I've been planning this trip for months and would love some feedback from people who've been. This is my first time in China.

**Beijing (Sep 3-6, 4 days)**

- Day 1: Arrive 4:40 AM, rest, Wudaoying Hutong, Lama Temple, Confucian Temple
- Day 2: Forbidden City (full day), Jingshan Park sunset, Nanluoguxiang evening
- Day 3: Great Wall — Mutianyu (cable car up, toboggan down), Peking duck dinner
- Day 4: Temple of Heaven (early for tai chi), China National Museum, Summer Palace, Houhai Lake evening

**Xi'an (Sep 7-9, 3 days)**

- Day 1: Train from Beijing (~4.5h), Bell/Drum Tower, Muslim Quarter street food
- Day 2: Terracotta Warriors (full day), Big Wild Goose Pagoda
- Day 3: City wall cycling (14km loop), Shaanxi History Museum

**Chengdu (Sep 10-13, 4 days)**

- Day 1: Train from Xi'an (~3.5h), Wuhou Shrine, Jinli Street evening
- Day 2: Panda Base (early AM), People's Park teahouse, Sichuan Opera evening
- Day 3: Leshan Giant Buddha day trip (DIY by train, river cruise + cliff walk)
- Day 4: Kuanzhai Xiangzi alleys, cooking class or hot pot crawl, night market

**Zhangjiajie (Sep 14-16, 3 days)**

- Day 1: Train from Chengdu (~5h), arrive evening, rest near Wulingyuan
- Day 2: Yuanjiajie (Avatar mountains), Golden Whip Stream
- Day 3: Tianzi Mountain + Tianmen Mountain (glass skywalk, 999 steps)

**Hangzhou (Sep 17-18, 2 days)**

- Day 1: Train from Zhangjiajie (~5-6h), West Lake sunset walk
- Day 2: Lingyin Temple, Longjing tea village, West Lake boat ride, Hefang Street

**Shanghai (Sep 19-23, 3 days + departure)**

- Day 1: Train from Hangzhou (~1h), French Concession, Nanjing Road, Huangpu ferry
- Day 2: The Bund, Yu Garden, Propaganda Poster Art Centre, Pudong skyline evening
- Day 3: Jing'an Temple, Tianzifang, AP Plaza, ERA acrobatics show
- Day 4: Suzhou day trip OR spa day
- Day 5: Free morning, PVG for 8:10 PM flight

**Questions for you*

1. Is Tianzi Mountain + Tianmen Mountain doable in one day, or should I split them?
2. The Zhangjiajie → Hangzhou train — is the Changsha transfer smooth or should I plan extra time?
3. Anything on this itinerary that's a tourist trap I should skip?

Thanks in advance!

Of the places you've visited, I've only done Beijing and Xi'an. Your Beijing day 4 is crowded - Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace and the National Museum in the same day is going to be so rushed. The Summer Palace is beautiful and you really want to be able to spend time there (I personally think it's better than the Forbidden City) and it's also an absolutely massive complex. You can while away a lot more time in the less touristed corners of the palace than you think, there's a lot of little pagodas and palatial structures that are very worth checking out, covered in endless mural paintings.

Nanluoguxiang is very optional IMO. It's quite a tourist trap and frankly you're going to come across hutongs that are a lot more local and authentic feeling just walking around the Forbidden City or Lama Temple area (I hear that Miaoying Temple area and Shichahai have local-feeling hutongs too). And two other things - the Lama Temple is an amazing palatial Qing Dynasty temple with a huge 20-metre tall Maitreya Buddha statue and very active Tibetan monk population, prioritise it if possible. Also, get to the Temple of Heaven very early since it's beautiful but gets horribly crowded.

With Xi'an, I recommend adding in the Little Wild Goose Pagoda as well. I preferred it to the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda personally, more intimate. Also don't skip the Great Mosque of Xi'an since you're venturing into the Muslim Quarter, it's interesting to look at since traditional mosques in China are a strange blend of Islamic and Chinese elements. You'll see Sino-Arabic calligraphic script alongside dragon bas-reliefs, which is not what you imagine when you think of a mosque. Lots of prayers take place here, I caught one in action. Worth doing in my opinion.

I have not been to many of these places, however..... anytime you can steal a day away from Shanghai to put to use elsewhere is a good day. So one more night in Hunan Province and one less in Shanghai for example.

Of the places you plan to visit, I’ve only been to Beijing and Xi’an. FWIW, I agree with travelling_flaneur that day 4 in Beijing sounds overly ambitious. And for Xi’an, I agree that adding the Great Mosque would be well worth it.

You might find some useful information in my old trip report … or at least some funny stories! Thanks for helping make my trip to China amazing!

Thanks for the advice, I'll see about adding a day more to Beijing to get more room. For what it sounds like I could use less time in Shanghai.

Thanks, I appreciate the advice, I'll see about adding more Beijing and less Shanghai.

As you alluded earlier in your OP, you might not have enough time for ZJJ, so you should consider adding the day there instead of Beijing. Generally, Beijing can be a bit depressing even if there is a whole checklist of sites.

Without questioning shelemm's experience, I'll simply note that I did not find Beijing depressing.