A worked example · this is what a free plan looks like
Ten days in Shanghai and Beijing
Four cities and a water town, with three day trips run out of a single Shanghai base. One hotel change in the whole trip, and no domestic flights. Every journey below gives you the station, the exit, the line, the minutes and the fare, so nothing has to be looked up while you are standing there.
This is one of our plans, published as an example. Yours would be built the same way and around your own answers — ask for one, it is free and we never book anything for you.
Updated · China for Travelers Editorial
Ten days
The whole trip at a glance — tap a day to jump to it
- 1ArriveShanghai
- 2Shanghaicity day
- 3Hangzhouday trip
- 4Suzhouday trip
- 5Zhujiajiaohalf day
- 6→ Beijing4h18m rail
- 7BeijingForbidden City
- 8BeijingGreat Wall
- 9BeijingTemple of Heaven
- 10Fly homeBeijing
What we were told
Seven answers off the form. Everything below is downstream of them, which is the whole difference between a plan and a top-ten list.
| Who | A family of three |
|---|---|
| How long | Ten days |
| When | Late August |
| What kind of trip | More cities, history and food |
| Pace | One main thing a day |
| Day trips | Hangzhou and a water town — as day trips, no overnight |
| Hotels | Mid-range, roughly $60–120 a room |
| Flights | Not booked yet |
And here is what each of those answers moved:
- “Day trips, no overnight” is why Shanghai is a five-night base and not a stop. Hangzhou, Suzhou and Zhujiajiao all run out of the same station, and the bags never move.
- “Flights not booked” is why Beijing is last rather than first. The airport you leave from matters more than the one you arrive at, and it also pushes the Forbidden City ticket release — which opens exactly seven days ahead — to a day when you are already in China.
- “Three of us” is why Day 3 says take the taxi at Hangzhou East. For one traveller the metro wins on price; for three it does not, and the plan does that arithmetic rather than reciting a default.
- “One main thing a day” is why the Great Wall gets a whole day, and why the afternoon after the water town is left deliberately empty.
Yours would be yours to change
A plan is a starting point, not a schedule. No day here depends on the one before it, so anything that does not appeal can simply be skipped — and if you would rather swap a city, add a night or drop a day trip, you say so and we rework it. There is nothing to pay, for the plan or for a change to it.
Do this first
One thing is urgent, and one is a diary entry you must not miss.
Do this first
Put this in your diary now
If the ticket drop fails
The shape
The brief was more cities, history and food, with Hangzhou and the water town as day trips rather than overnights. So Shanghai is the base for the first five nights and all three day trips, and then one train north to Beijing for the history.
Why Beijing, and why last. China has four great ancient capitals and Beijing is the northern one — the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, three dynasties in one city. Which end it belongs at is a flights question, and it is answered per route rather than in general: both cities are major international gateways, but for this traveller’s own airport Beijing had it by a wide margin, and the airport you leave from is the one that strands you. Putting Beijing last has a second payoff — the Forbidden City ticket release, seven days ahead, then falls on a day when you are already in China rather than still packing.
| Nights | Shanghai ×5, Beijing ×4 |
|---|---|
| Hotel changes | One, on Day 6 |
| Domestic flights | None |
| Longest single journey | Shanghai → Beijing, 4h18m–6h by train |
| Day trips from Shanghai | Hangzhou, Suzhou, Zhujiajiao — all from Hongqiao station |
| Pace | One main thing a day |
Chengdu and Chongqing were considered and left out. Adding either to a ten-day trip that already ends in Beijing means a domestic positioning flight on or near the departure day, which is the leg you least want to be tight — and in high summer Chongqing runs above 40°C, with outdoor walking as its whole appeal. A different brief would get a different answer, and that is the point: say what you want and the cities follow.
Day 1 — Arrive Shanghai
Land, settle, the Bund after dark
Land, get to the hotel, and do nothing ambitious. The Bund is a 25-minute walk or two metro stops from where we suggest you stay, and it is the right first impression of China after dark.
Set up Alipay and WeChat Pay before you leave home — not on arrival. Binding a foreign card needs SMS verification and sometimes fails on the first try, and that is a problem you want to solve at your own kitchen table rather than in an arrivals hall. Almost nothing in China takes cash any more, so this is the single thing that makes or breaks a first trip. We have written both processes up step by step, including which cards actually bind and what to do when verification fails.
