Seven routes you can steal outright
Day by day, with the rail legs, the bookings that have to happen weeks ahead, and honest notes on what to cut when you run short of time.
14 days
The Classic First Trip
Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai, linked entirely by high-speed rail, with enough slack built in to actually enjoy them.
10 days
Ten Days, No Rush
Two cities done properly rather than four done badly — Beijing and Xi'an, with the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army.
14 days
The Silk Road
Xi'an west through the Hexi Corridor to Dunhuang and on into Xinjiang, following the caravan route on a bullet train.
12 days
The Yunnan Loop
Kunming to Dali to Lijiang to Shangri-La, with the Tiger Leaping Gorge trek in the middle. The best-value classic route in China.
12 days
Karst & Pandas
Chengdu, Chongqing and the Guangxi karst — the softest, greenest, best-eating corner of the country.
12 days
Winter China
Harbin's ice city, a snow-dusted Great Wall, and the flooded rice terraces of Yuanyang — the season nobody plans for and everybody should.
21 days
The Three-Week Grand Tour
North to south and east to west: imperial capitals, sandstone pillars, panda country, karst rivers and the Cantonese coast.