China Tour from Perth

Today you need to find your own way to the airport. Direct flight is not available from Perth to Beijing, so you need to make a connection in Guangzhou. The whole flight will take about 13 hours. 

When your flight arrives at Beijing Capital Airport, you can take the shuttle bus or taxi to check in a hotel in downtown area. We suggest you the 3-star King Parkview Hotel located at Shatan Back Street, which is quite near the Forbidden City and Jingshan Park. Please take a taxi to the hotel directly, and it would cost you about CNY100. Remember to ask for the receipt and keep a record of the license plate number if necessary. Check into the hotel and have a good rest. 

If time permits, you may walk to the Jingshan Park to have a bird's eye view of the Forbidden City in the twilight. You can walk westwards for 200 yards to the Jingshan East Road and enter the park from the East Gate. 

Accommodation Suggestion: King Parkview Hotel

Since you had a glimpse of the full view of the Forbidden City yesterday, today you can make a further exploration inside the grand imperial palace and the nearby attractions. After breakfast, please take a taxi at a cost of CNY20 to Tiananmen Square. Around the square, you can see National Theater, People's Assembly Hall and the Memorial Hall of Chairman Mao. 

Afterwards, go across the road and walk through the Tiananmen Tower to the Meridian Gate, the entrance of the Forbidden City. As the palace is very large, we suggest you buy a map or rent an audio guide at the entrance. Most highlights of the palace are along the central axis and two hours is enough to cover them. 

When getting out of the palace from the Gate of Divine Prowess, you can have lunch at one of the restaurants in Jingshan West Street. Then take a taxi to the Capital Museum, and that may cost you about CNY25. The museum opens to the public for free, but you need to make a reservation on its official website or by calling the phone number (+86) 10 63393339. The reservation can be made at least one day and at most seven days in advance.

We suggest you visit one of the must-see attractions in Beijing, the Great Wall today, and we recommend the Mutianyu section where the wall is well-preserved and not as crowded as other hot sections. Take a taxi with a fare of CNY20 from the hotel to Dongzhimen Bus Station, where you can take bus No. 916 Express to Huairou North Street. Then hire a car to the Great Wall at a cost of around CNY50. However, you can also carpool with other tourists as you can easily find companions who have the same destination with you. As the food in local restaurants near Mutianyu may be not to your taste, you can take some fast food with you, or have lunch in the SUBWAY restaurant near the wall. Please note that the last bus returns from Huairou to downtown at 19:00. Upon arrival at Dongzhimen, hire a taxi to go back to your hotel.

This morning, you are scheduled to take a high-speed train to Xian. We would suggest the train departing around 9:00 and reaching Xian at 15:00. So please check out of the hotel after breakfast. Usually the train tickets are in great demand during travel peak seasons, so you'd better book the tickets in advance. You can use our China train schedule & tickets booking service, which is a great help for independent travelers.

You can take a taxi from the hotel to the Beijing West Railway Station, which may cost you CNY40 and takes about 40 minutes. Usually, you are supposed to reach the train station about 1.5 hours before the train's departure time. After 5.5 hours' train ride, you will reach Xian North Railway Station. Upon arrival, please use taxi or subway to get to your hotel in downtown area. The 3-star Skytel Hotel Xian is highly recommended, which is centrally located at South Street, 5 minutes walking distance to the Bell Tower. Please take the subway line 2 from the North Railway Station to Bell Tower Station. Take the Exit C and walk south straight along the South Street for 900 yards, you will find the hotel on your right side. Check in and have a good rest, or you can just walk around to get familiar with the surroundings, such as bus stops, subway stations, and streets.

Accommodation Suggestion: Skytel Hotel Xian

We suggest that you make the City Wall your first destination as it is one of Xian's landmarks and highly recommend by nearly every China tour operator. From your hotel, you can walk southwards straight along the South Street for 350 yards, you will get to the South Gate, one of the entrance to climb up the wall. The ticketing office is inside the City Wall, you can find it by signposts. The City Wall has a total length of 8.5 miles, and you can take a leisure stroll to enjoy a part of it. Alternatively, you can also rent a bicycle and ride for an entire circle, which may take 1.5 hours. After descending the City Wall from the South Gate, you can drop by the Ancient Shuyuanmen Cultural Street at the foot of the South Gate. For today's lunch, you may have a taste of the Xian cold noodles and Chinese hamburger in a nearby restaurant. After a short rest, you can take the bus No.46 inside the South Gate to Xiaoyanta. Walk across the street and visit the Small Wild Goose Pagoda and the Xian Museum. If hard to find the bus stop, just take a taxi directly and the fare is about CNY10. After the visit, you can still board the bus No.46 in front of the North Gate of Small Wild Goose Pagoda to South Gate. And then walk north for another 250 yards, you will return to the hotel.

Our suggestion for today is to visit the “world eighth wonder”, the Terracotta Army Museum, and the Banpo Museum on the way back. Please walk south along the South Street to the South Gate, cross the street and go through the City Wall gate. Take the bus No. 603 from South Gate bus stop to the Xian Railway Station. Walk to the east square in front of the station hall to take the tourist special bus No. 5, to the last stop, Terracotta Army Museum. The bus ride is about 1 hour, and the fare is CNY7 per person. The approximate visiting time in the museum is 3 hours. As the food in local restaurants is of low quality, you can have lunch in the fast-food restaurants near the parking lot, such as KFC and SUBWAY. Take bus No.307 from the museum and get off at Banpo Public Transit Hub; walk backwards for 120 yards and turn south to go along Banpo Road for 300 yards, you will find the Banpo Museum on your left. There, you can have a glimpse of the Chinese civilization during the primitive society. After that, take a taxi from the museum to your hotel at a cost of CNY25.

