China Express — Self-Launched
8 days · China
G Adventures charges £899
No-markup version: ~£735 per person
Estimate only, not a guaranteed price. Always verify costs independently before booking.
An 8-day self-launched sprint through China's greatest hits: Beijing's Great Wall, Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City, the Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an, the canal-side gardens of Suzhou, and Shanghai's glittering Bund. The original G Adventures trip covers the same route using high-speed rail and local transport — so this DIY version simply books the trains yourself (1,300km of them), stays in guesthouses and budget hotels instead of group hotels, and swaps the CEO for self-booked tickets and walking routes. Same cities, same icons, roughly a third of the price.
Day-by-day
Arrive Beijing — hutong acclimatisation
Beijing
Land at Beijing Capital or Daxing Airport and take the Airport Express metro (£3) or a Didi/taxi (£10-13) into the city. Base yourself in a guesthouse in the Dongcheng hutongs, walkable to Tiananmen. Once settled, do a self-guided wander through the Nanluoguxiang lanes, grab a bowl of zhajiangmian (noodles with bean paste, ~£3), and sort logistics: activate Alipay/WeChat Pay linked to your card, download Amap (Gaode) for navigation, and set up a VPN before arrival if you need Google/Gmail/Instagram. Book Great Wall transport and train tickets for the days ahead tonight.
🚌Airport Express metro ~£3, or taxi/Didi ~£12
🛏Hutong guesthouse or budget hotel, Dongcheng
- →Self-guided hutong walk (Nanluoguxiang, Yandai Xiejie)
- →Set up Alipay/WeChat Pay and Amap
- →Book Great Wall minibus + rail tickets
Mutianyu Great Wall + Tiananmen Square
Beijing
Start early — book a shared minibus or get the public bus combo (Bus 916快 from Dongzhimen to Huairou, then local minibus to Mutianyu, ~£4 total each way) to reach Mutianyu by 8:30am before the crowds. Entry is ~£5.5; the cable car or toboggan down is ~£11-14 and worth it for the 22-tower ridge views. Walk the wall for 3-4 hours. Return to the city mid-afternoon and walk Tiananmen Square — free, but you must pre-register with your passport on the Tiananmen reservation WeChat mini-program up to 3 days ahead. Optional evening: Drum & Bell Towers (~£3.5) for sunset views over the hutongs.
🚌Public bus 916快 + local minibus ~£8 return, or shared minibus ~£15
🛏Hutong guesthouse or budget hotel, Dongcheng
- →Mutianyu Great Wall hike
- →Cable car or toboggan descent
- →Tiananmen Square (pre-register online)
- →Optional Drum & Bell Towers
Forbidden City, then high-speed rail to Xi'an
Beijing → Xi'an
Book Forbidden City tickets online (gugong.ktmtech.cn) up to 7 days ahead — £7.5, and they sell out in peak season. Enter at Meridian Gate, walk the central axis to the Imperial Garden in 2.5-3 hours, then climb Jingshan Park (£0.25) for the classic rooftop panorama. Afternoon: take Metro Line 4 to Beijing West and board a G-series high-speed train to Xi'an — 4.5-5 hours, second class ~£65 if booked 1-2 weeks out on Trip.com or the 12306 app. Arrive Xi'an North, metro into the city, and check in near the Muslim Quarter. Eat your way down Beiyuanmen night market: roujiamo (~£1.5), yangrou paomo (~£4), biangbiang noodles (~£3).
🚌Metro £1 + Beijing–Xi'an high-speed rail ~£65
🛏Budget hotel near Bell Tower / Muslim Quarter, Xi'an
- →Forbidden City self-guided visit
- →Jingshan Park viewpoint
- →Muslim Quarter street-food crawl
Terracotta Warriors + Xi'an City Wall, overnight train to Suzhou
Xi'an → Suzhou
Get to Xi'an Railway Station early and take the dedicated Tourism Bus 5 (306), ~£1 each way, 1 hour to the Terracotta Warriors site. Entry ~£13; either join the on-site English guide pool (~£9pp shared, or £35 private for a small group) or rent the audio guide (~£4). Allow 3 hours for Pits 1-3. Back in town, rent a bike on the Ming City Wall (~£5/hour) and ride a stretch of the 14km loop — great late-afternoon light. Then wander the Muslim Quarter again for dinner and collect your bags. Tonight's overnight train to Suzhou: soft sleeper (~£45-55) leaves Xi'an in the evening and rolls in early morning — book a lower berth if you can, and keep your liquids under 120ml for security.
🚌Bus 306 £2 return + overnight train Xi'an–Suzhou soft sleeper ~£50
🛏Overnight train, soft sleeper berth
- →Terracotta Warriors with audio guide/shared local guide
- →Ming City Wall bike ride
- →Muslim Quarter food crawl
Suzhou canals — Master of the Nets Garden
Suzhou
Arrive Suzhou mid-morning, drop bags at a guesthouse near Pingjiang Road, and grab coffee plus a jianbing breakfast. Visit the Master of the Nets Garden (£4.5) — buy tickets online the day before, as daily numbers are capped — and spend an hour in its UNESCO-listed courtyards and fish ponds. Then walk 10 minutes to Shantang Street to see the canal town's whitewashed houses and arched bridges, with an optional 40-minute canal boat ride (~£5). Free dinner in Pingjiang Road before taking the metro back to your guesthouse. (If you're after a longer day, add the Humble Administrator's Garden, ~£9.)
