Short answer
The itinerary is a day-by-day plan written for the officer reading your file, not a record of a holiday you have already booked. It does not have to match the trip you eventually take, and it does not have to be paid for in advance.
Four things must be right: every date from arrival to departure is covered with no gaps, each night names a city and a place to sleep, each move between cities shows a mode and a time, and the entry date matches your application form.
Hotel lines may read "to be arranged" and intercity legs may be a train schedule rather than a ticket. A five-column table (Day, Date, City, Overnight, Transport) running one to two pages is all that is expected.
What the form actually asks for
The requirement is always the same four items: dates, cities, accommodation and transport. Write those, then stop.
- Dates. One date for every day of the stay, consecutive, from arrival to departure, in the order your form uses, usually
YYYY-MM-DD. Do not skip the day you spend on a train. - Cities. The city where you sleep, not every city you pass through. A morning train into Xi'an and an afternoon train onward to Luoyang is one line for Luoyang, where the night is spent.
- Overnight. Hotel name plus district or address, or the address of friends you stay with. A city name on its own is the most common reason a file is sent back.
- Transport. For intercity legs, the mode and the approximate time block, for example a high-speed train leaving Beijing in the morning. Inside a city, "metro and taxi" is enough.
- Header line. Your name as printed in the passport, the passport number, and the intended entry and exit dates, so the sheet can be matched to the file at a glance.
A filled example
A complete 8-day sheet starting 2026-11-02: three nights in Beijing, two in Xi'an, three in Shanghai. Replace the names, dates and flight numbers with your own.
| Day | Date | City | Overnight | Transport |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2026-11-02 (Mon) | Beijing | Courtyard Hotel Wangfujing, Dongcheng District, Beijing | Arrive Beijing Capital Airport (PEK) 14:20 on flight XX000; Airport Express to Dongzhimen, then taxi 20 minutes |
| 2 | 2026-11-03 (Tue) | Beijing | Courtyard Hotel Wangfujing, Beijing | Metro Lines 1 and 2, taxi; Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City |
| 3 | 2026-11-04 (Wed) | Beijing | Courtyard Hotel Wangfujing, Beijing | Car to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall and back, about 1.5 hours each way |
| 4 | 2026-11-05 (Thu) | Beijing to Xi'an | Ibis Hotel Xi'an Bell Tower, Beilin District, Xi'an | High-speed train, Beijing West to Xi'an North, departs 09:00, arrives about 13:30 (4.5 to 6 hours); Metro Line 2 to the hotel |
| 5 | 2026-11-06 (Fri) | Xi'an | Ibis Hotel Xi'an Bell Tower, Xi'an | Metro Line 2, taxi; Terracotta Army site and the Muslim Quarter |
| 6 | 2026-11-07 (Sat) | Xi'an to Shanghai | Jinjiang Metropolo Hotel, Huangpu District, Shanghai | High-speed train, Xi'an North to Shanghai Hongqiao, departs 08:00, arrives about 14:30 (6 to 7.5 hours); Metro Line 2 to the hotel |
| 7 | 2026-11-08 (Sun) | Shanghai | Jinjiang Metropolo Hotel, Shanghai | Metro Lines 2 and 10, taxi; the Bund and Yu Garden |
| 8 | 2026-11-09 (Mon) | Shanghai | Jinjiang Metropolo Hotel, Shanghai (third night) | Metro Line 2 to Longyang Road, Maglev to Pudong Airport (PVG); return flight XX000 departs 2026-11-10 at 09:40 |
If the departure date on your form reads 2026-11-10, close the sheet with Day 9, 2026-11-10, Shanghai, no overnight, Metro and Maglev to PVG, flight XX000 departs 09:40. A plan that stops a day short of the declared exit date reads as incomplete.
The intercity legs carry a departure and an arrival time, which shows the two cities are connected on the same day. Beijing to Xi'an takes about 4.5 to 6 hours by high-speed rail, Xi'an to Shanghai about 6 to 7.5 hours, so neither leg can be written as a same-morning arrival. Route detail is in the Beijing to Xi'an train guide.