Full detail on our site
Where to stay · Shanghai, 5 nights
Crystal Orange Shanghai the Bund Yu Garden
We picked this one specifically rather than sending you to a list. It is a mid-range Chinese chain (桔子水晶) with 9,000-plus reviews, it came out around US$113 a night for a five-night August stay when we checked on 8 August 2026, and it sits between Yu Garden and the Bund — both of which are tomorrow. Most importantly it is on Metro Line 10, which runs straight to Hongqiao railway station, and three of your five Shanghai days start with a train from there.
Prices move
Day 2 — Based in Shanghai · no bags to move
The Bund, Yu Garden, Shanghai Museum East
Your first full day: the Bund in the morning, Yu Garden and the old town around midday, and the Shanghai Museum East Building if you still have energy.
Today, and why one of the three is a metro ride
Two banks, one river
Your hotel · Yu Garden 豫园Hotel 豫园The Bund 外滩Bund 外滩Lujiazui 陆家嘴 — the view, not a stopLujiazui 陆家嘴Shanghai Museum East 上海博物馆东馆Museum East 东馆Hotel → the Bund → Shanghai Museum East
- 1On foot to the Bund — about 25 minutes northeast through the old town — the most interesting way, and you pass Yu Garden
- 2Or Metro Line 10 — from 豫园 (Yuyuan Garden) two stops to 南京东路 (East Nanjing Road), ¥3, then five minutes on foot to the waterfront
- 3On to the museum — Line 2 from 南京东路 east to 上海科技馆 (Shanghai Science & Technology Museum), exit 8 — about 20 minutes, ¥4
Getting back
- 1Museum → hotel — Line 2 back west to 南京东路, change to Line 10 for 豫园 — about 30 minutes, ¥4. Both lines run past 22:30
- 2Evening alternative — the Bund is at its best after dark, so consider doing the museum first and walking the waterfront on the way home
| Shanghai Museum East | Free, no booking needed for the main galleries |
|---|---|
| Hours | 10:00–18:00, last entry 17:00 |
| Entry | B1 east door — show passport, through security, walk in |
| Getting there | Metro Line 2 to 上海科技馆 (Shanghai Science & Technology Museum), exit 8 |
| Closed | Tuesdays |
Closing days
Full detail on our site
Day 3 — Out and back · sleep in Shanghai
West Lake, Hangzhou
West Lake. Hangzhou goes first of the two day trips because the lake is outdoors and does not care which weekday it is — Suzhou's museum, shut on Mondays, does.
Hotel → West Lake, door to door about 2 hours
- 1Hotel → Hongqiao railway station — Metro Line 10 direct, about 45 minutes, ¥6. Leave earlier than feels necessary — see the warning below
- 2Hongqiao → Hangzhou East (杭州东) — 34–75 minutes depending on the service, ¥34–87 second class, 328 trains a day
- 3Hangzhou East → the lakefront — Metro Line 1 toward 湘湖, five stops to 龙翔桥 (Longxiangqiao), ~17 minutes, ¥4, no change
- 4Out of the metro — Leave by Exit C and walk west along 平海路 about 500 m to the water. For the Broken Bridge end instead, get off one stop earlier at 凤起路
Getting back
- 1Lakefront → Hangzhou East — Back to 龙翔桥 and Line 1 the other way, toward 湘湖 becomes toward the station — about 17 minutes, ¥4. Give yourself 45 minutes from the lake to the ticket gate
- 2Hangzhou East → Hongqiao — Trains run through the evening on a 328-a-day corridor, but August seats sell — book the return at the same time as the outbound rather than turning up
- 3Hongqiao → hotel — Line 10 direct, about 45 minutes, ¥6
This will cost you the train
Check before you pay
Metro or taxi — both are fine. The station sits 8 km from the lake and a taxi is ¥25–30, which for the three of you together is neither here nor there. The one thing to know is the clock: Amap timed that same drive at 44 minutes on a summer Sunday against 17 on the metro, so the train wins on time far more often than it looks. Take the metro when you are fresh and the taxi when you are not.
Do not try to walk around the lake. It is about 15 km, and August in Hangzhou is 30 °C at over 80% humidity. Walk one causeway, take a boat across, use the public bikes for the rest. Lingyin Temple, if you go, needs a separate ticket on top of the grounds entry.
