01Day 1
At the confirmed Beijing airport or station, your driver takes you straight to the hotel. We leave the first day clear after a long flight; sightseeing begins when you have slept.
12 DAYS / 11 NIGHTS · PRIVATE TOUR · NO SHOPPING
Beijing, Xi'an, Yangtze Cruise & Shanghai: 12‑Day Private Tour
The Three Gorges in twelve days
This 12-day Beijing–Xi’an–Yangtze–Shanghai private tour starts at USD 3,590 per person for two sharing a twin room and a standard balcony cabin; international flights are extra. It keeps the three-night downstream cruise from Chongqing to Yichang and leaves out Chengdu, which is what the 17-day version adds.
Choose group size
Published price for selected groupUSD 2,890per person · 6 travellers · private tour package · international flights not included
Prices are shown in USD. We confirm the payment currency, exchange rate and total in your written quote before you pay.
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Need a different group size?We confirm room needs, luggage count and a suitable vehicle before sending a written quote.Plan this journey
- Journey
- 12 days / 11 nights
- Touring
- Guide and vehicle days confirmed in writing
- Stay
- 11 nights · scope confirmed in writing
- Price
- Published for 2, 4, 6 travellers
The shape of the journey
The Three Gorges in twelve days
Of the 11 nights, eight are in breakfast-included hotels and three are aboard the ship. The price covers private local guides and vehicles on land touring days, transfers, named tickets, the Beijing–Xi’an train, the Xi’an–Chongqing flight, the cruise with onboard meals and three included shore visits, the train or flight from Yichang to Shanghai, and the Suzhou day trip.
- 01
A three-night downstream Three Gorges cruise
- 02
Qutang and Wu Gorges, the Lesser Three Gorges and the Three Gorges Dam
- 03
The Terracotta Warriors and the Great Wall
- 04
A Suzhou garden day from Shanghai
Day by day
See how each day unfolds.
Arrival, core touring and departure are shown day by day. Opening hours, named-entry tickets and local conditions may change the order. If anything important needs to change, we discuss it with you.
Beijing city · Destination view - 02Day 2
The guide takes you through the Tiananmen area and into the Forbidden City with the ticket issued for your date. The museum closes on Mondays, so we set the Beijing day order after the reservation is confirmed.
Beijing comes first, with three nights before the train to Xi’an. - 03Day 3
Mutianyu is about 90 minutes from Beijing by road. Take the included cable car or chairlift one way, then walk the restored wall at your own speed. Back in town, there is a short hutong walk near the Drum Tower.
Great Wall near Beijing - 04Day 4
The confirmed second-class train to Xi’an takes about 4.5–6 hours. A driver takes you to the Beijing station and another meets you in Xi’an; leave the evening free after the crossing.
Xi’an city · Destination view - 05Day 5
Do not rush the Terracotta Warriors: the guide has the morning and early afternoon there. Return to Xi’an for the City Wall when the light softens; you can walk or cycle it. The Muslim Quarter is free time in the evening.
Terracotta Army, Pit 1 - 06Day 6
Take a morning economy flight from Xi’an to Chongqing, about 1.5 hours. With your bags in the vehicle, the driver stops at the Liziba monorail station and Hongyadong in the afternoon. Boarding at Chaotianmen pier opens at about 18:00, dinner is on the ship and it sails at about 21:00. If the water level moves boarding to another pier, the cruise company runs a transfer from central Chongqing.
Liziba monorail - 07Day 7
The included shore visit is usually Fengdu Ghost City in the morning; the rest of the day is on board. Stops such as Shuanggui Mountain and the evening show are paid options sold on the ship, and weather or the water level can change a stop.
Yangtze cruise ship example · Vessel confirmed for your sailing - 08Day 8
Around midday the ship sails through Qutang Gorge. In the afternoon the included side trip takes a smaller boat into the Lesser Three Gorges, and Wu Gorge follows from the deck. White Emperor City in the morning and the Mini Three Gorges are paid options.
Qutang Gorge on the Yangtze on this route. The photograph illustrates the place; access, weather and the final day order are confirmed for your dates. - 09Day 9
Leave the ship at Maoping, just above the dam, at about 08:00 and visit the Three Gorges Dam. The cruise company’s coach reaches the cruise terminal in central Yichang at about 12:30, and we book the afternoon train to Shanghai, about six hours, or an evening flight from that time. Two paid add-ons sold on board get back later, at about 13:30 and 17:00; if you want one, tell us before we book. Lunch is on your own, and you reach Shanghai late.
Shanghai city · Destination view - 10Day 10
Start at Yu Garden and the old city with the guide. At the Bund, look across the river from the 1920s bank buildings to Pudong’s towers.
The last three nights are in Shanghai, with one day in Suzhou. - 11Day 11
The high-speed train puts Suzhou about 30 minutes from Shanghai. Visit one garden confirmed for the day, walk the canal lanes of Pingjiang Road and return to Shanghai.
Humble Administrator’s Garden - 12Day 12
Your driver takes you to the confirmed Shanghai airport or station. We leave the departure day free of sightseeing.
Shanghai city · Destination view
Day 1 · Arrive in Beijing
Travel made seamless
Hotels, guides and transfers work together.
Your hotel level, guided days, transfers, route transport and principal admissions are planned together. We check availability for your dates before payment.
