My first spreadsheet for Asia! It’s a China Travel spreadsheet to scratch multiple itches. We’ve got cities, history, wildlife, movie set inspirations, hiking, boat rides – ohhhhh my, literally something for everyone.
I actually created this trip about ten years ago. I had it in my mind that I could do China relatively cheaply – which I still think is true but with a few adjustments to the itinerary I’ve laid out here. Internal flights are relatively inexpensive as there are bullet train options as well.
This travel itinerary is going to hit some key China highlights but with a couple of added extras to keep things interesting. Now, there is only a two week itinerary provided so we can’t add everything. The best thing about China is that you could spend months and months there. If you planned your next trip, you could end up having a totally different trip to your first.
It should be noted that at the moment due to (I really don’t want to say the dreaded C-Word) the recent global situation, travel is limited in China. This might be a trip you want to keep in your back pocket, ready to use once things open up a bit more.
Due to my lack of Mandarin speaking skills and general knowledge regarding China, I’ve opted to do more tours than I normally would. I like to know what I’m looking at, what I’m doing or what I’m eating. Therefore, tours in this instance would be worth the money. Of course, it would be significantly cheaper to do some of the activities alone but what’s the point if you don’t know what you’re doing?
So let’s get started and explore two weeks of China travel.
Day One: Beijing
A pretty simple day, fly into China’s capital, Beijing and head out to try some Chinese food.
Day Two: The Forbidden City
Either take yourself to The Forbidden City or do a Forbidden City walking tour. The walking tour lasts around 4 hours and it will give you a guided tour of the key sites in the palace.
It was the former Imperial Palace and was built between 1406-1420 during the Ming dynasty. That’s right, this palace is now 600 years old. 9999½ rooms make up the city! The reason for the half is because only the God of Heaven could have 10,000 rooms. Not wanting to piss him off, they left at 9999½.
Once we’ve had our fill of Chinese history for the day, we plan to do a food tour to discover local delicacies.
Day Three: The Great Wall of China
Today we’ll be heading for another history stop – The Great Wall of China. You can’t really visit China and not see it right? There are multiple different tours and different parts of the wall you can visit. Some will be more crowded than others. You’ll need to do your research depending on what type of experience you want to have.
One of the most popular options is here:
Day Four: Travel to Xi’an
Take the bullet train (the epitome of China Travel) to Xi’an and do another food tour in the evening. As this is away from the capital city, Beijing, you’ll have different local dishes to try.
Day Five: The Terracotta Warriors
The main reason for visiting Xi’an is to see the Terracotta Warriors. And oh my god I am excited for this. When I lived in Madrid, I went to the Terracotta Warriors traveling exhibition and it was just so incredibly unbelievable, to see the real thing would be a dream come true.
The Terracotta Warriors were built to protect the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, during the afterlife. There are 8000 statues, and it’s believed that only 8 molds were used so that each statue’s facial features are different. Those who were looking to grave rob when it was first built, would see the 8000 individual statues (all armed) and be terrified into believing they were real soldiers.
The funeral for Qin Shi Huang was in 210–209 BCE, so even if you’re not into your history, this is an amazing site to visit. They were also only discovered in 1974 by Chinese farmers so they’d been hiding underground for over 2000 years before they were discovered.
Day Six: Head to Chengdu
After your hit of history, head to Chengdu for a little wildlife.
Once you’ve arrived in the city, spend the afternoon exploring Jinli Pedestrian Street. You’ll find food, street performers, art and souvenir shops. The lanterns lighting up the street make it the perfect place to get your insta-worthy photos.
Day Seven: Panda Volunteering
I think this might be the most exciting part of the trip, or at least the most crazy.
The main reason to visit Chengdu is because of its Giant Panda Research and Breeding centre. You can just come to the centre to see the pandas, or you can be a volunteer for the day.
Volunteering spots are in short supply. There are only 30 spots available so you’ll need to book in advance. If you get a spot, you’ll help staff feed and take care of 40 giant pandas.
You’ll also get lunch included and transfers to and from your accommodation.
Day Eight: UNESCO Giant Buddha Site
I don’t have a lot of just sightseeing elements to this trip. The reason for this is because when I traveled through South East Asia, I visited a lot of temples. A LOT. Eventually, it did almost blur into one. That being said, when they call this a Giant Buddah, it really is giant. So as I’m in Chengdu, why not visit?
Day Nine, Ten, Eleven & Twelve: Zhangjiajie Tour
I think I first heard about Zhangjiajie 10 years ago and I just knew that if I ever visited China, I would go there.
The first day you will get picked up at the airport and transferred to your hotel in Zhangjiajie.
The Second Day:
You will be taken to Tianmen Mountain to experience the 6 wonders of Tianmen Mountain: Tianmen Mt Cable car, Glass Skywalk, Tianmen Temple, Bonsai Garden, Tianmen Cave, Connected-Heaven Avenue.
Personally I’m most looking forward to the Tianmen Cave which is basically a huge hole in the rock face. They’ve built a huge staircase leading up to it was nicknamed the Stairway to heaven.
The Third Day:
In the morning of the third day, you will be taken to the Yuanjiajie Scenic Area and go up the Bailong Elevator which is 326m high. It claims to be the highest and heaviest (not sure why they brag about this) outdoor elevator in the world.
It does take you to the highlight of the trip which is the viewing point for what inspired the Avatar movie: The Hallelujah Mountains. According to a quick google search – there are over 3000 columns that make up the area, some being over a 1000m high which just seems unbelievable.
You’ll have a couple more pit stops through the day before heading back to the hotel.
The Fourth Day:
The fourth and final day of the tour, you’ll spend the morning visiting the Grand Canyon Glass Bridge – the longest and highest glass bridge in the world. China DOES NOT mess around with the “biggest and best” titles that’s for sure.
You’ll be transferred to the airport to get your flight outta there, after a cheeky little boat ride in the valley.
Obviously, you could do all of this on your own if you hired a car. We’ll be tired from hiking and as I can’t read the road signs, I don’t feel comfortable driving myself around in China. Having someone drive us around for these four days is ideal and looking at the price, it doesn’t seem outrageous. There are budget hotel options which also bring the price down too. Check it out:
We’ve opted to fly to Shanghai for the last location of our itinerary.
Day Thirteen: Shanghai – Final stop in your China Travel Experience
For our last day in Shanghai, we plan to play by ear. We have some ideas, but after such a scheduled itinerary, if we want to just chill, we will.
If we’ve still got energy left, we’ll head up the Shanghai Tower to see the views of the city. In the afternoon we’d head to the Yu Garden before heading to the Shanghai Acrobatic Show in the evening.
Day Fourteen: End of your China Travel Experience
Say goodbye to your China Travel experience and head home.
A lot of activities for two weeks. We’ll definitely need a large suitcase for the different outfits needed for this trip.
This is definitely a hit list of all the places I wanted to visit in China. There’s limited time in the cities as it’s not something I’m particularly interested in. I’d rather visit the historical sites and places that make China unique from other countries. Let me know if you would spend more time anywhere in particular!
As always, please find the free China Travel spreadsheet itinerary here:
China Travel – Two Weeks Spreadsheet
Where to next? How about another location steeped in history?
Read my post on Alice Springs and Uluru.