Today you will take a plane to Lijiang, Yunnan, so just check out of the hotel and take a taxi to the Xianyang International Airport directly. It may take about 60 minutes and cost CNY 120 around. Then board the flight to Lijiang.

On arrival in Lijiang, please check into a local hotel. The 3-star Sanhe Inn is recommended, which is located just right in the Lijiang Old Town and near the famous Square Street. You can take a direct taxi to the hotel, and the fare is about CNY80 - 100. You can buy a map and visit the Lijiang Old Town in the afternoon, and you should not miss the famous Square Street, where a lot of restaurants and bars are clustered. You can have your dinner and enjoy a memorable night there.

Accommodation Suggestion: Sanhe Inn

Today, you will take the overnight soft sleeper train to Kunming, so you can still seize the opportunity to explore more attractions, such as the Shuhe Ancient Town, Mu's Residence, Wuyi Street and Qiyi Street. Check out and deposit your luggage at the reception desk of the hotel. Then you can continue your Lijiang Kunming Guilin tour itinerary. We suggest you take a taxi to visit the Shuhe Old Town in the morning, and the four miles' taxi ride may cost you CNY20. After three hours' sightseeing, take a taxi back to the Lijiang Old Town and head for the Mu's Residence, Wuyi Street and Qiyi Street. For today's lunch, you can try local dishes. There are many nice local restaurants on the Wuyi Street. If Chinese food is not to your taste, you can also find featuring western food restaurants. Fast-food chains, such as KFC, McDonald and Pizza Hut are also available. At the north entrance of the Old Town, you can take the bus No.4 from Guchengkou to Lijiang Railway Station directly. The travel time is about 40 minutes. If taking a taxi, the fare would be CNY40. You are suggested to reach the train station about 1.5 hours before the train's departure time.

Accommodation: Overnight soft sleeper train

Upon arrival in Kunming, you are suggested to live in the 3-star Jinjiang Hotel - B Tower, which is located on the Beijing Road, only 500 yards north of the railway station. You can walk along the Beijing Road for 5-8 minutes, and then you will see the hotel. As it is too early for hotel check-in, you can leave your bags at the front desk. If you are interested, you can have a taste of the local specialty - rice noodles in a nearby restaurant.

Then take a taxi with a fee of CNY30 to the East Bus Station, where you can take the special bus to the Stone Forest. The bus ride is about 2 hours. Recommended visiting time in the Stone Forest is 3 hours. We suggest you take some fast food or snacks as the local food may be not to your taste. Reverse the trip for the way back.

Accommodation Suggestion: Jinjiang Hotel - B Tower

In the morning, you can explore the city on your own. In front of the hotel, you can take the bus No. 68 to Huguoqiao stop. Getting off the bus, you will reach the famous Nanping Pedestrian Street. You can have a simple shopping and eat something there. After that, take a taxi back to the hotel at a cost of CY15. In the afternoon, please take the airport shuttle bus in front of your hotel to the Changshui International Airport for the flight to Guilin City. The bus runs at an interval of 20 minutes and the fare is CNY 25 per person.

We suggest you the boutique Ron Inn with tranquil environment and considerate service, located at No. 5 South Ronghu Road. It is about 10 minutes' walking distance to the Li River and the Elephant Trunk Hill Park. Please take a taxi from the airport to the hotel directly, and the fare would be around CNY100.

Accommodation Suggestion: Ron Inn

We suggest you begin today from the essence landscape, the Li River and Yangshuo. After breakfast, please take a taxi to the Guilin Mopanshan Dock to take the cruise to Yangshuo, which may cost you CNY70 and take one hour. The cruise ticket will be purchased on your own. The cruise ship leaves the dock at around 9:00, so you'd better get to the dock before 8:30. The whole cruise tour lasts about 4 - 5 hours. After arriving in Yangshuo, you can spend 2 - 3 hours exploring the old dwellings, the hustling West Street or the nearby countryside scenery.

In the evening, take a battery car to Yangshuo North Bus Station to hop onto a bus back to Guilin Bus Station before 19:00, and then return to your hotel by taxi at a cost of CNY10.

Guilin is famous for the Karst landform, so you should not miss the Reed Flute Cave and Elephant Trunk Hill Park. From the hotel, walk about 250 yards eastwards to Yangqiao bus stop at Middle Zhongshan Road, and then take the bus No. 3 to Ludiyan (Reed Flute Cave) directly. If you take a taxi, it may cost you CNY25 around. Afterwards, take a taxi at a cost of CNY20 to visit the Elephant Trunk Hill Park where you can see a giant stone elephant that formed naturally.

Now your your China tour from Perth draws to a close. As there is no direct flights between Guilin and Perth, you need to make connections in Guangzhou and catch your mid-night flight back to Perth. Please take a taxi to Guilin railway station and catch the high speed train to Guangzhou in 2.5 hours. Upon your arrival, you can take a taxi to Baiyun International Airport in around one hour and at a cost of CNY160. Wish you a pleasant journey home!