Private Solo 35 day Tour of China from Beijing to Shanghai Stopping in Sites – Some Well-Known and Many Rare Places

This 35 day private tour through China was set up by Martha Fu and her team. The trip was more than unbelievably fantastic and if I could rate it a 10 I would! I had some very specific places I wanted to see that were the typical tourist attractions, but several that I read about that were off the tourist radar and amazing to go to. Martha spent about a year with me to customize every detail of this trip, which I kept adding and deleting. Originally it was set for 58 days so I ended up having to split it in two trips. In fact, I have already setup Part 2 for 2020 to finish what I have started.

Martha was incredible! I have traveled the world and this trip was tops!!! Martha and I discussed the best time to go and obviously avoiding the 70th Anniversary of the Republic of China Holiday week was a great idea due to the crowds, but yet, coming in at the end of this holiday, I was still able to see lots of celebratory flower displays everywhere, which was amazing. Martha helped me with everything so that this trip was smooth and memorable. She responded to my emails within 24 hours and if she was not available Lori or another teammate stepped in to answer all of my questions. This company is unbelievable!

Travelling solo was a concern, but not with this tour company. I felt very safe at all times. Every city I went to – from arriving by train or plane, I was met with an English speaking tour guide and a driver. All my guides (10 in total) spoke English well and were very attentive to my needs.

To give you an idea of the complexity of this tour, which included trains and flights, I thought I would list some of my trip highlights:
* Beijing (Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Summer Place, Mutianyu Great Wall, Hutong Tour, Temple of Heaven)
* Datong (Yungang Grottoes, Shanhua Monastery)
* Pingyao (Hanging Temple of Mount Hengshan, Wooden Pagoda in Ying County, Pingyao Ancient City Wall, Rishengchang Draft Bank, Qiao Family Compound, Shuanglin Monastery)
* Xi’an (Terra-Cotta Warriors, Museum, Small Wild Goose Pagoda, City Wall, Great Mosque)
* Dunhuang (Echoing-Sand Dunes, Crescent Lake, Magao Grottoes)
* Jiayuguan (City Gate, Overhanging Great Wall, Museum (Beginning of the Silk Road))
* Zhangye (Giant Buddha Temple, Danxia Landform (Rainbow Mountains))
* Wuwei (Leitai Tomb of Han Dynasty)
* Lanzhou (Binglingsi Grottoes)
* Chengdu (Wenshu Monastery, Giant Pandas, Wangjang Pavillion Park, Jinli Street)
* Leshan (Giant Buddha)
* Emei Mountain (Wannian Monastery, Baoguo Temple)
* Dazu (Rock Carvings)
* Yangtze River Cruise (Shibaozhai, Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge, Shennong Stream, Three Gorges Dam)
* Zhangjiajie (Tianmen Mountain, Grand Canyon, Glass Bridge, Hallelujah Mountains (Avatar), Tianzi Mountain, Ten-mile Natural Gallery, Golden Whip Stream)
* Fenghuang (Stilt Houses on Tuojiang River)
* Hangzhou (Feilai Park, West Lake, Tea Plantation)
* Wuzhen Water Town
* Shanghai (Tongli Water Town, Master of the Nests Garden)

I highly recommend China Tours. I’m now very excited to go back to China and finish the rest of my planned trip in 2020! Thanks again for an outstanding tour!

About the author

ChinaTours.com

The ChinaTours.com blogger team brings you the best and most interesting information and China tour news gathered by our travel consultants, local travel guides, and partner providers. With our mission to create beautiful travel memories on your China tour, our travel guide provides ideas, tips, and insights to help bring your holiday alive.

Fraser D
1 contribution
China tour

July 2026 • Couples • Couples

Amazing experience we would highly recommend china tours, from booking to returning home the professionalism produce with everyone connected to china tours over a curved our expectations. Well done for a top job especially thanks to Lira at booking Cythia in Beijing Mark in Xian Robert in Chengdu Top team
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Barbara S
1 contribution
Our first time to China

July 2026 • Couples

We have had a phenomenal trip with China Tours. We flew into Shanghai and we were met by Lucy at Customs. Three nights gave us plenty of time to see the sites in Shanghai, Suzhou and Tongli, the museum, a few gardens, park, French section, the Bund and the old section. The Hotel was gorgeous! Next we flew to Xi’an where we were met by Eric and our driver. Both Eric and Lucy are fluent in English. Both are incredible knowledgeable about their perspective cities. With Eric we visited the Terracotta Soldiers, and Goose Pagoda. I left my phone in the restroom of the Pagoda. I realized my phone was missing about 30 minutes and 35 miles later. Eric went the extra mile, my phone was found intact and after a special detour it was returned to me. If coming to Xi’an I recommend Eric as your guide. There is so much to see and do here! A natural hot springs, mountain trails, museums, the City wall!
I am very impresssed with how smooth our trip has been and how personalized it is. From the accommodations, the drivers, guides, tours, in country flights I am incredibly pleased with Chinatours and I recommend them highly.
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Cruiser63567
1 contribution
China 8 day tour

June 2026 • Solo • Couples

So impressed with China Tours. Communication from the main contact (Dora) was clear and timely. I had three guides on the trip (Lee, Summer and John), all of them were perfect with good communications and a friendly / knowledgeable delivery of their local knowledge. I highly recommend China Tours to anyone who wants to see some of the amazing sights China has to offer
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Ben H
1 contribution
Amazing tour guides and tour.

May 2026 • Couples

We had a wonderful trip with China Tours - the tour was everything we could have wanted - wonderful tour guides, a small group, good hotels in central locations! No forced shopping stopovers like a lot of the competition. Would absolutely use and recommend China Tours
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Laurissa S
1 contribution
Xi’an Must Do Experience

July 2026 • Couples

Xi’an was an unexpected delight! So much to see and do. In a couple days we were able to visit the City Wall, Terracotta Warriors, Muslim quarter, and Big Wild Goose Pagoda. On our guide Eric’s recommendation we even saw an incredible live show with live camels and wolves and all kinds of special effects. Eric made the tour particularly special with his great attitude, videos to explain history, and sense of humour. Eric took exceptional care of us. We joked his backpack was magical as he always seemed to have anything one would want - an umbrella, extra fan, snack, or even a prop to demonstrate an ancient amusement. He was respectful and interested in our culture. He will leave enormous shoes to fill for our remaining guides!
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