Family trip with pandas: Beijing, Xi'an and Chengdu in 12 days

Day by day

Day 1: Arrive in Beijing

Flights land at Capital (PEK) or Daxing (PKX); allow 1-1.5 hours to a central hotel by airport express and metro, or by taxi. Keep the day for a walk in daylight and an early dinner.

Day 2: Forbidden City and Jingshan Park

Book the Palace Museum with each passport: tickets go on sale at 8 pm Beijing time seven days ahead, none are sold on the day, and it closes on Mondays except public holidays. Take the morning slot (entry by noon), then climb Jingshan Park, opposite the north exit, for the view over the roofs.

Day 3: Mutianyu Great Wall

Book Mutianyu up to 30 days ahead and go by private car, 1.5-2.5 hours each way, to arrive near the 7:30 am opening (8 am in winter). Ride the cable car up to Tower 14, walk to Tower 6 and toboggan down; they're run by different companies, so buy one-way tickets for each. Under-10s must share a toboggan with an adult, one child per adult. See our Great Wall guide.

Day 4: Temple of Heaven and the hutongs

Go early to the Temple of Heaven park, open from 6 am (6:30 am from November), to see locals exercise. Its main halls also close on Mondays except public holidays, so make any Beijing Monday your Great Wall day. Later, tour the Shichahai hutongs by pedicab or bike (agree the price first), or catch an hour-long acrobatics show at the Chaoyang Theatre.

Day 5: High-speed train to Xi'an

Nine trains a day run from Beijing West to Xi'an North in 4 hours 10 minutes to 4 hours 25 minutes, such as the 9:55 am arriving at 2:05 pm. Leave around 8:30 am to reach a hotel inside the city wall by about 3 pm. In the evening, walk the wall at the South Gate or eat in the Muslim Quarter.

Day 6: Terracotta Army

Every visitor, children included, must book ahead on the museum's official site or WeChat account. It opens at 8:30 am and is 40-60 minutes away by taxi, or 1.5 hours by Metro Line 9 and bus. Allow about 1.5 hours for the pits, then rest in the afternoon.

Day 7: City wall and a museum or class

Walk part of the 13.7 km city wall from the South Gate. Guides report that, as of 2026, bikes aren't rented to children under 12, tandems included, so younger kids walk or ride the electric cart. In the afternoon, try the free Shaanxi History Museum (tickets go out on its WeChat account at 5 pm Beijing time, five days ahead) or a dumpling-making class.

Day 8: On to Chengdu

More than 60 trains a day run from Xi'an North to Chengdu East, the fastest in 3 hours 5 minutes and most in 3 hours 20 minutes to 4 hours. A 10:24 am train arrives at 1:52 pm, about 5-5.5 hours hotel to hotel. Keep the evening easy: hotpot in a split pot, one side mild.

Day 9: Pandas at opening time

Book the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding up to 14 days ahead and be at the gate for the morning slot: 7:30 am, or 8 am from November to February. A taxi from Chunxi Road takes 25-35 minutes; the gate visitor centers lend strollers free, and Panda Villa No. 6 closes on Mondays. After a nap, sit in the People's Park teahouse.

Day 10: Day trip to the Leshan Giant Buddha

Trains from Chengdu East or South reach Leshan in 41-58 minutes, plus 20-30 minutes by taxi, so allow about 2 hours each way. Winter hours, October 8 to March 31, are 8 am to 5:30 pm. As of October 2026 the Nine-Turn Plank Road is closed for maintenance, leaving the Lingyun Plank Road as the cliff path to the Buddha's feet; with small children, take the river boat. For more pandas instead, book Dujiangyan Panda Valley, a Chengdu base branch, up to 7 days ahead on its WeChat account.

Day 11: Cooking and Sichuan opera

Book a Sichuan cooking class, or drive 30-60 minutes west to the Sichuan Cuisine Museum in Pidu, where the ticket includes snack tastings. In the evening, Shufeng Yayun in the Culture Park stages a 90-minute Sichuan opera show with face-changing at 8 pm (seats about ¥150-270), so plan an afternoon nap.

Day 12: Fly home from Chengdu

Most international flights use Tianfu (TFU), 51 km southeast of the center: about 30 minutes by Metro Line 18 express from Chengdu South, 26 minutes by train from Chengdu East or an hour by taxi. It has nonstops to many Asian cities and some in Europe, the Middle East and Oceania; otherwise connect through Beijing or Shanghai. Some Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan flights moved to Shuangliu (CTU) on July 30, 2026, so check your ticket.

Getting around

Times and second-class adult fares are from 12306 for early November 2026, checked October 29, 2026; hotel-to-hotel times are our estimates. Both legs take 3-4.5 hours city to city with no check-in or airport transfers, so we skip flights. Book on 12306 with each passport (sales open 15 days ahead as of October 2026). One child under 6 per paying adult rides free without a seat, and ages 6-13 pay half the full fare.

When to go

April-May and September-October are easiest, with average highs of about 19-27°C (67-81°F) in all three cities (China Meteorological Administration). July and August bring highs of 29-32°C (84-90°F), about 200 mm of rain a month in Chengdu and school-holiday crowds. In January, Beijing averages 2°C (35°F) by day and -7°C (19°F) at night.

Avoid Golden Week (October 1-7), the May Day break (expected May 1-5, 2027) and Chinese New Year on February 6, 2027; the official 2027 schedule was not yet out as of October 29, 2026. See the best time to visit China.

What it costs

Typical prices per person, October 2026 (¥6.67 = US$1):

Hotel prices vary widely, so book family rooms early for July, August and holidays; our China trip cost guide has daily budgets. Typical private tour: $165-350 per person per day depending on hotels, group size and season.

Make it yours

• Add Guilin and Yangshuo (14-15 days): Fly from Chengdu to Guilin in about 1.5 hours, or take a 5-6.5 hour train, then cruise the Li River to Yangshuo for 2-3 nights.
• Shorter, 9-10 days: Pair Beijing and Chengdu with a 3-hour flight (the fastest train takes 7.5 hours), or Xi'an and Chengdu with the 3-4 hour train.
• Start in Shanghai: Swap Beijing for three nights in Shanghai, then fly to Xi'an; the fastest train takes 5 hours 39 minutes, and you lose the Great Wall.
• Hand it over: If you'd rather have a local team plan and book this route, tell us your dates.

See also our China with kids guide.