Amara Patel
April 30, 2026
Customized China Tours Tailored Just for You
Tailored exclusively for passionate history enthusiasts, this 13-day private custom tour explores China’s most iconic historical hubs, spanning Beijing, Datong, Pingyao, Luoyang, Xi’an and Nanjing. Curated to showcase the very best of China’s millennia of civilization, every stop is hand-selected to deliver an immersive deep dive into the country’s unmissable essential historical highlights. This great-value tour offers secure, trusted payment processing and full flexibility to adjust your itinerary to match your specific historical interests.
This journey traces over 5,000 years of Chinese history starting from the modern imperial capital Beijing, winding south through northern China’s ancient Buddhist sites and perfectly preserved walled cities, stopping at Datong and Pingyao before reaching Xi’an, the ancient Silk Road starting point, moving east to the ancient dynastic capital Luoyang, and ending at the historic Yangtze River city of Nanjing. Connected entirely by smooth, modern high-speed trains that let you relax and watch the Chinese countryside roll by between stops, this route weaves together imperial history, Buddhist art, traditional merchant culture, and early modern Chinese history for a complete deep dive into China’s past.
🌟 Day 1: Beijing
Arrive in Beijing and check into your accommodation at your own pace after clearing customs. Take the rest of the day to settle in, explore the neighborhood near your hotel, or try your first taste of iconic Beijing street food, getting rested for your upcoming 12 days of historic exploration. 🏨 Overnight in Beijing
🌟 Day 2: Beijing
Kick off your historic adventure with a stroll across the vast, iconic Tiananmen Square, the symbolic heart of Beijing, before stepping into the Forbidden City—home to 24 Chinese emperors across two great dynasties. Unlike standard group tours, we’ll also wander the quiet, lesser-visited outer courtyards that most travelers miss, giving you a more intimate feel for daily life in the imperial court. In the afternoon, we visit the Temple of Heaven, where Ming and Qing emperors once held grand ceremonies to pray for bountiful harvests, surrounded by stunning traditional Chinese architecture. 🍽️ Included: Breakfast, Lunch | 🏨 Overnight in Beijing
🌟 Day 3: Beijing
Today you’ll visit one of the world’s most famous wonders: the Great Wall of China, at the quiet, well-preserved Mutianyu section. We’ll ride a cable car up to the wall, giving you sweeping panoramic views of the green, misty mountains below before you start hiking along the ancient battlements at your own pace. Back in central Beijing, we stop at the Shijia Hutong Museum to learn about the history of Beijing’s iconic traditional alleyway neighborhoods, the soul of the old city. 🍽️ Included: Breakfast, Lunch | 🏨 Overnight in Beijing
🌟 Day 4: Beijing → Datong
After breakfast, we board a comfortable high-speed train north to Datong, an ancient northern Chinese city famous for its early Buddhist art. Once we arrive, our first stop is the UNESCO-listed Yungang Grottoes, where thousands of intricately carved Buddha statues dating back to the 5th century line the cliff faces. Next, we explore the grand Huayan Temple complex, and climb to the top of its ancient wooden pagoda for unobstructed views over the city. We end the day with a look at Datong’s stunning 14th-century Nine Dragon Screen, a glazed tile masterpiece. 🍽️ Included: Breakfast | 🏨 Overnight in Datong
🌟 Day 5: Datong → Pingyao
We leave Datong early to visit one of China’s most breathtaking architectural wonders: the Hanging Temple, a Buddhist temple built directly into the side of a steep cliff, clinging hundreds of feet above the ground for over 1,500 years. After exploring this gravity-defying site, we head to the train station for our high-speed journey to Pingyao, a beautifully preserved walled ancient city from the Ming and Qing dynasties. 🍽️ Included: Breakfast | 🏨 Overnight in Pingyao
🌟 Day 6: Pingyao
Spend the full day wandering the car-free, time-capsule lanes of the Ancient City of Pingyao, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that looks almost exactly as it did 200 years ago. We’ll climb to the top of Pingyao’s intact 6-kilometer city wall for bird’s-eye views over the city’s sea of grey tiled rooftops. Next, we visit the Rishengchang Former Bank, China’s first national draft bank, to learn how Pingyao grew into the financial heart of Qing Dynasty China. We end the day with a stroll down bustling Ming and Qing Street, lined with traditional craft shops and local snack stalls. 🍽️ Included: Breakfast, Lunch | 🏨 Overnight in Pingyao
🌟 Day 7: Pingyao → Xi'an
Before leaving the Pingyao region, we stop at two incredible underrated historic sites: first, Zhangbi Ancient Castle, a 1,400-year-old hidden fortified village with a sprawling network of secret underground tunnels. Next, we explore the Wang’s Family Compound, a sprawling complex of courtyard homes built for one of Qing China’s most powerful merchant families, often called the “People’s Palace.” After our visits, we board a high-speed train south to Xi’an, the ancient capital of 13 dynasties and the starting point of the Silk Road. 🍽️ Included: Breakfast | 🏨 Overnight in Xi'an
