Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
China: Beijing to Hong Kong via Xi'an, Chengdu and Yangshuo
14 days from Beijing to Hong Kong: the Great Wall and the Terracotta Warriors at opening, Chengdu's pandas at morning feeding, three nights among Yangshuo's karst peaks with a Li River raft, and three nights in Hong Kong.
14 days · Beijing to Hong Kong · up to 12 guests
Rafts on the river in Yangshuo County, among the karst peaks. Photo: Huangdan2060, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Li_River_and_mountains_in_Yangshuo_County,_Guilin52.jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 14 days, 13 nights
- Start and end
- Beijing to Hong Kong
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Activity level
Moderate
Mostly walking in cities and at sites, 3 to 5 hours a day on foot, often on stone paving and steps. The Great Wall at Mutianyu has steep stepped sections for about 2 hours, with a cable car up and down. The Xi'an City Wall ride is about 13.7 km on a flat top, and the Yangshuo countryside ride about 20 km on flat lanes; both have a no-cycling option. The Tian Tan Buddha is 268 steps up. Three high-speed trains and one domestic flight; you lift your own suitcase onto the train rack.
- Meals included
- 13 breakfasts, 9 lunches, 5 dinners
- Room of your own
- + CAD 1,000 (estimated price)
- Season
- Best April to May and September to November
Highlights
Why this trip
- The Great Wall at Mutianyu as it opens, then lunch in a family courtyard home in Beijing's hutongs
- The Forbidden City from its 8:30 opening and Peking duck carved at the table
- Pit 1 of the Terracotta Warriors before the coaches, and Xi'an's city wall by bike in the late light
- The Chengdu panda base at its 7:30 opening, when the pandas are feeding and awake
- A raft down the Li River from Yangdi to Xingping, past the view on the 20 yuan note
- Cycling the Yulong valley and drifting on a hand-poled bamboo raft, then cooking your own dinner
- The Star Ferry, dim sum and the Peak Tram on Hong Kong Island
- The Ngong Ping cable car to the Tian Tan Buddha and the stilt houses of Tai O
What makes this trip different
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 1,000 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Beijing
Beijing Capital (PEK) or Daxing (PKX) airport to central Beijing
- Welcome dinner
- Stay in Beijing
- Drive about 1 h
We meet you at Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) or Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX) and drive you to a central hotel in Dongcheng, the old district east of the Forbidden City, about an hour from either airport.
Afternoon
The afternoon is free to rest. If you want a first walk, the hutong lanes and the shopping street of Wangfujing are close by, and your guide leaves a simple map at the front desk.
Evening
In the early evening the group meets for a briefing on the two weeks ahead: how the high-speed trains and the domestic flight work, how to pay with your phone in mainland China, why you carry your passport each day, and the early start for the Great Wall tomorrow. Then we walk to a local restaurant for a welcome dinner of northern dishes, dumplings, hand-cut noodles and stir-fries shared around one table. If your flight lands too late, we meet you at breakfast instead.
Included
- Pick-up at Beijing Capital (PEK) or Daxing (PKX) airport
- Evening briefing with your guide
- Welcome dinner at a local restaurant
Free time: Afternoon free to rest
Activity: Land by about 4 pm to join the briefing and dinner.
The Great Wall at Mutianyu, then a hutong lunch
Beijing to Mutianyu and back, then the hutongs around Shichahai
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Beijing
- Drive about 3 h
We leave at 7 am, the one early start in Beijing, and drive about an hour and a half north-east to Mutianyu, a restored stretch of the Ming dynasty wall with watchtowers set close together along a forested ridge. Arriving as it opens means empty towers and low light across the hills. The cable car lifts you to the ridge, and you walk at your own pace for about two hours, tower to tower, on steep stepped sections. Come down by cable car, by the toboggan run, or on foot.
Afternoon
Back in the city by about 1:30, we sit down to a late lunch in a family courtyard home in the hutongs near the Shichahai lakes: home cooking, and time to ask about life in the lanes. Your guide then walks you through the grey-brick alleys to the Drum and Bell Towers, which kept the city's time for centuries.
Evening
The evening is free, with suggestions for dinner nearby.
