China is the scale and the friction, and both are handled. These are the six shapes we start from; every trip is then built around your dates and party, escorted or privately guided.
Ways to travel China
Classic China
Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai in ten to twelve days by high-speed rail: the Wall at Mutianyu, the Forbidden City, the Army, the Bund and Suzhou, with a guide throughout.
- 10–12 days
- Apr–May, Sep–Oct
- Escorted or private
- Rail between cities
China with the karst
The classic route plus Guilin and Yangshuo: the Li River, the bamboo rafts and the rice terraces.
- 14 days
- Apr–May, Sep–Oct
- Fly to Guilin
- Yangshuo 2 nights
China with the pandas
The classic route plus Chengdu: the research base at eight, Leshan’s Buddha, the hotpot and the opera.
- 14 days
- Any season
- Fly to Chengdu
- Food-led
China in depth
Three weeks: the classic route, Guilin, Chengdu, and Yunnan or Zhangjiajie, with Hong Kong as the exit.
- 21 days
- Apr–May, Sep–Oct
- Second trips
- Hong Kong exit
The Yangtze and the gorges
Beijing and Xi’an, a flight to Chongqing, three or four nights down the Yangtze through the Three Gorges, and Shanghai to finish.
- 14 days
- Apr–May, Sep–Oct
- Cruise booked
- Older travellers
China with Japan or Korea
Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai escorted, then Shanghai to Tokyo or Seoul for a week independent: the four capitals of East Asia in three weeks.
- 18–21 days
- Spring or autumn
- One visa
- See the East Asia guide
These are the shapes we build trips around, not fixed departures. Every itinerary is quoted individually in Australian dollars with international flights, internal flights, drivers, accommodation and guides on one booking. Tell us your dates and we will send a draft.
How a China itinerary is built
China is built around the classic route and the practical layer. Every itinerary starts in Beijing for four nights and the Wall, takes the high-speed rail to Xi’an for the Army, and ends in Shanghai for the Bund and the airport; Guilin, Chengdu, the Yangtze, Yunnan and Zhangjiajie are the additions that turn ten days into two or three weeks. The practical layer is handled before departure: the visa (four weeks, and we do the paperwork), the VPN installed before the flight, Alipay and WeChat Pay set up with a foreign card, the passport-linked bookings for the Forbidden City and the trains, and Apple Maps and Didi in place of the blocked apps. Most Australians travel China escorted or with a private guide and driver, and it is what we recommend for a first trip, not for safety but because the language, the payments and the scale reward it. The China travel guide has the practical layer and the things to do page has the regions.
When to go
April–May and September–October: mild, dry and clear across the classic route, with the spring blossom in Beijing and the autumn light in Guilin. Avoid the National Day week (1–7 October) and Chinese New Year (late January or February), when 700 million domestic trips fill every train and site; July and August are hot, wet and crowded with domestic holidaymakers; Beijing’s winter is bitter and the Wall under snow is extraordinary; Harbin’s ice festival in January is its own trip. Air quality in the north is a spring and winter issue and an app is what locals use. The best time to visit Asia page has the calendar.
What every itinerary includes
- Return airfare from Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, open-jaw where the route allows; other cities via those three
- Every internal flight, train, boat and transfer, ticketed
- Accommodation chosen by district and by what the night is for, bed configuration confirmed in writing
- A private driver where the country runs on drivers, and licensed guides where a guide changes the day
- Entry and visa checks for every traveller, a pre-departure pack and a day-by-day document
- A quote in Australian dollars, Australian consumer-law protection, and a Cooee contact in Brisbane
Pricing
Quoted per departure in Australian dollars with everything above included. We do not publish from-prices for international itineraries because the season and the accommodation tier move the total by thousands; the country guide and the South-East Asia guide set out the underlying daily numbers.
How to book
Choose a shape above or tell us what you want. Send your dates, departure city and the party through the enquiry form or on 0409 661 342; we check the season against the route, confirm the beds that matter, and send an itinerary and a quote within two working days. A deposit holds it under our booking conditions; travel insurance is required.
Still choosing?
Tours convert; things to do informs. The step before this one is the things-to-do page.