It is — a lot of planning.

And honestly, part of why I'm writing this is to make that part simpler for you.

But before the logistics, let me tell you what this trip actually was. Because it wasn't a sightseeing trip. We saw the Terracotta Warriors, yes. We did West Lake. We ticked the obvious boxes. But that's not what I think about when I think about those six weeks.

I think about the dress.

My daughter found a picture online — something runway-adjacent — and handed it to a tie-dye teacher in a village in Dali. The teacher looked at it, nodded, and spent the afternoon guiding her hands through folding, binding, and a vat of plant-based indigo dye that's been used in that region for over a thousand years. She came home with a dress she made herself. She's worn it to school and got a ton of compliments.

That's the trip. The sights were the backdrop.

The experiences were the point.

Arts and crafts workshops everywhere — affordable, accessible, and deeply skilled.

A photoshoot in traditional costume that I was convinced would be embarrassing and turned out to be one of the best $50 I've ever spent.

A spa at 7am that understood something Western wellness never has — that relaxation and fun are not opposites.

A dinner performance where we showed up in costume and became part of the show.

Ceramics fired and mailed to our hotel for $3 per bowl.

Made our own flower-filled pastry from scratch in Yunnan.

If you're looking for a list of the best photo spots in China, this isn't it. If you're looking for the kind of trip where your kid makes something real and you eat things you'll think about for years — read on.

China is big. Comparable to the US in size, but culturally closer to Europe — each region distinct, shaped by thousands of years of different kingdoms, ethnic groups, and traditions colliding and separating and colliding again. What you experience in Yunnan has almost nothing in common with what you experience in Shanghai. Plan for that.

Timing matters. Avoid peak seasons — National Day in October, Chinese New Year in January/February, and summer holidays in major cities.

Apps first. Set everything up at least a week before you fly. This is the one thing I'd tell every family planning a trip to China. Not a nice-to-have. Non-negotiable. More on this later.

Packing is the least important part. Almost anything can be delivered within 20–30 minutes. We were short a suitcase on the day of our flight — ordered one for ¥150 ($25 CAD), it arrived in 45 minutes. It's still better than my other suitcases. Bring your medications, documents, and passports.

You'll need the passport at most attractions for entry.

If your powerbank isn't CCC-certified, leave it at home — it won't be allowed on domestic flights.

Pacing beat planning. Every time I left space in the schedule, something better than what I'd planned happened. For scale: Beijing is roughly 10x the size of New York. Crossing the city is not a casual decision. Build in more time than you think you need.

Planned to minimize backtracking:

Shanghai → Chengdu → Chongqing → Xi'an → Kunming → Dali + surrounding towns → Guilin/Yangshuo → Fuzhou → Quanzhou → Hangzhou → Yiwu → Hengdian → Suzhou → Shanghai

Detailed hotel recommendations and activity lists for each city are coming in the next few emails. What follows is the shape of the journey — not a checklist, but a sense of how it moved.

Shanghai · Chengdu · Chongqing · Xi'an

These cities reset my assumptions about modern China. Fast, clean, efficient, and with a price-to-value ratio that makes every comparable Western city feel quietly absurd.

Shanghai — 3 to 4 nights

World-class museums — natural history, astronomy, science, and kids — most of them free, more than we could fit in, several still on my list.

The glass museum is a bit of a trek but our absolute highlight in the city. Magical glass-blowing show in the studio, hands-on make-your-own glassware. We made this little flower and feel so proud of ourselves.

The Bund is its own thing: London, Paris, and New York collapsed into a single skyline and it shouldn't work but it does.

The local food is what stayed with me — soup dumplings, pan-fried buns, scallion oil noodles — but the food scene at large rivals any major Western city. 24-hour restaurants made the jetlagged first days easy.

The Meland playground chain inside the malls deserves its own mention. We easily lost a few hours in there — climbing walls, slides, dress-up stations, role play (gas station, supermarket, hospital, construction, scientist, etc.), organized activities. I'm not going to pretend I wasn't one of the parents horizontal on a beanbag scrolling my phone while my daughter ran wild. I'm not proud. I'm also not sorry.

One afternoon we went from a museum to a dental cleaning at a mall clinic in the space of a few hours. Ultrasonic, pain-free, same-day, $10 CAD. That's Shanghai. Everything exists, and everything works.

Hotels: ~¥700/night · Activities: ~¥600/person Honest take: easiest entry point, most expensive stop. Next time: I'd add Disney or Legoland. Because why not.

Chengdu — 3 nights

At 7am, people are already in the park, sitting for hours over tea. No rush. No agenda. After Shanghai, this felt like my nervous system exhaled.

We got to the panda base before 8am — good call, it fills fast. Saw babies. The early wake-up was absolutely worth it.

Sichuan opera was chaotic in the best way: face-changing, fire-breathing, high energy.

Sanxingdui was something else entirely — 3,000-year-old artifacts that look like they arrived from somewhere else entirely. Booking tickets required some effort but don't skip it.

Hotels: ~¥300/night · Activities: ~¥300/person Don't skip: Sanxingdui, Sichuan opera. Would I change anything? Stay longer, plan less

Chongqing — 5 nights

Build this in. No question.

The metro runs through a residential building — yes it’s real. Civil engineering in this city is on an entirely different level.

We had hotpot at midnight in a Cold War tunnel.

There's a free drone show every Saturday night.

It's vertical, chaotic, and completely alive.

I got lost constantly and kept finding things I wouldn't have planned for.

Dress-up dinner with performance a must.

24/7 spa in Chongqing has in my opinion the best price to value ratio.

Hotels: ~¥250/night · Activities: ~¥200/person Honest take: best value city on the trip Caveat: getting lost is part of it — even navigation apps struggle here

Xi'an — 3 nights

The Terracotta Warriors were the anchor. We hired a guide — worth it. It's crowded, but it still lands. Two thousand years old and you feel it.

Biking 13km along the ancient city wall at sunset was one of those unexpectedly memorable afternoons. Bumpy in parts. Worth every second.

The Muslim Quarter was loud, busy, and full of food shaped by the Silk Road.

The clay workshop — making a small warrior to take home — turned out to be one of the most relaxing afternoons of the trip. That's the pattern: always book the workshop.

"Eternal Love" was polished, immersive, and one of our top experiences.

"Chang'an Twelve Hours" was slightly chaotic and slightly cheesy — but also fun. Both are worth it for different reasons.

Hotels: ~¥250/night · Activities: ~¥400/person Don't skip: guide + workshop Would I change anything? No — this one is worth doing properly

Kunming · Dali · Xizhou · Shaxi · Weishan · Guilin/Yangshuo

This is where everything slowed down. The air felt softer. The days stretched. I stopped trying to optimize.

— Wen

For more details, click below to run the numbers for your family and cities you’d like to visit, and read more on price comparisons with other travel destinations