Where our China tours actually go
Ten hubs, and every one of our eight routes is assembled from them. Each page explains what the place is actually like, what is worth your time, the trip facts that matter — best months, altitude, how to get there — and which routes include it.
Beijing
The imperial capital: Forbidden City, the Great Wall and the hutongs.
Explore Beijing →
Xi'an
Terracotta Army, the Ming city wall and the Silk Road’s eastern gate.
Explore Xi'an →
Chengdu
Pandas, teahouses and the most relaxed big city in China.
Explore Chengdu →
Chongqing
The mountain megacity: monorails through buildings and neon on the river.
Explore Chongqing →
Guilin & Yangshuo
Karst peaks, the Li River and bamboo rafts on the Yulong.
Explore Guilin →
Zhangjiajie & Fenghuang
The Avatar mountains and a riverside town of stilt houses.
Explore Zhangjiajie →
Shanghai
The Bund, Shikumen lanes and the skyline that ends most China itineraries.
Explore Shanghai →
Yunnan: Kunming, Dali & Lijiang
Snow mountains, Erhai lake roads and the last living pictographs.
Explore Yunnan: Kunming, Dali →
Harbin
Ice and snow: Ice World, Sun Island and a Russian-built old town.
Explore Harbin →
Guangzhou
Southern gateway: Cantonese food, Shamian Island and the Pearl River.
Explore Guangzhou →Common questions
How many destinations do you cover?
Can you combine several destinations?
Do you cover Tibet, Xinjiang or Inner Mongolia?
Not sure which combination works?
Tell us the two or three places that matter most and how long you have. We will tell you honestly what fits and what does not.
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Dunhuang
Mogao Caves, Singing Sand Dunes and the best night of the Silk Road.
Explore Dunhuang →
Hangzhou
West Lake, the Longjing tea hills and the easiest add-on from Shanghai.
Explore Hangzhou →
Suzhou
Classical gardens and canals, 25 minutes from Shanghai.
Explore Suzhou →How to choose between them
Most first trips mix one imperial city, one landscape and one modern city. Beijing and Xi'an carry the history; Guilin, Zhangjiajie and Yunnan carry the scenery; Shanghai and Guangzhou are where you land and leave. Chongqing sits in the middle of the map and works as a hinge between the Yangtze and the south-west.
Two regions per week is comfortable. Three works when the internal legs are high-speed rail under four hours — Beijing to Xi'an is 4.5 hours, Xi'an to Luoyang is 1.5, Guilin to Guangzhou is 2.5. Anything that needs a flight costs you half a day, which is why we count flights as a day rather than a leg.
What each region is actually for
- Beijing — the one city that is not optional on a first trip. Three nights minimum, four if you want the wall without a 6am start.
- Xi'an — two nights: the Terracotta Army takes a morning, the city wall takes an evening.
- Chengdu — pandas at opening, then the most relaxed big city in China. Two nights is right.
- Guilin & Yangshuo — three nights, one of them in Yangshuo rather than Guilin.
- Zhangjiajie — two to three nights; the park alone is two days.
- Yunnan — a week or nothing. Kunming, Dali and Lijiang in four days is a coach tour.
- Shanghai — two to three nights, or one day trip from Suzhou/Hangzhou.
- Chongqing — one or two nights, usually as the start or end of a Yangtze cruise.
- Harbin — winter only, and only if you want the ice festival.
- Guangzhou — a gateway with the best food in the country; one night plus a Cantonese dinner.
Why book this with us rather than a reseller
Licensed operator
Aba Prefecture Kalong Travel Service Co., Ltd. holds its own Chinese travel licence. The company you email is the company that holds the hotel contracts, the guides and the vehicles.
100% no shopping
No shopping stops, no commission for guides or drivers — written into the contract, not promised in a brochure.
Own fleet, 5–52 seats
No group sharing and no subcontracted minivan turning up in place of the car you booked.
Reply within 24 hours
Every enquiry gets a written itinerary and a line-by-line price inside one working day, with a named contact on the ground.
Questions people ask before choosing
How many regions should a first trip cover?
Two, or three if the internal legs are high-speed rail. Four in a week means you remember the airports.
Which region is easiest for a family?
Beijing plus Chengdu: pandas, the wall, and short internal flights. Yunnan is beautiful but the drives are long.
Can we visit a region without a tour?
Yes for Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai and Chengdu. Yunnan, Zhangjiajie and Xinjiang are where a driver genuinely saves the trip.
When should we avoid a region?
Chongqing and the Yangtze in July–August (heat), Harbin outside December–February (no ice festival), Zhangjiajie on Golden Week (queues).
Do you cover all ten?
Yes — every region below appears in at least one of our eight routes, and all ten can be combined.