How detailed it needs to be
The test is whether a reader who knows nothing about the trip can follow it without asking a question.
- Hotels: a name, not a reservation. Write a real hotel you intend to use, or
To be arranged, Xi'an city centre. If you have booked, attach the confirmation as a separate page. - Flights: mode and timing, not ticket numbers. Flight numbers help when you already hold the ticket. If you do not, the airport, the date and an approximate time are enough.
- Inside a city: "metro and taxi". Add two or three sights by name per day if you want, and keep the overnight line.
- One to two pages, in a table. Landscape printing keeps five columns readable at a size an officer can scan.
- Nothing that is not asked for. No restaurant reservations, no budgets, no photographs.
- Language. English is normally accepted. If your centre asks for the local language or Chinese, use that, and spell addresses the way your hotel does.
A longer trip repeats the pattern with more cities, and is more likely to be asked for hotel evidence, because foreign visitors are generally limited to hotels that can register foreign guests. See hotels that accept foreign guests.
Common reasons it gets sent back
Most rejections are formatting faults, and each one can be fixed the same day.
- A gap in the dates. A missing day between two cities, usually the travel day itself. Every calendar day needs a line, including days on a train.
- No transport link between cities. The sheet jumps from Beijing to Xi'an with nothing explaining how. Name the mode and the time block, even if it is only a plan.
- Accommodation given as a city name. "Beijing" in the overnight column tells the officer nothing.
- Entry date that differs from the form. The same fault appears with the exit date and the total number of days.
- A page that covers only part of the stay. Three booked days inside a fourteen-day trip reads as an incomplete plan. Fill the other nights with intended hotels or "to be arranged".
- A stay longer than the visa allows. The plan has to fit inside the permitted stay.
- Bookings that contradict the plan. A flight confirmation dated differently from the sheet makes the file inconsistent even when both documents are genuine.
- Illegible or cropped pages. Scan the sheet square on, at full page, and send a PDF rather than a photo of a screen.
Frequently asked questions
Does the itinerary have to match the trip I actually take?
No. It describes an intended plan, and officers know bookings change. What must stay consistent is the entry date, the exit date and the total length of stay, since those must agree with your form and any booking you attach.
Can I write "to be arranged" for hotels?
Yes. Write To be arranged, city centre, Xi'an or a hotel you intend to use. What is rejected is a blank overnight column, or one filled with only a city name.
Do I need paid hotel and flight bookings before applying?
No. Most centres ask for the itinerary and, at most, a reservation. Do not pay for non-refundable rooms before the visa is decided.
How long should the itinerary be?
One to two pages. Day, Date, City, Overnight and Transport covers everything requested.
Should I write the itinerary in English or in Chinese?
English is normally accepted; some centres ask for the local language or for Chinese. Check the checklist from the centre handling your application. If it does not say, English with Chinese place names in brackets is a safe middle.
I am entering visa-free or on 240-hour transit. Do I still need a sheet?
Not for a visa, because there is no visa application. Carriers and immigration may still ask where you are staying. Eligibility is in the visa-free entry guide and the 240-hour transit guide.
Is the itinerary the same as the arrival card?
No. The itinerary supports a visa application and goes in with the file. The arrival card is filled in around the flight, now also online before departure, with machines and paper forms still available at the port. See the arrival card guide.
Do internal flights need to be on the sheet?
Yes, any intercity leg does, whatever the mode. Write the route, the mode and an approximate time. Flight numbers help if you hold the ticket.
Related reading
The sample above follows the classic first-trip triangle. Longer versions appear in the 10-day China itinerary and the 7-day China itinerary.
Compiled from visa application centre document checklists, official form wording and published rail journey times, cross-checked 28 September 2026. Requirements vary between centres, so the checklist published by the centre handling your application is authoritative, and schedules should be re-checked before you write them down. Nothing here is legal or immigration advice.