How to Plan a Beijing Xian Shanghai Tour 2024/2025

Best Time to Go

Tourists can visit Beijing, Xian and Shanghai all through the year, for their most attractions are indoor spots less affected by the weather. The three destinations all have distinct four seasons. To enjoy the best travel experience, spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November) are the best times to visit Beijing, Xian and Shanghai, because the temperature is pleasant warm in spring, cool in autumn with beautiful natural scenery. Summer is hot and winter is cold, and Beijing and Xian even snows in winter. The best idea is to choose a time fitting your itinerary and the weather condition.

▶ Best Time to Visit Shanghai

Beijing has a humid continental monsoon climate. The spring is short and warm, and sandstorms happen in early spring. Later spring is a good time to witness colorful flower blossoms in city parks and the Great Wall. Summer is hot with rich rainfalls in July and August. Summer Palace and indoor sites are recommended for visiting. Autumn is clear and refreshing, a peal travel season for travelers to Beijing. You can visit all types of sites. Winter is cold and windy. Forbidden City and Great Wall with snowy scenery are popular attractions at this time.

Check more Beijing Weather & Seasons - Best Time to Visit Beijing.

▶ Best Time to Visit Xian

With a warm temperature semihumid continental monsoon climate, Xian has obvious dry and wet seasons. Spring is warm, dry and windy. Summer has high temperature and frequent thunderstorms. Autumn is nice and cool and temperature drops sharply. In Winter, Xian is cold and foggy. Snows occur but don’t last long. You can visit all attractions in Xian anytime you want. Prepare suitable clothes and protection articles if come in summer and winter. Due to geographic reasons, summer in Xian is hotter than Beijing, and its temperature often rises up to above 35℃.

Learn more about Xian Weather & Seasons - Best Time to Visit Xian.

▶ Best Time to Visit Shanghai

Shanghai enjoys a subtropical monsoon climate with rich sunshine and precipitation. Generally, it’s moderate & humid in Shanghai all year, and its annual average temperature is about 15.8℃. But summer and winter is longer than spring and fall. March to May in spring has comfortable temperature and beautiful natural colors in city parks. Summer is acceptable hot with lots of rains (mostly falls during May to September) and possible typhoons. Shanghai in winter is cold and moist.

Read on the Best Time to Visit Shanghai to get detailed seasonal climate features, suitable activities and dressing, packing advice.

Choose a Suitable Itinerary

There is no fixed tour order and travel route. But to ensure you the best-organized itinerary and most time-efficient transfer, China Discovery lists several considerations in the following.

▶ Which City to Start?

Most travelers start their trips to China from Beijing and Shanghai, for they are well-connected with oversea destinations through frequent international flights. Besides, they both own many flights and high speed trains to major destinations in China. So, you can easily get to China and get around China from Beijing and Shanghai. Tourist often get to Xian from Beijing, Shanghai or from other cities, for it offers less international arrival flights. Before deciding where to start your tour, please combine your location and the transportation convenience.

▶ Most Recommended Travel Route

Beijing is located in Northern China, while Xian is in Northwest China and Shanghai lies in China’s east cost. Thinking about the geographic direction and transfer time, Xian is usually visited between Beijing and Shanghai. Thus, the most popular tour orders are Beijng-Xian-Shanghai and Shanghai-Xian-Beijing.

▶ Regular Sightseeing, Family Tour or Other Theme Tour?

China Discovery can customize different themed tour packages for different travelers. If you want regular sightseeing trip, we will take you to the most famous landmarks. If you travel with family, even kids, we also offer a popular tour itinerary with special family-friendly attractions and activities for your family, such as taking rickshaw in Beijing Hutong, making dumplings with a local family, enjoying trilling rides in Shanghai Disneyland.

We can also arrange other theme activities for your golden triangle cities tour, like Great Wall hiking, biking, photography, local cultural learning, etc. You can choose the most interested type from our China Travel by Theme or tell our travel consultant your own ideas and requirements to design a special one. We will try our best to satisfy your needs and create a memorable trip for you.

Choose Accommodations in Beijing, Xian & Shanghai

After arriving in Beijing, Xian and Shanghai, tourists regularly get from the airport or train station to your hotel to check in and have a rest first. So the next step is to find a hotel meeting your needs and budget.

