Yes I think that it is a bit much. Beijing is 4 or 5 days, Xi'An 2 days and Shanghai 2-3 days. You need to deduct transportation and you usually cannot do much on arrival and departure days. You can try to squeeze it all in one week then it is way too rushed, not ideal.

My opinion is that it would be utter folly to attempt these 3 cities in one week's time. JPDeM has outlined why that is so.

Wait until you see the scale of Beijing! I just got back from perhaps my 10th trip there so I am beginning to be used to it, but the sheer size -- and the traffic congestion -- are remarkable.

If you tell us where you are flying from -- i.e., how jet-lagged you will be when you arrive -- and what your primary interests are, perhaps we can offer some advice.

Thanks JPDeM & marya for your advice, I am Flying from the UAE(where I am working), do you think I should only then focus on Beijing,My primary interest would be more on exploring the culture. Thanks

You can easily spend one week in Beijing. If you preference is for culture and history and wish to do a short trip then you should do Xi'An rather than Shanghai.

I think it's too much, yes. I daresay you will enjoy Shanghai much more than Beijing which is a smoggy, industrial place. Although it does have the great wall. I second the recommendation for Xi'an too.

Sarah - actually Shanghai is the industrial place. Also not much of historical sites in Shanghai which is what the poster wants. I live in Beijing and see blue skies more more often than I have seen in Shanghai. The problem with Beijing is that it is very flat while being surrounded by mountains. So, on days where you have no wind the air just gets trapped and you have the smog. On windy days then you have clear skies. But, blues skies do not mean no pollution and grey skies do not mean pollution. You can't always see pollution while fog can be an issue (in Beijing).

Most of Eastern China has air quality problem, and worse in the big cities with traffic, etc. But Beijing has something else. West of it is coal and steel country, PLUS it gets the dust blown in from the Loess Plateau, also west of the city, so the air quality can be horrible at certain periods of the year.