01Day 1
Your driver meets you at the confirmed Shanghai airport or station and takes you to the hotel. We keep the arrival day clear; after dark the Bund is there if you want a first walk.
13 DAYS / 12 NIGHTS · PRIVATE TOUR · NO SHOPPING
Shanghai, Zhangjiajie, Fenghuang & Guilin: 13‑Day Private Tour
From Shanghai to Zhangjiajie, Fenghuang and the Li River
The starting price for the 13-day Shanghai–Zhangjiajie–Fenghuang–Guilin private route is USD 3,590 each for two sharing a twin room; international flights are extra. It trades the northern capitals for more time in the south, including Longji’s rice terraces. The Fenghuang-to-Guilin train alone takes about six hours.
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
- 13 days / 12 nights
- Touring
- Guide and vehicle days confirmed in writing
- Stay
- 12 nights · scope confirmed in writing
- Price
- Published for 2, 4, 6 travellers
The shape of the journey
From Shanghai to Zhangjiajie, Fenghuang and the Li River
Twelve hotel nights include breakfast. Local private guides and vehicles on touring days, transfers, named tickets including Tianmen Mountain and the Li River cruise, two second-class trains and two economy flights are included. Zhangjiajie has long walking days, so tell us early if steps are difficult.
- 01
Zhangjiajie Forest Park and Tianmen Mountain
- 02
Two nights in the river town of Fenghuang
- 03
The Longji rice terraces
- 04
Li River cruise and two Yangshuo nights
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.
Shanghai city · Destination view - 02Day 2
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.
Shanghai is both the arrival and departure city. - 03Day 3
Shanghai to Zhangjiajie is about 2.5 hours on the booked economy flight. Your driver takes you from the airport to a hotel near the Wulingyuan gates. There is no fixed sightseeing that day.
Wulingyuan peaks · Destination view - 04Day 4
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park takes a full day. The guide links Yuanjiajie’s sandstone pillars, the Bailong Elevator and part of Golden Whip Stream; the order changes with the weather and the queues.
We set aside one whole day inside Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. - 05Day 5
Tianmen Mountain starts from Zhangjiajie city. Up top are the cliff-side walkways and Tianmen Cave; whether the cable car comes before or after the mountain road depends on the ticket route issued for that date.
Tianmen Mountain - 06Day 6
The booked train from Zhangjiajie West to Fenghuang Ancient City takes about an hour. With the guide, walk the public old-town lanes and Tuojiang riverbank; those streets have no gate ticket. Boat rides cost extra. Stay in Fenghuang.
Tuo River, Fenghuang - 07Day 7
Walk Fenghuang early, before the day visitors arrive. Then drive to one nearby site confirmed for your date, such as the Southern Great Wall or a Miao village. Return for the lights along the Tuojiang and a second night in Fenghuang.
Hongqiao entrance in Fenghuang Ancient Town on this route. The photograph illustrates the place; access, weather and the final day order are confirmed for your dates. - 08Day 8
Fenghuang Ancient City to Guilin is about six hours on the booked direct train. That leaves little time for sightseeing. A Guilin driver meets you at the station and takes you to the hotel for the night.
Guilin city · Destination view - 09Day 9
Longji is about two hours from Guilin by road. Walk between rice-terrace viewpoints above a Zhuang or Yao village; in spring the fields hold water, in summer they are green, and before autumn harvest they turn gold. Return to Guilin to sleep.
Longji rice terraces - 10Day 10
The Li River boat takes about four hours from the pier to Yangshuo, between the karst peaks. Your main bags travel separately by road, so keep what you need on the boat with you. The rest of the Yangshuo day is free.
Li River cruise - 11Day 11
If the water level and operator allow, ride a bamboo raft on the booked stretch of the Yulong River. Afterward, see the countryside by bike or vehicle without a fixed walking target. Stay in Yangshuo.
Yulong River countryside - 12Day 12
First drive about 1.5 hours to Guilin airport, then take the confirmed economy flight to Shanghai, about two hours. A Shanghai driver meets you. If you still have energy, the Bund is lit after dark.