Included
- The Great Wall at Mutianyu at opening, with your guide
- Cable car up, and cable car or toboggan down
- Lunch in a family courtyard home in the hutongs
- Hutong walk to the Drum and Bell Towers
Easier option: Ride the cable car both ways and stay on the gentler section by the top station.
More active option: Walk up to the wall on the stepped path, about 40 minutes, then carry on to the steeper towers at the far end.
Free time: Evening free
Activity: Steep steps and slopes on the wall; wear shoes with grip and bring water.
The Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven
Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, Jingshan Park, then the Temple of Heaven
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Beijing
Tickets for the Forbidden City are booked ahead in your name, so we cross Tiananmen Square and go in through the Meridian Gate as the palace opens at 8:30, before the main crowd. For almost five hundred years this was home to the Ming and Qing emperors. Your guide follows the central line of great halls, then turns into the quieter side courtyards and the imperial garden at the northern end. From the north gate we climb Jingshan Park, a hill raised from the earth dug out for the moat, for the view back over the sea of yellow roofs.
Afternoon
Lunch is at a local restaurant near the park. In the afternoon our vehicle takes us south to the Temple of Heaven, where emperors prayed for good harvests: the round, triple-roofed Hall of Prayer, the Echo Wall and the Circular Mound Altar.
Evening
A rest at the hotel, then Peking duck for dinner, carved at the table.
Included
- Tiananmen Square with your guide
- The Forbidden City (Palace Museum) at opening
- Jingshan Park viewpoint
- The Temple of Heaven
- Peking duck dinner
Easier option: Skip the Jingshan climb, about 15 minutes of steps, and wait in the park below.
Free time: Late afternoon free before dinner
Activity: About 5 hours on foot, much of it on stone paving. The Forbidden City closes on Mondays, so day 3 never falls on one.
High-speed train to Xi'an
Beijing West station to Xi'an North by high-speed train, then the Muslim Quarter
- Breakfast and dinner
- Stay in Xi'an
- By train
Morning
A slow morning. Breakfast without hurry, and an hour free for anyone who wants a taxi to the Lama Temple, Beijing's largest Tibetan Buddhist temple, or a last walk in the lanes. Late in the morning our vehicle takes the group and the luggage to Beijing West station, and your guide steers everyone through the ticket and security checks and onto the platform. The high-speed train to Xi'an takes about four and a half to five and a half hours, depending on the service, running south-west across the North China Plain into the yellow loess country of Shaanxi.
Afternoon
Lunch is on board, your choice from the trolley or the station shops. We arrive in the late afternoon and check in at a hotel inside the Ming city wall.
Evening
At dusk we walk past the lit Bell Tower into the Muslim Quarter, home of the Hui community for centuries, for a street-food dinner with your guide: lamb skewers, roujiamo flatbreads filled with stewed meat, and cold liangpi noodles.
Included
- Transfer to Beijing West station with your guide
- Reserved seats on the high-speed train to Xi'an
- Transfer from Xi'an North station to the hotel
- Evening walk past the Bell Tower and a street-food dinner in the Muslim Quarter
Free time: Morning free until about 11 am
Activity: Lunch is on the train, your choice; the station and the train sell food.
The Terracotta Warriors and the city wall by bike
Xi'an to the Terracotta Warriors and back, then the Xi'an City Wall
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Xi'an
- Drive about 2 h
We leave at 7:30 for the hour's drive east to the tomb complex of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of a unified China, and walk into Pit 1 as the site opens, before the coach groups. Farmers sinking a well uncovered the first fragments in 1974; today Pit 1 holds long trenches of life-size foot soldiers in battle order, no two faces alike. A licensed site guide joins your own guide for Pits 2 and 3 and the museum, where the two bronze chariots are displayed.
Afternoon
Lunch is a sit-down bowl of broad, hand-pulled biangbiang noodles near the site, and we are back in the city by early afternoon to rest. Late in the afternoon, when the brick turns warm in the low sun, we climb onto the city wall at the South Gate and cycle the full circuit, about 13.7 km on a flat, wide top, past gate towers and corner bastions.
Evening
The evening is free.
