Private and small-group tours in China, run with a licensed partner agency on the ground WhatsApp: +1 431-728-8186 We reply within 24 hours
First China JourneyPrivate & group tours Get a quote
The Great Wall at Mutianyu winding through hills covered in red and orange autumn leaves
First trip to China | Private or small-group

Your First China Trip, Made Easy

The local friend who makes your first China trip easy. Visa-free entry, mobile payments, internet, transport and tours — we help you with all of it.

✓ English-speaking guides  ·  ✓ No shopping stops  ·  ✓ Reply within 24 hours

13 destinationsBeijing to Lhasa — or anywhere else in China
8–30 daysSix ready-made routes, or a trip built from scratch
Private or small-groupYour own guide — or join a group and share the cost
Plan My Trip First-Timer Guide

Planned by Tommy Liao, who lives between Canada and China.

It costs nothing to ask. If a route won't work in the time you have, we'll say so.

Before You Go

Why first-timers choose us

The sights are the easy part. What actually worries first-time visitors is the practical stuff — visas, paying, staying online, getting around. We help you sort all four before you fly. Start with the Before You Go guide.

Visa-free made simple

Check whether you qualify for 30-day visa-free entry or the 240-hour transit — and what to prepare.

Pay like a local

Set up Alipay and WeChat Pay before you land.

Stay connected

A travel eSIM or roaming plan, so WhatsApp and Google keep working.

Get around easily

Taxis, Didi, high-speed trains — we guide you step by step.
China tours

Classic first routes

Start from one of these: take it private and change it as much as you like — add a day, drop a city, slow it down — or join a small-group departure on the same route. Nothing is booked until you've seen the full plan and price.

Aerial view of the Forbidden City in Beijing8 daysBest for first-timers

8-Day Golden Triangle

Beijing → Xi'an → Shanghai
Classic HighlightsFoodFamily-friendly

The essential first trip: Great Wall and Forbidden City, the Terracotta Warriors, and Shanghai's Bund — linked by high-speed train.

Private or groupHistoryHigh-speed train
View full itinerary →Get a Free Quote

From US$1,590 per person

Starting price per person, based on 2 travelers. Final quote depends on dates and hotel level. Includes 4-star hotels, private guide & driver, entrance fees and intercity trains; international flights not included.

A bamboo raft on a calm river between karst mountains near Yangshuo10 daysMost complete

10-Day Classic China

Beijing → Xi'an → Guilin → Shanghai
Classic HighlightsFoodFamily-friendly

Our flagship route: the Golden Triangle plus the Li River's karst scenery — imperial history, ancient armies and China's most painted landscape.

Private or groupHistory + natureLi River cruise
View full itinerary →Get a Free Quote

From US$1,890 per person

Starting price per person, based on 2 travelers. Final quote depends on dates and hotel level. Includes 4-star hotels, private guide & driver, entrance fees and intercity trains; international flights not included.

Stone pillars rising through mist in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park10 daysBest for nature lovers

10-Day Pandas & Peaks

Chengdu → Zhangjiajie → Guilin
Pandas & NatureFood

The nature route: pandas at breakfast, Zhangjiajie's floating Avatar pillars, and a bamboo raft between Guilin's limestone peaks.

Private or groupNaturePandas
View full itinerary →Get a Free Quote

From US$1,990 per person

Starting price per person, based on 2 travelers. Final quote depends on dates and hotel level. Includes 4-star hotels, private guide & driver, entrance fees and intercity trains; international flights not included.

See all tours, including the 21-day Silk Road route and the full month →

Not just the standard route

Travelling with kids? Mostly going for the food?

Tell us what the trip is really about and we'll lean the route that way — more food stops, gentler mornings, longer at the pandas, whatever fits.

A mother and young daughter at the railing watching a giant panda at the Chengdu panda base

Family trips

Panda mornings, hands-on dumpling making, gentler pacing and family rooms — planned around naps and energy, not checklists.

Plan a family trip → A Chongqing nine-grid Sichuan hotpot — a diner lifting food from the chilli broth with chopsticks, sliced meat and greens alongside

Food journeys

Peking duck in Beijing, Muslim Quarter grazing in Xi'an, Sichuan hotpot in Chengdu, soup dumplings in Shanghai.

