Theme
High-speed rail & river journeys
3,000 km in a day without an airport, or four slow days down the Yangtze — China's two great linear journeys.
Bookable departures for this theme
Next dates on this theme
China built the world's largest high-speed rail network in fifteen years, and it changes how a journey is planned: Beijing to Xi'an in four hours, Shanghai to Huangshan in three. Pair it with a Yangtze cruise for the one journey where speed is the wrong idea.
What this theme looks like
01
350 km/h everyday travel
We book, ticket and transfer you — with seat classes explained before you choose.
02
Scenic lines
Hangzhou–Huangshan, Guiyang–Guilin and the Xi'an–Chengdu line through the Qinling mountains.
03
Yangtze River cruise
Three to four nights between Chongqing and Yichang through the Three Gorges.
04
Luxury trains
Seasonal tourist trains across the Silk Road or Yunnan on request.
A sample route
One way to shape this theme — every route we build is adjusted to your dates, pace and budget.
- Days 1–2Beijing: arrival, imperial sights, first high-speed rail sector to Xi'an.
- Days 3–5Xi'an → Chengdu by rail through the Qinling mountains; pandas and teahouses.
- Days 6–9Chongqing: board a Yangtze cruise through the Three Gorges to Yichang.
- Days 10–12Yichang → Shanghai by rail; the Bund and a delta water town.
Bookable journeys
Ready-made departures for this theme
Fixed-date small-group departures — or ask us to run the same route privately on your own dates.
Shanghai & Jiangnan Water Towns
Five days moving between Shanghai’s riverfront skyline and the canals, gardens and stone bridges of the Jiangnan water towns.
Guilin & the Li River
Five days of karst landscapes: a leisurely Li River cruise, Yangshuo backroads by bike and the terraced hills of Longji.
Reading list
Stories & guides on this theme
Travel GuideBeijing 3-Day Itinerary 2026: Trains, Hutong Nights and the Wall
Beijing in three days works only if you keep day one inside the Second Ring and give the Great Wall its own full day. This plan gives the clock times, ticket prices, metro fares and booking windows, then prices the trip before you add a hotel, so you know exactly what to reserve first.
Read storyTaiwan Photography Spots: 8 Best Locations to Shoot in 2026
Taiwan rewards photographers who get up early and stay out late. Mist sits on Sun Moon Lake until 8 a.m., the Alishan line climbs through 50 tunnels, and a Kaohsiung river holds the city lights. This guide gives eight Taiwan photography spots with their light windows, fares, trailheads and the one booking that shapes the whole trip.
Read storyTaiwan Family Travel Guide 2026: 7 Days by Rail with Kids
Taiwan is one of Asia's easiest islands to travel with children: short train rides, cheap noodles, a zoo and a gondola in one morning. This guide gives families the rail fares, child-fare rules, stroller verdicts and nap-friendly timings, then shapes them into a two-base week that does not exhaust anyone.
Read story
Travel GuideWhat's the Best Time to Visit Taiwan? A 2026 Month-by-Month Guide
Taiwan is small enough that the weather, not the distance, decides your trip. Pick the right fortnight and you get dry walks along the Tamsui River, a clear run up the Alishan railway and hotel rooms at half the holiday rate; pick the wrong one and you meet the tail end of a typhoon. This guide turns the island's year into dates you can actually book.
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Travel GuideTaiwan 3-Day Itinerary 2026: Taipei, Jiufen and Tainan by Rail
Three days in Taiwan is a Taipei-first trip that earns one coast day and one high-speed rail dash south. This itinerary keeps the rail legs, ticket prices, station exits and rain-swap options in plain numbers, so you can lock the plan from home and spend the trip eating, walking and watching lanterns instead of queuing at counters.
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Travel GuideTaiwan Food Guide 2026: What to Eat, Where to Go, and What It Costs
Taiwan's food culture is a walking culture: you graze through night markets, queue at the stall with the longest local line, and measure a city by its breakfast soup. This guide follows the island's classic eating route from Taipei down to Kaohsiung, adding rail logistics, seasonal timing and stall etiquette so a first trip feels unhurried rather than rushed.
Read storyQuestions about this theme
Is rail better than flying?
On most routes under 1,200 km, yes: city centre to city centre, no security queues, and the scenery is part of the trip.
Can you book sleeper trains?
Yes, including soft sleeper and deluxe compartments on overnight routes, subject to release dates.
Tell us which parts of this theme matter most and we will shape a route around them.