Two capitals, 3,000 years of history, one 4.5-hour bullet train between them. This is the highest-payoff first China trip there is — if the bookings line up. Below is the plan, with every trap flagged.
The day-by-day plan
- Day 1 — Land in Beijing. Easy evening: Qianmen street food, early night against jet lag.
- Day 2 — Forbidden City (morning slot, booked 7 days ahead — closed Mondays!) → Jingshan Park panorama → hutong dinner.
- Day 3 — Great Wall at Mutianyu (reserve ahead; go early, beat the buses) → Olympic Park lights on the way back.
- Day 4 — Temple of Heaven at dawn (tai chi hour) → Lama Temple → afternoon bullet train impossible? No: keep day 4 in Beijing — Summer Palace + a hosted hutong experience.
- Day 5 — Morning G-train to Xi'an (~4.5h) → evening at the Muslim Quarter & Bell Tower.
- Day 6 — Terracotta Warriors (book ahead, go at opening) → city wall bike ride at golden hour.
- Day 7 — Shaanxi History Museum (free but reservation-capped) → fly out of Xi'an.
⚠️ Traps this plan already avoids
- Forbidden City closed Mondays; tickets release 7 days ahead at 20:00 Beijing time.
- Train tickets release ~15 days out — book Beijing→Xi'an the day the window opens on holiday-adjacent dates.
- Terracotta Warriors afternoon crowds are brutal — opening hour or 3pm+, never midday.
- Shaanxi History Museum is free but runs out of daily reservations — book it like a paid ticket.
Rules like these change — the AI check below re-verifies every one against our China facts library for your dates.