Plan a food trip → Stone pillars rising through mist in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park

Nature escapes

Zhangjiajie's pillars, the Li River, rice terraces and countryside cycling — the landscapes behind the paintings.

See the nature route → A giant panda eating bamboo at the Chengdu panda base

Panda encounters

Chengdu's panda base at opening time, when the bears are awake, feeding and playing — not sleeping through your visit.

Visit the Chengdu guide → A road curving through the rainbow-striped Danxia hills at Zhangye in Gansu

Road trips

The Hexi Corridor to Dunhuang, Sichuan's mountain roads, Tibet's plateau (permit-guided) — by car, with a private driver arranged and stops where the trains don't go.

Explore road trips →
Destinations

Where do you want to go?

Click a place to open its page — the main sights, how long you need, what to eat and when to go. If you're short on time: Beijing and Xi'an are the two most people regret skipping. Somewhere else in mind? These thirteen are a starting point — trips can be customized to anywhere in China.

The Great Wall at Jinshanling snaking over green mountain ridges3–4 daysGuide →

Beijing

Great Wall · Forbidden City

Walk the Jinshanling and Mutianyu sections of the Great Wall, then step inside the world's largest palace complex. Finish with hutong lanes and a proper Peking duck.

Great WallForbidden CityTemple of Heaven
Full Beijing guide →Get a Free Quote
Shanghai skyline at night with the Oriental Pearl Tower lit up across the Huangpu River2–3 daysGuide →

Shanghai

The Bund · Future skyline

Colonial-era Bund on one bank, sci-fi towers on the other. Add Yu Garden, the French Concession's plane-tree streets, and soup dumplings done properly.

The BundYu GardenShanghai Tower
Full Shanghai guide →Get a Free Quote
Terracotta Warriors and horses standing in the excavation pit in Xi'an2 daysGuide →

Xi'an

Terracotta Warriors

Face 8,000 life-size soldiers buried for 2,200 years, cycle the intact Ming city wall, and graze your way through the Muslim Quarter's lamb skewers and hand-pulled noodles.

Terracotta ArmyCity WallMuslim Quarter
Full Xi'an guide →Get a Free Quote
A giant panda eating bamboo at the Chengdu panda base2–3 daysGuide →

Chengdu

Giant pandas · Sichuan food

Meet the pandas at breakfast time, when they're actually awake. Then slow down Sichuan-style: teahouses, mahjong in the park, and hotpot as spicy as you dare.

Panda BaseHotpotTeahouses
Full Chengdu guide →Get a Free Quote
Aerial view of the green Longji rice terraces curving around a hillside village above Guilin2–3 daysGuide →

Guilin & Yangshuo

Li River · Karst peaks

Cruise the Li River past the exact view printed on the ¥20 note, drift down the Yulong River on a bamboo raft, and cycle between limestone peaks and rice fields.

Li River cruiseBamboo raftingWest Street
Full Guilin guide →Get a Free Quote
The 999 steps climbing through the forest to Tianmen Cave in Zhangjiajie3 daysGuide →

Zhangjiajie

The Avatar mountains

Three thousand stone pillars floating in the mist — the landscape that inspired Pandora in Avatar. Ride the world's tallest outdoor lift and walk the glass bridge if you're brave.

Avatar Hallelujah MountainGlass BridgeTianmen Mountain
Full Zhangjiajie guide →Get a Free Quote
Chongqing at night — neon-blue and pink towers, layered elevated bridges and their reflections in the river2 daysGuide →

Chongqing

The cyberpunk mountain city

A city stacked on cliffs where trains pass through apartment buildings. Hongyadong stacks 11 storeys up the cliff, so you can walk in on the top floor from the street and find the river at the bottom.

HongyadongLiziba monorailYangtze cable car
Full Chongqing guide →Get a Free Quote
The giant sand dunes of Mingsha Shan curving around Crescent Lake near Dunhuang, Gansu3–4 daysGuide →

Gansu & Dunhuang

Mogao Caves · Singing sand dunes

Out where the Silk Road met the desert: a thousand years of Buddhist art painted inside the Mogao Caves, dunes at Mingsha Shan taller than office blocks, and a crescent-shaped spring that has sat in the sand for two thousand years without drying up.

