Day 1 - Arrival in Beijing & the Forbidden City

Day 2 - Great Wall Pride & Peking Duck Ritual

Day 3 - Hutongs, Nanluoguxiang & Peking Opera

Day 4 - High-Speed to Shanghai & Bund Night Glow

ITINERARY IN DETAILS

This eight-day route strings together four powerhouse cities—Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen—into a single, high-energy arc that moves from imperial grandeur to cutting-edge skylines. You will walk the scarlet corridors of the Forbidden City, stand on the battlements of the Great Wall, glide beneath Shanghai’s neon canyons, ascend the twist of Canton Tower, and finish amid Shenzhen’s theme-park wonders. Every day is triple-split into Morning, Afternoon, Evening, with twice the detail yet no hotel mentions. 

Day 1 Arrival in Beijing & the Forbidden City
Morning：Land at Beijing Capital or Daxing Airport, ride the Airport Express into the city core and emerge beneath the vast sweep of Tiananmen Square. Walk the flagstones from the Monument to the People’s Heroes to the base of the flag-pole, then pass beneath the portrait of Mao and through the Meridian Gate into the Forbidden City.
Afternoon：Spend the full middle stretch inside the palace compound—follow the central axis from Hall of Supreme Harmony to Palace of Heavenly Purity, detour into the side courts and the Treasure Gallery, then rest under the gnarled pines of the Imperial Garden while koi swirl in the ponds below.
Evening：Exit the north gate, climb Jingshan’s Wanchun Pavilion at dusk for a flood-lit panorama of the scarlet roofs, then descend for a nightcap of jujube tea in a quiet hutong courtyard before heading to your chosen rest stop.

Day 2 Great Wall Pride & Peking Duck Ritual
Morning：Board an early train or private car to Badaling, reach the ramparts before the crowds and hike from North Tower One to North Tower Eight. Feel the wind sweep across the battlements and the mountains roll away like frozen waves.
Afternoon：Continue west along the ridge to quieter North Tower Twelve, photographing the dragon-back stone path against pine-clad slopes; on the descent, browse the small museum’s dioramas of beacon-fire signals and ancient engineering.
Evening：Return to Beijing’s old town for the Peking duck ceremony—crispy skin carved tableside, wrapped in thin pancakes with sweet-bean sauce and scallion brushes, finished with a sip of floral baijiu under red lanterns.

Day 3 Hutongs, Nanluoguxiang & Peking Opera
Morning：Pick up a shared bike and weave through Nanluoguxiang’s grey-brick lanes into Yuer and Mao’er Hutongs, pausing in a quadrangle where calligraphy brushes wait for you to ink your own “Fu” character while pigeons whistle overhead.
Afternoon：Pedal south to Shichahai, glide in a black-awning boat past lakeside willows and old princely mansions, then explore Yandaixie Street’s stalls of rabbit gods, snuff bottles and candied hawthorn.
Evening：Settle into a red-lacquer seat at Huguang Guild Hall for Peking Opera’s high-pitched arias and swirling water-sleeves, then wander the neon alleys of Qianmen under a sky of glowing lanterns.

Day 4 High-Speed to Shanghai & Bund Night Glow
Morning：Ride the bullet train south, watching wheat fields give way to paddy and skyscrapers; arrive at Shanghai Hongqiao or Shanghai Station and transfer to the city core.
Afternoon：Stroll the Bund promenade, gazing across the Huangpu River at the forest of towers in Lujiazui; ascend the Oriental Pearl for a glass-floor view of the traffic threading below like glowing capillaries.
Evening：Board a night cruise, the city lights shimmering on black water as you glide beneath Waibaidu Bridge and past the art-deco facades of the Peace Hotel, jazz drifting from open balconies.

Day 5 Yu Garden, Nanjing Road & Xintiandi
Morning：Enter Yu Garden through dragon-wound walls, cross zig-zag bridges above koi ponds, and climb artificial rockeries for views of upturned eaves dripping with spring wisteria or autumn maples.
Afternoon：Dive into Nanjing Road pedestrian mall—neon signs, heritage department stores, street performers and the scent of sizzling shengjianbao—then duck into side lanes for boutique tea and silk souvenirs.
Evening：Slip into Xintiandi’s restored shikumen lanes where stone gates frame cocktail bars, fusion bistros and lantern-lit courtyards; choose a lane-side perch for craft beer or Shanghainese tapas and watch the city glide by.

Day 6 Fly to Guangzhou & Canton Tower Skyline
Morning：Catch a two-hour flight south, land at Baiyun Airport and ride the metro into the Pearl River heart of Guangzhou.
Afternoon：Ascend Canton Tower’s open-air observation deck, the city sprawling like a circuit board below; watch river traffic slide beneath the spider-web of bridges while distant Baiyun Mountain hovers in a lilac haze.
Evening：Stroll Zhujiang New Town’s broad plaza, fountains dancing to LED symphonies, then duck into Tee Mall or IFC Mall for late-night browsing beneath chandeliers and glass atriums.

Day 7 Lingnan Craft, Shamian Island & Night Transfer to Shenzhen
Morning：Tour the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, its roofs alive with porcelain dragons and stone lintels carved into operatic tableaux, then watch craftsmen paint delicate Canton-enameled vases in the side courtyards.
Afternoon：Ride to Shamian Island, wander avenues of banyan-shaded European consulates and churches, the pastel façades echoing with stories of 19th-century traders; sip iced coffee on a wrought-iron balcony overlooking the Pearl River.
Evening：Board a high-speed rail or cross-border coach to Shenzhen, watching the city lights of Guangzhou recede and the neon glow of the new metropolis rise ahead.

Day 8 Theme-Park Wonders & Departure Preparations
Morning：Spend the morning at Window of the World, where Eiffel Tower, Taj Mahal and Sydney Opera House stand shoulder-to-shoulder in miniature, or choose Eastern Overseas Chinese Town for roller-coasters and tea-field cable cars.
Afternoon：Switch to the Shenzhen Museum or the Contemporary Art and Urban Planning Exhibition—interactive models show how a fishing village became a megacity in four decades; finish with a stroll through the sculpture garden outside.
Evening：Gather souvenirs—electronics from Huaqiangbei, designer toys from OCT-LOFT—then repack memories of emperors, warriors, skyscrapers and theme-park skylines for your onward journey.

Day 5 - Yu Garden, Nanjing Road & Xintiandi

Day 6 - Fly to Guangzhou & Canton Tower Skyline

Day 7 - Lingnan Craft, Shamian Island & Night Transfer to Shenzhen

Day 8 - Theme-Park Wonders & Departure Preparations