Destinations: Bullet Trains, Warriors & Pandas, Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu
China's high-speed rail network is the largest on earth - and riding it is an experience travellers remember as vividly as the Terracotta Warriors. This journey makes the bullet train a star of the trip, not just a way to get around. You begin in Beijing, walking the courtyards of the Forbidden City and hiking the most beautiful stretch of the Great Wall. Then, instead of flying, you board a high-speed train that glides across the North China Plain at up to 350 km/h to Xi'an, where the Terracotta Army stands guard over a 2,200-year-old tomb. Your second train journey crosses the Qinling Mountains - the great divide between northern and southern China - through more than a hundred tunnels and bridges, descending into the bamboo-green world of Chengdu. There, giant pandas breakfast beside you at 7:30 in the morning. Along the way you taste the three cuisines travellers love most: Peking duck, Xi'an noodles and Sichuan hotpot. Three icons, two unforgettable train rides, one seamless journey.
The bullet train experience. Every transfer in this tour is a high-speed rail ride aboard China's Fuxing or Hexie trains: smooth, punctual and remarkably comfortable, with wide reclining seats, plenty of legroom, free Wi-Fi and a dining car serving snacks and hot meals. Beijing Xi'an South, Xi'an North and Chengdu East stations are modern hubs with clear English signage, and the trains themselves are among the few places in the world where you can sip tea at 350 km/h. First-class and business-class upgrades are available, and our guides accompany you every step of the way - through security, boarding and onward connections - so the experience feels effortless.
Best season: April–May and September–October.
Good to know: Terracotta Warriors and Shaanxi History Museum tickets should be booked 3–7 days ahead; weekdays are best for the panda base.
Day 1 - Arrival in Beijing. After your airport transfer and hotel check-in, enjoy a relaxed evening orientation at Tiananmen Square and the lively Qianmen pedestrian street, where the lights of the old gate towers frame your first evening in China.
Day 2 - The Forbidden City & Hutongs. Spend the morning exploring the Forbidden City, including the Treasure Gallery and Clock & Watch Gallery, then climb Jingshan Park for the classic panoramic view over the golden palace roofs. In the afternoon, take a rickshaw tour through the hutong lanes of Shichahai and step inside a traditional siheyuan courtyard home.
Day 3 - The Great Wall & Temple of Heaven. Drive to Mutianyu - the most scenic and least crowded section of the Great Wall - and take the cable car up, then walk the ramparts as the wall climbs over the mountains. In the afternoon, visit the Temple of Heaven, where locals practise tai chi beneath the blue-tiled halls.
Day 4 - Beijing to Xi'an: Your First Bullet Train. Walk through the grand hall of Beijing West station, then board a G-series high-speed train. Settle into your reclining seat, order tea from the dining car, and watch the North China Plain stream past at up to 350 km/h — the world's fastest regular rail service. In the afternoon, hire a bike and ride the Ming dynasty city wall, then explore the Muslim Quarter for dinner, tasting yangrou paomo, roujiamo and biangbiang noodles in the streets where merchants have traded for a thousand years.
Day 5 - The Terracotta Warriors. Spend the day at the Terracotta Warriors, including the Bronze Chariots exhibition, with a professional English-speaking guide bringing the tomb of the first emperor to life. An optional clay warrior-making workshop lets you create your own souvenir. In the evening, visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the dazzling nightscape of the Grand Tang Mall.
Day 6 - Xi'an to Chengdu: Through the Qinling Mountains. Start at the Shaanxi History Museum, home of the famous Hejiacun gold and silver hoard and exquisite Tang murals (advance booking required). Then board your second bullet train — one of the most dramatic rail journeys in the world. The line crosses the Qinling Mountains, the natural boundary between northern and southern China, diving through hundreds of tunnels and soaring over deep gorges before emerging into Sichuan's green plains. Arrive in Chengdu and end the day with a stroll through Kuanzhai Alley.
Day 7 - Giant Pandas & Sichuan Opera. Arrive early at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Base - 7:30 to 9:00 is feeding time, when the pandas are most active. In the afternoon, choose the 2,200-year-old Dujiangyan Irrigation System or the atmospheric Jinli old street. In the evening, enjoy a Sichuan opera with its legendary face-changing performance, followed by a proper hotpot dinner.
Day 8 - Departure from Chengdu. If time allows, spend the morning at People's Park, drinking tea and watching mahjong players the way Chengdu residents have for generations, before your departure transfer.
