Private trips to China, planned in the right order.
Most of our clients come to us with flights booked and the rest still open. We design day-by-day trips to Yunnan, Guangxi and Qinghai–Gansu the way China actually works: visa area checked against your route, every ticket window dated, hotels that take foreign guests, altitude in the right sequence. Plan delivered in 5 business days, WhatsApp support while you travel.
Services and prices
Why China is planned in a different order
Three things decide a China trip before you fly.
In Europe you can book as you go. In China the bottlenecks are fixed: real-name tickets with set release days, hotels licensed for foreign guests, and a visa-free transit area that does not cover every route. Settle these three first and the rest of the trip is ordinary planning.
Your visa may not cover your route
The 240-hour visa-free transit area stops at nine prefectures in Yunnan and twelve cities in Guangxi, and includes nothing in Qinghai or Gansu. Shangri-La, Meili and Detian are outside it, so all three of our routes need a visa. A US tourist visa takes about four working days once filed.
The visa, step by stepThe ticket you need opens 7 days ahead, then sells out
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain's cable car tickets are released at 20:00 Beijing time, seven days before each date, by real name. In high season they are gone in minutes. The Mogao Caves ration tickets the same way.
How the window worksThe hotel may not be able to take you
Not every hotel in China is registered to host foreign guests, booking sites do not always say so, and the problem shows up at check-in, at night. A first night in Shangri-La, at 3,300 m, is the other thing we check before anything is booked.
The entry checklistThe first thing to settle. The direction of the route, then two dates: the day the visa must be filed and the day your most sold-out ticket opens. Everything else follows from those.
Three regions, three very different roads
Each line is a sample route drawn to the same scale, from sea level to 4,000 metres. Guangxi stays low and easy; Yunnan climbs steadily to Shangri-La; Qinghai–Gansu spends days on the plateau before dropping into the desert.
Yunnan
Old towns, snow mountains and the Tea Horse Road
- Sample trip
- 7 days, Kunming to Shangri-La
- Highest stop
- 3,300 m
- Best months
- March to June, September to November
Guangxi
Karst rivers, rice terraces and the Vietnam border
- Sample trip
- 7 days, Guilin to Detian Waterfall
- Highest stop
- 800 m
- Best months
- April to October
Qinghai–Gansu
Salt lakes, the Silk Road and the Gobi's edge
- Sample trip
- 10 days, a loop from Xining
- Highest stop
- 3,196 m
- Best months
- May to September
How it works
Every price is per trip, in US dollars. You only pay after the free route check, once you know the route works.
Free route check
Tell us your dates, who is traveling and what you have booked so far. We reply by email with whether the route works in that order, what will sell out first, and which service fits. Prefer to talk it through? Ask for a Zoom call.
Pay for the design you choose
We send a secure card payment link for Essentials or Signature. Nothing is charged before the route check.
Receive your plan
A day-by-day itinerary with hotel picks, transfer times, booking links and the reasoning behind each choice. You ask for changes; we revise.
Travel with backup
Book the plan yourself, or have our partner team in China book all of it. Add the remote concierge if you want someone on WhatsApp while you are in China.
Why travelers plan with us
We answer while you travel
During your trip, our WhatsApp reply windows are set to China mornings and evenings, when travelers actually need help.
We have traveled these roads
Our routes come from our own travels in Yunnan, Guangxi and Qinghai–Gansu, including the drive from Shangri-La to Meili Snow Mountain in March 2026.
We tell you what does not work
Seven days cannot cover Guilin, Detian and Weizhou Island. Shangri-La sits at about 3,300 metres. We put the limits in writing before you pay for anything.
Free planning guides
Practical answers we give clients every week, written down.
Planning guideFirst trip to China: the checklist, with the eSIM question answered
Planning guideHow to get a China tourist visa as a US citizen, step by stepField notes, March 2026How to plan Shangri-La and Deqin without rushing
Place guideJade Dragon Snow Mountain: how to visit it well
Region guideGuangxi travel guide: Guilin, Yangshuo and the Detian border country
Questions people ask first
What does CN Expedition actually do?
We design private, day-by-day trip plans for Yunnan, Guangxi and Qinghai–Gansu, and offer WhatsApp support while you travel. Trip design starts at US$190. You either book the plan yourself or have our partner team in China book all of it for you.
Are you a travel agency?
We are trip designers, and we work with a licensed inbound travel agency in China. We plan the trip and coordinate it; when you want hotels, cars and guides booked for you, our agency partner contracts and invoices those bookings under its licence.
How much does a China trip plan cost?
Essentials trip design is US$190 for up to 7 days. Signature trip design is US$250 for 8 to 14 days, in one region or two; longer trips are quoted before we start. The remote concierge is US$40 a day or US$350 for up to 10 days. The route check is free.
Do Americans need a visa for China?
Usually, yes. US passport holders are not on China's 30-day visa-free list as of October 2026. A trip of up to 10 days can qualify for 240-hour visa-free transit if you arrive from one country and leave for a different country or region, such as Hong Kong, with a confirmed onward ticket. But the permitted stay area does not cover Shangri-La and Meili in Yunnan, the Detian waterfall area in Guangxi, or any of Qinghai and Gansu, so all three of our routes need a visa. See our visa guide for the step-by-step process.
Is it hard to travel in China without speaking Chinese?
Hotels and trains work well, but restaurants, drivers and small towns often do not use English. A good plan, Chinese address cards, working payment apps and someone to message when things go wrong solve most of it.
Which region should I choose for a first trip?
Guangxi is the easiest: low altitude and short transfers. Yunnan adds old towns and Tibetan culture but climbs to about 3,300 metres. Qinghai–Gansu is a long road journey for travelers who want vast landscapes and Silk Road history.
Tell us where you want to go.
The first route check is free and comes by email. We will tell you honestly whether your route works, what sells out first, and what it would take.