Day 4 — Out and back · sleep in Shanghai
A classical garden + Pingjiang Road
One classical garden, then Pingjiang Road, and that is the day. Suzhou is close enough that this barely feels like a journey — over 600 trains a day run it.
Hotel → the gardens, door to door about 1h45m
- 1Hotel → Hongqiao railway station — Metro Line 10 direct, about 45 minutes, ¥6, plus the 45–60 minute passport allowance
- 2Hongqiao → Suzhou (苏州站) — 23–30 minutes, from about ¥31, constant departures
- 3Suzhou station → Humble Administrator’s Garden — Taxi is the easy answer: 2.3 km, 10–15 minutes, ¥10–15. By metro, Line 2 one stop to 平河路 then Line 6 two stops to 拙政园苏博站, about 20 minutes
- 4Afterwards — Suzhou Museum is next door to the garden, and Pingjiang Road runs south from the same corner — the whole day is walkable once you are there
Getting back
- 1Pingjiang Road → Suzhou station — Taxi 10–15 minutes, ¥10–15 — the same short hop in reverse. By metro, Line 6 then Line 2, about 20 minutes
- 2Suzhou → Hongqiao — 23–30 minutes on a corridor running over 600 trains a day. Still reserve the return seat with the outbound; frequency is not the same as availability in August
- 3Hongqiao → hotel — Line 10 direct, about 45 minutes, ¥6
Why the station name on your ticket decides this day
苏州站, not 苏州北站
Suzhou station 苏州站Suzhou 苏州站Suzhou NORTH 苏州北站NORTH 苏州北站Humble Administrator’s Garden 拙政园The gardensPingjiang Road 平江路Pingjiang 平江路The trap on this route
Book ahead
One garden, not three. They start to blur, and three in a day is the opposite of a one-main-thing-a-day pace.
Day 5 — Half day out · sleep in Shanghai
Water town, then a soft afternoon
Zhujiajiao in the morning, then a deliberately soft afternoon back in Shanghai. Pack tonight — you change cities tomorrow.
Hotel → Zhujiajiao, about 1h20m each way
- 1Hotel → Hongqiao railway station — Metro Line 10, about 45 minutes, ¥6. No passport queue today — you are staying on the metro
- 2Hongqiao → Zhujiajiao — Change to Metro Line 17 inside the same complex, direction 东方绿舟. First train 06:00, last back 22:30
- 3Zhujiajiao station → the old town — About a 10-minute walk. Or from Exit 1, the dock on your left runs a boat at ¥30 a head that goes through the town to 放生桥 in around 20 minutes — much the nicer arrival
Getting back
- 1Old town → Zhujiajiao station — The same walk back, about 10 minutes. The boat is one-way through the town, so do not count on it to return
- 2Zhujiajiao → Hongqiao — Line 17 back the way you came. The last train from the far end of the line leaves at 22:30, so an afternoon return is never tight — but you want to be back in Shanghai for the evening anyway
- 3Hongqiao → hotel — Line 10 direct, about 45 minutes, ¥6
Get there early
Day 6 — Changing cities · check out this morning
High-speed train, then Qianmen at dusk
Morning train north, afternoon arrival, and Qianmen Street at dusk. Take a morning departure — it turns a transfer day into half a sightseeing day.
Shanghai hotel → Beijing hotel
- 1Hotel → Hongqiao — Metro Line 10, about 45 minutes, ¥6 — with luggage, leave a full 2 hours before departure once you add the passport lane
- 2Hongqiao → Beijing South (北京南) — 4h18m–6h, ¥626–695 second class, 51 trains a day
- 3Beijing South → the hotel — Metro Line 5 direct from the station to 崇文门 (Chongwenmen), about 15 minutes, ¥3. A taxi is roughly 20–25 minutes and ¥30–40
- 4Evening — Qianmen Street is one stop away on Line 2, or a 15-minute walk west
Three stations, easy to mix up
Book as soon as your flights are fixed
Shanghai Hongqiao → Beijing South, Day 6
Chinese rail tickets open about 15 days ahead, and the Beijing–Shanghai line is tight in August. Trip.com sells the same seats at the same fares as the state system, in English, without the foreign-passport friction of booking direct.
