8-Day China Golden Triangle

Tour Style: Private Tour (No Join-in Group Tour)

Tour Route: Beijing - Xi'an - Shanghai

Tour Code: ODY-CN-003

Highlights :

Explore the Great Wall, one of the great wonders in the world
Taste the local life in Beijing’s hutongs
Uncover the mysteries of Terracotta Warriors
Appreciate Guilin picturesque scenery on a Li River

Any part of this itinerary can be tailor-made to fit your needs, e.g. tour length, activities, destinations, hotels.

Travelers' rating: 4.9/5

4.971153846 of 5 stars

Based on 105 reviews

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Itinerary

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Day 1

Arrival, Beijing

Nihao China! Upon your arrival at the Beijing Capital International Airport, your private guide will meet and transfer you to your hotel. The rest of the day is for you to relax on your own.
Overnight: Beijing
Day 2

Beijing

In the morning, the guide will pick you up from the hotel lobby at an appointed time and start the city tour from Tiananmen Square; then, be amazed by the imperial Forbidden City, the previous home to emperors. Take some selfies with the masterpiece of Chinese architecture.
After lunch, continue with a leisurely walking tour in hutongs to see how the common people lived in old Beijing and immerse yourself in the stories about cricket fighting from a cricket trainer.
Optional: In the evening, enjoying a Legend of Kung Fu Show at Red Theater will be a fabulous visual feast at an additional cost.
Overnight: Beijing
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 3

Beijing

Stretch your body in the exquisite Temple of Heaven. It makes a nice place to appreciate the elegance of its architecture as well as join in the locals to experience the locals' healthy lifestyle, for example, playing Tai Chi, dancing with a sword, singing Peking opera, or practicing Chinese calligraphy on the ground with a huge brush and ink.
Later, drive about 2 hours to travel the magnificent Great Wall at Mutianyu section. You will take a cable car up and down. Walk on the ancient ramparts, admiring the unbelievable constructions snaking across the mountains and taking in the splendid landscape.
Overnight: Beijing
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 4

Beijing - Xi'an

Before heading to Xi'an by high-speed train, you will be escorted to visit Summer Palace, which is an imperial garden with a number of lovely pagodas, man-made hills and lakes. In there, you will take a pleasant boat ride on Kunming Lake if the weather permits. Afterward, have a short visit to a pearl store before heading to Xi'an by high-speed train.
Arrived in Xi'an after 5.5 hours, be met and transferred to your hotel by your personal tour guide and driver.
Overnight: Xi'an
Meal: Breakfast
Day 5

Xi'an

The Terracotta Warriors make Xi'an famous around the world. Today, you will encounter the legendary Terracotta Warriors, which has guarded the first emperor of China, Qin Shihuang, since 210 BC. Although they have been buried underground for more than 2,200 years, these lifelike soldiers will tell you different stories through their facial expressions. Spend around two hours there, and then drive back to the city to visit the Ancient City Wall and a jade gallery.
Overnight: Xi'an
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 6

Xi'an - Shanghai

After breakfast, wander through Muslim Street and absorb its sights, smells and sounds. Shaanxi History Museum will be next. There are thousands of historical arts and relics waiting for you to discover. Fly to Shanghai in the afternoon. Upon arrival, be met and taken to your hotel by your private guide.
Overnight: Shanghai
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 7

Shanghai

Your discovery in Shanghai includes Yu Garden - a classical Chinese garden built in 16th century, Yuyuan Market - a bustling bazaar near the Yu Garden, a silk workshop where you can see how the pale cocoons turn into colored silk cloth, the well-known Bund, former French Concession and Shanghai Tower - the tallest building in China and second only to the Dubai Creek Tower. From the top of the tower, you will get a great vista shot of Shanghai city.
Optional: At night, an amazing Acrobatic Show will impress your trip to Shanghai.
Overnight: Shanghai
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 8

Shanghai, Departure

Free at leisure before being escorted to the airport for your departure flight. It's time to say goodbye.
Meal: Breakfast

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Reviews on This Tailored Tour

Odyssey tours mentioned by some of our clients was the former name of Odynovo.
Durations might be different as each trip is customizable.

This tour rating 4.9 out of 5 based on 105 reviews.

April 12, 2019

We just booked a family tour of China with Mr. Reinself Wei's assistance. He is extremely helpful and prompt to response even though we are in three different time zones. Quite a few revisions were made along the way. Mr. Wei is very patient and incorporate all our need into the itinerary, Looking forward to the October trip and will write the follow up review of it.

February 28, 2019

Thank you Maple for organizing our 12 Tour of china . She was always quick to answer any questions we had.

