⭐ Our founder's real trip
This is the route our founder travelled. With a stop in Changsha, every train leg can be done in under 2.5 hours on the fastest services (many trains on some legs take longer, so pick the fast ones when you book).
Skip Changsha? There's a direct Fenghuang → Shangrao bullet train, but it takes about 5 hours (the fastest is around 5 hrs 10 mins) and runs only a couple of times a day. Book early if you take it.
Seat classes on Chinese bullet trains
- Second class (二等座): the standard option. Comfortable 2+3 seating with good legroom, and ideal for most legs.
- First class (一等座): wider 2+2 seats, more legroom and a quieter carriage. A nice upgrade for longer legs.
- Business class (商务座): the top tier, with lie-flat or deeply reclining seats (often 2+1), priority boarding and snacks on many routes. Only on some trains.
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Route at a glance
- Sanya (beach break) 3–4 nights
- Chengdu 2–3 nights
- Chongqing 2 nights
- Zhangjiajie 3 nights
- Furong Ancient Town 1 night
- Fenghuang Ancient Town 1–2 nights
- Changsha 1 night
- Shangrao (gateway) —
- Wangxian Valley 1–2 nights
- Shanghai 2–3 nights
Rail legs (approximate journey times)
| Leg | Approx. time | Notes | Book |
|---|---|---|---|
| ✈️ London → Shenzhen | long-haul direct | Shenzhen Airlines flies direct from Heathrow (ZH888); our founder had a 9-hour stopover in Shenzhen | Flights on Skyscanner |
| ✈️ Shenzhen → Sanya | domestic flight | Several daily flights; compare times | Flights on Skyscanner |
| ✈️ Sanya → Chengdu | domestic flight, roughly 2.5–3 hrs | Several daily flights; compare times | Flights on Skyscanner |
| Chengdu → Chongqing | fastest about 1 hr (most 1 hr 20 mins–2 hrs) | Very frequent bullet trains; the fastest run Chengdu East → Shapingba | |
| Chongqing → Zhangjiajie West | fastest about 2 hrs (most 2.5–3 hrs) from Chongqing East | Leave from Chongqing East for the fastest trains | |
| Zhangjiajie West → Furongzhen | about 22–25 mins | Zhangjiajie–Jishou–Huaihua line | |
| Furongzhen → Fenghuang Gucheng | about 35–40 mins | Same line | |
| Fenghuang Gucheng → Changsha South | fastest about 1 hr 50 mins (most 2–2.5 hrs) | Several G trains a day | |
| Changsha South → Shangrao | fastest about 2 hrs (most 2.5–3.5 hrs) | Frequent, around 40+ trains a day; a few slower services take over 3 hrs, so pick a faster one | |
| Shangrao → Wangxian Valley | about 1 hr by road | Shuttle bus or Didi from Shangrao station | |
| Shangrao → Shanghai Hongqiao | fastest about 2 hrs 15 mins (most 2.5–3 hrs) | Frequent trains | |
| ✈️ Shanghai → Tokyo | short-haul flight | Then Shinkansen Tokyo → Kyoto (about 2 hrs 15 mins) → Osaka (about 15 mins) | Flights on Skyscanner |
| ✈️ Osaka → Guangzhou → London | China Southern: Osaka (KIX) → Guangzhou, 1 night, then direct Guangzhou → Heathrow | Two separate flights; compare on Skyscanner | Flights on Skyscanner |
✈️ Compare flights on Skyscanner. 🚄 Pre-book trains and hotels on Trip.com. Times are approximate, based on published 2026 timetables (12306, Trip.com and timetable sites). Always check live times before booking.
Day-by-day plan
- Day 1–2: Fly direct from London to Shenzhen (our founder had a 9-hour stopover there), then fly on to Sanya.
- Day 2–5: Sanya beach break: Yalong Bay, Sanya Bay, a day on Wuzhizhou Island. Get over the jet lag on the beach.
- Day 6: Fly Sanya → Chengdu.
- Day 7–8: Chengdu: the Panda Base early in the morning, People's Park teahouse, Kuanzhai Alley.
- Day 9: Bullet train to Chongqing. Hongyadong lit up at night.
- Day 10: Chongqing: Liziba monorail, Ciqikou old town, hotpot.
- Day 11: Bullet train to Zhangjiajie.
- Day 12: Tianmen Mountain: the long cable car up from the city, the glass skywalk, and the 999 steps to Heaven's Gate.
