7-Day Beijing & Xi'an Highlights Tour by Bullet Train

Your guide meets you at the airport or train station and drives you to the hotel. If you land before 3pm, take a walk around Qianmen Street south of Tiananmen — it's touristy but gives you a first taste of the city scale. Grab roast duck at a local spot your guide recommends (not the overpriced Qianmen branches). Rest up — tomorrow starts early.

Start at Tiananmen Square by 8am — the light is good and crowds haven't peaked. Cross into the Forbidden City through the Meridian Gate. Your guide picks a route that skips the main-axis crush: side halls, the clock gallery, the treasure gallery. Budget 3 hours minimum. Exit north into Jingshan Park for the rooftop view back over the golden roofs.

Afternoon: rickshaw ride through Shichahai hutongs. Visit a courtyard home, chat with the family. Your guide explains the siheyuan layout — main room faces south, side rooms for kids. End at a lakeside bar or teahouse. Evening free for Peking Duck.

Get to Temple of Heaven by 8:30 — locals are doing tai chi, fan dancing, and group singing in the park. The prayer hall is stunning but the real show is the park life around it. Spend 1.5 hours.

Drive 1.5 hours to Mutianyu Great Wall. This section has fewer tour groups than Badaling, proper cable car access, and a toboggan ride down. You'll have 2+ hours on the wall. Walk east toward the unrestored sections for photos without selfie sticks in every frame. On the drive back, pass the Olympic Park to see the Bird's Nest lit up.

Morning at the Summer Palace. Enter through the East Gate, walk the 728-meter Long Corridor (every panel tells a different story), then take a dragon boat across Kunming Lake. The marble boat and Suzhou Street are worth a look. Allow 2.5 hours.

After lunch, your driver takes you to Beijing West Station. Board a G-train to Xi'an North — 4.5 hours, comfortable second-class seats with legroom and power outlets. Watch the landscape shift from North China plains to the Wei River valley. Your Xi'an guide meets you at the station.

Full day highlight. Drive 1 hour east to the Terracotta Warriors Museum. Three excavation pits — Pit 1 is the jaw-dropper (6,000 figures in formation), Pit 3 is the command center, Pit 2 has the best-preserved individual warriors. Your guide explains the production process: each face is unique, originally painted in bright colors.

Afternoon: back to the city center. Walk the Muslim Quarter — skip the main tourist drag (Beiyuanmen) and duck into the side alleys where locals actually eat. Try yangrou paomo (bread-in-lamb-soup, you tear the bread yourself), roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), and pomegranate juice. If you have energy, catch a Qin opera performance at a teahouse.

Rent a bike on the City Wall — the full loop is 14km, takes about 1.5 hours at a relaxed pace. Best light is early morning or late afternoon. The south gate (Yongning Gate) is the most photogenic starting point. You'll see the city from above: modern towers on one side, old rooftops on the other.

Afternoon at Shaanxi History Museum. Free entry but book online 3 days ahead (or your guide handles it). The Tang Dynasty gold and silver collection alone is worth the visit. Don't miss the murals from Tang-era tombs — they show daily life 1,300 years ago in vivid detail.

Evening: walk to Big Wild Goose Pagoda for the fountain show (free, runs at set times). The pagoda itself closes at 6pm but the square around it is lively at night.

If your flight is afternoon or later: morning visit to Small Wild Goose Pagoda. It's quieter than its big sibling, surrounded by a traditional garden. Ring the ancient bell for good luck (¥10). The on-site Xi'an Museum is small but well-curated — good for a final dose of Tang Dynasty culture.

Your guide drives you to Xi'an North Station (for bullet train) or Xianyang Airport. If heading to your next Chinese city by train, we can book tickets at real price — no markup.