China: Big Cities & Iconic Culture — Self-Launched

Land at Beijing Capital or Daxing, take the Airport Express into town (~25 CNY / £3) or the metro with a Yikatong card or Alipay transport QR. Check into a hostel in the Dongcheng area near Nanluoguxiang or Gulou. Set up Alipay/WeChat Pay with your card linked before you arrive — almost nothing takes cash or foreign cards smoothly. Evening wander through the hutongs around the Drum and Bell Towers, grab jianbing or dumplings for dinner.

🚌Airport Express train + metro, ~£3

🛏Hostel dorm or private twin in Dongcheng (e.g. around Nanluoguxiang/Gulou)

• →Airport Express into city
• →Self-guided hutong orientation walk
• →Drum & Bell Tower exterior at dusk

Pre-book Forbidden City tickets online (60 CNY in peak season, released 7 days ahead, passport number required — they sell out). Walk Tiananmen Square (free, security queue), then spend 3–4 hours in the Forbidden City and climb Jingshan Park (10 CNY) for the classic rooftop panorama. Optional: Lama Temple (25 CNY) or Temple of Heaven (35 CNY) in the afternoon. Dinner of Peking duck at a cheap local roast duck shop rather than a tourist restaurant.

🚌Metro, ~£2

🛏Hostel dorm or private twin in Dongcheng

• →Forbidden City entry (book ahead)
• →Tiananmen Square
• →Jingshan Park viewpoint
• →Optional Temple of Heaven / Lama Temple

Take the 916 Express bus from Dongzhimen to Huairou (about 12 CNY), then a local shuttle up to Mutianyu (about 15 CNY). Entry is 40 CNY; cable car up and toboggan down are ~100–140 CNY each. Hike the 5km stretch between towers 14 and 20 — far quieter than Badaling. Return to Beijing, have dinner, then board the overnight sleeper train to Xi'an (hard sleeper ~270 CNY, ~11 hours, book a few days ahead on 12306 or Trip.com with your passport).

🚌Public bus + shuttle to Mutianyu, ~£6; overnight sleeper train Beijing–Xi'an, ~£30

🛏Overnight sleeper train (hard sleeper berth)

• →Mutianyu Great Wall hike
• →Optional cable car / toboggan
• →Overnight train experience

Arrive early in Xi'an and check into a hostel inside the city wall near the South Gate. Take bus 306/游5 from the east square of Xi'an railway station to the Terracotta Army (7 CNY, ~1 hour); entry is 120 CNY. A GetYourGuide/Klook guide or audio guide adds real context — or hire an on-site English-speaking guide at the gate for ~150 CNY to split. Evening walk through the Muslim Quarter for roujiamo, biangbiang noodles and yangrou paomo.

🚌Public bus to Terracotta Warriors, ~£2

🛏Hostel dorm or budget hotel inside the city wall

• →Terracotta Warriors (entry + optional guide)
• →Muslim Quarter food walk
• →City wall area orientation

Rent a bike on top of the Ming city wall (45 CNY for 2 hours plus 200 CNY deposit) and ride the full 14km loop — one of the best things you can do in China for the money. Afternoon high-speed train Xi'an–Chengdu (second class ~263 CNY, 3.5–4 hours; book on 12306 or Trip.com). Check into a hostel near Tianfu Square or Kuanzhai Alley, then hit a cheap hotpot or chuanchuan place with a few hostel-mates.

🚌Bullet train Xi'an–Chengdu, ~£29

🛏Hostel in central Chengdu (Tianfu Square / Kuanzhai area)

• →Xi'an city wall cycling
• →Bullet train journey
• →Chengdu night food crawl

Go early to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding (entry 58 CNY; metro line 3 to Panda Avenue then shuttle, or a 30 CNY Didi share). Arrive by 8am for feeding time when the pandas are active. Afternoon: Tianfu Square, People's Park teahouse (a 20 CNY bottomless jasmine tea and a chance to watch locals play mahjong), and a wander through Kuanzhai Alley. Sichuan opera face-changing show in the evening is ~150–250 CNY if you fancy it.

🚌Metro + shuttle / Didi, ~£4

🛏Hostel in central Chengdu

• →Giant Panda Breeding Base
• →People's Park teahouse
• →Kuanzhai Alley walk
• →Optional Sichuan opera show

Late-morning high-speed train Chengdu East to Yangshuo station (~5.5–7 hours, second class ~420 CNY; transfer at Guilin or take a direct service where scheduled). From Yangshuo station take the shuttle bus or a shared taxi into town (~20 CNY). Check into a riverside guesthouse in West Street or, better, a quieter spot along the Yulong River. Evening orientation wander and a beer on the rooftop.

🚌Bullet train Chengdu–Yangshuo, ~£47; local shuttle, ~£2

🛏Riverside guesthouse in Yangshuo (twin room)

• →Bullet train through Guangxi scenery
• →Yangshuo orientation walk
• →West Street evening

Hire a mountain bike from any West Street shop (30–50 CNY/day) and ride the classic Yulong River loop: past rice paddies and water buffalo, through Jiuxian and Aishi villages with the limestone peaks all around. Stop for lunch at a village restaurant (beer fish, stuffed snails, local greens — ~50 CNY). Optional bamboo raft drift on the Yulong (~200 CNY per raft, negotiable). You can also book a guided countryside cycle on GetYourGuide or Klook if you'd rather have a leader and interpretation.

