How many days in Shanghai, Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu, Chongqing and Hangzhou?

Plan about 3 days in Shanghai, 3 to 4 in Beijing, 2 to 3 in Xi'an, 3 in Chengdu, 2 to 3 in Chongqing and 2 in Hangzhou. These are our own arrangements of area clusters, visit times, closed days and booking windows, not tested itineraries (8).

How many days in Shanghai?

Three full days covers the main clusters (1 · 8). Day one is the Bund, Nanjing Road and Yuyuan Garden, which is closed Mondays (The Bund · Nanjing Road · Yuyuan Garden). Day two is a lane district such as Xintiandi and Tianzifang, then Top of Shanghai about 45 minutes before sunset (Xintiandi · Tianzifang · Top of Shanghai). Day three is a museum: Shanghai Museum East, closed Tuesdays, where general entry is free, or the People's Square building, closed Mondays and showing until 14 November 2027 a single ticketed exhibition, The World Tree: Ancient Civilizations of the Americas (¥148 adult) (Museum East · Shanghai Museum). Two days works without the museum. A fourth adds a water town such as Zhujiajiao, the West Bund museums (all four closed Mondays) or Disneyland, which the site suggests skipping if you have only two or three days (Zhujiajiao · Power Station of Art · Disneyland). Lonely Planet's itinerary is also three days (20).

Photo: A quiet tree-lined street with low grey-and-red brick terrace houses and red umbrellas. Plane trees and restored grey-brick shikumen houses along Xingye Road in the Xintiandi block. (Xintiandi) Credit: N509FZ · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons.

On the map: Yuyuan Garden, Yuyuan Bazaar, The Bund, Nanjing Road, Top of Shanghai, Xintiandi, Tianzifang. Open the Shanghai map.

How many days in Beijing?

Three days covers the Palace Museum, a Great Wall day and one more cluster; four adds a second (2 · 8). Day one is Tiananmen Square, the Palace Museum (3 to 5 hours; tickets open 20:00 seven days ahead) and Jingshan Park. Tiananmen Square needs its own free reservation, 1 to 7 days ahead, with no same-day booking (Tiananmen Sq.); day two is Mutianyu, a full day, with tickets up to 30 days ahead (Tiananmen Sq. · Forbidden City · Jingshan Park · Mutianyu). After that, pick lakes and hutongs, the Summer Palace, or the Temple of Heaven with Qianmen Street (Summer Palace · Temple of Heaven · Qianmen Street). First Trip China calls four days the sweet spot (22).

Photo: The Forbidden City seen from Jingshan Park. (Jingshan Park) Credit: Tojan76 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons.

A short film of the brick miniatures on our Beijing map (not to scale); explore them on the Beijing page.

On a Monday, head for the Great Wall or the hutongs. The Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace parks stay open, but the Hall of Prayer and the Summer Palace's inner sites close, as do the Drum Tower's exhibition hall and Jingshan's Shouhuang Hall (Temple of Heaven · Summer Palace · Bell & Drum Towers · Jingshan Park).

Weekly closing days:

How many days in Xi'an?

Two full days covers the Terracotta Army and the old city; three adds the museums, and a fourth is slack in our data (3 · 8). Spend day one on the Terracotta Army (3 to 4 hours, timed online ticket) and the City Wall and Muslim Quarter in the evening; day two on the Shaanxi History Museum in a booked morning slot, the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda and Ever-bright City after dark (Terracotta Army · City Wall · Muslim Quarter · Shaanxi History · Wild Goose Pagoda · Everbright City). The museum is open Mondays until 14 November 2026, and slots release at 17:00 five days ahead (Shaanxi History). The Terracotta trip is about 105 minutes from the Bell Tower on the site's editorial allowance, while seat61 says 40 to 45 minutes by bus from the main station; the starting points differ, so we have not reconciled them (16). China Highlights says 2 to 3 days is enough (24).

Photo: Grilled squid and iron-plate tofu stalls in the Muslim Quarter, May 2018 (Muslim Quarter) Credit: Alexey Komarov · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons.

