Guilin, YangshuoZhangjiajie
Twelve days through the two landscape regions that turn up in every China photograph. Shanghai for the arrival, Guilin and Yangshuo for the river, Zhangjiajie for the peaks.
Twelve days for the country's two great landscape lanes. Shanghai for the soft landing, the Li River cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo, an afternoon in the rice paddies on a bamboo raft, then north to Zhangjiajie for the sandstone pinnacles that James Cameron drew from. Built for travellers who came for the country, not the dynasty.
Per person, twin share, your choice of hotels · selected hotels
Indicative · your trip is priced when we design it.
- Hotels
- Guide
- Domestic flights
Private 5-seater · from US$360/day
Driver and bilingual guide (English & Chinese) included throughout.
Twelve days,
three landscapes,
no repeats.
- Days 1-3Shanghai
Arrival, the river city
Three nights on or behind the Bund. A morning on the colonial waterfront, an afternoon in the French Concession, an evening at the Pudong skyline. Two nights to recover from the international flight before the landscape stretch begins.
This stop- The Bund at the photographer's hour
- French Concession plane-tree streets and 1920s cafés
- Yu Garden with a local guide
- Pudong skyline from a 50th-floor terrace
- Days 4-7Guilin and Yangshuo
The Li River
Flight to Guilin, four nights through the karst country. A full-day private Li River cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo with lunch on board. Two nights at a boutique stay in the Yangshuo countryside, bicycle rides through the rice paddies, a bamboo-raft afternoon on the Yulong River.
This stop- Private Li River cruise, Guilin to Yangshuo
- Yangshuo countryside on bicycles, not a coach tour
- Yulong River bamboo-raft afternoon
- Reed Flute Cave with a private guide
- Days 8-12Zhangjiajie
The Avatar mountains
Flight north to Zhangjiajie. Five nights inside the national park hotels, not the city. Glass Bridge over the canyon, cable-car up Tianmen Mountain, the 999 stairs to Heaven's Gate, two days exploring the sandstone pinnacles that inspired Pandora.
This stop- Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge over the canyon
- Tianmen Mountain cable-car and the 999 stairs
- Wulingyuan sandstone pinnacles by park shuttle
- Sunrise at Yuanjiajie viewing point
Twelve days,
the country,
not the dynasty.
Private Li River cruise, not a shared package boat. Lunch is served on board to your party only.
Yangshuo stay is a boutique hotel inside the karst, not a city-edge resort with a shuttle bus.
Zhangjiajie hotel is inside the park, the early light is yours before the day-trippers arrive.
No silk showroom, no jade factory, no tea-ceremony price card.
Mei Lin Chen
Senior China Specialist
Mei Lin has spent fifteen years working with the guides, drivers and hoteliers across China. She'll be your contact from first enquiry to final airport pickup.
Stretch the route,
the natural next step.
- Another journey
Add the icons (+10 days)
Add Beijing for the Wall and Xi'an for the warriors, with Shanghai already in this route.
Read more - Add an experience
Add Chengdu pandas (+3 days)
Fly Zhangjiajie to Chengdu for the panda base and a hot-pot night.
Read more - Another journey
Add Yunnan instead of Zhangjiajie
Swap Zhangjiajie for the Yunnan southwest, see our Lijiang to Shangri-La journey.
Read more
A first-draft sketch,
by reply tomorrow.
Tell us a month, a party size, and your appetite for stairs (Tianmen Mountain has more than you think). We come back with the river cruise date, three hotel options per stop, and an itemised all-inclusive quote. No deposit, no obligation.