12 days: Beijing, Xi’an, Guilin and Shanghai

Four regions in twelve days is the most you can do before the trip turns into a transfer schedule — and only because one internal flight does the heavy lifting.

The skeleton

Beijing (3) → Xi’an (2, by high-speed rail) → Guilin & Yangshuo (3, by flight) → Shanghai (3, by flight) → home. Two flights and one train; everything else is a road transfer under two hours.

Why this combination works

It gives you the three things people come to China for — imperial history, karst landscape, modern city — with only two flights. The rail leg (Beijing–Xi’an, 4.5 h) replaces what would otherwise be a third flight and half a day of airport.

Where the days are tight

• Xi’an in two nights is the minimum: one afternoon for the wall, one morning for the army.
• Guilin to Yangshuo — stay in Yangshuo, not Guilin. The Li River cruise ends there anyway.
• Shanghai day 9 is a travel day; do not schedule the Bund for the afternoon you land.

What to cut if you lose two days

Drop the Suzhou day trip and one Yangshuo night. That gives you 10 days and still four regions — which is exactly the 10-day plan. Go the other way and add Zhangjiajie for 14.

Season and cost

April–May and September–October are the right months for this route: Guilin needs green, Beijing needs clear skies, and both happen in the same window. July–August brings heat, humidity and the heaviest domestic crowds.

Cost drivers are the same four as always: month, group size, hotel category, and internal flights. Two flights make this route more date-sensitive than a rail-only itinerary.