Short answer
Fourteen days should buy you a region, not a fourth city. This plan keeps the classic triangle — Beijing 4 nights, Xi'an 3, Shanghai 4 — and spends the remaining four days in Guangxi, based in Yangshuo, where limestone peaks, rivers and rice terraces replace temples and crowds.
The transport is deliberately simple: two long high-speed train legs (Beijing to Xi'an about four hours, Xi'an to Shanghai roughly six to seven) and two domestic flights on the legs with no practical rail option, Xi'an to Guilin and Guilin to Shanghai. That is four moves in fourteen days. Most two-week itineraries with this much ground covered have eight.
Two rules keep it working. Book the moving parts early — rail around 15 days out, the Forbidden City exactly 7 days ahead at 20:00 Beijing time, the Li River cruise as soon as your dates are fixed. And keep the days after each long move empty. Day 5, day 8 and day 12 are travel days; treat them as such.
The shape of fourteen days
| Day | Where | What |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beijing | Arrive, hutong walk, early night |
| 2 | Beijing | Forbidden City and Jingshan, Temple of Heaven in the afternoon |
| 3 | Beijing | Great Wall at Mutianyu, cable car up, toboggan down |
| 4 | Beijing | Summer Palace, 798 art district or a day in the hutongs |
| 5 | Beijing → Xi'an | Morning train; city wall by bike, Muslim Quarter in the evening |
| 6 | Xi'an | Terracotta Army, half day on site plus travel |
| 7 | Xi'an | Shaanxi history museum, Great Mosque, drum tower at dusk |
| 8 | Xi'an → Guilin → Yangshuo | Morning flight, transfer south, first evening on West Street |
| 9 | Yangshuo | Yulong River bamboo rafts and a countryside cycle |
| 10 | Yangshuo | Xingping and the Li River gorge, or a cooking class |
| 11 | Yangshuo | Rest day. Cafe, river, or the Longji terraces if you have energy |
| 12 | Guilin → Shanghai | Flight out of Guilin; the Bund after dark |
| 13 | Shanghai | Yu Garden early, Pudong skyline or the Shanghai Museum |
| 14 | Shanghai | Former French Concession, or a day trip to Zhujiajiao |
If this is your first China trip and you want the shorter version, the ten-day itinerary covers the same triangle with Chengdu added and no Guangxi leg.
Beijing, days 1 to 4
Four nights in Beijing is the extra day that separates this plan from the ten-day version, and it is best spent west of the centre rather than on a fifth monument.
The Forbidden City runs on a strict booking system: tickets released about seven days ahead at 20:00 Beijing time, passport-linked, no same-day sales, closed Mondays except public-holiday Mondays. Walk it south to north, exit the north gate and cross into Jingshan Park for the view back over the roofs. Keep the Great Wall on its own day — Mutianyu, about 73 km northeast, is the well-restored and much quieter option, with an enclosed cable car up and a toboggan down that has age rules and closes in winter.
Day 4 is the one most people waste. The Summer Palace is a lake, a hill and a long covered corridor — a walking day rather than a reading day, which is what you want at the end of a week. The 798 art district is the alternative if galleries appeal more than imperial gardens.
Xi'an, days 5 to 7
Xi'an North station is 12–15 km north of the walled centre and connects to the metro; allow 30–45 minutes from platform to hotel. The centre is compact and walkable, and the wall is the thing that makes the city.
The city wall is a 14 km rectangle you can ride on top of, with bike rental on the wall itself. Do one or two sections in the late afternoon rather than the full loop.
The Terracotta Army is 40 km east at Lintong: plan five to six hours on site plus two to three hours of travel, and take it as a half day rather than trying to add anything to it. Ticketing is real-name and passport-linked, there are no on-site ticket windows, so book online. Doors open at 08:30 and the first and last hours are the quiet ones. One ticket covers the pits and Lishan Park, which gives you somewhere to decompress afterwards.
