CTS Tours
China Travel Specialists, Auckland NZ
A practical day-by-day guide to 10 days in Beijing and Xi'an — the Forbidden City, Great Wall, high-speed train, and Terracotta Warriors — designed for New Zealand travellers doing China for the first time.
A 10-day Beijing and Xi'an trip is the single most rewarding first China itinerary for New Zealand travellers. You get imperial Beijing in the north, a high-speed train journey across northern China, and the ancient capital of Xi'an — home to the Terracotta Warriors — in one clean loop. No internal flights. No rushed transit. Just two of the most historically significant cities on earth, connected by one of the world's great train journeys.
Here is how CTS Tours structures 10 days across both cities, and why we make the choices we do.
Beijing and Xi'an represent two distinct chapters of Chinese civilisation. Beijing is Ming and Qing Dynasty imperial China — the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Temple of Heaven, the hutong laneways of old Peking. Xi'an is the even older story: the first unified Chinese empire, the Han Dynasty trade routes to Rome, and the three terracotta armies buried to guard an emperor who died 2,200 years ago.
Together, they give you a span of history that most Western itineraries never manage. And crucially, the high-speed rail between them — around four hours, comfortable, no airports — makes the combination logistically simple.
Days 1–2: Arrive Beijing
You'll fly from Auckland via a hub city (most commonly Shanghai or Beijing direct). After landing and settling into your 4-star centrally located hotel, the first afternoon is light — orientation, jet lag recovery, and a walk to get the feel of the city.
Day 2 is your first full Beijing day: Tiananmen Square in the early morning (arrive before the crowds), then through the Meridian Gate into the Forbidden City. The scale takes time to absorb — 980 buildings, 9,999 rooms, six centuries of imperial ceremony happening in this one complex. Allow 3–4 hours minimum.
Day 3: Great Wall
We recommend the Mutianyu section for most first-time visitors — well-restored, less crowded than Badaling, and the toboggan descent is genuinely fun. The drive out of Beijing gives you your first sense of the scale of northern China: the city doesn't end so much as it gradually thins out into hills.
The Great Wall in person is different from every photo you've seen. It's narrower than you expect, steeper in places than you'd believe possible to build, and extends further into the mist in both directions than your brain can easily process. Give it a full morning.
Day 4: Temple of Heaven and Hutongs
The Temple of Heaven is where the Ming and Qing emperors came to pray for good harvests — a circular, cobalt-blue hall in a vast park that feels completely different from the Forbidden City's fortress-like walls. Morning is best, when local residents use the park for tai chi, ballroom dancing, and what appears to be very competitive badminton.
The afternoon goes to a hutong tour by pedicab — the narrow alleyways of old Beijing, mostly demolished but partially preserved around the Drum Tower. This is where Beijing residents actually lived for centuries, and it provides the human scale that the imperial monuments deliberately avoid.
Day 5: Beijing → Xi'an by High-Speed Train
This is one of the best days of the trip, even though it's technically a transit day. The G-class high-speed train from Beijing South takes approximately four hours to reach Xi'an North — pulling out of the capital through suburbs, then across the vast North China Plain, with the landscape gradually becoming more rugged as you approach Shaanxi Province.
Your guide meets you at Xi'an North Station and transfers you to your hotel within the city walls.
Day 6: Terracotta Warriors
Allow a full day. The Terracotta Army is 35km from Xi'an city — close enough for a comfortable day trip, far enough to be a genuine excursion rather than a quick walk.
Three pit halls are open to visitors. Pit 1 is the one you've seen in photographs: rows of infantry and cavalry stretching the length of a football pitch. Pit 2 contains cavalry and archers. Pit 3 is the command structure. The scale in person is different from photos — the figures are life-size, which means you're standing at ground level looking at a thousand faces, each one individually sculpted, none identical.
The story behind them matters almost as much as the sight: Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor to unify China, had these figures buried around 210 BC to guard him in the afterlife. They were discovered by farmers digging a well in 1974. The dig is still ongoing.
Day 7: Xi'an City Walls and Muslim Quarter
Xi'an's ancient city walls are among the best-preserved in China — 14km of walkable ramparts, wide enough to cycle along the top. Rent a bike from the South Gate and ride the full circuit for the best view of the city inside and the modern skyline outside.
The Muslim Quarter (Huimin Jie) is a working neighbourhood — not a tourist reconstruction — centred on the Great Mosque of Xi'an, one of China's oldest Islamic sites. The streets leading to it are a dense, fragrant corridor of street food: lamb skewers, roujiamo (Chinese "hamburgers"), persimmon cake, and pomegranate juice. Eat your way through it.
Day 8: Shaanxi History Museum and Banpo
The Shaanxi History Museum holds one of the finest collections of Chinese antiquities outside Beijing — particularly the Tang Dynasty golden age pieces (618–907 AD) from when Xi'an was the eastern terminus of the Silk Road. The free permanent collection is outstanding; the special exhibitions are worth the small additional fee.
Days 9–10: Return to Beijing, Fly Home
The itinerary returns to Beijing for the international connection home. Depending on your flight timing, you may have a final morning in the capital — the Summer Palace is a good option if you missed it on the way out.
Visa: Many New Zealand passport holders currently qualify for China's visa-free entry policy for short leisure visits. Confirm the current rules before booking, as policies can change. CTS Tours can advise.
Weather in October: Beijing and Xi'an in October are excellent — clear skies, mild temperatures (10–20°C), the city trees turning golden. It's arguably the best month of the year to visit northern China.
What's included with CTS: International airfares from Auckland, all domestic travel, 4-star hotels, English-speaking guide throughout, entrance fees to all listed sites, meals as per itinerary. Tips are suggested at NZD $10 per person per day.
CTS Tours offers A Tale of Two Cities — a 10-day Discovery tour covering exactly this itinerary, from NZD $3,480 per person (twin share). Departs October 2026 from Auckland.
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