Included
- The Terracotta Warriors (Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum Site Museum) at opening, with a licensed site guide
- Noodle lunch near the site
- Xi'an City Wall entry and bike hire for the full circuit
Easier option: Walk a section of the wall from the South Gate, or ride the electric cart around it.
More active option: Ride the circuit twice, or walk to the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda in the free evening.
Free time: Early afternoon and evening free
Activity: The wall ride takes about 2 hours with stops.
Over the Qinling Mountains to Chengdu
Xi'an North to Chengdu East by high-speed train, then People's Park and the Kuanzhai Alleys
- Breakfast and dinner
- Stay in Chengdu
- By train
Morning
The morning is free until about 10: walk to the Great Mosque, laid out like a Chinese temple with courtyards and pavilions rather than domes, or take a coffee up on the wall. Then our vehicle takes us to Xi'an North station for the high-speed train to Chengdu, about three and a half to four hours, through long tunnels under the Qinling Mountains, the traditional divide between northern and southern China, and down into the green Sichuan Basin.
Afternoon
We reach Chengdu in mid-afternoon and drive to a central hotel. Your guide takes you straight to People's Park, where locals drink jasmine tea in bamboo chairs, play mahjong and dance in the open air, for a pot of tea of your own. We walk on through the Kuanzhai Alleys, restored Qing-era lanes of grey-brick courtyards now full of snack stalls.
Evening
Dinner is Sichuan hotpot, with a mild broth beside the fiery one for anyone who wants it.
Included
- Transfer to Xi'an North station with your guide
- Reserved seats on the high-speed train to Chengdu
- Transfer from Chengdu East station to the hotel
- Tea in a People's Park teahouse
- Walk through the Kuanzhai Alleys
- Sichuan hotpot dinner
Free time: Morning free until about 10 am
Activity: Lunch is on the train, your choice.
Pandas at opening, a Sichuan cooking lesson
Chengdu to the giant panda base and back, then Wenshu Monastery
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Chengdu
- Drive about 1 h
Morning
Giant pandas are most active in the cool of the morning, when keepers bring fresh bamboo, so we leave at 7 am for the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, about half an hour north of the centre, and walk in as it opens at 7:30. Tickets are booked ahead in your name. Paths wind through bamboo groves past the outdoor enclosures, where adults feed, climb and doze, and the nursery houses, where young pandas are often on view. Red pandas, smaller and fox-like, have their own wooded area. Your guide explains the base's breeding and research work as we go.
Afternoon
By late morning the pandas settle down to sleep, and we drive back into the city for a Sichuan cooking lesson, mapo tofu and kung pao chicken, which becomes lunch. Afterwards there is a quiet hour at Wenshu Monastery, a working Buddhist temple with its own teahouse.
Evening
The evening is free, with Sichuan opera and its face-changing as an option.
Included
- The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding at opening, with your guide
- Sichuan cooking lesson and lunch
- Wenshu Monastery
Optional experiences
- Sichuan opera with face-changing
Easier option: The base has shuttle carts between the main areas, so you can ride instead of walking the hills.
Free time: Late afternoon and evening free
Activity: About 2 to 3 hours on foot at the base on paved, gently sloping paths.
Fly to Guilin, on to Yangshuo
Chengdu airport (CTU or TFU) to Guilin Liangjiang (KWL), then by road to Yangshuo
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Yangshuo
- Drive about 2.5 h
Afternoon
We leave the hotel after breakfast for the flight from Chengdu to Guilin, about an hour and a half in the air; the train takes most of a day, so the flight gives us the afternoon. Whether we fly from Shuangliu (CTU) or Tianfu (TFU) depends on the schedule, and your guide flies with you. From Guilin Liangjiang airport (KWL) it is about an hour and a quarter by road to Yangshuo, and the scenery starts on the way, with karst peaks rising straight out of rice fields and orange groves. We stop for a late lunch of Guilin rice noodles, the local staple, served with braised beef, peanuts, pickles and chili. In Yangshuo we stay three nights in a hotel close to the river and the old town.
Evening
Late in the afternoon your guide walks you along the Li River bank and through the lanes behind West Street, then the evening is free, with the peaks lit after dark.
