China rewards the curious. Across seven days, you’ll stride from the imperial axes of Beijing to the glass-and-steel poetry of Shanghai, riding the world’s busiest high-speed rail corridor in between. Expect deep history, dazzling skylines, and the kind of meals you’ll talk about for years—crispy lacquered duck, hand-pleated soup dumplings, and sizzling street skewers.

Beijing, capital for centuries, centers on the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, but its soul is found in the hutongs—lanes where courtyard homes hide teahouses and tiny eateries. A day on the Great Wall at Mutianyu brings the sweep of stone and mountain air; evenings bring craft beer and night-lake strolls around Houhai.

Shanghai spins a different spell: Art Deco on the Bund, neon riverfront views, and leafy French Concession streets lined with cafés. Logistics are straightforward: foreign cards now work with Alipay/WeChat Pay, eSIMs are widely available, and high-speed trains are punctual. Book flights on Trip.com or Kiwi.com, and intercity trains on Trip.com Trains.

Beijing

Beijing wears its history on a grand stage. The Ming and Qing emperors planned the city along a cardinal axis, culminating in the Forbidden City—nearly 1,000 buildings of vermilion and gold. Yet just blocks away, hutongs host noodle shops, indie coffee roasters, and neighborhood temples where bells still toll.

Top sights include the Great Wall at Mutianyu for photogenic ramparts, the Temple of Heaven for dawn tai chi, and lakeside Summer Palace pavilions. Food highlights range from Peking duck at Siji Minfu or Da Dong, to jianbing breakfast crepes, to craft brews at Jing-A.

• Stay (Hotels.com/VRBO): Browse stays in Beijing on Hotels.com or Beijing on VRBO. Excellent picks: The Opposite House (design-forward in Sanlitun), New World Beijing Hotel (great value near Temple of Heaven), The Peninsula Beijing (all-suite heritage luxury), Novotel Beijing Peace (central Wangfujing), and budget-friendly 365 Inn Beijing or 365 Inn Beijing Qianmen.
• Arriving: From PEK, take the Airport Express (~30 min) or taxi (45–60 min). From PKX, the Daxing Airport Express reaches central Beijing in ~20–35 min. Compare flights on Trip.com or Kiwi.com.

Day 1: Arrival, Hutong Stroll, Lake Lights

Afternoon: Arrive in Beijing and check in. Shake off jet lag with a gentle walk through Wudaoying Hutong to the Lama Temple gates. Coffee at Metal Hands (smooth flat whites, beans roasted in-house) or Voyage Coffee (single-origin pour-overs).

Evening: Classic Peking duck dinner. Book Siji Minfu (crispy skin carved tableside; try the osmanthus soup) or Da Dong (lighter “lean” style, creative sides). After, wander the Drum & Bell Towers to Houhai Lake for a shoreline stroll; stop by Jing-A Taproom Xingfucun (local craft IPA) or Great Leap Brewing #6 (hutong courtyard, famous cheeseburger).

Day 2: Temples, Imperial Axes & Hutong Eats

Morning: Temple of Heaven at dawn for locals practicing tai chi and kite flying—then breakfast at Huguosi Xiaochi (old-school Beijing snacks: mung-bean noodles, jiaoquan rings, fried dough with soy milk).

Afternoon: Walk Tiananmen Square’s monuments and continue through Qianmen Street’s restored facades. Climb Jingshan Park for the postcard panorama over the Forbidden City’s golden roofs; snack on tanghulu (candied hawthorns) at the base.

Evening: Join a hutong food-and-beer walk to eat where locals do—hole-in-the-wall dumplings, smoky chuan’r skewers, and hidden courtyards pouring lagers.

Beijing Hutong Walking Food and Beer Tour at Hidden Restaurants (Viator)

Day 3: Great Wall + Forbidden City (All-Inclusive Day)

Full-day guided tour with hotel pickup covers Tiananmen Square, deep-dive stories in the Forbidden City, and time atop the Great Wall at Mutianyu (with a scenic chairlift/toboggan option). It’s the most efficient way to tackle Beijing’s “Big Three” in one day.

All-Inclusive Tour: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Great Wall (Viator)

Note: If your Forbidden City day falls on a Monday (when the Palace Museum usually closes), swap the Forbidden City portion to another day using this focused entry-included tour:

4-Hour Small Group Tour to Forbidden City with Entry Tickets (Viator)

Shanghai

Shanghai dazzles with Art Deco grandeur and a skyline that seems to grow by the week. Walk the Bund’s 1920s facades facing the sci‑fi spears of Lujiazui; then slip into the French Concession’s plane-tree boulevards for boutiques, cafés, and villas with storied pasts.

Top hits: Yu Garden’s Ming-era rockeries, the Bund at blue hour, and a seat at one of Asia’s best bars. Food ranges from Shanghainese red-braised pork to soup dumplings that burst like broth-filled jewels.

