China18 days
China: Great Wall, Terracotta & Mountain Trails — 18 Days
Beijing to Hong Kong via Xi'an, Emei, and the karst landscapes of Guilin; includes trekking, cultural sites, and 12 nights in mountain guesthouses
This 18-day journey moves through four of China's most geographically distinct regions, linking archaeological monuments with active mountain travel. Beginning in Beijing, the route covers the Great Wall hiking across two separate sections, the Terracotta Warriors near Xi'an, and the sacred slopes of Mount Emei. The second half transitions south through Yunnan Province—traversing Tiger Leaping Gorge on foot, walking the Longji rice terraces (constructed over 500 years), and cycling the karst countryside around Yangshuo. Overnight trains connect the major cities, while guesthouses in remote areas provide direct access to trekking routes. The itinerary balances cultural exploration (Forbidden City, temples, old town districts) with extended time in terrain that requires sustained walking and climbing.
Highlights
- Hike across the Great Wall at Gubeikou and Jinshanling, walking both restored and original stone sections.
- Tour the Terracotta Warriors near Xi'an: more than 6,000 individually sculpted clay figures in battle formation, buried for 2,000 years before discovery in 1976
- Ascend Mount Emei to the Golden Summit (3,077 meters), visiting the 48-meter-high golden Buddha and Jinding Temple, with descent through stone-step passages past wild monkeys and Xixiangchi Temple
- Trek Tiger Leaping Gorge through narrow river passages with overnight stay in a remote guesthouse.
- Walk the Longji rice terraces (650+ year history) through bamboo forests and past stone agricultural paths named for their resemblance to dragon scales
- Cycle Yangshuo's karst countryside past distinctive limestone formations, including Moon Hill's crescent-moon natural arch
- Visit Beijing's Forbidden City (built 1406–1420), visit the Temple of Heaven, and walk the hutong alleyways of Old Beijing
Day by day
1Arrival in BeijingBeijing · your hotel
Welcome to Beijing. A guide will meet you at your hotel at 6 pm to review the itinerary, introduce themselves, and outline logistics for the cities ahead. An orientation walk follows, providing a first impression of the capital's layout and street patterns.
2Beijing: Forbidden City, Hutongs & Temple of HeavenForbidden City · Temple of Heaven · Tiananmen Square · hutong alleyways
This day covers significant distance on foot and via metro. After breakfast, the metro carries you to Tiananmen Square, one of the world's largest public squares, bordered by the Monument of the People's Heroes and the Great Hall of the People. Entry to the Forbidden City follows—the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 and recognized as the world's most extensive collection of preserved ancient wooden structures. After exiting, you walk through hutong alleyways, traditional neighborhoods formed by lines of courtyards that represent Old Beijing's residential character. A metro journey then takes you to the Temple of Heaven, a 15th-century complex where emperors performed ritual sacrifices. Return to your hotel by metro with your guide.
3Trekking the Great Wall: Gubeikou to JinshanlingWohushan Great Wall · Erdaoliang village · local village and inner circle of the wall
An early departure brings you to Gubeikou, a vital mountain pass dating to the 16th century. Your hike begins at Wohushan Great Wall, 665 meters above sea level. The route reveals both the wall's original construction and sections deliberately dismantled in the 1950s, when local farmers removed bricks to build homes. You will walk past a local village and along the inner circle of the wall—the secondary defense line positioned behind the main rampart. The hike spans 12 kilometers over 4–5 hours, with rest periods throughout. By late afternoon, you reach Erdaoliang village in the Jinshanling area, where you stay overnight in a guesthouse.
4Great Wall Hiking & Overnight Train to Xi'anJinshanling to Simatai West · Beijing railway station
After a home-cooked breakfast at the guesthouse, you continue hiking from Jinshanling to Simatai West, covering 12 kilometers on mostly paved ground with several unrestored sections featuring stairs and steep gradients. This stretch includes restored and original wall sections with watchtowers—some two or three stories, with flat, rounded, or pitched roofs accented by upturned eaves. In the afternoon, a private transfer takes you to Beijing railway station, where you board an overnight soft-sleeper train to Xi'an, departing in the evening.
5Xi'an: City Wall Cycle & Muslim QuarterMuslim Quarter · Xi'an's ancient city wall · Great Mosque of Xi'an
Upon arrival in Xi'an, your local guide transfers you to the hotel for breakfast. The morning centers on a cycling tour of Xi'an's ancient city wall, the most significant and best-preserved defensive wall in China, running 13 kilometers around the city perimeter. In the afternoon, you walk the Muslim Quarter, a historic neighborhood of narrow streets lined with small shops, markets, and restaurants. Your route leads to the Great Mosque of Xi'an, constructed during the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty with later additions during the Qing Dynasty. Earlier religious structures are documented on the same site dating to the Tang Dynasty.
