China & Tibet: The Ultimate 17-Day Tour

Nihao! Welcome to Beijing.

Your guide and driver will meet you at the airport or train station exit and take you to your downtown hotel. The rest of the day is free. You can rest up after the flight, or head out and explore the area around your hotel at your own pace.

Getting to Beijing
Beijing has two international airports including Daxing and Capital with flights connecting most major Chinese cities, including Hong Kong, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Xi’an, Guilin, and Hangzhou. High-speed trains also run to Beijing from Xi’an (4–5 hrs), Shanghai (4.5–6 hrs), Zhengzhou (2.5–3 hrs), Wuhan (4–5 hrs), and Harbin (5–5.5 hrs).

Free Time Ideas
Please ask your guide for suggestions based on your schedule and interests.

Morning
Your guide will meet you after breakfast for a visit to Tian’anmen Square, the world’s largest public square and a fixture of China’s modern history.

From there, walk into the Forbidden City which is home to 24 emperors and, with over 8,700 rooms, the most complete surviving collection of ancient wooden architecture in China. You’ll enter through the Meridian Gate and follow the central axis, taking in the most important halls while your guide fills in the stories behind them.

A short 15-minute walk brings you up to Jingshan Park, where the hill gives you a wide view over the Forbidden City’s rust-red rooftops, with the modern Beijing skyline rising behind.

Afternoon
In the afternoon, trade grand halls for something smaller-scale: a rickshaw ride through the old Hutongs, past traditional courtyard homes and small shops tucked into narrow alleyways.

Optional Activity
Try Peking Roasted Duck for dinner at the historic Quanjude (全聚德) restaurant. Please ask your guide to help with reservations.

Morning
Drive around 1.5–2 hours (73km) northwest to the Mutianyu Great Wall which is one of the best-preserved sections, known for solid restoration and open mountain views, and generally quieter than other parts of the wall.

Take the cable car up to around the 14th watchtower and start your walk along the western route, past a run of original Ming-era towers along the ridge. If you’re up for it, continue on toward the 20th tower for broader views.

Afternoon
Back in Beijing, stop for photos outside the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube, both built for the 2008 Olympics and used again in 2022. Transfer back to your hotel for the evening.

Morning
Visit the Summer Palace, once known as the “Museum of Royal Gardens”, the retreat imperial families used to escape the summer heat. Take your time walking through the temples, pavilions, and lakeside corridors.

Afternoon
Transfer to the station for the high-speed train to Xi’an (roughly 4.5–5.5 hours). Welcome to Xi’an, capital city to 13 ancient Chinese dynasties. Your local guide and driver will meet you at the station and take you to your hotel.

Morning
Drive about an hour to the Terracotta Warriors Museum, one of the great archaeological finds of the 20th century, built by Qin Shihuang, China’s first emperor, to guard him in the afterlife.

Start at Pit One, the largest excavation area, with over 6,000 life-sized soldiers and horses arranged in battle formation. Then move to Pit Two for a closer look at around 1,300 figures, kneeling and standing archers, cavalry, and chariot formations, each with its own face and expression.

(If you’re interested, you can also join a workshop to sculpt your own miniature terracotta warrior.)

Afternoon
After lunch, head back into the city to visit Bell & Drum Tower Square, home to the largest and best-preserved Bell Tower and Drum Tower in China.

A short walk brings you to the Great Mosque, a complex of pavilions and towers where Chinese-style exteriors meet Islamic interior design.

Continue into the Muslim Quarter, where narrow streets are lined with food stalls and shops. It is a good place to sample Xi’an’s street food and take in the atmosphere.

Note: Xi’an Museum is closed on Tuesdays.

Morning
Drive to the Xi’an Museum, home to over 110,000 relics tracing Xi’an’s 3,000-year history with its economy, social life, and trade with the outside world. Before heading in, take a look at the Small Wild Goose Pagoda just outside, a UNESCO-listed Tang-dynasty structure built around 1,300 years ago.

Next, visit the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, inside the peaceful Da Ci’en Temple. Built over 1,300 years ago, it was originally constructed to house Buddhist scriptures the monk Xuan Zang brought back from India, which is a journey that later inspired the classic novel Journey to the West.

Afternoon
While you’re there, try a Hanfu experience, choose a traditional outfit and wander the pagoda grounds for photos with the old architecture as your backdrop.

