Atlas of China

China itineraries

14 trips through China, four days to two weeks, laid out day by day by the planner with the trains and flights between stays, each openable on the map.

1. China in 10 days on a first visit: Beijing, Xi’an, Shanghai and Suzhou
   10 days · Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai and Suzhou
   The classic first trip: imperial Beijing and the Great Wall, the Terracotta Army, then Shanghai and a day among Suzhou’s gardens.
2. Two weeks in China: Beijing, Xi’an, Chengdu, Guilin and Shanghai
   14 days · Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu, Leshan, Guilin and Shanghai
   The grand loop: the capital and the Wall, the Terracotta Army, pandas and the Leshan Buddha, the Li River, and the Bund.
3. North China’s heritage line: Beijing, Datong, Pingyao and Xi’an
   9 days · Beijing, Datong, Pingyao and Xi'an
   From the Forbidden City to the Yungang Grottoes, a Ming walled town where the clocks stopped, and the Terracotta Army, all by train.
4. Sichuan in a week: Chengdu, Leshan, Mount Emei and Dujiangyan
   7 days · Chengdu, Leshan, Emeishan and Dujiangyan
   Pandas, teahouses and Sichuan food, the Giant Buddha carved into a river cliff, a sacred mountain, and the irrigation works that fed a province for two thousand years.
5. Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong: a week in the Aba mountains
   6 days · Chengdu, Songpan and Jiuzhaigou
   The blue lakes and waterfalls of Jiuzhaigou and the travertine pools of Huanglong, reached from Chengdu through Songpan.
6. Yunnan by train: Kunming, Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La
   9 days · Kunming, Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La
   Up the old tea road from the Stone Forest to Dali’s lake and three pagodas, Lijiang’s canal town under the Jade Dragon, and the plateau at Shangri-La.
7. The Silk Road by train: Xi’an to Dunhuang, Turpan and Ürümqi
   11 days · Xi'an, Zhangye, Jiayuguan, Dunhuang, Turpan and Ürümqi
   West along the Hexi Corridor: the Terracotta Army, the striped hills of Zhangye, the last fort of the Great Wall, the Mogao Caves, and the oasis of Turpan.
8. Guilin, Yangshuo and the Longji terraces in four days
   4 days · Guilin
   The Li River through the karst peaks, a few days among the paddies of Yangshuo, and the Dragon’s Backbone rice terraces.
9. Zhangjiajie and Fenghuang from Changsha: sandstone pillars and a river town
   5 days · Changsha, Zhangjiajie and Fenghuang
   The quartz-sandstone pillars of Zhangjiajie, the glass bridge and the world’s longest cable car, then the stilt houses of Fenghuang on the Tuo River.
10. Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou and Huangshan in eight days
    8 days · Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou and Huangshan City
    The Bund, Suzhou’s gardens, West Lake, and the granite peaks and pines of Huangshan with the Hui villages below.
11. Tibet: Lhasa, Namtso and Everest Base Camp
    7 days · Lhasa and Shigatse
    The Potala and the Jokhang, the turquoise lake at Namtso, and the road to the north face of Everest from Shigatse.
12. Xinjiang: Ürümqi, Turpan, Kashgar, Karakul Lake and Kanas
    11 days · Ürümqi, Turpan, Kashgar and Burqin
    The Heavenly Lake and the Turpan oasis, the old city and Sunday market of Kashgar, the Karakoram Highway to Karakul Lake, and the larch forests of Kanas.
13. Fujian: Xiamen, the tulou roundhouses and the Wuyi Mountains
    5 days · Xiamen and Wuyishan
    The island of Gulangyu, the earthen Hakka roundhouses in the hills, and the tea gorges and bamboo rafts of Wuyishan.
14. Hong Kong, Macau and Guangzhou in five days
    5 days · Hong Kong, Macau and Guangzhou
    Victoria Harbour and the Peak, the Portuguese streets and churches of Macau, and Cantonese Guangzhou across the border by train.

Each trip is a list of stops on the map; the planner groups them by where you sleep, orders them, and lays out the days with the trains and flights from its tables, so what a page says is what the map will plan. The routes between cities compare every leg in more detail.