Day 7 belongs to the Shaanxi History Museum if you can get a slot — the booking is released ahead and goes quickly, so check the official channel for the current release time — plus the Great Mosque and the Drum Tower at dusk. If the museum slot does not come through, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda area and the Muslim Quarter food streets fill the day comfortably.
Guangxi: Guilin and Yangshuo, days 8 to 11
This is the region the extra four days buy you, and it works on a different register from the first week. Nothing here is a monument. The point is the landscape.
Getting from Xi'an and getting around
| Leg | Practical option | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Xi'an → Guilin | Flight, a couple of hours | By rail it means a change and most of a day. Compare on the official railway channel before deciding |
| Guilin → Yangshuo | Li River cruise, about 4–4.5 hours | Sails in the morning from the Guilin piers, lands at a pier a short walk from West Street. Doubles as your transfer |
| Guilin → Yangshuo | High-speed rail, with a station outside town | Faster, but the station is some distance from Yangshuo and needs a bus or taxi onward — check that transfer when you book |
| Guilin → Shanghai | Flight, around two and a half hours | The all-rail version exists and costs a long day. Flights on this route are cheapest booked well ahead |
The Li River cruise, done right
The boat from Guilin to Yangshuo is the reason the first day here is not a wasted travel day. It runs about four to four and a half hours through the karst gorge that appears on the back of the banknote, departing in the morning, with lunch depending on the class of boat you book. Prices differ by class and by season and move around, so book through the official channel and confirm the departure point — there is more than one pier in Guilin, and the boat's arrival pier in Yangshuo is a short walk from the main street.
Sit on the roof or the open upper deck for the best two hours; the enclosed cabins get warm and the lower decks fill up.
What to actually do in Yangshuo
- Yulong River bamboo rafts. Quieter and prettier than the main river, with a two-person raft on a small tributary. Go early, before the queues, and expect to get wet.
- Cycle the countryside. A bike or electric scooter from town reaches the fields, the Moon Hill area and small villages in twenty minutes. This is the classic Yangshuo day.
- Xingping. The old town upstream where the river bends between peaks, and the best short walk of the trip.
- Longji rice terraces. Two hours each way from Guilin or Yangshuo, so this is a full day and a long one. Worth it between spring irrigation and autumn harvest; less so in winter.
- Do nothing for a day. Day 11 exists for this. Yangshuo is the best place on the whole itinerary to sit still.
Shanghai, days 12 to 14
Shanghai is the soft landing. It is the easiest city in China to move around in, English is more common, and there is enough to fill three days without a single early start.
Yu Garden is the sight that most needs an early arrival — the lanes are narrow and it is unpleasant once full. Leave, cross into the bazaar area for lunch, and spend the afternoon on the Bund or up one of the Pudong towers for the skyline. The Shanghai Museum and the Shanghai Natural History Museum are the wet-weather answers, and both are booked or queued rather than free-walk-in, so check the official channel for the day.
Day 14 depends on your flight. The former French Concession is a walking day through plane trees and cafes; Zhujiajiao is a canal town about an hour out and a half-day trip; a Hangzhou day trip by high-speed train is the more ambitious option and a comfortable day if you leave early.
Booking windows and moving parts
- Domestic flights firstXi'an to Guilin and Guilin to Shanghai are the two legs that cannot be swapped for rail without losing a day. Domestic fares on these routes climb steeply inside the last few days, so book with your international flights.
- Trains about 15 days outReal-name and passport-linked, released roughly 15 days before departure and the window has been changed more than once. Confirm on the official railway channel for your dates and take an early train on move days.
- Forbidden City, exactly 7 days ahead at 20:00 Beijing timePassport-linked, no same-day sales, closed Mondays. If you miss the release, the day is gone — have a plan B for that morning.
- Li River cruise and Yulong raftsBook ahead in peak season. Cruise classes and prices vary, and the departure pier matters; use the official channel and confirm the pier in writing.
