Fourteen days buys you the full spread: imperial Beijing, ancient Xi'an, laid-back spicy Chengdu, and vertical Shanghai. This is the route we'd build for a first-time friend — including where to slow down (Chengdu) and what to skip.
The day-by-day plan
- Days 1-4 — Beijing: Forbidden City, Mutianyu Great Wall, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, hutong evenings.
- Day 5 — Bullet train to Xi'an (4.5h), Muslim Quarter at night.
- Days 6-7 — Xi'an: Terracotta Warriors at opening, city-wall cycling, Shaanxi History Museum.
- Day 8 — Bullet train to Chengdu (~3h through the mountains).
- Days 9-11 — Chengdu: pandas at 8am (they nap after breakfast), People's Park teahouse, Sichuan cooking class, day-trip to Dujiangyan or Mount Qingcheng.
- Day 12 — Fly to Shanghai (2.5h).
- Days 13-14 — Shanghai: the Bund, Yu Garden, Tianzifang, French Concession — then fly home from PVG.
⚠️ Traps this plan already avoids
- Panda base: arrive at 8am opening — by 10:30 the pandas are asleep and the crowds awake.
- Book the four intercity legs the day their windows open; the Xi'an→Chengdu mountain line sells out first.
- Forbidden City (Mon) and most museums close one day a week — anchor each city's plan around its closure day.
- Four cities in 14 days is the maximum sane pace — resist adding Guilin/Zhangjiajie to THIS trip.
Rules like these change — the AI check below re-verifies every one against our China facts library for your dates.