Optional Evening: Grand Tang Dynasty Ever Bright City
Spend your evening at this 1,500-metre pedestrian street lined with Tang-style architecture and sculptures. Try local Xi’an cuisine and watch street performances as the lights come on, a good way to close out your time in the city.

Morning
Enjoy some free time in Xi’an at your own pace before your guide and driver take you to the airport for your flight to Lhasa (around 3.5 hours).

Afternoon
Tashi Delek! Welcome to Lhasa, capital of the Xizang Autonomous Region. Your guide and driver will meet you at the airport and take you to your downtown hotel.

Spend the rest of the day resting to acclimatize to Lhasa’s altitude (3,650m) before your sightseeing begins tomorrow.

A Few Notes on Altitude

• Take it slow, keep warm, and drink water frequently.
• Consider skipping showers for the first day or two, and get plenty of rest.
• Always follow your doctor’s advice regarding altitude, based on your own health.
• Let your guide or hotel staff know right away if you’re feeling unwell.  The locals here are experienced with altitude-related issues and ready to help.

Morning
Visit the Potala Palace, the winter residence of the Dalai Lamas since 1649. Climbing the 365 stone steps up to the Red Palace (at 3,700m) takes some effort, but the sacred chapels and shrines inside. It is filled with centuries-old murals and carvings which are worth the climb. You’ll likely see pilgrims who’ve travelled a long way to pray here, and your guide can tell you more about King Songtsen Gampo, who first built the palace in the 7th century.

Note: Visiting order may shift depending on your ticket time. Potala Palace visits are limited to one hour per group, and photography isn’t allowed inside.

Afternoon
Continue to the Jokhang Temple, Tibet’s spiritual centre for over 1,300 years. “Jokhang” means “House of Buddha,” named for the life-sized statue of the young Sakyamuni housed inside, considered one of the holiest objects in the Buddhist world. Watch pilgrims performing prostrations outside, a tradition that hasn’t changed in centuries.

Finish with a walk through Barkhor Street, the old pilgrim circuit around the temple, now also a lively market. Try some yak butter tea, browse for handicrafts, or just take in the atmosphere.

Morning
Drive about 35 minutes (12km) to Drepung Monastery, once home to the Dalai Lamas before the 17th century and still known for the Shoton Festival each August, when a giant Buddha thangka is unfolded on the hillside.

Explore the monastery grounds and take part in a two-hour Tibetan culture workshop, covering local traditions, incense making, and block printing.

Afternoon
Drive about 40 minutes (14km) to Sera Monastery, known for its peaceful white stone walkways. The highlight here is the Monks’ Debate, held from 15:00 to 17:00 most days (except Sundays), watch standing questioners challenge seated answerers with sharp palm slaps and foot stomps, gestures meant to sharpen the mind rather than provoke.

Morning
Enjoy a free morning in Lhasa, maybe one last walk through Barkhor Street, or a quiet stop at a local teahouse.

Afternoon
Your guide and driver will take you to the airport for your flight to Chengdu (around 2 hours). Welcome to Chengdu, home of giant pandas and Sichuan cuisine. Your guide will meet you on arrival and take you to your hotel. Evening free.

Dinner Ideas
Try a Sichuan hotpot which includes numbing, spicy, and worth the experience, or catch a Sichuan Opera performance for face-changing and puppetry. Your guide can point you in the right direction.

Morning
Drive about 17km to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, the largest panda breeding center in the world, home to over 100 pandas of all ages. Watch them eat, climb, and nap their way through the morning. Pandas are most active in the cool early hours, so an early start pays off. If you’re visiting in autumn, you might spot newborn cubs in the nursery. Red pandas roam nearby too.

Afternoon
Visit Wenshu Monastery, Chengdu’s best-preserved Buddhist temple and a quiet break from the city outside.

Then head to People’s Park to see Chengdu’s slower side, sit at a century-old teahouse with a cup of jasmine tea and watch locals play mahjong or practice tai chi. Keep an eye out for the “blind date corner,” where parents gather to find matches for their adult children.

End the day at Jinli Old Street, a 1,800-year-old street tied to the history of the Ancient Shu Kingdom. Walk the stone-paved lanes past shops selling local snacks and handicrafts, livelier after dark.