Mogao CavesMingsha Shan dunesCrescent Lake
Full Gansu guide →Get a Free Quote
Lijiang's old town rooftops beneath the snow-capped Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in Yunnan6–8 daysGuide →

Yunnan

Kunming · Dali · Lijiang · Shangri-La

A slower southwest loop of old towns and snow mountains: Erhai Lake at Dali, Lijiang's lanes under Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, and Shangri-La's monasteries at the edge of the plateau.

Lijiang Old TownDali & Erhai LakeShangri-La
Full Yunnan guide →Get a Free Quote
The full Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet — the white and red palace rising the whole height of Marpo Ri hill4–5 daysGuide →

Tibet

Lhasa · Potala Palace

The Potala Palace and Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, with Yamdrok Lake's turquoise sweep beyond. Travel here is permit-based for foreign visitors — an organised tour with a licensed guide, paperwork arranged in advance.

Potala PalaceJokhang TemplePermit arranged
Full Tibet guide →Get a Free Quote
Leifeng Pagoda above West Lake in Hangzhou2 daysGuide →

Hangzhou

West Lake · Longjing tea hills

West Lake by boat and causeway, Lingyin Temple in the wooded hills, and Longjing tea in the villages where it's actually grown — about an hour from Shanghai, and the easiest add-on in the east.

West LakeLingyin TempleLongjing tea
Full Hangzhou guide →Get a Free Quote
Illuminated ice sculptures at night at Harbin's Ice and Snow World3 daysGuide →

Harbin & the Northeast

Ice & Snow Festival · Northeast winter

A city rebuilt in ice every winter: full-size illuminated ice palaces, snow-sculpture parks and Russian-era avenues. The festival runs roughly late December to late February — and it is properly cold.

Ice & Snow WorldSt Sophia CathedralCentral Avenue
Full Harbin guide →Get a Free Quote
The Canton Tower lit in rainbow colours above Guangzhou's skyline at night2–3 daysGuide →

Guangzhou

Canton Tower · Dim sum capital

Old Canton and new skyline in one stop: Shamian Island and the Chen Clan Academy by day, Canton Tower over the Pearl River by night — and dim sum as a daily ritual, not just a meal.

Canton TowerShamian IslandDim sum
Full Guangzhou guide →Get a Free Quote
Snow-dusted peaks and golden larches above Yading in western SichuanYou decide

Somewhere else?

Anywhere in China

Suzhou's gardens, the Yellow Mountains, Fujian's tulou roundhouses, Inner Mongolia's grasslands — if it's in China, the team on the ground can build it. Just tell us where your curiosity points.

Custom routesOff the beaten pathMulti-region
Start a custom route →Get a Free Quote
Road trips

China by road — go where the trains don't

Some of the best of China sits between the stations: desert highways in Gansu, karst country roads in Guangxi, mountain passes in Sichuan. A road trip means travelling at car speed, stopping where you like — a roadside noodle stall, a viewpoint, a village that isn't in any itinerary. This is its own way of travelling here, planned separately from our train-based tours.

A country road in Guangxi running straight toward the karst limestone peaks of Yangshuo, fields and village houses on either side
A driver does the drivingAs standard, a road trip here means a private car with a local driver who knows the roads, the distances and where to stop. You watch the landscape; they handle the expressway tolls, the fuel stops and the mountain weather.
Want to drive yourself? Read this firstA foreign driving licence isn't valid on its own in China. In some cases a temporary driving permit can be arranged — our team on the ground will tell you honestly whether that applies to your licence and route, before you plan around it.
The overnight towns are part of the tripRoutes are built around sensible driving days and towns worth an evening in — Zhangye after the Danxia hills, Jiayuguan under its fort — not just the shortest line between sights.
Restricted areas, handled properlySome regions — Tibet is the main one — need permits and must be travelled as an organised tour with a guide and driver. If your route touches one, the team arranges the paperwork; there's no self-drive shortcut, and we won't pretend there is.
The nine-storey timber hall of the Mogao Caves at Dunhuang, at the desert end of the Hexi Corridor in Gansu5–7 days

Hexi Corridor to Dunhuang

Lanzhou → Zhangye → Jiayuguan → Dunhuang

The classic China road trip: follow the Silk Road west by car — rainbow Danxia hills, the Ming dynasty's last great fort, then the Mogao Caves and the dunes at the edge of the Gobi.

