Two days in Xi’an: the Terracotta Army, the City Wall, and nothing else Two days is enough for exactly two things: the Terracotta Army and the City Wall, plus one full day eating through the Muslim Quarter. Everything else waits for a longer trip. Xi’an runs on the yuan (CNY, roughly 7.2 to the US dollar), and you’ll want Alipay or WeChat Pay linked to a foreign card before you land, since cash and Western cards barely work past the big hotels.

Three days in Xi’an: the Terracotta Army, the Wall, and a free museum Three days adds one genuinely free day to the 2-day plan : the Shaanxi History Museum costs nothing to enter, only a reservation booked a week out. Xi’an runs on the yuan (CNY, roughly 7.2 to the US dollar); bring Alipay or WeChat Pay linked to a foreign card, since cash and Western cards barely work past the big hotels, confirm your visa or the 240-hour transit window, and get a VPN installed before you fly.

Five days in Xi’an: room for Mount Huashan without rushing the city Five days adds two things the 3-day plan skips entirely: a full day out at Mount Huashan and a slower recovery day after it. Xi’an runs on the yuan (CNY, roughly 7.2 to the US dollar); bring Alipay or WeChat Pay linked to a foreign card, since cash and Western cards barely work past the big hotels, confirm your visa or the 240-hour transit window, and get a VPN installed before you fly.

Six days in Xi’an: Huaqing Palace gets its own day this time Six days adds Huaqing Palace to the 5-day plan as a genuine standalone day rather than a rushed add-on to the Terracotta Army. Xi’an runs on the yuan (CNY, roughly 7.2 to the US dollar); bring Alipay or WeChat Pay linked to a foreign card, since cash and Western cards barely work past the big hotels, confirm your visa or the 240-hour transit window, and get a VPN installed before you fly.

Seven days in Xi’an: the full week, priced day by day Seven days is the full spine of this itinerary, built on the 6-day plan plus a last, cheap day for the Forest of Steles and a slower departure. Xi’an runs on the yuan (CNY, roughly 7.2 to the US dollar); bring Alipay or WeChat Pay linked to a foreign card, since cash and Western cards barely work past the big hotels, confirm your visa or the 240-hour transit window, and get a VPN installed before you fly.

Two cheap days out of Hong Kong Two days covers the two cheapest, most different side trips this family has: Macau’s free old town on day one, reached by the HK$65 bridge bus rather than the pricier ferry, and an outlying island on day two for less than HK$35 round trip. Both start from Hong Kong Island, both fit inside a single day with time to get back for dinner in town.

Three days: Macau, an island, and one free Lantau day Three days keeps the same first two legs as the 2-day plan , Macau then Cheung Chau, and adds a third day that costs almost nothing: Tai O, the stilt-house fishing village on the far side of Lantau from the Big Buddha. It’s the cheapest full day in this whole family, bus fare and lunch, nothing else. Tighter on time? Drop to the 2-day version .

Four days: three cheap legs, then the one splurge Four days keeps the same spine as the 3-day plan , Macau, Cheung Chau, and Tai O, then adds the one deliberate splurge in this family on day four: Hong Kong Disneyland, HK$669-939 for an adult ticket depending on the calendar date. Doing the cheap legs first means the splurge day is a genuine treat, not the default. Tighter on time? Drop to the 3-day version.

Seven days: every cheap side trip, plus the two that need planning ahead Seven days keeps the same first four legs as the 4-day plan , Macau, Cheung Chau, Tai O, Disneyland, then adds three more: Lamma Island for a second, cheaper escape, a Shenzhen day gated behind a China visa most Western passports don’t carry, and a free flex day before you fly out. This is the full version of the family; there’s no 5-day or 6-day step in between.

Hong Kong is the base, the day trips are the point Hong Kong itself fills a week on its own, but the cheapest, most interesting hours of a longer stay happen outside the SAR: Macau’s free old town, two islands for less than a Central lunch, and, for the committed, a real international border into mainland China. The bridge bus to Macau runs HK$65 and beats the HK$194-plus ferry on price every time.

Two days, one Octopus card, no wasted HK$ Two days is enough to cover Hong Kong’s essentials without spending more than about HK$300 to HK$450 a day on food, transport and sights (no hotel). The trick is choosing the bus over the tram at the Peak and the ferry over the tourist cruise on the harbour. This plan covers the Star Ferry, the Peak, one temple, and Temple Street Night Market, in that order, on an Octopus card that costs HK$39 to HK$150 depending on which version you buy.