🚌Local metro + walking, ~£3
🛏Canal-side guesthouse near Pingjiang Road, Suzhou
- →Master of the Nets Garden
- →Shantang Street canal walk
- →Optional canal boat ride
- →Pingjiang Road in the evening
Bullet train to Shanghai — the Bund orientation
Suzhou → Shanghai
Short morning bullet train from Suzhou to Shanghai Hongqiao — 25-30 minutes, ~£6. Check into a hostel or budget hotel in the old French Concession or near People's Square, then self-launch your own Bund orientation: walk the waterfront promenade at golden hour for the Pudong skyline, loop back up Nanjing Road past the department stores, and explore the side streets for xiaolongbao dinner (~£4 for a steamer). Optional evening: a Huangpu River ferry across to Pudong costs 30p — the cheapest skyline view in town.
🚌Suzhou–Shanghai bullet train ~£6 + metro £1
🛏Hostel or budget hotel, French Concession / People's Square
- →The Bund sunset walk
- →Nanjing Road stroll
- →Huangpu River public ferry
- →Xiaolongbao dinner
Shanghai — gardens, museums and historic streets
Shanghai
Morning: Yu Garden (£4.5) and the surrounding Yuyuan Bazaar, then the Shanghai Museum on People's Square (free, but reserve online — closed Mondays; branch collection sometimes rotates, check ahead). Afternoon: walk the French Concession — Wukang Road, Anfu Road, and the plane-tree-lined lanes — with a coffee stop (~£3.5). Optional: Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Centre (£3) or the 100-floor views from Shanghai Tower (£20, pre-book to skip the queue). Finish with a craft beer or tea house, then pack for departure.
🚌Metro and walking, ~£3
🛏Hostel or budget hotel, French Concession / People's Square
- →Yu Garden and Yuyuan Bazaar
- →Shanghai Museum (free, book online)
- →French Concession self-guided walk
- →Optional Shanghai Tower observation deck
Depart Shanghai
Shanghai
Take Metro Line 2 or the Maglev (£6, 8 minutes at 430km/h to Pudong Airport) to your flight. If you have a late flight, squeeze in one last dumpling breakfast or a walk along the Suzhou Creek riverside before heading out.
🚌Maglev ~£6 or Metro Line 2 ~£1
🛏—
- →Suzhou Creek walk (optional)
Self-launched vs. G Adventures
| This itinerary (self-launched) | G Adventures | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per person | ~£735 | £899 |
| Duration | 8 days | 8 days |
| Who books it | You and your group, direct | Tour operator, guided group |
| Savings | £164 per person (18%) | |
Estimate only, not a guaranteed price. Always verify costs independently before booking.
Want to see more G Adventures-style trips? Check them out here.~£735
estimated per person
You never pay Travel Crew for this — you pay hostels, transport, and activity providers directly, the same as if you'd booked it all yourself.
This publishes your dates so other travellers can find and join you — no tour operator needed.
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Frequently asked questions
How much does China Express — Self-Launched cost?+
Doing it yourself with this self-launched itinerary costs an estimated £735 per person for 8 days in China. This is an AI-generated estimate based on typical budget-traveller prices — actual costs will vary by season and how you book.
Is this cheaper than booking with G Adventures?+
Yes — G Adventures charges around £899 per person for a similar tour. Doing the same route independently, using the same standard of accommodation and activities, costs an estimated £735 — a saving of roughly £164 (18%) per person.
How long is the China trip?+
This itinerary runs 8 days, covering 8 day-by-day stops through China.
How do I join this trip?+
You can join an existing open departure using this itinerary if one is scheduled, or launch your own departure with your own dates and invite other travellers to join you — no tour operator required.
Isn't it easier to just use a tour operator?+
Well, yes, a tour operator will book all the individual parts of your travel for you and provide a guide. That's obvious, but doing this has the potential to save the group thousands, which can in turn improve your itinerary substantially or save you huge amounts of money. Also, when you launch a departure, Travel Crew has tools in place to help you book the individual sections of the trip or make it easier for you to do this as a group. Really, you do not need a middle man. If you are more comfortable paying more and using a middle man, then you should certainly do this.
Is it safer to book through a tour operator?+
Arguably, there isn't much difference. A self-launched trip runs on the same principle as a group travel crew: collective responsibility, everyone looking out for each other, the same way it would if a group of friends organised the trip themselves — because that's exactly what's happening. You should always take out travel insurance before you go, self-launched or not; that doesn't change either way. Every open departure is published publicly with real dates and a real trip organiser, so it's never an anonymous arrangement, and our support team is reachable any time you need help, including in an emergency while you're away. Longer-term, we're building direct relationships with ground DMCs in popular destinations, offered as an optional paid add-on for extra on-the-ground support. Ultimately, though, the group is responsible for its own conduct and safety on a self-launched trip, same as on any trip you plan yourself.
What kind of trip is this?+
This is a culture, city-breaks, backpacker trip through China, self-launched rather than run by a tour operator — you organise it with a group you find or bring yourself.
Would you like to name the operator, name the trip, or have any suggestions about how to improve this itinerary?
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