Destinations: Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou
China's bullet trains connect this route's three moods - grandeur, energy and tranquillity - and riding them is half the adventure. You begin in Beijing among imperial palaces, hutong courtyards and the Great Wall: the China of history books. Then you board the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed line, the busiest and most celebrated rail route in the country, and glide 1,318 kilometres to Shanghai, where the Bund's century-old banks face the most futuristic skyline on earth. A short final hop - barely an hour of tea and countryside views - delivers you to Hangzhou, where you drift across West Lake beneath misty hills and taste Longjing tea in the very villages where it is grown. Palaces, skyscrapers, lakeside tea: three Chinas, three bullet-train rides, one effortless week.
The bullet train experience. Both rail legs run on China's flagship high-speed lines, aboard smooth, punctual Fuxing or Hexie trains. The Beijing–Shanghai route is the world's busiest high-speed rail line and a source of national pride; the Shanghai–Hangzhou leg is a short, scenic dash across the water towns of Jiangnan. Every station we use - Beijing South, Shanghai Hongqiao, Hangzhou East - is vast, modern and clearly signed in English, and our guides handle your tickets, security and connections from door to door. Seat upgrades to first or business class are available if you want the full experience.
Best season: March–May and September–November.
Good to know: book the Shanghai Tower for a clear late afternoon; allow at least half a day plus a boat ride for West Lake; weekends are busy at Lingyin Temple and the tea villages.
Day 1 - Arrival in Beijing. After your transfer and check-in, ease into the city with an evening visit to the Temple of Heaven or a first walk along Qianmen street, where the illuminated gate tower welcomes you to the capital.
Day 2 - The Forbidden City & Old Beijing. Explore the Forbidden City in the morning, from the great halls of state to the intimate Imperial Garden, then climb Jingshan Park for the rooftop panorama. In the afternoon, wander the hutong lanes of Nanluoguxiang and pause for tea inside a traditional courtyard home.
Day 3 - The Great Wall, Summer Palace & Peking Duck. Hike the ramparts of the Mutianyu Great Wall (cable car up, guided walk along the restored sections). In the afternoon, take a boat ride across Kunming Lake at the Summer Palace, past the Seventeen-Arch Bridge. End the day with the ritual of a Peking duck dinner.
Day 4 - Beijing to Shanghai: The Great Rail Journey. Board a G-series bullet train at Beijing South station and settle in for the ride of the trip: 1,318 kilometres in under five hours, across the North China Plain, past rivers, farms and gleaming new cities. Watch the speedometer tick past 300 km/h and order lunch from the dining car. In the afternoon, walk the Bund and gaze across the Huangpu River at the Lujiazui skyline — the Shanghai Tower, the Oriental Pearl and the world's tallest cluster of supertalls. Visit the classic Yu Garden and City God Temple quarter, then end the day with a night cruise on the illuminated river.
Day 5 - Modern Shanghai. Rise to the top of the Shanghai Tower (632 metres) for a bird's-eye view of the city, or choose the Shanghai Museum's superb bronzes and calligraphy instead. In the afternoon, wander the artsy lanes of Tianzifang and the shikumen townhouses of Xintiandi, before a final evening on bustling Nanjing Road.
Day 6 - Shanghai to Hangzhou: West Lake. Take the morning bullet train from Shanghai Hongqiao — barely an hour through the water towns of Jiangnan — and arrive in Hangzhou in time for lunch. In the afternoon, board a boat on West Lake, drifting past Three Pools Mirroring the Moon and along the willow-lined Su Causeway, with Leifeng Pagoda on the far shore. In the evening, explore the flavours of Hefang Street's night market.
Day 7 - Hangzhou: Temples & Tea Villages. In the morning, choose between the ancient serenity of Lingyin Temple with its cliff-carved Feilai Peak, or a hands-on visit to a Longjing tea village — picking tea leaves, learning the craft and tasting Dragon Well tea straight from the source. Then transfer to Hangzhou airport or the rail back to Shanghai for your onward journey.