Included
- Transfer to the Chengdu airport
- Flight from Chengdu to Guilin, with your guide
- Transfer from Guilin airport to Yangshuo
- Guilin rice noodle lunch
- Evening walk along the Li River and through Yangshuo town
Free time: Evening free
Activity: One checked bag per guest is included on the flight; we confirm the allowance with your tickets.
Down the Li River by raft
Yangshuo to Yangdi, a raft down the Li River to Xingping, then back to Yangshuo
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Yangshuo
- Drive about 2 h
Morning
The Li River between Yangdi and Xingping is its finest stretch, with peaks crowding both banks, and the morning is the calmest time on the water. We drive about an hour to the pier at Yangdi and board rafts, two guests and a boatman to each. They are still called bamboo rafts, but today they are built from plastic pipes with a small outboard motor, a canopy and seats. The ride downstream takes about an hour and a half to two hours, past Nine Horse Fresco Hill, a cliff face where locals pick out the shapes of horses, to the bend near Xingping pictured on the back of the 20 yuan banknote.
Afternoon
We land at Xingping, walk its old street of Qing-era houses and sit down to lunch: beer fish, the Yangshuo speciality, river fish braised with tomato, chili and local beer.
Evening
We are back in Yangshuo by about 2:30, and the afternoon and evening are yours.
Included
- Li River raft from Yangdi to Xingping
- Xingping old street with your guide
- Beer fish lunch in Xingping
Easier option: Stay in Xingping's old street with a tea while the others climb, then ride back with the group.
More active option: Climb Laozhai Hill above Xingping, a steep stepped path of about half an hour each way, for the view over the river bends.
Free time: Afternoon and evening free
Activity: Rafting stops when the river runs high after heavy rain, mostly between May and August; if it does, we take the same stretch by riverbank path and road, and tell you on the day.
The Yulong valley by bike and bamboo raft
Yangshuo to the Yulong River and Moon Hill, then a market and a cooking class
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Yangshuo
- Drive about 1 h
Today is the Yulong River, a quieter tributary that the Li River boats never reach.
Morning
After breakfast we cycle out of town with a local cycling guide, about 20 km in all on flat country lanes and farm paths between rice fields, karst peaks and small villages, at an easy pace with plenty of stops. We pause at Moon Hill, named for the half-moon arch through its summit, for anyone who wants to climb the stone steps up to it. At the river we leave the bikes for hand-poled bamboo rafts, real bamboo this time, drifting downstream over small weirs for about an hour and a half.
Afternoon
Lunch is at a farmhouse restaurant, then a rest at the hotel.
Evening
In the late afternoon a local cooking school walks the group through a Yangshuo food market, then teaches you to make stuffed vegetables, the town's speciality, and two or three other dishes, which become dinner.
Included
- Guided countryside bike ride in the Yulong valley, bikes and helmets included
- Moon Hill entry
- Hand-poled bamboo raft on the Yulong River
- Farmhouse lunch
- Market visit and cooking class, with dinner
Easier option: Skip the bikes and ride in our support van to Moon Hill, the raft and lunch.
More active option: Climb Moon Hill to the arch, about 30 minutes of steep steps each way.
Free time: Early afternoon free
Activity: The ride is flat but mostly on country lanes; we fit bikes and helmets before we set out.
High-speed train to Hong Kong
Yangshuo to Guilin West station, the high-speed train to Hong Kong West Kowloon, then Tsim Sha Tsui
- Breakfast
- Stay in Hong Kong
- Drive about 1.5 h
Morning
A free morning in Yangshuo. Go out early to the viewpoint on Xianggong Hill for mist over the Li River bends, join a tai chi lesson by the river, or simply sleep in. Late in the morning we drive about an hour and a quarter to Guilin West station, or a shorter way to Yangshuo station when the timetable allows, for the high-speed train to Hong Kong West Kowloon, about three to three and a half hours depending on the service. Mainland exit checks and Hong Kong entry checks both happen inside West Kowloon station, so you step off the train, pass the two counters and walk out into Kowloon.
Evening
After checking in at a hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui, we walk down to the harbour front for the Symphony of Lights at 8 pm, the nightly light show across the towers of Hong Kong Island, then on to the stalls and fortune tellers of the Temple Street night market. Dinner tonight is your choice.