Where to stay · Beijing, 4 nights
Crystal Orange Beijing Chongwenmen
Same chain as Shanghai, around US$97 a night for a four-night August stay when we checked on 8 August 2026, 8,000-plus reviews, and 940 m from Qianmen Street. We chose Chongwenmen over the Qianmen tourist strip for one reason: the metro station downstairs is on both Line 2 and Line 5, and Line 5 runs directly to the Temple of Heaven east gate — which is Day 9. It is also a straight Line 5 ride from Beijing South when you arrive with luggage.
Day 7 — Based in Beijing
The Forbidden City
One thing today, and it is enough. Go at the 08:30 opening — in at the south gate, out at the north, walking the central axis takes three to four hours and you will have covered a kilometre of courtyards by lunch.
Your hotel sits on the imperial axis — that is the whole point of it
Both Beijing days are on this line
Forbidden City 故宫Forbidden CityJingshan 景山 — the rooftop viewJingshan 景山Qianmen 前门大街Qianmen 前门Your hotel · Chongwenmen 崇文门Hotel 崇文门Temple of Heaven 天坛Temple of HeavenHotel → the Meridian Gate
- 1Metro Line 2 — one stop from 崇文门 to 前门 (Qianmen), ¥3
- 2Then walk north — about 800 m through Tiananmen Square, roughly 10 minutes to the Tiananmen gate and a little further to the Meridian Gate behind it
- 3Or Line 1 — change at 建国门 or walk to 天安门东 (Tiananmen East) — but the walk up through the square is the better arrival if the weather allows
Getting back
- 1You come out at the north gate — Shenwumen is a long way from where you went in, and there is no metro at that gate. Jingshan Park is straight across the road — do that first, it is a ten-minute climb
- 2Then home — A taxi back to Chongwenmen is the simple answer, roughly 15–20 minutes. On the metro, walk back down the east side of the palace to 天安门东 on Line 1, ride east to 东单, and change to Line 5 for one stop
- 3Plan the timing — The palace shuts at 17:00 and last entry is 16:00, so an 08:30 start leaves the whole afternoon — do not schedule anything else that needs a ticket
| Hours | 08:30–17:00, last entry 16:00 |
|---|---|
| Ticket | ¥60 adult (peak, 1 Apr – 31 Oct). The Treasure and Clock galleries are +¥10 each |
| Entrance | Meridian Gate 午门, on the south side — the only way in |
| Exit | Gate of Divine Prowess 神武门 (north), or 东华门 (east) |
| Time needed | 3–4 hours along the central axis |
| Closed | Mondays, except public holidays |
The most common visitor mistake
When you come out at the north gate, Jingshan Park is directly across the road. The climb is ten minutes and gives you the photograph of the whole palace roofscape that you cannot get from inside it.
About walk-up tickets
If the ticket drop failed
A guided entry comes with its own admission
Group and small-group tours of the Forbidden City include the admission ticket, so they do not depend on you winning the 20:00 release — which in August is the usual outcome, not bad luck. Several are half-day tours that bundle the Tiananmen Square reservation as well. Worth a look the moment a booking attempt fails, rather than the night before you go.
Day 8 — Out and back · sleep in Beijing
The Great Wall at Mutianyu
The one your son will remember. Mutianyu is the right section for a first visit — the same Wall as Badaling with roughly a third of the crowds, restored, and it has the toboggan down.