Optional
Ask your guide about finding a teahouse with a Sichuan Opera performance later in the evening.

Morning
Transfer to the station for the high-speed train to Chongqing (around 1–1.5 hours). Your local guide will meet you on arrival in the “Mountain City” to begin exploring.

Start at the Three Gorges Museum, home to over 280,000 relics tracing the Yangtze’s history and the formation of the Three Gorges. The People’s Assembly Hall just outside is worth a photo stop too.

Afternoon
After lunch, ride Chongqing Rail Transit Line 2 from Huanghuayuan to Liziba Metro Station to see the city’s famous “train through the building”, a monorail track running directly through an 11-storey residential block.

Next, head to E’ling Park, sometimes called “Little Hong Kong,” for a wide view over the dense skyline and the two rivers curling around the city’s peninsula.

In the late afternoon, explore Hongya Cave, an 11-storey complex of traditional Ba and Shu-style wooden stilt houses built into the cliffside, most striking after dark, when the lights come on.

Finally, transfer to Chaotianmen Port to board your cruise ship. The ship departs at 21:00, and your journey down the Yangtze begins.

Note:

• Please confirm your specific boarding pier with the ship one day in advance or on the morning of departure.
• Times are estimates and may shift with weather or river conditions.
• Boarding times and piers can change due to water levels or seasonal factors.

Wake up at your own pace as the cruise sails on, misty mornings and quiet river views make for a relaxed start. Enjoy a buffet breakfast, then choose to join a shore excursion or stay on board.

Afternoon
Join an English-speaking local guide for a shore excursion to Fengdu Ghost City, a complex of temples and monasteries tied to old legends of the underworld and judgment of souls.

Alternative Option

Visit Shibaozhai Pagoda instead (additional fee) which is a 12-storey red wooden pagoda considered one of the world’s more unusual pieces of architecture. Climb to the top for a wide view over the river.

Note: This is a reference itinerary, shore excursions can vary by cruise company, and we’ll help you pick the cruise that suits you best.

Morning
Sail through the Three Gorges, starting with Qutang Gorge and its steep cliffs at the Kui Gate, then the quieter Wu Gorge, known for misty peaks, and finally Xiling Gorge, historically known for rougher water and shoals. Commentary on deck throughout the morning fills in the history behind each stretch.

Afternoon
Join a shore excursion into Shennv Stream in Wushan County, switching to a smaller boat to navigate the narrow tributary and get a closer look at the cliff walls. Look up along the rock faces for the old hanging coffins tucked into the stone. Local Tujia guides may invite you to join in traditional singing and dancing.

In the evening, attend the Captain’s Farewell Party which is a final dinner together as the cruise winds down.

Morning
After breakfast, check out and disembark at Maoping Port. Visit the Three Gorges Dam, the largest hydropower project in China. It is 2,335 meters across, 181 meters high, and 115 meters wide. If you’d like, you can ride the world’s largest ship lift for a closer look at the dam’s scale.

Afternoon
Take the cruise company’s shuttle bus to Yichang Three Gorges Center Cruise Terminal (arriving around 12:30–1:30pm), then transfer to the airport for your flight to Shanghai (around 2 hours).

Your guide will meet you at the airport and take you straight to your hotel downtown.

Morning
Visit the Shanghai Museum, shaped like an ancient bronze vessel, a nod to the old idea of “round sky, square earth.” Inside, 120,000 relics span 5,000 years of history; don’t miss the Bronze Gallery, home to the 3,000-year-old Da Ke Ding and the ancient Bianzhong bells of the Marquis Su of Jin.

From there, head up Shanghai Tower, China’s tallest building, and take the elevator to the 118th-floor observatory (546 metres up) for a wide view over the city.

Afternoon
Visit Yu Garden, a Ming-dynasty garden of quiet pavilions, ornate rockeries, and detailed carvings. Just outside, the Yuyuan Bazaar is a good spot to try soup dumplings or pick up souvenirs.

Walk down Nanjing Road, then continue to The Bund which is sometimes called an “exhibition of international architecture” for its 52 historic buildings, with the Huangpu River and Pudong’s skyline stretched out on the other side.

Your 17-day China journey comes to a close today. You’ll have free time in Shanghai to explore at your own pace before your guide and driver take you to the airport or train station for your onward journey.