Included
- Transfer to Guilin West (or Yangshuo) station with your guide
- Reserved seats on the high-speed train to Hong Kong West Kowloon
- Transfer to the hotel in Kowloon
- Evening walk to the Symphony of Lights and the Temple Street night market
Optional experiences
- Sunrise at Xianggong Hill
- Tai chi lesson in Yangshuo
Free time: Morning free; dinner free
Activity: Keep your passport to hand on the train: it is checked twice at West Kowloon.
The Star Ferry, dim sum and the Peak
Star Ferry to Hong Kong Island, Central and Sheung Wan, then the Peak Tram to Victoria Peak
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Hong Kong
- By boat
We cross Victoria Harbour the old way, on the Star Ferry, which has carried passengers between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island since 1888, about ten minutes on the water. On the island your guide walks you through Central and Sheung Wan: the dried-seafood and herbal shops, Man Mo Temple, built in the 1840s and hazy with hanging incense coils, and Tai Kwun, the former Central Police Station compound reopened as an arts and heritage centre, with a ride on the long Mid-Levels escalator.
Afternoon
Lunch is dim sum at a local restaurant: har gow, siu mai, char siu buns and rice-noodle rolls with tea. Then we ride the Peak Tram up the steep slope to Victoria Peak for the view over the harbour, the towers and the green hills behind. Your guide shows the trail down for anyone who wants to walk; everyone else takes the tram.
Evening
The rest of the afternoon and the evening are free.
Included
- Star Ferry across Victoria Harbour
- Walk through Central and Sheung Wan with your guide: Man Mo Temple, Tai Kwun and the Mid-Levels escalator
- Dim sum lunch
- Peak Tram to Victoria Peak
Easier option: Take the Peak Tram both ways and head back to the hotel by MTR or taxi.
More active option: Walk down from the Peak on the Old Peak Road path, about an hour of steep paved descent to Central.
Free time: Late afternoon and evening free
Activity: Hong Kong Island is hilly; the escalator and the tram take most of the climb.
Lantau: the Big Buddha and Tai O
Kowloon to Tung Chung, the Ngong Ping 360 cable car, the Tian Tan Buddha and Tai O, then back to Kowloon
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Hong Kong
- Drive about 1.5 h
Lantau Island takes the day. We drive about forty minutes to Tung Chung and ride the Ngong Ping 360 cable car as it opens, about 25 minutes over the bay and the forested hills with the airport runways below.
Afternoon
At the top stands the Tian Tan Buddha, a seated bronze Buddha 34 m high, reached by 268 steps, and beside it Po Lin Monastery, where lunch is a vegetarian meal in the monastery dining hall. In the early afternoon a local bus takes us down to Tai O, a fishing village of houses on stilts over tidal creeks, with shrimp paste and salted fish drying in the lanes.
Evening
We are back in Kowloon by late afternoon for a rest, and in the evening the group meets for a farewell dinner of Cantonese dishes, roast goose, steamed fish and greens, the last meal of the trip together.
Included
- Ngong Ping 360 cable car, return
- The Tian Tan Buddha and Po Lin Monastery with your guide
- Vegetarian lunch at Po Lin Monastery
- Tai O fishing village
- Farewell dinner
Easier option: Stay at the foot of the Buddha's steps; the view up from the plaza is the classic one.
Free time: Late afternoon free
Activity: The cable car closes for a few weeks of maintenance most years and in high winds; on those days we take the road up to Ngong Ping instead.
Depart from Hong Kong
A free morning, then Hong Kong International Airport (HKG)
- Breakfast
- Drive about 45 min
Morning
The last morning is yours, with no early start. Breakfast at the hotel, then time for a last walk along the harbour, one more crossing on the Star Ferry, or a bowl of wonton noodles before you leave. If your flight is late, your guide can point you to a market or a museum near the hotel, such as the Hong Kong Museum of Art on the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront. We drive you to Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) on Chek Lap Kok, about 35 km and 45 minutes from Tsim Sha Tsui, at a time that suits your flight, or see you onto the Airport Express train at Kowloon station if you prefer. If you want more of Hong Kong, or a few days in Macau, we can add nights at the trip hotel before you fly home. For international flights, allow three hours at the airport.