Why this is a whole day, and why Mutianyu rather than Badaling
Same distance out
Mutianyu 慕田峪 — where you are goingMutianyu 慕田峪Badaling 八达岭 — the busy oneBadaling 八达岭Central Beijing 天安门Central BeijingHotel → Mutianyu
- 1Book the round-trip coach from central Beijing — Mutianyu sells a direct return bus from Beijing downtown through the link below, often bundled with the entry ticket and the cable car. Fixed pickup, fixed return, nothing to arrange on the morning — this is the easy version of the day
- 2Or a private car — about the same 1.5 hours each way for the 73–75 km. It costs more and lets you set your own times; the coach is cheaper and takes the arranging off you
- 3Do not take the public bus — the 916 express from Dongzhimen then a change to the H23 is about three hours each way. Six hours on buses is not one relaxed thing a day
- 4⚠️ Two different shuttles, do not confuse them — the coach above brings you FROM Beijing. Separately there is an in-attraction shuttle from the ticket area up to the cable car base, because you cannot drive up. The bundles usually include both — check which one your booking covers
Getting back
- 1Know your return time before you walk off — Whether it is the shuttle timetable or a private driver, fix the time and the exact pickup spot at the start of the day and keep a phone number. There is no walk-up transport back
- 2Allow for the descent — The toboggan or cable car down, then the shuttle to the car park, is another 30–45 minutes on top of your time on the Wall
- 3The drive home — About 1.5 hours, longer on a weekend evening. Budget a full 9–10 hours door to door and eat before you leave the Wall
Sort this before you fly
Mutianyu — tickets, cable car and the round-trip shuttle
The transport is the hard part of this day, and this page solves it: the entry ticket, the cable car, the in-park shuttle and a round-trip coach from Beijing downtown are all sold here, separately or bundled. Book it before you fly rather than trying to arrange a car through a hotel desk, in a language you do not share, the evening before.
| Hours | 07:30–18:30 (peak season, 16 Mar – 15 Nov) |
|---|---|
| Ticket | ¥40 adult |
| Distance | 73–75 km from central Beijing |
Two operators, two tickets
Check which weekday this lands on
Rain plan. Late August is past the worst of Beijing's flood season but afternoon thunderstorms still arrive fast. Wet stone on the Wall is genuinely slippery and the cable car can stop. Keep the National Museum on Tiananmen Square as the swap, and carry rainwear whatever the morning looks like.
Full detail on our site
Day 9 — Based in Beijing · last full day
Temple of Heaven + hutongs
Temple of Heaven in the morning, hutongs in the afternoon, Peking duck for your last dinner. This is the day your hotel location pays for itself — the park is a direct ride from downstairs.
Hotel → the Hall of Prayer
- 1Metro Line 5 — from 崇文门 south to 天坛东门 (Tiantan East Gate), ¥3, a few minutes
- 2Exit A2 — the east gate is right there
- 3Walk the axis south — east gate → Hall of Prayer → Echo Wall → Circular Mound, so you never backtrack
- 4Afterwards — Line 5 north to 东单, change to Line 1 for Wangfujing, or Line 2 up to 鼓楼大街 for the Houhai hutongs
Getting back
- 1Hutongs → hotel — From 鼓楼大街 it is Line 2 straight round to 崇文门, about 20 minutes, ¥3 — the loop line makes this easy whichever side you end up on
- 2Last trains — Beijing’s metro mostly stops running between 22:30 and 23:30 depending on the line. If dinner runs long, take a taxi — it is a short hop and cheap
- 3Pack tonight — You fly tomorrow, and you will not want to be sorting bags at 06:00
| Park hours | from 06:00 |
|---|---|
| Monument hours | 08:00–17:30 |
| Ticket | ¥34 through-ticket (联票, peak) — includes the Hall of Prayer, Echo Wall and Circular Mound |
| Park-only ticket | ¥15 — grounds only, none of the buildings |
| Time needed | 2–3 hours |
Buy the right ticket
Go at opening if you can face it. From 06:00 the outer park fills with tai chi, ballroom dancing, choirs and men writing calligraphy on the paving in water — it is the best thing about the place and it costs nothing. Reach the Hall of Prayer around 08:00 for a near-empty half hour before the tour groups. Look for the Heart-of-Heaven stone at the Circular Mound and the Three-Echo Stones by the Echo Wall.
Day 10 — Fly home
Out through Beijing Capital
The flight home goes from Beijing. Be at the airport three hours before an international departure.
