Is 7 days enough for a first trip to China?

For three cities on one line — Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai — yes, without rushing, because high-speed rail does the moving in half a day. What you cannot do in 7 days is add a fourth city in a different direction.

Should I start in Beijing or Shanghai?

Start in Beijing if you want the biggest sights first and the jet lag to work for you (early starts beat the crowds). Start in Shanghai if you want a softer landing — it is the easiest city to arrive in and the food and transport are the most familiar.

Do I need to pre-book every attraction?

No. Only the high-demand timed-entry sites need pre-booking: Forbidden City, Terracotta Army, Shaanxi History Museum, the Chengdu panda base, and major museums. Parks, streets, the Bund, hutongs and city walls can be walked up or bought on the spot.

Can I do this itinerary on the 240-hour visa-free transit?

Partially. The 7-day route crosses regions, which the transit permit does not allow, so shorten it: pick Beijing or Shanghai and stay inside that permitted area for 4–5 days, with a confirmed onward ticket to a third country.

China trip itineraries: 7 days, 10 days, and a 240-hour transit route

Short answer

Most first trips work best as a one-way line, not a loop: fly into Beijing, take the high-speed train to Xi'an, then the train to Shanghai and fly home (or reverse it). Seven days covers those three cities without rushing; ten days adds Chengdu (pandas, Sichuan food) or Guilin/Yangshuo (karst river scenery). If you are travelling on the 240-hour visa-free transit, stay inside one permitted region and plan around the fixed onward flight — a Beijing-only 4-day route is the safest version. Build every stop around one pre-booked timed entry (Forbidden City, Terracotta Army, a museum), because those are the tickets that sell out.

Before you pick a route: four rules that shape it

Book the two ends first: international flights and the timed-entry tickets that sell out (Forbidden City, Terracotta Army, Shaanxi History Museum, Chengdu panda base). Everything else can move.
High-speed rail is the backbone: Beijing–Xi'an 4.5–5.5 h, Xi'an–Shanghai 6–6.5 h, Shanghai–Hangzhou ~45 min, Shanghai–Suzhou 25 min, Chengdu–Chongqing ~1.5 h. Book with your passport number on 12306 or an authorised app.
Do not pack in a city per day. Each move costs half a day with check-out, station, security and the new hotel.
Chinese museums close on Mondays (with public-holiday exceptions). Put the timed-entry, must-see museum on a Tuesday–Friday.

7 days — the classic first trip

Days 1–3 Beijing: Forbidden City + Jingshan on day 1 (pre-book 7 days ahead, 20:00 release), Mutianyu Great Wall on day 2, Temple of Heaven + hutongs on day 3.
Day 4 Xi'an: morning high-speed train from Beijing; afternoon City Wall by bike, evening Muslim Quarter.
Day 5 Xi'an: Terracotta Army in the morning (timed slot), Shaanxi History Museum or Big Wild Goose Pagoda in the afternoon.
Days 6–7 Shanghai: train to Shanghai; the Bund and Yu Garden, then Wukang Road and a half-day out to Zhujiajiao or Suzhou by train.
Why this order: it is a clean line, so you never backtrack, and both ends have the best international flight connections.

10 days — add one of two very different detours

Chengdu (food + pandas): fly or take the train from Xi'an, 2–3 nights. Panda base at opening, Wuhou Shrine and Du Fu Cottage (all timed-entry), hotpot and teahouses. Then fly Chengdu → Shanghai.
Guilin / Yangshuo (scenery): fly or train to Guilin, 2–3 nights. Li River bamboo raft (Yangdi–Xingping), a day cycling the Yulong River, Longji rice terraces if you have a third night. Then fly to Shanghai.
Pick one, not both: they are 1,000 km apart and doing both turns a holiday into a transit exercise.

240-hour visa-free transit — a route that fits the permit

The permit is for transiting to a third country: you need a confirmed onward ticket, and you cannot return directly to where you came from.
Stay inside one permitted area. A Beijing-only or Shanghai-only route avoids the cross-region questions entirely.
Beijing 4 days: Forbidden City, Mutianyu, Temple of Heaven, 798, plus a hutong evening.
Shanghai 4 days: the Bund, Yu Garden, Wukang Road, Suzhou day trip (Suzhou is inside the permitted Shanghai region).
Count carefully: your stay is counted from midnight of the day after entry, so 240 hours is effectively up to 10 nights — but keep a buffer day before your onward flight.

How to book each stop

Forbidden City: official international site intl.dpm.org.cn with your passport, 7 days ahead, 20:00 release — full steps.
Terracotta Army and Shaanxi History Museum: real-name reservation only, official WeChat account, 5 days ahead at 17:00 for the museum — Terracotta, Shaanxi museum.
Trains: passport-based booking on 12306 — step by step.
City-by-city booking mechanics: our city guides for Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai, Chengdu and Guilin list every channel and release window.

Related guides

Where these matter

Official sources

Policies and booking channels change — check the official channel before you rely on it.