Three days, the Peak, two temples, and a night market Three days adds real breathing room to the two-day sprint: the same HK$300 to HK$450 a day budget (no hotel) now covers a second temple, Kowloon’s markets, and a proper stop in Hong Kong Park. The spine stays the same, bus 15 over the Peak Tram, the regular Star Ferry over the paid cruise, and an Octopus card bought at the airport before anything else.

Four days, and Lantau’s Big Buddha joins the plan Four days is the first version of this itinerary that reaches Lantau: the Big Buddha’s free 268-step climb, reached by a HK$17.20 bus instead of the HK$295 cable car if the budget says so. Everything from the 3-day plan carries over unchanged, arrival, the Peak by bus, two temples, Mong Kok’s markets, at the same HK$300 to HK$450 daily band (no hotel).

Five days, plus the ding-ding trams and Stanley’s free beach Five days adds a full run of Hong Kong Island’s double-decker trams (flat fare HK$3.3, any distance) and a beach afternoon at Stanley and Repulse Bay to the 4-day plan’s Peak, temples, markets, and Lantau day. Same daily band throughout, HK$300 to HK$450 (no hotel), the same Octopus card from Day 1 covering trams, MTR, buses and the Star Ferry.

Six days, and a proper food crawl through Wan Chai and Causeway Bay Six days keeps the same HK$300 to HK$450 daily band (no hotel) as the 5-day plan and adds a sixth day of dai pai dong food and budget shopping in Wan Chai and Causeway Bay, the two neighborhoods east of Central along the tram line. Everything through Day 5, the Peak by bus, two temples, Kowloon’s markets, Lantau’s Big Buddha, the trams and Stanley, carries over unchanged.

Seven days, with a built-in slack day for typhoon season A full week keeps the same HK$300 to HK$450 daily band (no hotel) as the 6-day plan and adds one deliberately unscheduled day, useful as a typhoon buffer in the May-to-November season or simply a slower finish. Everything through Day 6, the Peak by bus, two temples, Kowloon’s markets, Lantau’s Big Buddha, the trams, Stanley, and a Wan Chai food crawl, carries over unchanged.

Hong Kong on a budget: what’s actually free, and what to skip paying for Hong Kong has a reputation for being expensive, and parts of it are: hotel rooms in Central and Tsim Sha Tsui add up fast, and a Michelin-level dinner can run well over HK$1,000 a head. But the city’s best moves cost next to nothing: the Star Ferry across Victoria Harbour runs about HK$3, the ding-ding trams charge a flat HK$3.

What Hong Kong actually costs, day to day Hong Kong has a reputation for expensive hotels and Michelin-level dinners, and both are real, but the city itself runs about HK$300 to HK$450 a day (US$38-58) on transport, food and sights once a hotel is off the table. The Star Ferry crossing costs under HK$4, the double-decker trams charge a flat HK$3.3, and Man Mo Temple and Wong Tai Sin Temple cost nothing.

Three days covers Guangzhou’s core cheaply: one day in historic Yuexiu, one in old Liwan, one for the Canton Tower and modern Tianhe. It stays entirely inside the city; the 4-day plan adds Baiyun Mountain, and the 5-day plan is the shortest version that adds a Pearl River Delta day trip. For the full comprehensive guide to the city, see the Guangzhou budget guide . Book these before you go:

Four days keeps the 3-day core intact and adds a full day at Baiyun Mountain, the best-value morning in the city at ¥5 entry. It still stays entirely inside Guangzhou; the 5-day plan is the shortest version that adds a Pearl River Delta day trip. For the full city guide, see Guangzhou on a budget . Book these before you go: Canton Tower ticket : book online, since walk-up tickets can sell out on weekends.

Five days keeps the 4-day city core intact and adds the cheapest Pearl River Delta day trip: Shenzhen, ¥54-83 by high-speed rail. It’s the shortest plan in this family that leaves Guangzhou at all; stay city-only with the 3 or 4-day plan , or keep going with the 6 and 7-day versions . Full city depth is in the Guangzhou budget guide . Book these before you go: Canton Tower ticket : book online, since walk-up tickets can sell out on weekends.

