12 Days China Epic Landscape Journey – Shanghai / Zhangjiajie / Chongqing / Guilin

Private airport or railway station pick-up and hotel check-in. Free time to rest and acclimatise, no scheduled sightseeing.

Visit the Bund, the iconic riverside promenade lined with century-old European buildings. Explore Yu Garden, a classical Jiangnan garden with rockeries, winding corridors, lotus ponds and ancient pavilions.

Attraction Highlights

The Bund: Known as the Wall Street of the Orient, it is Shanghai’s most iconic landmark and a renowned “Museum of World Architecture”. Stretching 1.5 kilometres along the Huangpu River, this waterfront avenue gathers 52 grand buildings built in Gothic, Baroque, Neoclassical and Art Deco styles. Once the financial heart of East Asia, these historic structures housed international banks and trading houses in the early 1900s. Standing here, you enjoy a dramatic visual contrast between this timeless heritage waterfront and the futuristic skyscraper skyline of Pudong directly across the river.

Yu Garden: A well-preserved classical Jiangnan garden first constructed in the Ming Dynasty over 450 years ago. Designed following the sophisticated aesthetics of southern Chinese landscape art, it features magnificent artificial rockeries, twisting covered corridors, tranquil lotus ponds, delicate pavilions and dragon walls. The famous Exquisite Jade Rock and Great Rockery are masterpieces of Chinese garden craftsmanship, creating compact, layered scenery that unfolds step by step as you wander through.

Full-day city tour. Take in sweeping views of Pudong’s towering skyscrapers. Wander Tianzifang’s shikumen alleyways filled with art galleries, craft shops and local street culture.

Attraction Highlights

Pudong CBD  Lujiazui: Shanghai’s world-famous financial core district on the east bank of Huangpu River. This modern skyline is crowned by landmark super high-rises including the Oriental Pearl Tower, Jin Mao Tower and Shanghai Tower. These towering skyscrapers form a futuristic urban panorama, symbolising Shanghai’s explosive modern development and global economic status.

Tianzifang: A preserved labyrinth of traditional shikumen residential lanes, tucked in the former French Concession. Unlike many renovated tourist districts, local residents still live within these alleyways. Old brick gate houses are now mixed with art galleries, independent boutiques, craft studios and cosy cafés. It captures the gentle, artistic and nostalgic soul of old Shanghai, far away from the grandeur of downtown financial towers.

Scheduled flight from Shanghai to Zhangjiajie. Private airport transfer upon arrival. Check into a mountain resort surrounded by dense forest.

Full day at Tianmen Mountain. Ride the world’s longest alpine cable car, walk the cliff glass skywalk and see the natural Heaven’s Gate Cave.

Attraction Highlights

 Tianmen Cable Car: The world’s longest alpine sightseeing cable car, stretching over 7.5 kilometres with a 28-minute ride. It carries passengers from the city floor directly up to the mountain summit, gliding over rolling mountain ridges, deep valleys and drifting sea of clouds. On misty days, riders feel as if floating above a boundless fairyland.

Glass Skywalk: A transparent cliff-hanging walkway built on the sheer vertical mountain face. With nothing but glass beneath your feet, you gaze straight down onto the deep valley hundreds of metres below. It delivers an exhilarating, vertiginous hiking experience amid grand mountain scenery.

Heaven’s Gate Cave: A gigantic natural karst arch perforated through the mountain peak, the signature natural icon of Tianmen Mountain. 999 stone steps lead up toward this enormous cave opening. Local legends regard it as a gateway connecting the mortal world and heaven, and it often vanishes partially inside swirling mountain mist.

Visit Yuanjiajie, the Avatar mountain site with huge stone pillars. Hike along Golden Whip Stream with crystal-clear water and lush forest.

Attraction Highlights

Yuanjiajie: Step foot into the real-life Pandora from the blockbuster movie Avatar. This spectacular zone is famous for countless sheer vertical quartz sandstone monoliths that rise abruptly from the forest floor. The iconic Hallelujah Mountain stands as the most photographed peak here. The whole area is wrapped by primeval forest, creating a surreal alien mountain landscape unmatched anywhere else.

Golden Whip Stream: The most beloved valley hiking trail inside Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. The crystal-clear mountain stream winds through a deep green canyon, shaded by dense ancient trees. The famous Golden Whip Rock rises beside the water, glowing golden under sunlight. Gentle walking paths follow the water, offering peaceful, cool forest scenery and frequent sightings of wild macaques.

High-speed train ride from Zhangjiajie to Chongqing. Private transfer to downtown hotel to experience the unique mountain city terrain.

Explore Jiefangbei CBD and Shibati Old Street. Enjoy the famous layered stilt-house night scenery at Hongyadong.

Attraction Highlights

 Jiefangbei CBD: Chongqing’s historic city centre and landmark business district. Centered on the Liberation Monument, this bustling pedestrian zone blends century-old history with modern commercial vitality. It remains the cultural and commercial heart of the mountain city, packed with shopping malls, restaurants and local street food stalls.

Shibati Old Street: An ancient stone-step street faithfully recreating the original architecture and lifestyle of old Chongqing. Built along steep mountain slopes, tiered stone steps connect upper and lower neighbourhoods. Wooden facades, old teahouses and traditional handicraft shops showcase authentic mountain town charm before modern urbanisation.

Hongyadong: A multi-layered cliff stilt-house complex clinging to the steep hillside above the Jialing River. When night falls, thousands of warm golden lights illuminate the stacked wooden structures. This dreamlike stereoscopic landscape looks like a fantasy castle, and it is one of the most photographed night landmarks across China.

Luxury cruise on Yangtze and Jialing Rivers to view the city neon skyline. Leisurely stroll to experience local street life and food culture.

Attraction Highlights

Yangtze & Jialing River Cruise: Board the cruise vessel sailing toward the confluence point of the two great rivers. You will watch the whole 8D mountain city unfold from the water. Neon-lit skyscrapers, grand cross-river bridges and tiered hillside buildings create a dramatic layered night panorama, showing the unique riverside charm of Chongqing. Local City Stroll: Wander through lively neighbourhood streets to taste authentic Chongqing cuisine, such as hotpot and local snacks. Feel the laid-back yet energetic daily rhythm of local residents, listening to the distinctive local dialect and soaking in the genuine street atmosphere of this mountain metropolis.

High-speed train southbound to Guilin. Private transfer and check-in at landscape hotel amid quiet karst countryside.

Full-day Li River cruise past green karst peaks. Stop at Yellow Cloth Shoal, the view featured on China’s 20-yuan banknote.

Attraction Highlights

Li River Cruise: The world-famous classic karst river journey. Your boat drifts smoothly on mirror-like emerald water, passing hundreds of cone-shaped green limestone peaks, bamboo groves, quiet fishing villages and water buffalo grazing along riverbanks. This landscape is the living inspiration for traditional Chinese ink wash paintings. Yellow Cloth Shoal: The exact scene printed on China’s 20 RMB banknote, the most iconic viewpoint of the Li River. Gentle reflections of karst peaks mirror perfectly on calm river surface, forming a timeless pastoral scene that draws photographers from all over the globe.

Roam Yangshuo’s idyllic pastoral corridor before your private transfer for departure, concluding this grand landscape journey.