6Terracotta Warriors & Overnight Train to ChengduTerracotta Warriors · Xi'an · Xi'an to Chengdu
The Terracotta Warriors comprise an archaeological site of more than 6,000 warriors, archers, and chariots individually sculpted from clay, each bearing different costumes, heights, and facial expressions. They remain in battle formation 2,000 years after burial, first exposed in 1976 when farmers digging a well uncovered them. Three main pits are open to view. After exploring the site, you lunch in a local village before returning to Xi'an. The afternoon is free for independent exploration. In the evening, you board an overnight sleeper train to Chengdu.
7Chengdu: Panda Breeding Center, Jinli Street & Mount EmeiPanda Breeding Center · Jinli Street · Mount Emei
A morning visit to the Panda Breeding Center allows close observation of conservation efforts protecting this endangered species. You watch pandas at play, eating, napping, and munching bamboo in their enclosures. After returning to Chengdu, lunch is followed by a walking tour of Jinli Street, a historic commercial avenue known for local snack vendors selling sticky rice cakes with sesame sauce, spicy chicken on skewers, sweet rice jelly, fried beef pancakes, and seasoned rabbit heads. In the afternoon, a private vehicle takes you south to Mount Emei, located in Sichuan Province. You settle into an inn at the mountain's base, positioned to begin your ascent the following day.
8Mount Emei: Bus & Cable Car to the Golden Summit (3,077 m)Golden Summit · Baoguo Temple · Leidongping · Jinding Temple
Your first stop is Baoguo Temple, a 16th-century structure featuring a 3.5-meter porcelain Buddha and noted for its gardens of rare plants. From there, an eco-bus climbs to Leidongping, the second-highest parking lot, approximately 90 minutes' journey. A 1.5-kilometer walk then leads to the cable car ascending to the Golden Summit at 3,077 meters. Your hotel sits adjacent to the cable car station; after checking in and resting, you visit Jinding Temple and its 48-meter-high golden Buddha statue. Weather permitting, the Cloud Sea phenomenon of cloud layers across the valley may be visible.
9Mount Emei: Full-Day Descent Through Temples & Monkey ZoneJieyin Hall · Leidongping · Xixiangchi Temple · Zuantian Slope · Jiuling Hill · Yuxian Temple · Ecological Monkey Zone · Wuxiangang parking lot
This is a demanding day requiring an early start. You will hike 8–9 hours, descending ancient stone steps and passing multiple temples, waterfalls, and river crossings. The cable car delivers you to Jieyin Hall; from there you walk to Leidongping before beginning the steep descent. Stone steps lead to Xixiangchi Temple at 2,070 meters, also known as Elephant Bathing Pool, named for a legend of the white elephant belonging to Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. Beyond this, Zuantian Slope—called "Slope Drilling into Sky"—descends 300 meters via 32 hairpin turns and more than 1,500 steps. After resting at Jiuling Hill, the route continues through varied terrain to Yuxian Temple, passing Xianfeng Temple en route to the Ecological Monkey Zone, home to a large tribe of wild monkeys. The monkeys are wild and can be aggressive; caution is essential. From Wuxiangang parking lot, an eco-bus returns you to the tourist center.
10Chengdu to LijiangEmeiShan Train Station · Chengdu Airport · Lijiang old town
An early transfer takes you to EmeiShan Train Station for a high-speed train to Chengdu Airport. An afternoon flight carries you to Lijiang, where a transfer brings you to the old town. Lijiang sits in northwestern Yunnan Province at 2,400 meters altitude, the center of Naxi culture and a gateway to surrounding mountain passes. The Old Town is bisected by waterways and comprises a maze of lanes and squares, primarily made up of three districts: Dayan Old Town (including Black Dragon Pond), Baisha, and Shuhe.
11Lijiang Old Town Walking TourBlack Dragon Pool · Lion Hill Park · Museum of Naxi Dongba Culture
Your walking tour begins at Black Dragon Pool, a pond in Jade Spring Park located at the foot of Elephant Hill, constructed in 1737 during the Qing Dynasty. Standing on its white marble bridge offers a frontal view of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, the region's tallest peak. Next is Lion Hill Park, located in the center of the Old Town and built against a naturally lion-shaped hill. From its ancient buildings, a bird's-eye perspective reveals the old town's layout. The afternoon is spent strolling through the Old Town's lanes with your guide, including a visit to the Museum of Naxi Dongba Culture, dedicated to the Naxi people's history, art, pictographic language, and animist Dongba religion.