By carSilk RoadDesert

Price on request

Quoted individually for your dates and hotel level. Message us on WhatsApp for a free quote.

See this route →Get a Free Quote
Towering karst limestone peaks above a bend in the Li River and the Yangshuo countryside in Guangxi4–6 days

Guilin & Yangshuo countryside

Guilin → Yangshuo → Longji terraces

Slow roads between limestone peaks and rice fields: drive the countryside the river cruises only pass, stop in farming villages, and climb to the Longji terraces for the night.

By carKarst sceneryVillage stops

Price on request

Quoted individually for your dates and hotel level. Message us on WhatsApp for a free quote.

See this route →Get a Free Quote
Prayer flags strung across a green grassland hill at Tagong in western Sichuan, on the road from Kangding to Daocheng6–9 days

Western Sichuan mountains

Chengdu → Kangding → Daocheng Yading

West from Chengdu the road climbs onto the plateau: Kangding's river town, high passes and prayer-flag villages, then Daocheng Yading's sacred peaks and golden larches. This is high country — Yading sits above 4,000 m — so the route builds in slower days and lower nights early on, to give you time to acclimatise.

By carHigh plateauAltitude-aware pacing

Price on request

Quoted individually for your dates and hotel level. Message us on WhatsApp for a free quote.

See this route →Get a Free Quote
A willow-lined canal and stone street in Lijiang old town in Yunnan, tiled roofs and red lanterns either side6–8 days

Yunnan's old towns by road

Kunming → Dali → Lijiang → Shangri-La

Lakeside old towns and mountain roads in the southwest, strung together by car — Dali's Erhai Lake, Lijiang's lanes under the snow mountain, and Shangri-La's monasteries at the edge of the plateau, with no backtracking to airports in between.

Old townsLakes & mountainsSouthwest

Price on request

Quoted individually for your dates and hotel level. Message us on WhatsApp for a free quote.

See this route →Get a Free Quote
The Potala Palace above the main road into Lhasa in Tibet7–10 days

Tibet — Lhasa & the plateau

Lhasa → Yamdrok Lake → Gyantse → Shigatse

The plateau by road, done the only way open to foreign visitors: an organised trip with permits arranged in advance, a licensed guide and a local driver — independent self-driving isn't permitted in Tibet. The Potala Palace and Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, the turquoise sweep of Yamdrok Lake, Gyantse and Shigatse — paced gently for the altitude; Lhasa itself sits at 3,650 m.

Permit arrangedGuide + driverHigh plateau

Price on request

Quoted individually for your dates and hotel level. Message us on WhatsApp for a free quote.

See this route →Get a Free Quote
The Great Wall north of Beijing winding through hills covered in red and gold autumn forestYou decide

North China & your own route

Beijing → Great Wall → Chengde · Datong

Wall sections beyond the day-trip crowds, Chengde's imperial summer resort and Datong's grottoes — or tell us the drive you've been sketching and we'll build it with you.

By carGreat WallFully custom

Price on request

Quoted individually for your dates and hotel level. Message us on WhatsApp for a free quote.

See this route →Get a Free Quote

Explore the road trips page Plan my road trip

Trip planner

Tell us roughly what you have in mind

Pick a few things below and it turns into a WhatsApp message you can send us. Don't worry about getting it exactly right — most people don't know their dates yet when they first write. The personal bits further down help the most: what you're actually into, how fast you want to move, and anything we need to plan around.

A rough idea is fine

Tap what fits. Honest answers help — “we hate early starts”, “one of us doesn't eat meat”, that sort of thing. You can leave anything blank.

Places I want to see
How many days?
7 days
Who's travelling?
2 travellers
Travel style
Private trip, or join a group?

Private means your own guide and pace. A small-group departure shares the guide and transport with a few other travellers — usually cheaper per person.

What are you most into? Pick any that fit
How do you like to travel?

Land costs only — hotels, guide, driver, trains inside China. International flights are separate.

Anything we should plan around?

