10 Days in China: The Only Itinerary You’ll Need
Published on LOCLYX Blog · Updated June 2026 · Reading time ~9 minutes
Opening
Every “10 days in China” article on the internet makes the same mistake. It crams 12 cities into 10 days, recommends a half-day at the Forbidden City, and sends you from Beijing to Shanghai on a 6-hour train the morning of your flight out. That is not an itinerary — that is a stress test.
We build China trips for a living. After customized plans, the pattern is clear: first-time visitors enjoy China most when they do 2–3 cities deeply, not 6 cities shallowly. A 10-day trip that combines Beijing, Xi’an, and Shanghai gives you 4,000 years of history, the Great Wall, the Terracotta Warriors, and one of the world’s most futuristic skylines, all at a sustainable pace.
This is the route we give our family-and-couple clients when they ask for “the classic 10 days.” Every day has a logical geography. Every transfer uses the fastest option. No museum overload, no 5am wake-ups unless you want them.
Section 1: Why Beijing + Xi’an + Shanghai (and not 5 other cities)
You will see itineraries that promise “Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an, Chengdu, Guilin, Zhangjiajie in 10 days.” Mathematically possible. Practically miserable. Here is why.
- Transit tax: each city change costs you 4–6 hours door-to-door. Three cities = 12–18 hours lost. Five cities = 25+ hours lost.
- Hotel reset: each new city means a check-in, unpacking, learning a new subway map, finding dinner. Add 90 minutes per city change.
- Diminishing returns: by city three, your brain stops absorbing new architecture, new food, new history. By city five, you are in survival mode.
Beijing + Xi’an + Shanghai solves this. Three cities, each representing a distinct era of Chinese civilization (imperial, ancient, modern). High-speed trains between them are faster and more comfortable than flying once you factor in airport overhead. None of the three cities overlap topically — you are not seeing “another old temple” or “another skyline” each time.
Section 2: Day-by-day breakdown
Days 1–4: Beijing (imperial China + hutongs)
Day 1 — Arrive, recover, light orientation.
Land at Beijing Capital or Daxing. Take the airport express into the city (CNY 25, 30 minutes). Check in, walk to the nearest hutong, eat Peking duck. Tonight exists to reset your clock.
Day 2 — Forbidden City + Jingshan Park + Tiananmen.
Enter the Forbidden City at 8:30 AM (the moment gates open). Spend 3 hours following the central axis: Meridian Gate → Hall of Supreme Harmony → Palace of Heavenly Purity → Imperial Garden. Exit through the north gate, cross the street to Jingshan Park, climb to the top for the panoramic view. Evening: Tiananmen Square at sunset (just for photos — the flag-lowering at sunset is surprisingly moving).
Day 3 — Great Wall at Mutianyu.
Leave your hotel at 7 AM, hire a DiDi or join a small-group tour. Arrive at Mutianyu by 9 AM to beat the crowds. Cable car up, walk the wall for 2–3 hours, toboggan down. Back in Beijing by 4 PM. Evening: dinner at a local Sichuan or Peking duck restaurant.
Day 4 — Temple of Heaven + hutong wandering.
Morning: Temple of Heaven — the round Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is one of the most photographed buildings in China, and the surrounding park is full of locals doing tai chi. Afternoon: walk the hutongs between Houhai and Nanluoguxiang. Stop for coffee, browse the indie shops, do not buy the “antiques.” Evening: Peking duck at Da Dong or Siji Minfu (book ahead).
Day 5: Bullet train Beijing → Xi’an (4.5 hours)
Morning train from Beijing West to Xi’an North. Afternoon: ancient city wall bike ride (the wall is 14 km, you can cycle it in 2 hours, the bike rental is CNY 45). Evening: Muslim Quarter street food crawl — roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), yangrou paomo (lamb soup with flatbread), biangbiang noodles.
Days 6–7: Xi’an (ancient China + Silk Road)
Day 6 — Terracotta Warriors + Big Wild Goose Pagoda.
Leave the hotel at 6:30 AM, take a DiDi or join a guided tour. Arrive at the Terracotta site by 8 AM (the crowds grow fast). Budget 3 hours. Afternoon: Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the smaller of the two Xi’an landmark pagodas, less crowded and atmospheric. Evening: Tang Dynasty show with dinner (optional, touristy but well-executed).
Day 7 — Shaanxi History Museum + calligraphic street.
Morning: Shaanxi History Museum — one of China’s three great museums, free entry with passport reservation. Afternoon: stroll the South Gate and the calligraphy street market. Evening: farewell dinner in the Muslim Quarter.
Day 8: Bullet train Xi’an → Shanghai (6 hours)
Long travel day, but unavoidable. Take the morning train, arrive Shanghai by 3 PM. Check in, head to the Bund for sunset. Evening: dinner in the French Concession (recommend a Shanghainese restaurant for xiaolongbao, hairy crab, or red-braised pork).
Days 9–10: Shanghai (modern China + art deco)
Day 9 — The Bund + Yu Garden + Pudong.
Morning: walk the Bund from north to south, taking in the colonial-era architecture and the skyline across the river. Take the ferry to Pudong (CNY 2, 10 minutes). Visit Shanghai Tower (CNY 180, the second-tallest building in the world) or the Shanghai World Financial Center for the observation deck. Afternoon: Yu Garden and the Old City bazaar. Evening: Huangpu river cruise.
Day 10 — French Concession + Nanjing Road + departure.
Morning: French Concession — colonial-era lanes turned into the most walkable neighborhood in Asia. Coffee at a lane-side cafe, browse the art galleries. Afternoon: Nanjing Road for last-minute shopping, or the Propaganda Poster Art Centre if you have 90 minutes. Evening: fly out from Pudong or Hongqiao.
Section 3: How to make this route work for you
Three variants we adjust for clients:
Family with kids (under 12): swap Mutianyu for the Great Wall at Jinshanling (less crowded, easier walking), add a day at the Beijing Zoo to see pandas (yes, there are pandas in Beijing too), swap Yu Garden for Shanghai Disneyland or a visit to the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium.
Foodie traveler: add an extra day in Chengdu (replace Xi’an if China history is not your priority) for Sichuan cooking classes, hotpot crawls, and the Jinli ancient street food market.
First-time couple on a romantic trip: skip the city wall bike ride in Xi’an and replace with a private Terracotta Warriors tour at dawn (yes, dawn visits exist, the lighting is unreal). Add a Huangpu river dinner cruise in Shanghai.
Section 4: When to take this route
- April to early May is ideal — pleasant weather, low crowds outside Labor Day week.
- September (first half) — the single best month. Post-summer, pre-Golden-Week.
- October 15 to November 15 — post-Golden-Week lull, autumn colors at the Great Wall and Forbidden City.
Avoid Chinese New Year (late January or February), National Day Golden Week (October 1–7), and mid-summer July–August in the north.
Closing
This 10-day itinerary is not the only good one. It is the most efficient one for a first-time visitor who wants history, modernity, food, and the Great Wall without burning out. If you follow the pacing, you will end the trip wanting more — not ready to leave.
For travelers who want this route customized to their dates, food preferences, walking pace, and budget, see our pricing and plan my trip page. We deliver a complete hour-by-hour PDF for $19.9 per day with 3 free revisions.
If you would like to see what a finished LOCLYX itinerary looks like before committing, our sample itinerary covers a 5-day Beijing trip in full detail — same structure, same level of depth, just shorter.