China in 3 Weeks: The Full Journey

If you have three weeks, you can stop trying to choose. This route strings together the classic highlights with the more spectacular detours most two-week travelers have to cut: the sandstone pillars of Zhangjiajie and the serene West Lake in Hangzhou.

You start in Beijing and Xi'an for the history, drop down to Chengdu and Guilin for the pace change, push into Zhangjiajie for the most dramatic landscape in the country, then ease back east through Hangzhou to finish in Shanghai. The extra week is what lets you add those two showstoppers without rushing anything.

What the extra week buys you

• Zhangjiajie's Avatar mountains, which deserve two full days.
• A slower, more human-sized conclusion in Hangzhou before Shanghai's bustle.
• Buffer days for weather, rest and the detours that always appear.

This is the route for travelers who want to say they really saw China, not just its three most famous cities.