International Tours
Best of China Tour
The Best of China Tour is an 8-day, 7-night journey across the country's four great cities — cosmopolitan Shanghai, garden-city Hangzhou, ancient Xian and imperial Beijing — connected by China's famous fast trains, including the Shanghai Maglev and a high-speed run to the capital. In one week you take in the Bund and Yuyuan Garden, cruise West Lake, stand before the Terracotta Warriors, walk the Great Wall and enter the Forbidden City.
Tour overview
This itinerary is designed to show first-time visitors the essential China with minimal wasted time, letting the country's superb rail network do the heavy lifting. You begin in Shanghai, arriving on the 430 km/h Maglev, then move south to Hangzhou's serene West Lake, ride an overnight sleeper train to Xian to meet Emperor Qin's buried army, and finish with the monumental sights of Beijing — the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. It is a compact, greatest-hits loop through 2,000 years of Chinese history and its gleaming modern present.
Era Tours operates this as a private tour with air-conditioned coaches, international-standard 4-star hotels on a twin-sharing basis, and a professional English-speaking guide in every city. Rail journeys are pre-booked — the Hangzhou–Xian leg on a soft-sleeper overnight train, the Xian–Beijing leg on a high-speed service — so the distances vanish while you rest or watch the landscape roll by. The day-by-day plan below follows the standard schedule; train timings are set by the railway and may be adjusted.
Ride the Maglev and the fast trains
From the 430 km/h Maglev into Shanghai to an overnight sleeper to Xian and a high-speed train to Beijing, China's remarkable railways are part of the experience.
The Terracotta Army
In Xian you stand before thousands of life-size warriors and horses in battle formation — the buried guard of China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang.
The Great Wall and Forbidden City
Beijing delivers the icons: the Great Wall at Juyongguan, the vast Forbidden City of 24 emperors, Tiananmen Square and the imperial Summer Palace.
Day-by-day itinerary
8 daysOn arrival at Shanghai airport you transfer into the city aboard the Maglev, the superfast magnetic-levitation train that covers the 30 km to the terminus in around eight minutes at speeds near 430 km/h. After freshening up at your hotel, the evening is spent walking and shopping along the Bund, Shanghai's famous riverfront promenade of grand colonial-era buildings. Overnight in Shanghai.
- Maglev train
- — Magnetic-levitation train reaching around 430 km/h from the airport into the city.
- The Bund
- — Shanghai's historic waterfront lined with grand early-20th-century architecture.
A full day exploring Shanghai. You visit the classical Yuyuan Garden, a Ming-dynasty retreat of pavilions, rockeries and carvings more than 400 years old, together with the Jade Buddha Temple and the Shanghai Museum. You see the base of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower in the Pudong skyline and, in the evening, take in the Huangpu River that divides the old and new city. Overnight in Shanghai.
- Yuyuan Garden
- — A 400-year-old Ming-era classical garden beside the lively Yuyuan bazaar.
- Oriental Pearl Tower
- — The 468m landmark tower on the Pudong bank of the Huangpu.
After breakfast and a look around the markets, you drive to Hangzhou, one of China's most celebrated garden cities. In the afternoon you take a cruise on the tranquil West Lake, the willow-lined, temple-dotted lake that has inspired Chinese poets and painters for centuries. Overnight in Hangzhou.
- West Lake
- — Hangzhou's famed UNESCO-listed lake, ringed by gardens, causeways and pagodas.
After an early breakfast you visit the Lingyin Temple, "Temple of the Soul's Retreat", one of China's largest and most-visited Buddhist temples, and the neighbouring Fei Lai Peak with its rock-carved figures. In the evening you transfer to Hangzhou railway station to board an overnight soft-sleeper train to Xian, arriving the next morning. Overnight on the train.
- Lingyin Temple
- — A major Buddhist temple holding a great seated statue of Sakyamuni Buddha.
You arrive in Xian in the morning and transfer to your hotel. The day is given to the Museum of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses, the vast collection of life-size figures in battle formation created as the buried guard of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. You also stroll the Muslim Street quarter and the square around the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Overnight in Xian.
- Terracotta Warriors
- — Thousands of life-size clay soldiers guarding China's first emperor.
- Big Wild Goose Pagoda
- — A Tang-dynasty pagoda first built in the 7th century.
After breakfast you visit Xian's ancient city wall, the most complete surviving city wall in China and one of the largest ancient military defences in the world. You then board a high-speed train to Beijing; on arrival you transfer to your hotel and enjoy an evening stroll through a lively market. Overnight in Beijing.
- Xian city wall
- — 14 km of intact Ming-era ramparts, 12m high and 15m wide.
A full day among Beijing's greatest sights. You walk a stretch of the Great Wall at Juyongguan, one of its three most famous passes, and explore the Summer Palace, the largest and best-preserved royal park in China. You visit a jade factory, pass the "Bird's Nest" Olympic Stadium, and in the evening enjoy a Chinese opera show. Overnight in Beijing.
- Great Wall at Juyongguan
- — A dramatic mountain pass on the Great Wall near Beijing.
- Summer Palace
- — China's grandest imperial garden park, on Kunming Lake.
After breakfast you visit the Forbidden City, the immense imperial palace of 24 Ming and Qing emperors, and Tiananmen Square at the heart of the capital. You then transfer to Beijing airport for your flight back to India. Tour ends.
- Forbidden City
- — The palace complex that housed 24 emperors from 1368 to 1911.
- Tiananmen Square
- — The vast central square ringed by China's great national monuments.
This itinerary is a suggested flow and is fully customisable — hotels, pace and sightseeing are tailored to you. Ask us to adjust it →
Places on this tour
What's included
- Arrival, departure and sightseeing transfers by private air-conditioned coach
- Accommodation in international-standard 4-star hotels on twin-sharing with breakfast
- Professional English-speaking guide in each city
- Monument entrance fees as per the itinerary, plus the Maglev ride, Huangpu and West Lake cruises and Chinese opera
- Overnight soft-sleeper train Hangzhou–Xian and high-speed 2nd-class train Xian–Beijing
- China tourist visa and one bottle of mineral water per person per day
Not included
- Camera and video fees
- Personal expenses, extra meals, drinks, laundry and phone calls
- Meals other than breakfast unless specified
- Early check-in or late check-out and porter fees at hotels and airports
- Costs arising from delays, road blocks, re-scheduling or other events beyond our control
- Anything not mentioned under inclusions
Ideal for: First-time visitors to China who want the classic cities and icons in one trip.
FAQ
Best of China Tour — your questions answered
About 8 days lets you cover the classic four cities of China. This tour spends time in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Xian and Beijing — enough to see the Bund, West Lake, the Terracotta Army, the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, using fast trains to link them efficiently.
Yes, both are included. You visit the Great Wall at the Juyongguan pass near Beijing and the Museum of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses in Xian, along with the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Shanghai's Bund and Hangzhou's West Lake.
You travel by China's excellent trains. The tour uses the high-speed Maglev into Shanghai, an overnight soft-sleeper train from Hangzhou to Xian and a high-speed train from Xian to Beijing, with private air-conditioned coaches for city sightseeing.
Yes, Indian and most other passport holders need a tourist visa for China, and the China tourist visa fee is included in this tour. We assist with the paperwork, and you should apply in good time before departure.
The best times to visit China are spring (April to May) and autumn (September to October), when the weather is mild and pleasant across Shanghai, Xian and Beijing. Summers can be hot and humid and winters cold, especially in the north.