Stay
Of 11 nights, eight are in breakfast-included hotels at the four-star standard (4 diamonds on Trip.com/Ctrip): Beijing 3, Xi’an 2 and Shanghai 3. The other three are in a standard balcony cabin on a five-star-rated Yangtze ship, normally with Gold Cruises. On the lowest cabin deck the balcony may be glassed in; a higher deck costs a little more. Hotel rooms are twin share; the ship, deck and cabin are set for the sailing date.
Guide, transport and admissions
Included: an English-speaking local guide and vehicle for your party in each city on land touring days, all transfers, named first admissions, the second-class train Beijing–Xi'an, the economy flight Xi'an–Chongqing, the cruise cabin with meals from dinner on boarding night to breakfast on the last morning and three shore visits (usually Fengdu Ghost City, the Lesser Three Gorges and the Three Gorges Dam), the train or economy flight Yichang–Shanghai and the Shanghai–Suzhou return train. Cruise commentary follows the ship's language programme. Guides work city by city: on train and flight days, a driver takes you to the station or airport and another meets you on arrival. Korean-speaking guides can be arranged on land at the same price, subject to availability in each city.
Before you choose
How much is a 12-day China tour with a Yangtze cruise?
The 12-day Beijing–Xi’an–Yangtze–Shanghai private tour is USD 3,590 each for two sharing hotel rooms and a standard balcony cabin, USD 7,180 together. Four pay USD 3,050 each and six pay USD 2,890. Eight breakfast hotel nights, a three-night cruise with onboard meals and its included shore visits, land guides and vehicles, tickets, trains and two domestic transfers are included. International flights and land lunches and dinners are extra, and peak sailings can cost more.
Should I choose the 12-day or the 17-day Yangtze tour?
Both use the same three-night Chongqing–Yichang cruise. The 12-day Beijing–Xi’an–Yangtze–Shanghai tour, from USD 3,590 each for two, flies from Xi’an straight to Chongqing on boarding day. The 17-day version, from USD 4,690, adds Chengdu’s pandas, a Temple of Heaven day, a night in Chongqing and a free Shanghai afternoon. Pick the 12-day route if your time off is short, and the 17-day route if you want the pandas.
When does the 12-day Yangtze tour run?
The 12-day Beijing–Xi’an–Yangtze–Shanghai private tour follows the Chongqing–Yichang sailings. In the 2026 timetable of Gold Cruises, the line we normally book, ships leave Chongqing five or six evenings a week from late March to mid-December, with only a few sailings in late February, early March and late December and none in January. You board on Day 6, so most start days work once the 2027 timetable is out. April–May and September–October are usually the most comfortable; July and August are hot in Chongqing.
What if the flight to Chongqing is late?
On the 12-day Beijing–Xi’an–Yangtze–Shanghai tour we book a morning flight from Xi’an. Boarding opens at about 18:00 and the ship sails at about 21:00, so there are several hours in hand. If a delay still puts boarding at risk, we tell you straight away and work through the options with the cruise company; what is possible depends on the ship. Travel insurance that covers missed connections is worth having for this day.
Clear before payment
What is separate—and what your written quote will confirm.
Published amounts are per-person starting prices for the stated group size, sharing twin rooms and a standard balcony cabin. Cruise fares change by ship and sailing date, so the land days are fitted around a confirmed sailing, and the ship, cabin and any peak-date difference are confirmed in writing with the final total before payment. We also request passport details before the Forbidden City and Terracotta Warriors tickets open.
Not included
- International flights to and from China
- Lunches, dinners and drinks on land (hotel breakfasts and onboard cruise meals are included)
- Travel insurance, visas, tips and personal expenses
- Room upgrades and public-holiday surcharges
- Single-room and single-cabin supplements (a cabin for one is charged at close to twice the shared per-person cruise fare)
- Cruise gratuities, paid shore options sold on board (such as White Emperor City and the dam's ship lift) and cabin upgrades
- Peak-date cruise surcharges above the base balcony cabin
Confirmed in writing
- Your dates, arrival and departure details
- The hotel, room arrangement and vehicle for the actual group
- Bookable admissions and the final total before payment
Plan the destination
Check the route against the destination guides.
Use these city hubs and decision guides to test the route's stay base, gateways and day order before enquiring.
Destination hubs
Decision guides
Compare a related published route
Photo credits
The location-specific external photographs are credited below. Only conventional cropping, resizing and WebP conversion were applied; no generative edits were made. Adapted CC BY-SA photos are shared under the linked CC BY-SA license.
- Qutang Gorge on the YangtzePhoto by Tan Wei Liang Byorn · CC BY 3.0
- A Line 2 train at Liziba StationPhoto by David290 · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Yangtze River cruise shipPhoto by Gaynor · CC BY 2.0
- Wu GorgePhoto by Photnart · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Traditional buildings and pond in Yu GardenPhoto by King of Hearts · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Humble Administrator's GardenPhoto by Chainwit. · CC BY 4.0
- Pingjiang Road, SuzhouPhoto by kevinmcgill · CC BY-SA 2.0
- The Bund, ShanghaiPhoto by Another Believer · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Terracotta Army, Pit 1Photo by Gary Todd from Xinzheng, China · CC0
- Great Wall near BeijingPhoto by Francesco Bini · CC BY-SA 4.0
All remaining photographs were selected from the Homeground project library and authorised by the site owner for this website. Only routine cropping, resizing and format conversion were applied.