - Beijing-Xi’An, 2 - Beijing-Shanghai)
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Recommended 6-day visa free itineraries (Beijing and HeBei, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang)
Seven days in China: choice of the itinerary
Beijing, Xi’An and Shanghai are the firm options on the schedule of most 10-day China itineraries. For a shorter journey it is better to include only a couple of cities. You can still follow a Beijing-Xi’An-Shanghai circular but that would not be satisfactory because you would have to renounce to most side trips, which would be a major drawback.
For such a short journey your choice will also depend on practical circumstances, such as the availability of convenient and reasonably comfortable travel arrangements for the entry and exit itinerary.
Beijing and Shanghai, are typically the most convenient ports of entry into the country but there is an increasing number of international routes that serve also Xi’An, Hangzhou and other cities in China.
All of the itineraries outlined below can easily be organised independently. Resorting to the support of a travel agency can make things easier and smoother and is often a necessity when it comes to arranging the side trips.
Seven days in China: recommended itineraries
Day time transfers between the three major cities that you might want to consider for a 7-day journey (Beijing, Xi’An, Shanghai) require roughly a half day in all cases, regardless of whether you choose to travel by plane (taking into account also the transfers between the city centre and the airport) or by train (high-speed railway). If you want to save time you may opt for night time transfers, which is feasible by train or in equivalent way through late evening flights.
We suggest you focus your journey on two main destinations, devoting 4-5 days to them. The 2-3 remaining days can be used for side-trips.
Here are the itineraries we recommend for a 7-day journey in China:
Itinerary 1: Beijing, PingYao, HuaShan, Xi’An;
Itinerary 2: Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou;
Itinerary 3: Beijing, Xi’An, Shanghai;
We assume that the point of arrival and departure is an airport in either Beijing or Shanghai.
Especially if you come from another Asian country, you may also consider other points of entry such as the airports of Nanjing, Hangzhou, Xi’An, Shenzhen or Guangzhou.
Itinerary 1: Beijing, Ping’Yao, Xi’An, HuaShan
This itinerary focuses on destinations in central China, along the Beijing-Xi’An route. Compared to the previous one, this programme is much slower and cheaper.
A well-balanced schedule is as follows:
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Day 1: Beijing
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Day 2: Beijing (excursion to the Great Wall)
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Day 3: Beijing; transfer to PingYao
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Day 4: PingYao
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Day 5: Xi’An
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Day 6: Day trip to HuaShan
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Day 7: Xi’An; return to Beijing; end of journey
The programme requires three long-distance transfers (two if you find a convenient multi-leg flight itinerary).
How to organise the transfers
If you choose a round trip flight itinerary (entry and exit through the same airport, typically in Beijing), you have to include a transfer from Shanghai to Beijing:
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Beijing-PingYao (by train)
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PingYao-Xi’An (by train)
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Xi’An-HuaShan-Xi’An (by train)
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Xi’An-Beijing (by plane or by train)
A good choice is to opt for night train for the transfer between Beijing, PingYao and Xi’An.
Itinerary 2: Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou
The itinerary briefly outlined below is a classic tour, a great introduction to China’s ancient culture.
A well-balanced schedule is as follows:
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Day 1: Beijing
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Day 2: Beijing (excursion to the Great Wall)
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Day 3: Beijing transfer to Shanghai
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Day 4: Shanghai
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Day 5: Hangzhou
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Day 6: Suzhou
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Day 7: Suzhou; return to Beijing; end of journey
The programme requires two long-distance transfers (one if you find a convenient multi-leg flight itinerary).
How to organise the transfers
If you choose a round trip flight itinerary (entry and exit through the same airport, typically in Beijing), you have to include a transfer from Shanghai to Beijing:
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Beijing-Shanghai (by plane of by train)
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Shanghai-Hangzhou-Suzhou (by train)
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Shanghai-Beijing (by plane or by train)
You can opt for night trains or day time high-speed trains. The first option is generally cheaper.
Itinerary 3: Beijing, Xi’An, Shanghai
An itinerary through Beijing, Xi’An and Shanghai may follow the schedule indicated below:
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Day 1: Beijing
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Day 2: Beijing (excursion to the Great Wall)
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Day 3: Beijing transfer to Xi’An
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Day 4: Xi’An
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Day 5: Xi’An; transfer to Shanghai
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Day 6: Shanghai
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Day 7: Shanghai; return to Beijing; end of journey
The programme requires three long-distance transfers (one if you find a convenient multi-leg flight itinerary).
How to organise the transfers
All transfers can be made by plane or train. You can choose night transfers so as to minimise loss of time.
Six-day visa-free itineraries
Under a number of conditions that we suggest you carefully verify, citizens of certain countries can visit a few regions and cities without no need for a tourist visa.
Regions of particular interest where this regime is admitted are the following:
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Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province (JingJinJi region),
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Shanghai Municipality, Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces
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Guangdong Province
Related articles:
Itineraries in China (general article)
First journey to China: classic two-week itinerary