12Tiger Leaping Gorge HikeTiger Leaping Gorge · Naxi Village · small guesthouse
A drive north brings you to the Yangtze River and Tiger Leaping Gorge. At Naxi Village, you leave large luggage behind and carry only day packs with essentials for one night. The hike extends approximately 6 hours through the remote gorge to a small guesthouse. The isolation and clear night sky in this sparsely populated region contrast with urban areas visited earlier.
13Tiger Leaping Gorge to Shaxi Ancient TownShaxi Ancient Town · surrounding rural villages and monasteries · local restaurant · family-run guesthouse
This morning, a light hike visits surrounding rural villages and monasteries. Donkeys and horses remain common transport in these remote areas, and you may encounter them on walking tracks. Though steep in sections, the route offers panoramic valley views. After lunch at a local restaurant, you reunite with your vehicle and luggage for a drive to Shaxi, an ancient walled town on the historic Tea Horse Trail. Yi and Bai ethnic minorities maintain traditional practices here; farmhouses line country roads, and original market squares and gates survive from Shaxi's era as a vital trading stop. You spend the rest of the day in the town and overnight in a family-run guesthouse.
14ShibaoShan Mountain HikeShibaoShan · Shaxi town square
A 4–5-hour hike traverses mountain trails toward Shizong Temple on ShibaoShan, situated amid Danxia landscape formations of distinctive red-rock outcrops. A picnic lunch breaks the hike. By evening, you return to Shaxi and join locals in the town square for community activities.
15Lijiang to Longji Rice Terraces via GuilinLijiang · Guilin · Longji and the Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces · Seven Star Resort (Ping'an Branch)
A 2-hour drive back to Lijiang through scenic terrain precedes your flight to Guilin. Upon arrival, a 1.5-hour private transfer delivers you to Longji and the Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces, an agricultural landscape with more than 500 years of documented history. The terraces cascade down mountainsides in geometric precision, engineered by hand over centuries. Ping'an Village Rice Terrace, the earliest section discovered by tourists and photographers, remains the most visible portion of the cluster. After settling into your guesthouse at Seven Star Resort (Ping'an Branch) or similar, your guide will lead an orientation walk.
16Longji Rice Terraces Hike to YangshuoYangshuo · Longji Valley's rice terraces · Longji Valley · Longji to Yangshuo
You hike through Longji Valley's rice terraces, bamboo groves, and chestnut forests. The terraces are named for their resemblance to a dragon's scales, while the mountain summit evokes a dragon's backbone. Much of the path follows stone trails passing waterfalls and fields. At day's end, your vehicle meets the group for a 4-hour drive to Yangshuo, a village set amid green karst hills and rice fields in southern Guangxi.
17Yangshuo Countryside Cycling and Moon HillYangshuo countryside · Moon Hill
After breakfast, you cycle out of town into the surrounding countryside through rural landscapes. The karst formations rise distinctively around you. You stop at Moon Hill, one of Yangshuo's recognizable attractions, easily spotted by its crescent-moon-shaped natural arch carved into the limestone. The panoramic views sweep across the countryside and surrounding valleys. Lunch is included.
18Li River Cruise & DepartureLi River · Guilin train station
A Li River cruise drifts you through the karst landscape and clear waters. In the afternoon, a transfer takes you to Guilin train station for a fast train connection, concluding the tour.
Where you go
- 1Beijing
- 2Forbidden City
- 3Temple of Heaven
- 4Tiananmen Square
- 5Wohushan Great Wall
- 6Muslim Quarter
- 7Great Mosque of Xi'an
- 8Terracotta Warriors
- 9Xi'an
- 10Lijiang
- 11Yangshuo
- 12Li River
Included
- Included:
- 8 nights' hotel & 8 nights' guesthouse accommodation based on twin share
- Local English speaking guides in each city for FIT of 2-5 pax
- National English speaking guide throughout for group of 6 pax or up
- Private/Public transportation in each city as specified
- Sightseeing tours with entrance fee as specified
- 17 breakfasts, 4 lunches and 2 dinners
- Overnight soft-sleeper train Beijing-Xi'an (1 night)
- Regular class fast train Xi'an-Chengdu , EmeiShan-Chengdu Airport & Guilin-Hong Kong
- Economic class flight Chengdu-Lijiang & Lijiang-Guilin
Not included
- Do Not Include:
- International airfare
- Visa fee