February 11, 2019

This tour had far exceeded my expectations & is undoubtedly the best private tour I’ve taken. But here’s the full story if you don’t mind the details. I booked this custom tour with Odynovo 3 weeks before departure (also known as China Odyssey Tour). I want to see Beijing, Xian, and Shanghai in 8 days with my daughter. I was desperate because of the short notice and unable to find the right options that fit my tight schedule during the Chinese New Year holiday. I submitted my wish list through the ‘Tailor made’ button on the website and don't even know if anyone will be working during CNY holiday. To my surprise, Reinself, my consultant, promptly responded to me the next day with itinerary ‘A’ & cost. I made several changes & requests which he kindly accommodated. Within 2-3 days, we have the trip (itinerary B) finalized including domestic flights connecting the cities, reservation at the finest hotels (Beijing Peninsula, Xi’an Sofitel, Shanghai Fairmont Peace), local guides, and private driver/car. The pricing was much better than booking on my own considering the hotel category with breakfast included. Trust me on this! I was a worrier thinking this may be too good to be true so I make sure I looked at the trip advisor reviews again before paying. And all seem legit so I went for it...

Ms Linda Wu greeted us as soon as our international flight arrived the Beijing airport. She was kind & sweet & knowledgeable. She treated us like family & we really enjoyed spending time with her. I have severe ginger allergy so she makes sure the restaurant staff knows & even helped to order all our meals. We saw Great Wall, Ming Tomb, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Beijing Zoo (Pandas). She also took us to see 2 additional shows in the evening after we finished the scheduled events (Golden Mask Dynasty & a KungFu show.). Those shows were some of our favorite moments of this amazing trip. We really wish we could take up her invitation to make dumplings with her family during CNY but we had to go on to our next destination at Xi’an. Linda helped check in our luggage’s & get boarding passes before she left the airport. She was genuine & also the best photographer ever & we are keeping in touch ...

As soon as we landed in Xi’an, Lisa Wang was there to pick us up. She’s a super experienced guide & a great historian. We really appreciate her sharing her personal cultural insights with us. She was very professional & I still can’t believe how she got us through the millions of people in the festive streets during the CNY holiday with some of the obstacles we unexpectedly encountered. We saw the city wall, terra cotta tomb, Muslim street/mosque, history museum & ate local food. I was a little hesitant to try the food so she actually bought the food & convinced me to take a bite which I was glad. I truly believe Lisa’s knowledge helped cultivate my further curiosity in Chinese history because I’m normally not a big history fan. Lisa took care of all the check in logistics at Xi’an airport & we arrived Shanghai greeted by Avril.

Avril was knowledgeable & tech savvy. She bonded instantly with my 19-year-old daughter. She was an expert in navigating the super busy attractions like the Yu garden, temple, French consession street, silk factory, & the market. She took us to shop for general living supplies for my daughter to study abroad in Shanghai as I had requested in our itinerary. Here are the extra tasks she did for us: She booked additional private transportation for us to shop at Ikea and also helped book an acrobatic show & scheduled me a massage at her favorite location. At the end, she recommended for me to ride the magnetic levitation train to airport which maxed out at 431 kmh (268 mph). It was a short & sweet 7 minutes trip. She even helped my daughter to call a local music store to look for a guitar to rent. She did a lot more communications and booking than what the itinerary called for and I can't thank her enough.

I must also complement the drivers in all 3 cities who are some of the best city drivers. I get car sick very easily but not with these pros! Their vehicles were clean & didn’t have any smoke issue.

And all our breakfast were included, and they were simply spectacular with food that suits an international crowd and our favorite was the Beijing Peninsula.

Every aspect of this tour is 5 stars & I would love to see these guides again! Please don’t hesitate to request for them. I will definitely recommend Odynovo to my friends & family.

January 23, 2019

Tom Zhou was very helpful with putting an itinerary together for us when looking to travel to China and responded quickly to my queries. Thank you

November 7, 2018

This group did a great job of arranging all of our ideas into a workable trip to Mainland China. The host guides were terrific, thoughtful and well versed in the history and culture of the country and cities we visited. Hats off to Dina in Beijing, Susan in Xian, and Blake in Shanghai. It was the trip of a lifetime for us thanks to the guides and all travel arrangements for the 7 of us! If you want someone else to focus on the travel details....this company is the "Alleppey."

How Private Tour Works

Accommodation
Enjoy a comfortable stay at competitive rates and with the insider bonus of our partnership with international hotel chains and local ones. Most of the options are recommended based on our field inspections to ensure quality. Kindly note that hospitality service in remote areas cannot usually maintain the same standard as those in the city.

Meals
Meals provided will be clearly outlined in the confirmed itinerary. In most cases, breakfast is served in hotel. To make the trip go smoothly, lunch is recommended to be included for set menu or a la carte, local flavor or western style, depending on your liking. Restaurants are selected according to positive feedback with your diet requirements in mind. Dinner is the time when you are free to explore the destination’s hidden delights, but we are always happy to give recommendation or offer assistance. In remote areas, meals are likely to be arranged in tourist restaurant or a local family due to limited options.

Tour Guide & Transfer
Every tour comes with English-speaking guides (or other languages on request) and private transfers in each city. The licensed, professional tour guides are local and will be a friendly, knowledgeable company to travel with. When it comes to your personal driver or chauffeur guide, they are experienced and service-minded, all driving well-maintained, air-conditioned vehicles.