Your itinerary is pretty tight and all the transportations would have to be connected very well to allow you enough time to fully enjoy those places. But it is certainly doable and chances are it is going to work just fine.

I don't think there will be problems for flight tickets. For most domestic airlines, supplies are still bigger than demands. You don't have to book your tickets in advance but always get your tickets for your next destination as the first thing to do upon arriving in a new place. You can ask local Chinese travel agencies to buy flight tickets for you, usually faster and probably cheaper than you do it by yourself.

You can find ticket prices between cities in the tour book titled "Let's go China". I found their info quite reliable.

I am not sure about the train ticket from Xi'an to Beijing. I'd assume there shouldn't be much problem either.

Kang is right, it will be tight as these places have soooo much to see. From Kunming you can go to Lijiang and Dali (among others). One suggestion I do have is not to take a bus from Guilin to Yangshou. You should definitely take the Li river Cruise. The trip is beeautiful and cost about $50pp for everyone, i.e. foreigners and Chinese, as far as I know. We stayed two nights in Yangshou and I could have stayed more. Better to stay more time in Yangshou than Guilin, when we were there last June (2001) there was lots of construction. There are some good parks and a touristy night market by the Sheraton, but more things to do (biking!) in Yangshou. I have not been to Xian, but would suggest spreading your nine days just in Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces.

Have a wonderful trip. Alison

Thanks Kang and Alison, that's exactly what kind of advice I need. I don't want to push it, I want to be able to enjoy what I'm seeing and not be worried about rushing off to the next destination.

So . . . I've revised the plan. The new and improved plan is . . .

Day 1, spend extra day in Beijing, take night train to Xian

Days 2, 3, 4, Xian

Day 5, Fly to Guilin, take bus to Yangshuo

Days 6,7, Yangshuo

Day 8, bus back to Guilin

Day 9, fly back to Beijing

If anyone else has any suggestions, I'm happy to hear them.

Thanks,
Sandy

bonjour Sandy.
Your new itinary is more realistic. We were in those cities(except Guilin) in april. In Yangshuo, we had a young guide called Sam for a bicycle ride in the countryside. We had a very nice day with him (even had lunch with him and is family at his home) . I can recommend him without hesitation. If you want is e-mail or mor infos on those cities,just send me a post .
Daniel

The city of Xian and the terracotta don't need 3 full days, two days will be fine. Reducing long distance travelling is a wise decision but you still need to most effectively utilize your very limited available days in China. In fact, you may waste additional one day in Beijing according to your new itinerary.

Reserve two days for Xi'an city and the terracotta, including some other sites nearby the terracotta. Plan other two days for some activities either somewhere near Beijing(maybe other part of the Great Wall?), or somewhere near Xi'an(maybe Huashan mountain?).

The rest of your itinerary looks good.

I'm curious, Sandy, why you seem to be fighting the idea of transport between Guilin and Yangshou by the Li River, which everyone normally says is fantastic? Or to others, is this possible as a means of transport (with luggage) or strictly a pleasure cruise? Is it possible to actually take the boat with luggage one way then return by bus?