How many days in Chengdu?

Plan three days: two in the city and one trip out (4 · 8). Day one is the Panda Base at opening (real-name slot up to 14 days ahead; Panda Villa No. 6 is closed Mondays) with People's Park and Kuanzhai Alley; day two is Wuhou Shrine, Jinli and Du Fu Thatched Cottage (Panda Base · People’s Park · Kuanzhai Alley · Wuhou Shrine · Jinli · Du Fu Cottage). For the trip out choose Leshan (day tickets sold out on 2 and 4 October 2026), Dujiangyan, or Sanxingdui, which is booked 5 days ahead at 20:00 (Leshan Buddha · Dujiangyan · Sanxingdui). Jinsha is closed until 30 April 2027 (Jinsha Museum). WaysChina also suggests two days in the city and one out (25), and Chongqing is about an hour away by train (13).

Photo: A giant panda lying on its back asleep on a wooden log platform in front of a rock wall at Chengdu Panda Base. A giant panda sleeping on its back on a log platform, one paw raised. (Panda Base) Credit: MspreilsCN · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons.

When tickets open, counted back from your visit (China time):

How many days in Chongqing?

Two days cover the city; a third adds the Three Gorges Museum (26 · 8). One day is the west side: Ciqikou on a weekday morning, Liziba Monorail Station and Eling No. 2 Factory. The other is the peninsula: the cableway after its 08:00 opening, Shancheng Alley, the Raffles City deck before sunset and Hongyadong at dusk (Ciqikou · Liziba · Eling Erchang · Yangtze Cableway · Shancheng Alley · Raffles City · Hongyadong). None of our 10 places needs advance booking. The cableway sells on the day and, per a local news site, up to two days ahead, and it closes about one weekday a month for maintenance (Yangtze Cableway). The museum is closed Mondays and entry stops at 16:00 (Three Gorges Museum). Pack for rain: October averages 11.5 rain days (26). WaysChina also says two full days (32).

Photo: Hongyadong glowing across the Jialing River, with the red-lit Qiansimen Bridge at left. (Hongyadong) Credit: Renek78 · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons.

How many days in Hangzhou?

Two full days cover West Lake and the Lingyin and tea hills; a third adds Xixi and the Grand Canal (36 · 8). One day is the lake: Yue Fei Temple, the Zhejiang Provincial Museum, Leifeng Pagoda and Hefang Street; the other is Lingyin Temple in an early booked slot, Longjing Tea Village and the China National Tea Museum (Yue Fei Temple · Zhejiang Museum · Leifeng Pagoda · Hefang Street · Lingyin Temple · Longjing Village · Tea Museum). Lingyin slots are free and open 7 days ahead at 08:00, with no same-day booking; passport holders book the museum online first, and it is closed Mondays, while the Tea Museum is closed Tuesdays (Lingyin Temple · Zhejiang Museum · Tea Museum). Leifeng Pagoda's online tickets need a Chinese ID, so passport holders buy at the ticket office, according to a local guide first published in 2020 and one January 2026 visitor; the operator does not say (Leifeng Pagoda). Hangzhou East is about 45 minutes from Shanghai Hongqiao, so one day is possible (13). WaysChina says two days and Faroway three if you can (37 · 38).

Photo: Bai Causeway meeting Broken Bridge on West Lake’s north-east shore, with Baochu Pagoda on the hill at left. (West Lake) Credit: Shujianyang · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons.

Try it on the site: open the Hangzhou map and tap any building for its booking rule, closed days and the way in.

*Hours, closed days and booking windows were checked on the dates shown on each place page, mostly 2026-10-06, and change (5). For routes that link these cities, read First trip to China.*

Sources

Numbers in brackets point to these sources; place names point to our place pages, which carry their own sources and check dates. Published 2026-10-09. Checked 2026-10-09.

Cover picture: A hand lifts a calendar leaf painted with a Shanghai scene above two stacks of city day pages, in a warm picture-book illustration.