Included
- Drop-off at Hong Kong International Airport (HKG)
Free time: Morning free
Activity: Book a flight leaving after about 1 pm to enjoy the free morning.
- Beijing3 nights
- Xi'an2 nights
- Chengdu2 nights
- Yangshuo3 nights
- Hong Kong3 nights
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: April to May and September to November bring mild days in Beijing and Xi'an and the clearest skies on the Li River in autumn. Summer is hot and wet across the south: the Li River can run too high to raft after heavy rain, mostly May to August, and Hong Kong's typhoon season runs about June to October, when a storm signal can close the cable car and ferries for a day. Winter is cold and dry in Beijing, often below freezing at the Great Wall, and grey and cool in Yangshuo. Pandas are most active in the cool of the morning in every season. We avoid Chinese New Year and the holiday weeks in early May and early October, when trains and sights are packed.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- First-time visitors who want the classic China route from Beijing to Hong Kong without sleeper trains or one-night stops
- Travellers who were put off China tours by shopping stops
- Anyone who wants the pandas, the Li River and Hong Kong as well as the Great Wall and the Terracotta Warriors
- Food lovers: a family lunch in the hutongs, Peking duck, hotpot, two cooking classes and dim sum
- Solo travellers who want a small group and a published single price
Not for you if you want
- Travellers who want Shanghai: see our Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai trip instead
- Those who want Zhangjiajie or a long Great Wall hike on unrestored wall
- Anyone who cannot manage stairs: the wall, Jingshan Park, Moon Hill and the Big Buddha all have steps
- Travellers who want to sleep in every morning: there are four early starts for the quiet hour
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
13 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Beijing3 nights
- Xi'an2 nights
- Chengdu2 nights
- Yangshuo3 nights
- Hong Kong3 nights
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 13 nights in central hotels of a 3-star-plus standard: 3 in Beijing near the old centre, 2 in Xi'an inside the city wall, 2 in central Chengdu, 3 in Yangshuo near the river and town, 3 in Hong Kong in Kowloon
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
- Hotels named when we confirm your dates
Transport
- Pick-up at Beijing Capital (PEK) or Daxing (PKX) airport and drop-off at Hong Kong International (HKG)
- Our own vehicle and driver for the group in each city, including every station and airport transfer
- Reserved seats on three high-speed trains: Beijing to Xi'an, Xi'an to Chengdu, and Guilin (or Yangshuo) to Hong Kong West Kowloon
- Flight from Chengdu to Guilin
- The Li River raft, the Yulong bamboo raft and bikes in Yangshuo
- The Mutianyu cable car and toboggan, bikes on the Xi'an City Wall, the Star Ferry, the Peak Tram and the Ngong Ping 360 cable car
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide with the group from day 1 to day 14, including on every train and the flight
- Licensed local site guides where a site requires them, such as at the Terracotta Warriors, and a local cycling guide in Yangshuo
- No shopping stops and no commission on anything you buy
Activities
- Beijing: the Great Wall at Mutianyu, a hutong walk to the Drum and Bell Towers, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, Jingshan Park and the Temple of Heaven
- Xi'an: the Terracotta Warriors, the Muslim Quarter and the City Wall by bike
- Chengdu: a People's Park teahouse, the Kuanzhai Alleys, the giant panda base, a Sichuan cooking lesson and Wenshu Monastery
- Yangshuo: the Li River raft from Yangdi to Xingping, Xingping old street, the Yulong valley by bike, Moon Hill, a Yulong bamboo raft and a market visit with a cooking class
- Hong Kong: the Symphony of Lights, the Temple Street night market, Central and Sheung Wan with Man Mo Temple and Tai Kwun, Victoria Peak, the Tian Tan Buddha, Po Lin Monastery and Tai O
- All entrance fees for included sights, booked in advance
Meals
- 13 breakfasts
- 9 lunches: a hutong family lunch, a Beijing lunch, noodles near the Terracotta Warriors, a Sichuan cooking-lesson lunch, Guilin rice noodles, beer fish in Xingping, a Yulong farmhouse lunch, dim sum in Hong Kong and a vegetarian lunch at Po Lin Monastery
- 6 dinners: a welcome dinner, Peking duck, a Muslim Quarter street-food dinner, Sichuan hotpot, the Yangshuo cooking-class dinner and a farewell dinner
Not included
- International flights to Beijing and from Hong Kong
- China visa, where your passport needs one
- Travel insurance
- Meals not listed above, including lunch on the trains on days 4, 6 and 11
- Drinks
- Tips for your guide, drivers and boatmen
- Optional activities, such as Sichuan opera, a tai chi lesson or the Xianggong Hill sunrise
- Extra hotel nights before or after the trip
- Personal expenses
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 1,000 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
What does the price include?
