China11 days
China's Regional Tables: Beijing to Shanghai — 11 Days
From Peking duck and hand-pulled noodles to Sichuan hotpot and soup dumplings, tracing China's regional cooking traditions across five cities with cooking classes, market visits, and major historical sites.
China's culinary geography is inseparable from its climate, available ingredients, and cultural history. This 11-day route moves through five major cities—Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu, Hangzhou, and Shanghai—each with distinct gastronomic traditions shaped by local agriculture and regional influence. You will eat the dishes in their home cities: Beijing duck with its crispy skin and sweet hoisin sauce in the capital; hand-pulled biang biang noodles in Xi'an, where Shaanxi's salty flavors meet Muslim Silk Road heritage; Sichuan hotpot's numbing peppers in Chengdu; Longjing tea and beggar's chicken in Hangzhou; and Shanghai's sweeter regional style built on fresh freshwater fish and crab. Along the way, you will learn dumpling-making from a local household, visit a tea plantation, watch noodle-pulling demonstrations, and visit historic hutong markets and 400-year-old courtyard homes. The itinerary also includes major historical sites—the Forbidden City, the Terracotta Warriors, the Leshan Buddha, and the ancient Xi'an city wall—that contextualize the places and people whose food you are eating.
Highlights
- Peking duck dinner in Beijing, the city's most famous dish, served with rice flour wraps, hoisin sauce, and cucumber
- Hand-dumpling-making workshop in a local Beijing household followed by a home-cooked feast
- Terracotta Warriors near Xi'an, where approximately 2,000 of 6,000 individually sculpted clay figures stand in battle formation after 2,000 years underground
- Biang biang noodle lunch in a Xi'an village with a chef demonstration of hand-pulled dough technique
- Muslim Quarter food exploration in Xi'an, known as the 'snack capital' of China
- Sichuan hotpot dinner in Chengdu, where diners boil assorted ingredients in a shared pot with regional peppers and spices
- Longjing Tea Plantation visit in Hangzhou to learn about China's most celebrated green tea and tea culture rituals
- Beggar's chicken dinner in Hangzhou, a centuries-old dish prepared with lotus leaves, Shaoxing wine, and a three- to four-hour bake in mud
- Wuzhen water town exploration, a 1,300-year-old settlement on the lower Yangtze with a Song Dynasty wine workshop and indigo tie-dye workshop
- Xiaolongbao (soup dumpling) dinner in Shanghai, where steamed dumplings filled with savory ingredients and fragrant soup burst in your mouth when bitten
Day by day
1Beijing Arrival and Peking Duck DinnerBeijing · your hotel lobby
You arrive in Beijing for a 6 pm welcome meeting in your hotel lobby, where your guide will review the itinerary and logistics for the days ahead. After an orientation walk through the capital, you will dine on Peking duck, served with its signature crispy skin, rice flour wraps, cucumbers, green onions, and hoisin sauce.
2Beijing Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, and Inner Mongolian HotpotBeijing · Tiananmen Square · Forbidden City · Beijing's historic hutong neighborhoods
The morning begins at Tiananmen Square, one of the world's largest public squares and home to the Monument of the People's Heroes and the Great Hall of the People. From there, you enter the Forbidden City, the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government built between 1406 and 1420. UNESCO recognizes it as an extensive collection of preserved ancient wooden structures; it served as the seat of imperial power for over 500 years.
The afternoon takes you into Beijing's historic hutong neighborhoods—the narrow alleyways that characterize the city's older districts. You will visit a working market to observe fresh tofu being prepared, fresh vegetables, and learn about key ingredients and spices used in northern Chinese cooking. Northern Chinese cuisine emphasizes flavor development through common ingredients rather than rare or novel components. In the evening, you will dine on Inner Mongolian hotpot.
3Great Wall at Mutianyu, Dumpling-Making Workshop, and Overnight Train to Xi'anMutianyu · a local household · Beijing to Xi'an
A two-hour drive from Beijing takes you to Mutianyu, a well-preserved section of the Great Wall accessible to visitors. You will walk the restored walls and view both their architectural construction and the challenging terrain surrounding them. A picnic lunch is provided on the wall.