Since Beijing, Xian and Shanghai are top tourist destinations in China, they all provide wide selections of accommodation choices, ranging from luxury 5-star hotels, boutique hotels to cheap local hotels, hostels and guesthouses. The best area to stay is the downtown for it is well located, easy to landmarks and dining & shopping area. Also, you can accommodate near major attractions or the airport and train station. Better book the hotels in advance, especially during the peak tourist season, such as Labour Day (from May 1st) and National Day (from October 1st).

▶ Best Places to Stay in Beijing

The city center around Tian’anmen Square and Forbidden City is the best accommodation area in Beijing. You can conveniently visit the two attractions and transfer to the Great Wall and other attractions in Beijing. Many international luxury brands are located in this area, such as the St Regis Beijing, Waldorf Astoria Beijing, Ritz Calton, etc. There are many express hotels near Beijing South Railway Station. Accommodation choice is less and simple near the Beijing Capital Airport and Daxing International Airport in suburb area.

>>Top Recommended Hotels in Beijing

▶ Best Places to Stay in Xian

In Xian, the most ideal accommodation area is the city center around the Bell & Drum Tower and Muslim Quarter. Terracotta Warriors in the outskirts, You can choose Eastern House Boutique Hotel, Hilton Xian, Sofitel Xian and other top-rated 3-star to 5-star hotels. The area close to the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda is another popular places to stay, for you can visit Shaanxi History Museum and enjoy a music fountain in the front square of the pagoda. Accommodation near the Terracotta Warriors and Xian Xianyang Airport is also available but limited.

>> Best Areas and Top Recommended Hotels to Stay in Xian

▶ Where to Stay in Shanghai

The central Shanghai is the best place to stay, for you have many choices of hotels and convenient transfer to other major attractions and traffic hubs. The most favorite area is near the Bund, for you can easily reach the Bund, skyscraper in Lujiazui, Shanghai Museum, People’s Square. Hyatt on the Bund Hotel, Fairmont Peace Hotel, the Peninsula Shanghai are mostly used deluxe hotels in this area. If you want some local, you can book hotels near Yu Garden and in Shanghai old town. Want to enjoy the spectacular city skyline? There are various hotels in Lujiazui, Pudong New Area for you. Moreover, hotels near Nanjing Road is most suitable for shopaholics, Wukang Road is the best area for a leisure walking and mixed cultural exploration.

>> Best Places to Stay in Shanghai

Extended Destinations of Your Beijing Xian Shanghai Tour

There are more wonderful destinations you can travel with Beijing, Xian and Shanghai, if time allows, like Guilin, Chengdu, Yangtze River, Zhangjiajie, etc. If you want to add 1 or more destinations into your Beijing Xian Shanghai tour, that’s totally doable. Our travel consultant will customize a unique itinerary according to your requirement and calculate the time needed for your tour.

If you want to escape from the urban, Guilin is a nice option. You can select from our Beijing Xian Guilin Shanghai Tour Packages to enjoy a Li River Cruise in Guilin and idyllic countryside scenery in Yangshuo with the golden triangle cities. 10 Days Classic China Tour from Beijing - First Touch of China is the best-seller. If you dream of Avatar adventure in Zhangjiajie, 13 Days of China Landscape Tour is the best recommendation.

Between Beijing and Xian, you may visit Mount Wutai, Datong (Yungang Grottoes), Pingyao Ancient City. Qufu (Hometown of Confucius) and Moun Tai, Qingdao are hot destinations to drop by between Beijing and Shanghai if you take a high speed train. Between Xian and Shanghai, you can extend trip to Mount Hua, Luoyang (Longmen Grottoes), Shaolin Temple, Chengdu, Yangtze River, even to southwestern China’s Yunnan (Dali, Lijiang, Shangri-La...) and Guizhou. From Shanghai, it’s super popular to visit Suzhou, Hangzhou and Huangshan Mountain with 1 to 2 days each.

Longer China Shanghai Tours with More Destinations:

Shanghai Suzhou Tours | Shanghai Hangzhou Tours | Shanghai Huangshan Tours | Shanghai Guilin Tours | Shanghai Zhangjiajie Tours | Shanghai Yangtze River Tours