🌟 Day 8: Xi'an
Today kicks off with a visit to Xi’an’s most famous icon: the UNESCO-listed Terracotta Warriors, an army of thousands of life-sized clay soldiers built to guard Emperor Qin Shi Huang in the afterlife over 2,200 years ago. After exploring the three pits of warriors, we head to the nearby countryside to visit a traditional cave dwelling and chat with a local family, learning about their unique centuries-old way of life. Back in central Xi’an, we visit the 1,000-year-old Great Mosque, which beautifully blends Chinese and Islamic architectural styles, before wandering the food stalls of the lively Muslim Quarter. 🍽️ Included: Breakfast, Lunch | 🏨 Overnight in Xi'an
🌟 Day 9: Xi'an → Luoyang
We start our day in Xi’an with a stop at the iconic ancient Drum Tower, the symbol of old Xi’an, before heading to the world-class Shaanxi History Museum, which houses thousands of priceless artifacts spanning thousands of years of Chinese dynastic history. After exploring the museum’s incredible collections, we board our high-speed train east to Luoyang, one of China’s four great ancient capitals and the birthplace of Buddhism in China. 🍽️ Included: Breakfast | 🏨 Overnight in Luoyang
🌟 Day 10: Luoyang → Dengfeng
Today we take a day trip to Dengfeng, home of the world-famous Shaolin Temple, the birthplace of Zen Buddhism and Chinese kung fu. We explore the ancient temple grounds, wander the quiet Forest of Dagobas—an area filled with hundreds of ancient stone pagodas marking the final resting places of past Shaolin masters—then settle in to watch a thrilling live Shaolin Kung Fu performance by the temple’s martial artists. We end our day with a visit to the ancient Songyang Academy, one of China’s most famous pre-modern centers of Confucian learning. 🍽️ Included: Breakfast, Lunch | 🏨 Overnight in Luoyang
🌟 Day 11: Luoyang → Nanjing
Before leaving Luoyang, we visit the UNESCO-listed Longmen Grottoes, a sprawling collection of over 100,000 Buddhist carvings cut into the limestone cliffs along the Yi River, dating back over 1,500 years. After exploring this incredible site, we board our final high-speed train east to Nanjing, an ancient capital and dynamic historic city on the banks of the Yangtze River. 🍽️ Included: Breakfast | 🏨 Overnight in Nanjing
🌟 Day 12: Nanjing
Our last full day of exploration brings us to Nanjing’s most iconic historic sites, spanning ancient to modern Chinese history. We start at Zhonghua Gate, the best-preserved ancient city gate in China, climbing its massive stone fortifications for views over the Qinhuai River. Next, we head to the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, the final resting place of the father of modern China, set in a beautiful forested park. We then visit the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum, the tomb of the first Ming Emperor, before ending the day at the Confucius Temple, a historic center of learning and bustling cultural spot along the Qinhuai River. 🍽️ Included: Breakfast, Lunch | 🏨 Overnight in Nanjing
🌟 Day 13: Nanjing Departure
After breakfast, your 13-day historic Chinese adventure comes to an end. We’ll help arrange your transfer to Nanjing’s airport or train station for your onward journey, with lasting memories of thousands of years of Chinese history to take home. 🍽️ Included: Breakfast
Min 2 · Max 20 people per group
Traveler reviews
April 30, 2026
If you love history and want a trip that actually caters to your interests, book this tour immediately.
February 20, 2026
This tour hits all the most important historical sites across northern and eastern China, and the private format made it easy to go at my own pace. I’m giving 4 stars only because I traveled during Chinese New Year, and several key sites were far more wonderful than I expected, which cut into my exploration time at a couple stops. The historical content and guiding were completely flawless otherwise.
November 17, 2025
I’ve done several history-focused tours across Europe and Asia, and this one easily ranks as the best I’ve ever taken. The selection of sites spanning from the Yungang Grottoes in Datong to the Ming City Wall in Nanjing let us explore over 2000 years of Chinese history in one seamless, well-organized trip. Our private guide was able to answer every obscure question I threw at him, from details of Northern Wei Buddhist sculpture to Ming dynasty political history. I especially loved the private custom format, which let me linger longer at sites that fascinated me most without holding up a group.
September 4, 2025
As a university history professor who’s studied Chinese dynastic history for 20 years, I was blown away by how much new context I gained on this trip. The 13-day itinerary was perfectly paced, never too rushed, and covered every key historical era I wanted to experience.
March 12, 2025
This custom tour was an absolute dream come true for any passionate history lover.
December 18, 2024
My consultant Lynn at HelloChinaTrip adjusted my itinerary perfectly when I asked to add an extra half day at the Xi'an Terracotta Army. Every stop was curated exactly to match my obsession with Chinese imperial history, and our private guide had incredible depth of knowledge I never would have gotten on a standard group tour.