Returning to Beijing in the late afternoon, you will visit a local household to learn dumpling preparation. Your host will demonstrate the technique and explain the cultural significance of this traditional meal. You will prepare and eat your handmade dumplings alongside other dishes for dinner. Afterward, you board an overnight soft-sleeper train heading south to Xi'an.
4Xi'an: Muslim Quarter, Gao Family Courtyard, and Shaanxi CuisineMuslim Quarter · Gao Family Courtyard · Bell and Drum Tower · Old Sun Family's Paomo restaurant · Fan Family's Roujiamo
You arrive in Xi'an in the morning and transfer to your hotel for breakfast. Xi'an, once the departure point for the Silk Road, has hosted multiple religions and cultures, each contributing to the city's food traditions. Shaanxi cuisine is marked by strong salty flavors and reflects the influence of the significant Muslim population that settled in the region.
Your orientation begins at the Bell and Drum Tower, then moves into the Muslim Quarter, the city's main food destination. You will visit a preserved old residence: a 400-year-old courtyard house that belonged to the Gao family—court officials whose seven generations occupied the space. The courtyard contains period furniture, pottery, porcelain, and paintings. In the evening, you visit the Muslim Quarter further to understand its food traditions. Specific establishments such as Old Sun Family's Paomo restaurant and Fan Family's Roujiamo are well-known local destinations.
5Terracotta Warriors, Hand-Pulled Noodles, and Xi'an City WallTerracotta Warriors site · a local village · Xi'an's ancient city wall
You travel to the Terracotta Warriors site, one of archaeology's significant discoveries. After being buried for 2,000 years, the warriors were unearthed in 1976 when farmers digging a well broke through the site. Three main pits are open to view, displaying approximately 2,000 of an estimated 6,000 figures—each individually sculpted from clay with distinct costume, height, and facial expression. They stand in formation alongside terracotta horses and chariots.
Lunch takes place in a local village where you will eat biang biang noodles, a signature Shaanxi dish of thick, wide hand-pulled noodles served with hot peppers, garlic, and Chinese vinegar. A local chef will demonstrate the noodle-pulling technique. In the afternoon, you spend time on Xi'an's ancient city wall, a significant remaining city wall in China. It extends over 13 kilometers around the city, offering views of both historical and contemporary sections.
6Fast Train to Chengdu: Jinli Street, Sichuan Hotpot, and Kuanzhai AlleyChengdu · Jinli Street · Kuanzhai Alley · Sichuan hotpot restaurant
A four-hour fast train carries you to Chengdu, capital of the Sichuan region and a noted center for regional food traditions. Sichuan cuisine is recognized for Sichuan pepper, which produces a distinctive tingling, numbing sensation on the palate—a flavor profile particular to this region.
You begin with a walking tour of Jinli Street, known for its historical architecture, commercial activity, and local snacks. You will sample sticky rice cakes with sesame sauce, spicy chicken skewers, sweet rice jelly, and fried beef pancakes. From there, you move to Kuanzhai Alley, a district that preserves historical structures from older Chengdu while showcasing the leisure lifestyle associated with the city.
In the evening comes dinner at a Sichuan hotpot restaurant. Known locally as 'huo guo,' hotpot involves assorted ingredients—noodles, meat, vegetables, seafood—boiled together in a communal pot filled with hot pepper and spices. Each diner then dips their cooked items into a personal bowl containing an oil-and-sauce mixture, adjusting heat level with additional chili according to preference.
7Chengdu Panda Breeding Center and Leshan BuddhaChengdu Panda Breeding Center · Leshan Buddha
The morning is spent at the Chengdu Panda Breeding Center, where you will observe conservation work for this endangered species. The center allows visitors to watch pandas at various activities from relatively close distance.
After lunch, you continue to Leshan, home to the Leshan Buddha. This 71-meter-tall stone figure was carved into the hillside beginning in 713 during the Tang Dynasty. The work took 90 years to complete and includes an engineered drainage system built into the back of the figure's head and ears. You will return to Chengdu for the night.