Hotel → airport
- 1If you fly from Capital (PEK) — Metro Line 2 from 崇文门 round to 东直门 (Dongzhimen), then the Airport Express — 24 minutes, ¥25. Allow about an hour and a quarter door to gate-side
- 2If you fly from Daxing (PKX) — a different airport on the opposite side of the city. Metro Line 5 south then the Daxing Airport Express from 草桥 (Caoqiao), ¥35; allow closer to an hour and a half
- 3Either way — a taxi at rush hour is the slower and less predictable option
Not recoverable on the day
Practical, all trip
| Visa | Depends on your passport, and it is the first thing your own plan would answer. Dozens of nationalities now enter visa-free, and most of the rest qualify for 240-hour visa-free transit. |
|---|---|
| Passports | Carry the originals every day. Every booking is tied to the passport number, and stations, hotels and museums all check. |
| At any station | Allow 45–60 minutes. A foreign passport means the staffed ID desk, not the automatic gates, and it has its own queue. |
| Payment | Alipay or WeChat Pay with a foreign card, set up on day one. |
| Metro fares | Roughly ¥3–7 a ride in both cities. Both metros take Alipay QR at the gate — no need for a card. |
| Closing days | Shanghai Museum East closed Tue · Suzhou Museum closed Mon · Forbidden City closed Mon · Temple of Heaven monuments closed Mon. Four closures on two different weekdays, which is why the running order is checked against real dates rather than assumed. |
| Weather | Shanghai and the delta 30–32 °C at 80%+ humidity, and it is typhoon season; Beijing 25–32 °C, cooling through the month, with afternoon thunderstorms. |
| Booking diary | Flights first · the Shanghai–Beijing train once flights are fixed · Forbidden City seven days ahead at 20:00 sharp · Temple of Heaven about a week ahead · Suzhou garden the morning of · Mutianyu car the day before |
Finding somewhere good to eat
The rule that works: eat where it is busy. A Chinese restaurant full at a mealtime is almost never a bad one — turnover means the food is fresh and an empty room in a country this competitive is a verdict. You do not need to research this in advance, and you should not try to.
The one place the rule inverts: tourist streets. This plan walks you through Qianmen, Wangfujing, East Nanjing Road and Pingjiang Road — and a queue there means the place is visible, not good, because the crowd is other visitors who do not know either. Two seconds of looking tells you which kind of busy you are in: are the other diners carrying cameras and backpacks, or did they walk in from work? And is the room full at 12:00–13:00 and 18:00–19:30 — when locals eat — or steadily all afternoon, which is a coach-party pattern.
Ordering without the language. Plenty of places have photo menus; where they do not, your phone camera translating the menu works well enough to order by. A menu already in English is convenient but is also a tourist-district marker — worth knowing, not worth avoiding.
Worth going out of your way for: Peking duck in Beijing — the one dish worth booking a table for rather than wandering into; xiaolongbao and shengjianbao in Shanghai; and in Suzhou anything with freshwater fish or the sweet Jiangsu seasoning that surprises people who expect Chinese food to be salty.
Before you fly
Get an eSIM working before you land
Buy it at home and activate on arrival — you want maps and payment working from the airport, not after hunting for wifi. Note that a Chinese SIM does not get you past the firewall: if you rely on Google Maps, WhatsApp or Gmail, sort that out before you fly, because it cannot be fixed from inside.
Not confirmed
Things we could not verify to our own standard, listed so you can check them rather than trust them:
- Mutianyu cable car and toboggan prices for 2026. We found no source we trust. Check the operator's own site before you go.
- Youth discounts for a 14-year-old on a foreign passport. Free entry at Mutianyu is written for Chinese minors specifically. Budget for adult tickets and treat any discount as a bonus.
- Which Beijing airport you fly home from. Capital and Daxing sit on opposite sides of the city and the transfer differs by a good half hour, so a real plan pins this down once the flight is booked rather than guessing.
- Zhujiajiao metro journey time. Line 17 goes there directly and we have the first and last trains, but we could not confirm the exact minutes from Hongqiao, so the 1h20m above is our estimate rather than a measured figure.
- Walk-up Forbidden City tickets for foreign passports. Reported by some sites, absent from the official rules, and the reports disagree on which gate. Not a plan.
How this is made
This plan was assembled by an editor from the same verified dataset behind our guides — train times, fares and frequencies read from rail data, station exits and transfer times from Amap-checked routing, ticket prices and opening hours from operator and official notices. Where a price is quoted we have said plainly where it came from and on what date.
A plan of your own is free, takes two or three minutes to ask for, and arrives at its own private address within a couple of days. We do not book anything for you and there is nothing to pay — for the plan or for changing it afterwards.
Would you rather have mountains than cities? There is a second worked example — ten days in Chongqing and Zhangjiajie, with the karst, the rock carvings and the Avatar plateau.
Facts checked 8 August 2026. Background reading: Shanghai, Suzhou station, West Lake and the Forbidden City.