One place, one meal, one thing you've seen a photo of — whatever it is, write it here and we'll build around it.

How it works

How it works, in practice

There's no online checkout here. It goes like this:

1

Pick a starting point

One of the routes above, a place you want to see, or just the planner. It doesn't have to be the final plan.

2

Message us on WhatsApp

The buttons on this site open WhatsApp with the tour or place already written in. Ask anything — visas, weather, whether your kids will eat the food.

3

We send a plan and a price

We reply within 24 hours — a day-by-day plan with hotels, trains and one price, broken down line by line. Change what you don't like. Nothing gets booked until you say yes.

4

You travel, we stay in touch

A driver and English-speaking guide meet you in each city, tickets are booked ahead, and you can still reach us on WhatsApp while you're travelling.

No shopping trapsNo factory-store detours, no commission stops. Your time goes to the sights, not sales pitches.
Private or small-groupGo private for your own car, driver and pace — or join a small group, meet other travellers and share the cost.
One price, in writingQuoted by the agency in China for your actual dates, itemised — no surprise add-ons later.
First trip? That's most peopleWe'll talk you through visas, payment apps, eSIMs and trains before you fly. Start with the first-timer guide.
Travel guide

Questions everyone asks first

We wrote these because we kept answering the same questions over and over. Short version: come in spring or autumn if you can, and take trains instead of internal flights where possible.

Best time to visit China

April–May and September–October suit most routes. See the month-by-month breakdown for each region before you pick dates.

Read the guide →

Visas: often, you don't need one

Many nationalities enter visa-free, and travellers from 57 countries can use the 240-hour visa-free transit. Check how the rules apply to your route.

Read the guide →

High-speed trains beat planes

350 km/h, city centre to city centre — Beijing to Xi'an in about 4.5 hours. How train classes, booking and stations actually work.

Read the guide →

How much does a China tour cost?

Why tours are quoted per trip, what drives the price up or down, and what should always be in the quote.

Read the guide →
First time in China?

The four things everyone worries about before they come

Almost every first message we get asks about one of these. Short answers below — the full first-timer guide has the detail.

Is it safe?

For most visitors, yes — street crime is rare and walking around at night in big cities feels normal. The things to watch for are the usual tourist scams, not personal safety.

Safety, honestly explained →

How do you pay for things?

Your bank card won't get you far on its own. Link it to Alipay or WeChat Pay before you land and you can pay for almost everything by QR code — metro, meals, street snacks.

Alipay & WeChat Pay, step by step →

Will WhatsApp and Google work?

Not on local Wi-Fi or a local SIM — they're blocked. A roaming SIM or a travel eSIM set up before you fly keeps them working. Sort it before you board, not after you land.

Internet & eSIM, what actually works →

What if I don't speak Chinese?

Plenty of people come with none. English thins out fast outside big hotels, but signs, translation apps and — on our tours — an English-speaking guide cover the gap.

Getting by without Chinese →

Read the full first time in China guide →

FAQ

Common questions

See the full FAQ and planning guides →

How much does a tour cost — and is a group tour cheaper?

It depends on your route, hotel level and how you travel. A private trip for two typically works out far better value than most people expect, because it's operated directly in China without middlemen stacking margins. Joining a small-group departure usually brings the per-person price down further, because the guide and transport costs are shared. Send us your rough plan on WhatsApp and you'll get an itemised quote within 24 hours. See also our cost guide.

Who actually runs the tour in China?

Your trip is operated by our licensed partner travel agency based in China — they employ the guides and drivers, hold the local licences and handle bookings on the ground. We plan the trip with you in English and stay your point of contact before and during travel. More on the About page.

Do I need a visa for China?

Possibly not. Many passports currently qualify for visa-free entry, and the 240-hour visa-free transit covers travellers from 57 countries passing through China between two other destinations. Because eligibility depends on your nationality and exact flights, we'll check your specific route before you commit to anything. See the visa guide.

Hongyadong's stacked stilt houses glowing at night above the Jialing River in Chongqing

Not sure where to start?

Send us whatever you've got — even if it's just "ten days in October, we like food and mountains". We'll reply with a route that could work and a rough idea of cost.

Chat on WhatsApp — +1 431-728-8186
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