- Day 13–14: Zhangjiajie National Forest Park: the 'Avatar mountains' at Yuanjiajie, the Bailong Elevator and Tianzi Mountain.
- Day 15: Short bullet train to Furong Ancient Town. Waterfall lit up at night.
- Day 16: Train to Fenghuang Ancient Town. Evening by the Tuojiang River.
- Day 17: Bullet train Fenghuang → Changsha South (about 2–2.5 hrs). Afternoon at Orange Isle (Juzizhou) on the Xiang River.
- Day 18: Morning on Yuelu Mountain (and Yuelu Academy), then street food on Taiping Street. Evening bullet train or overnight, ready for the morning.
- Day 19: Bullet train Changsha South → Shangrao (about 2–3 hrs), then on to Wangxian Valley for the evening lights.
- Day 20: Wangxian Valley by day, back to Shangrao, bullet train to Shanghai.
- Day 21–22: Shanghai: the Bund, French Concession.
- Day 23+: Fly to Tokyo, then Shinkansen to Kyoto and Osaka. For a hotel price tip, see our Tokyo guide.
- Last days: fly Osaka → Guangzhou with China Southern, one night in Guangzhou, then direct to London.
Getting home / onward options
Our founder continued to Japan and flew home via Guangzhou with China Southern (which flies Guangzhou to Heathrow and Gatwick). To finish in China instead, fly direct from Shanghai Pudong to London. Try our multi-city trip builder to plan each leg as a separate ticket.
Compare hotels along the route
Compare live prices for each stop:
Sanya (beach break)
Chengdu
Chongqing
Zhangjiajie
Furong Ancient Town
Fenghuang Ancient Town
Changsha
Wangxian Valley
Shanghai
Bullet train tips
- Book on Trip.com (English app, accepts UK cards) or the official China Railway 12306 site/app (English version available). Tickets open around 15 days ahead and popular trains sell out, especially at weekends and on holidays.
- Bring your passport: it's your ticket and ID. Foreign passports usually go through a staffed gate, not the automatic barriers.
- Arrive 45–60 minutes early. There's security screening, and big stations are huge. Boarding gates close a few minutes before departure.
- Check the station. Cities often have several (e.g. Chongqing East vs West, Beijing West vs Chaoyang).
- Luggage: there's overhead space and room at the ends of carriages, so travel fairly light. Food and hot water are available on board.
- All journey times on this page are approximate, based on published 2026 timetables. Timetables change, so confirm on 12306 or Trip.com before booking.
Destination guides on this route
Sanya (beach break), Chengdu, Chongqing, Zhangjiajie, Furong Ancient Town, Fenghuang Ancient Town, Wangxian Valley, Shanghai
China essentials for UK travellers
- Visa: according to GOV.UK (as checked in October 2026), holders of full 'British citizen' passports can currently enter mainland China visa-free for up to 30 days for tourism, business, family visits or transit, until 31 December 2026. Longer stays, or other purposes like work or study, need a visa. Your passport needs at least 6 months' validity and 2 blank pages. Rules change, so always check GOV.UK and the Chinese Embassy in the UK before you travel. Hong Kong and Macao have separate rules.
- Getting there from the UK: direct flights on Chinese airlines from London Heathrow and Gatwick to cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu take roughly 10–11.5 hours, some of the shortest routes between the UK and China, often with competitive fares. Compare flights on Skyscanner to find cheap tickets with trusted airlines. Book trains, hotels and activities in China on Trip.com.
- Getting around: China's high-speed rail network is fast and affordable. Book in advance (Trip.com sells China train tickets in English), and bring your passport, which is used as your ticket ID. Domestic flights cover longer hops.
- Payments: China is largely cashless. Alipay and WeChat Pay both let you link a foreign Visa or Mastercard, so set them up before you go. Carry some cash as a backup, because many smaller vendors don't accept foreign cards directly.
- Staying connected: some apps you use at home, such as Google Maps, Gmail and WhatsApp, may not work normally in mainland China. Download offline maps (Amap or Apple Maps work well) and a translation app before you go, and tell family which app you'll use to keep in touch. International roaming or a travel eSIM bought before departure is the easiest way to get online.
- Registration: hotels register foreign guests with police automatically. If you stay privately, you must register within 24 hours (GOV.UK).
- Busy periods: avoid Chinese New Year and Golden Week (1–7 October) if you can. Trains and attractions sell out and prices rise.