8Flight to Hangzhou: West Lake, Longjing Tea Plantation, and Beggar's ChickenHangzhou · West Lake · Longjing tea plantation
A flight this morning brings you to Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province in eastern China and the southern terminus of the Grand Canal. Hangzhou is built around West Lake, a freshwater body divided into five sections by three causeways and dotted with temples, pagodas, gardens, and artificial islands.
This afternoon, you will visit a Longjing tea plantation. Longjing, or Dragon Well, is a tea variety from this region and known for specific flavor characteristics. Tea culture in China involves ritual and ceremony; the preparation, serving, and timing of tea is part of Chinese daily practice and hospitality. Multiple varieties of tea are consumed cold and are more prevalent than carbonated soft drinks throughout the country.
Hangzhou cuisine emphasizes freshness and subtlety, using less spicy seasoning to preserve the original flavor of ingredients. For dinner, you will eat beggar's chicken, a dish with documented history. According to tradition, the preparation involves coating chicken in mud and lotus leaves, wrapping it with a mixture of mud and Shaoxing wine, and baking it for three to four hours. The chicken is served in its mud coating and cracked open before eating.
9Wuzhen Water Town: Wine Workshop, Tie-Dye, Shadow Puppets, and Train to ShanghaiWuzhen · Shanghai · Sanbai Wine Workshop · Hongyuan Tie Dye workshop · Wuzhen to Shanghai
Approximately 1.5 hours from Hangzhou, Wuzhen is a water town situated on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. You will visit the Sanbai Wine Workshop, built during the Song Dynasty and the remaining winery in Wuzhen. You will learn about indigo dye techniques at the Hongyuan Tie Dye workshop. A shadow puppet performance with traditional Chinese musical accompaniment concludes your time in Wuzhen.
In the late afternoon, you travel to Shanghai, approximately two hours away, arriving in time for an orientation walk through the city.
10Shanghai: City God Temple, French Concession, and Soup DumplingsShanghai · French Concession · City God Temple area
Shanghai's development has produced a distinctive cuisine that combines flavors and techniques from multiple Chinese regions. Using local ingredients—freshwater fish, shrimp, and crab—Shanghai cuisine tends toward sweeter flavor profiles than other regional Chinese cooking.
This morning begins at the City God Temple area, neighboring Yuyuan Garden. The original temple was converted to a City God Temple in 1403 during the Ming Dynasty. The surrounding area is a large pedestrian district with shops, restaurants, teahouses, and temple fair events.
Later, you visit the French Concession, a foreign concession district from 1849 to 1943 that developed a distinct character during that period—a blend of Chinese and European influences reflected in its architecture and streetscape.
For dinner, you will eat xiaolongbao, Shanghai's noted dish: steamed dumplings filled with savory ingredients and broth. You will also sample xiekehuang, a crab shell pastry, alongside other local specialties.
11Shanghai DepartureShanghai · airport
Your final morning in Shanghai is yours to spend as you wish. Breakfast is included before your transfer to the airport for departure.
Where you go
- 1Beijing
- 2Tiananmen Square
- 3Forbidden City
- 4Mutianyu
- 5Muslim Quarter
- 6Bell and Drum Tower
- 7Terracotta Warriors site
- 8Shanghai
- 9City God Temple area
- 10Shanghai
Included
- Included:
- · 9 nights' hotel accommodation based on twin share
- · Local English speaking guide service in each city for FIT booking of 2-5 pax
- · National English speaking guide service throughout for group booking of 6 pax or up
- · Private/public transfers in each city as specified
- · Sightseeing tours with entrance fee as specified
- · 10 breakfasts, 1 lunch, 7 dinners
- · Overnight soft-sleeper train Beijing-Xi'an (1 night)
- · Regular class fast train Xi'an-Chengdu
- · Economic class flight Chengdu-Hangzhou
- · Private transfer Hangzhou-Wuzhen-Shanghai
Not included
- Excluded:
- · International flights
- · Travel insurance
- · Chinese visa
- · Expenses of personal nature, ie laundry, alcoholic drinks, and etc.