Shanghai city · Destination view - 13Day 13
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 Shanghai
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
The 12 breakfast-included nights use twin rooms: Shanghai 2, Wulingyuan 2, Zhangjiajie city 1, Fenghuang 2, Guilin 2, Yangshuo 2 and a final Shanghai night. Where available, hotels meet the four-star standard (4 diamonds on Trip.com/Ctrip). In Fenghuang we confirm the best-rated riverside hotel before payment.
Guide, transport and admissions
On touring days your party has its own English-speaking local guide and vehicle. Transfers and named first entries cover Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, the Bailong Elevator, Tianmen Mountain cable car and Longji. The price also includes the Li River boat with luggage carried separately by road and one Yulong River raft. High-speed trains run Zhangjiajie–Fenghuang and Fenghuang–Guilin; economy flights run Shanghai–Zhangjiajie and Guilin–Shanghai. Guides change by city, with drivers for the station and airport handovers. Korean-speaking guides cost the same where available.
Before you choose
How much does this 13-day tour cost?
For the 13-day Shanghai–Zhangjiajie–Fenghuang–Guilin private route, two sharing a twin room pay USD 3,590 each, or USD 7,180 together. Four pay USD 3,040 each and six USD 2,890. The price includes 12 breakfast hotel nights, local private guides and vehicles on touring days, named tickets including Tianmen Mountain and Longji, the Li River cruise, two high-speed trains and two domestic flights. International flights and lunches and dinners cost extra; other party sizes are quoted in writing.
Is this a good second trip to China?
The 13-day Shanghai–Zhangjiajie–Fenghuang–Guilin route is a useful second China trip if you have already seen Beijing and Xi’an. It starts and ends in Shanghai, spending the middle days on mountains, Fenghuang and the Li River. For a first trip with Zhangjiajie and Guilin, the 14-day route adds Beijing and Xi’an from USD 3,890 per person for two sharing a twin room.
When are the rice terraces at their best?
Longji rice terraces on the 13-day Shanghai–Zhangjiajie–Fenghuang–Guilin route look different each season. Water reflects the sky from late April through May, the fields are green in June–August, and rice turns gold from late September to mid-October. Winter is quiet and brown.
How much walking and travel time is there?
The 13-day Shanghai–Zhangjiajie–Fenghuang–Guilin route has two Zhangjiajie days with several hours of paths and stairs. The Bailong Elevator and cable cars remove the steepest climbs, while Longji has village paths between viewpoints. The longest transfer is the Fenghuang–Guilin train, about six hours. Tell us before booking if you need shorter walks; there are no shopping stops.
Clear before payment
What is separate—and what your written quote will confirm.
The shown starting price is per person for the stated party size, with twin rooms. Tianmen Mountain and Zhangjiajie National Forest Park tickets specify routes and time slots, so we set those day orders after tickets are issued. Train seats, flights, hotels and the final total are confirmed in writing before payment.
Not included
- International flights to and from China
- Lunches, dinners and drinks (breakfast is included at every hotel)
- Travel insurance, visas, tips and personal expenses
- Room upgrades and public-holiday surcharges
- Single-room supplement
- Tuojiang boat rides and paid smaller sights in Fenghuang
- Checked baggage above the airline's included allowance
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.
- Hongqiao entrance in Fenghuang Ancient TownPhoto by xiquinhosilva · CC BY 4.0
- Traditional buildings and pond in Yu GardenPhoto by King of Hearts · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Wulingyuan sandstone pillarsPhoto by 颐园居 · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Tianzi Mountain panoramaPhoto by Chensiyuan · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Hongqiao, FenghuangPhoto by xiquinhosilva · CC BY 4.0
- Guilin city viewPhoto by Chlukoe · CC0 1.0
- The Bund, ShanghaiPhoto by Another Believer · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Tuo River, FenghuangPhoto by xiquinhosilva · CC BY 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.