🚌Bicycle hire, ~£5

🛏Riverside guesthouse in Yangshuo

• →Self-guided karst countryside cycle
• →Village lunch
• →Optional Yulong River bamboo raft

Pick your highlight: an early Tai Chi class (~100 CNY, arranged through most guesthouses or GetYourGuide), a Chinese cooking class with a market tour (~200–250 CNY, book via Klook), or a hike up Xianggongshan for the classic karst sunrise/sunset shot and a tea farm visit. Evening option: Impression Liu Sanjie light show (298 CNY) staged on the Li River with the mountains as backdrop.

🚌Walking / bicycle / shared taxi, ~£4

🛏Riverside guesthouse in Yangshuo

• →Tai Chi class
• →Chinese cooking class with market tour
• →Xianggongshan hike & tea farm
• →Optional Impression Liu Sanjie show

Morning train Yangshuo to Guangzhou South (~2.5 hours, second class ~140 CNY), then metro to a hostel around Beijing Road or Shamian Island. Afternoon self-guided walk: Chen Clan Ancestral Hall (10 CNY, beautiful Lingnan carving and ceramics), then Shamian Island's colonial arcades and banyan avenues, and a Cantonese dim sum feast (yum cha is best 11am–2pm; expect ~70 CNY for a big spread). Optional evening Pearl River night cruise (~100 CNY).

🚌Bullet train Yangshuo–Guangzhou, ~£16; metro, ~£2

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Guangzhou (Beijing Road / Shamian area)

• →Chen Clan Ancestral Hall
• →Shamian Island walk
• →Cantonese dim sum
• →Optional Pearl River night cruise

Bus or train-and-bus combo from Guangzhou to Longyan or Yongding (direct coaches run from Guangzhou's Tianhe客运站, ~7 hours, ~120 CNY; alternatively high-speed rail Guangzhou–Longyan then a local bus to Hongkeng). Check into a family-run tulou guesthouse in Hongkeng Village — many families rent rooms inside the earth buildings themselves (100–200 CNY/night). Homestyle Hakka dinner: stuffed tofu, salt-baked chicken, preserved vegetables.

🚌Long-distance coach or train Guangzhou–Yongding, ~£15; local bus, ~£2

🛏Family-run guesthouse inside/next to a Hakka tulou, Hongkeng Village

• →Journey into Fujian's tulou country
• →Check in to a tulou guesthouse
• →Hakka home-cooked dinner

Walk the Hongkeng cluster at dawn while it's quiet: Zhencheng Lou (the 'prince of tulou'), Fuyu Lou and Rusheng Lou are all within a few minutes of each other; the combined Hongkeng ticket is ~90 CNY. In the afternoon hire a local driver (negotiate ~150–200 CNY for a few hours) to reach Chuxi village's square tulou and the Gaobei cluster including Chengqi Lou, the 'king of tulou'. Spend the evening with your host family hearing how generations have lived in these fortress homes.

🚌Walking + shared local driver, ~£10

🛏Family-run guesthouse inside/next to a Hakka tulou, Hongkeng Village

• →Hongkeng tulou cluster walk
• →Chuxi & Gaobei tulou villages by local driver
• →Evening with host family

Travel day: local bus to Longyan or Xiamen, then high-speed rail to Shanghai Hongqiao (~7–8 hours total; book the Longyan–Shanghai leg on Trip.com in advance, ~500 CNY). Or fly Xiamen–Shanghai on a budget carrier if you want to save a day — Spring Airlines often has fares under 500 CNY. Check into a hostel near the Bund or in the French Concession, then stretch your legs along the Huangpu River for the Pudong skyline at night.

🚌Bus + high-speed rail (or budget flight), ~£55

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Shanghai (Bund / People's Square area)

• →High-speed rail across southern China
• →Evening Bund riverside walk

Self-guided walking day: the Bund promenade in the morning, then the former French Concession — Wukang Road, Anfu Road, Tianzifang and the Propaganda Poster Art Centre. Afternoon option: Shanghai Museum (free, book a slot) or the Yu Garden (40 CNY) and City God Temple bazaar for xiaolongbao. For a cheaper Bund view, take the 2 CNY public ferry across the Huangpu rather than the tourist tunnel. Finish with a night out on Yongkang Road or Found 158 with your hostel crew.

🚌Metro + public ferry, ~£3

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Shanghai

• →The Bund walk
• →French Concession self-guided walk
• →Shanghai Museum or Yu Garden
• →Public ferry across the Huangpu
• →Night out

Last morning for a coffee and a final wander, then metro line 2 or the Maglev (50 CNY, 8 minutes to Pudong Airport) to catch your flight home. If you have a late flight, stow your bag at the hostel and squeeze in Zhujiajiao water town by metro and bus (~2 hours each way) or the 1933 Old Millfun for something free.

🚌Maglev or metro to Pudong Airport, ~£5

🛏—

• →Optional Zhujiajiao water town day trip
• →Maglev to airport