- Museums in Xi'an and ShanghaiFree and cheap museums in China typically run on timed slots released ahead. Check the official channel for the current release window rather than turning up.
- Entry paperwork before you book anythingEligible nationalities have a 240-hour visa-free transit window — ten days — for onward travel to a third country, and other passports have longer unilateral visa-free windows. The conditions are strict and the lists change, so check the official rules for your nationality first.
What to drop when a day runs late
- Behind in Beijing: drop 798 or the Summer Palace on day 4, never the Great Wall. The Wall is the one day nobody regrets.
- Terracotta Army overrun: see Pit 1 and leave. It is the one that matters, and the others will not add much.
- Weather closes Mutianyu: swap days 3 and 4 and go the next morning, or run the Wall as a half day and add the Temple of Heaven.
- Flight to Guilin delayed: skip the Guilin night, go straight south, and take the cruise the following morning instead of the transfer train.
- Guangxi in heavy rain: rivers get muddy and rafts stop. Move the Longji terraces forward, keep a book, and treat it as the rest leg.
- One region must go: drop Guangxi, not Shanghai. An all-train Beijing–Xi'an–Shanghai trip needs no flights and no transfers, which is what you want if the two-week window is tight.
Frequently asked questions
What makes a 14-day China trip different from a 10-day one?
Four extra days is enough to add a whole region rather than a fourth city. This plan keeps the classic Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai triangle and puts four days into Guangxi, which is where riverside karst scenery replaces monuments and the trip stops feeling like a checklist.
How many flights does this itinerary need?
Two domestic flights, both on legs with no practical rail alternative: Xi'an to Guilin, and Guilin to Shanghai. Everything else is high-speed train. Book flights weeks ahead — domestic fares on these routes climb steeply inside the last few days.
Should I sleep in Guilin or Yangshuo?
Yangshuo, for two of the three nights. Guilin is a transport city with an airport and a rail hub; the scenery everyone comes for starts an hour south. Sleep in Guilin for the arrival night if you land late, then move.
Is the Li River cruise worth it?
For a first visit, yes — it is a four to four and a half hour run from Guilin to Yangshuo through the karst gorge, and it does the transfer between the two towns for you. Book a class you can afford to sit in on; the cheapest decks are crowded and the open roof is where everyone ends up.
Do I need to book the Forbidden City in advance?
Yes. Tickets are released about seven days ahead at 20:00 Beijing time, they are passport-linked, and there are no same-day tickets. It is closed all day on Mondays except public-holiday Mondays. Set an alarm for the release time.
Is 14 days enough to add Chengdu or Yunnan as well?
No. Adding a fifth region to fourteen days means every stop loses a day, and the long-haul travel starts eating the sightseeing. If pandas or Yunnan matter more than Guangxi, swap rather than add — see the longer three-week itinerary for the version that fits both.
Where should the two rest days go?
One on the Yangshuo leg and one in Shanghai. Both are places where doing nothing is pleasant — a river, a cafe street, a hotel pool — unlike Beijing or Xi'an, where a rest day feels like waste in an expensive hotel.
Can this trip be done without flying?
Yes, but it costs days rather than money. Guilin connects to the national high-speed network, so an all-rail version exists with transfers; it adds long days in transit. Compare timings on the official railway channel before deciding, and check the visa rules for whichever entry point you use.
Related reading
If two weeks is still not enough, the three-week itinerary is the version that fits Guangxi and Yunnan in the same trip. Coming with children, the family guide explains why the rest days here are not optional.
Compiled from published rail and air timetables for the Beijing–Xi'an–Shanghai and Guangxi corridors, official ticketing guidance for the Forbidden City, the Terracotta Army and the Li River cruise piers, and trip reports from foreign visitors, cross-checked 30 September 2026. Timetables, booking windows, cruise classes and museum slot rules change between seasons — the official ticketing channel at the time you book is authoritative, and every figure here is a planning estimate rather than a quotation. Nothing on this page is financial or legal advice.