• Stay (Hotels.com/VRBO): Explore Shanghai on Hotels.com or Shanghai on VRBO. Favorites: The Peninsula Shanghai (riverfront elegance), The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong (skyline views; rooftop Flair), Kerry Hotel Pudong / Kerry Hotel Pudong, Shanghai (family-friendly facilities), Campanile Shanghai Bund Hotel (value steps from the Bund), Radisson Blu Hotel Shanghai New World (People’s Square), Shanghai Fish Inn Bund (budget boutique), and hostel Shanghai Blue Mountain Bund Youth Hostel.
• Beijing → Shanghai (Day 4 morning): Take a G-series high-speed train from Beijing South to Shanghai Hongqiao in ~4.5–5.5 hours; 2nd class ~¥553–650, 1st ~¥933+, business ~¥1,700+. Book on Trip.com Trains. Flying takes ~2 hours (plus airport time)—compare fares on Trip.com or Kiwi.com.

Day 4: Train to Shanghai, The Bund & Sky-High Sundowners

Morning: High-speed train to Shanghai; grab a bento (biandang) and jasmine tea for the ride.

Afternoon: Drop bags, then walk the Bund from Waibaidu Bridge to the Peace Hotel for the full parade of Art Deco and skyline views. Cross to Pudong for Shanghai Tower’s observation deck, or ride the 2‑RMB ferry across the Huangpu for a local’s angle on the river.

Evening: Dinner on local classics: Jia Jia Tang Bao (legendary pork-and-crab roe xiaolongbao; arrive early) or Old Jesse (deeply flavored Shanghainese; reserve). Nightcap at Flair (open-air rooftop atop the Ritz-Carlton Pudong) or world-class cocktails at Speak Low (multi-level speakeasy).

Day 5: Yu Garden, French Concession, Design & Dumplings

Morning: Yu Garden’s zigzag bridges and dragon walls (go at opening to beat crowds). Breakfast at Nanxiang Bun Shop for classic soup dumplings; coffee at Manner Coffee or Blue Bottle’s waterfront outpost for a treat.

Afternoon: Meander the French Concession: Fuxing Park’s mahjong corners, Sinan Mansions’ heritage villas, and Anfu Road’s indie boutiques. Lunch at Jian Guo 328 (home-style braises, drunken chicken) or Fu Chun Xiao Long for pan-fried buns.

Evening: Dinner at Lost Heaven on the Bund (Yunnan cuisine—tea-smoked duck, Dai-style lemongrass fish). Optional Huangpu river cruise or catch the “ERA 2” acrobatics show; finish with a cone at Luneurs or a Negroni at Union Trading Company.

Day 6: Day Trip—Southern “Great Wall” via Bullet Train

Trade city noise for green hills on a day trip to Zhejiang province’s Southern Great Wall near Shanghai. It’s a lesser-known fortification with mountain scenery and a crowd-free wall walk—ideal if you didn’t visit Beijing’s wall or want a unique angle.

Shanghai: Southern Great Wall Day Trip by Bullet Train (Viator)

Not into a full-day tour? Head to Zhujiajiao Water Town by metro/bus for stone bridges and canals; lunch on zongzi sticky-rice parcels and smoked fish, then return for a pastry-and-espresso crawl along Yuyuan Road.

Day 7: Art, Last Bites, and Departure

Morning: M50 Creative Park for galleries in old textile mills; brunch at Egg (ricotta hotcakes, shakshuka) or Pain Chaud (buttery croissants). Coffee at % Arabica on the Bund or Seesaw Coffee for local roasts.

Afternoon: If time allows, browse the Shanghai Museum’s bronzes and jades at People’s Square or walk the West Bund riverfront past the Long Museum. Depart in the afternoon—check trains on Trip.com Trains and flights on Trip.com or Kiwi.com.

Eating & sipping cheat sheet (Beijing): Breakfast jianbing from street stalls; Huguosi Xiaochi for nostalgic snacks; lunch noodles at Niuge Biangbiang; Peking duck at Siji Minfu or Da Dong; cocktails at Infusion Room; beers at Jing-A or Great Leap.

Eating & sipping cheat sheet (Shanghai): Soup dumplings at Jia Jia Tang Bao or Nanxiang; homestyle Shanghainese at Old Jesse or Jian Guo 328; Yunnan plates at Lost Heaven; desserts at Luneurs; cocktails at Speak Low or Union Trading Company; coffee at Manner/Seesaw.

Booking recap: Use Hotels in Beijing, Hotels in Shanghai, or VRBO (Beijing / Shanghai), trains on Trip.com Trains, and flights on Trip.com or Kiwi.com.

In one week, you’ll have walked palace courtyards, climbed storied ramparts, sipped cocktails above neon rivers, and tasted China’s regional flavors. Beijing and Shanghai make a perfect first chapter—rich in history, design, and dining, with fast trains stitching it all together.