Thirteen nights in central hotels, 13 breakfasts, 9 lunches and 6 dinners, airport transfers at both ends, three high-speed trains, the flight from Chengdu to Guilin, your See Sight Tours guide throughout, and every entry and ride in the day plan, including the Forbidden City, the Terracotta Warriors, the panda base, the Li River raft, the Peak Tram and the Ngong Ping cable car.
Are there shopping stops on this China tour?
No. We never take the group to jade, silk, tea, pearl or other factories or showrooms that pay commission, and your guide earns nothing on what you buy. Cheap China tours often rely on those stops; this trip's price pays for the sights instead. If you want to shop, your guide can point you to markets in your free time.
How big is the group?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests, never more. That keeps everyone close to the guide in the Forbidden City and at the panda base, gets the group through train stations quickly, and means meals are at one or two tables in local restaurants rather than in a banquet hall.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with the group from the Beijing airport pick-up to the Hong Kong airport drop-off, including on every train and the flight. Licensed local site guides join where a site requires them, such as at the Terracotta Warriors, and a local cycling guide leads the Yangshuo ride.
How fit do I need to be?
Moderate fitness is enough. Expect 3 to 5 hours a day on foot, often with steps. The Great Wall at Mutianyu is steep, but the cable car takes you up and down. The two bike rides, on the Xi'an wall and in the Yulong valley, are flat, and each has a no-cycling option.
I'm travelling solo. Is there a single supplement?
Yes, and it is published up front: a room of your own is CAD 1,000 on top of the twin-share price, shown before you book rather than at checkout. Solo travellers join the same group, sit at the same tables and get the same time with the guide as everyone else.
When is the best time to go from Beijing to Hong Kong?
April to May and September to November, when Beijing and Xi'an are mild and the Li River is usually calm. Summer is hot and wet in the south, with high water that can stop rafting and typhoons in Hong Kong. We avoid Chinese New Year and the holiday weeks in early May and early October.
Do I need a visa for China and Hong Kong?
Canadians can currently visit mainland China visa-free for up to 30 days under a policy set to run until 31 December 2026; we confirm the rule for 2027 dates. US citizens should get a single-entry Chinese tourist visa. Hong Kong has separate rules, and neither Canadian nor US passports need a visa for a short stay. We check your passport at booking.
When do we see the pandas?
On the first full morning in Chengdu, day 7. We arrive at the panda base as it opens at 7:30, because the pandas feed and move about in the cool of the morning and sleep through most of the afternoon. You see giant pandas in outdoor enclosures and red pandas in their own wooded area, with about three hours on site.
Is the Li River trip a cruise or a bamboo raft?
A raft, not a big cruise boat. On day 9 we ride the Yangdi to Xingping stretch on small motor rafts, two guests and a boatman each; they are called bamboo rafts but are now made of plastic pipes. On day 10 you ride a real hand-poled bamboo raft on the quieter Yulong River.
How does booking work?
Choose a date and send a request to book. We confirm your place within 24 hours, with the final timings, and no payment is taken until we have confirmed. We need your passport details at that point, because trains, the flight, the Forbidden City and the panda base are booked in your name.
Can we travel privately or on our own dates?
Yes. Besides the small group, the trip runs as a private trip for your party only, on a date you choose, from CAD 10,610 per person, with the same no-shopping-stop promise. If you would rather travel independently on your own dates, ask us from the dates section and we will quote the same route without a group.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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