Six days keeps the 5-day plan intact and adds a second, equally cheap day trip: Foshan, via a direct metro hop rather than a rail ticket. Prefer to stop after one day trip, see the 5-day plan ; want all three Pearl River Delta trips, take the 7-day version . Full city depth is in the Guangzhou budget guide . Book these before you go: Canton Tower ticket : book online, since walk-up tickets can sell out on weekends.

Seven days keeps the 6-day plan intact and adds the priciest, most involved day trip: Hong Kong, ¥185-240 by high-speed rail across a genuine international border. Want fewer day trips, the 5 and 6-day plans cover one and two respectively. Full city depth is in the Guangzhou budget guide . Book these before you go: Canton Tower ticket : book online, since walk-up tickets can sell out on weekends. Pearl River night cruise : book at least a day ahead in peak season (Oct-Nov, Apr-May).

Guangzhou is one of the cheapest major cities in China to actually enjoy rather than just pass through. Baiyun Mountain costs ¥5 (about $0.70) for what might be the best view in the city. Chen Clan Ancestral Hall runs ¥10. Yuexiu Park, Shamian Island, Sacred Heart Cathedral and Beijing Road cost nothing to walk through. Add ¥2-7 metro rides paid straight from your phone and dim sum that runs half what it does across the border, and a full week here can cost less than three days in most coastal Chinese cities.

Seven days: do the transit-clock math first If you’re entering on the 240-hour visa-free transit rule (roughly 55 nationalities qualify, provided you hold a confirmed onward ticket to a third country), seven days eats a serious chunk of that ten-day window. The clock starts at midnight the day after you land, so do the arithmetic against your onward flight before you commit to a full week, not after. Seven days is also enough to do Xi’an properly rather than rushing it, using the rule that lets Beijing-to-Xi’an travel count as one transit, not two entries.

Five days: Beijing, two day trips, then Xi’an If you’re on the 240-hour visa-free transit rule (about 55 nationalities qualify, provided you hold a confirmed onward ticket to a third country), five days uses roughly half that ten-day window, and the useful detail most travelers miss is that cross-province travel is now allowed within one transit: Beijing to Xi’an counts as a single visa-free stay, not a second entry. This plan spends four days around the capital, then puts you on a Day 5 train to see the Terracotta Army.

Four days: Beijing as the base for two trips out, not one If you’re using the 240-hour visa-free transit rule (around 55 nationalities qualify, provided you’re holding a confirmed onward ticket to a third country), four days still leaves margin in that ten-day window. This plan gives you one day in the imperial core, then spends the other three on the two easiest trips out: the Great Wall and Tianjin, before a last morning at the Ming Tombs on the way to the airport.

7 Days in Lhasa: Shigatse, Not Everest Base Camp Seven days is exactly where people start asking about Everest Base Camp. Don’t. EBC from the Tibet side sits around 5,200m, needs its own Aliens’ Travel Permit (ATP) on top of your Tibet Travel Permit, and takes several days round trip that leave almost no cushion for things going wrong. Shigatse and Tashilhunpo Monastery is the version of “beyond Lhasa” that actually fits a 7-day budget.

Three days: Beijing’s core, the Wall, then a second city If you’re entering under the 240-hour visa-free transit rule (roughly 55 nationalities qualify, US/UK/Canada/EU/Australia/NZ among them, provided you hold a confirmed onward ticket to a third country), three days is a comfortable use of that window with plenty of room left. This plan treats Beijing as the base it is on a short transit stay: one day for the imperial core, one for the Great Wall, and a third spent somewhere entirely different, reachable in half an hour.

48 hours in Beijing on a layover ticket If your itinerary has a Beijing connection with two spare days before the next flight, you’re likely traveling on the 240-hour visa-free transit rule rather than a full tourist visa. About 55 nationalities, including the US, UK, Canada, most of the EU, Australia, and New Zealand, qualify as long as you’re holding a confirmed onward ticket to a third country. Two days barely dents that ten-day allowance, but immigration staff will still want to see the onward booking before you board, so keep it accessible.

6 Days in Lhasa: Don’t Blow the Extra Day on Namtso A sixth day is exactly where agencies push Namtso Lake as an add-on, and it is the wrong move on a trip this length. Namtso sits above 4,700m, a serious jump even after days of acclimatizing, and rushing it as a single long day is a poor trade for the rest a sixth day can otherwise buy you. Want Namtso done properly instead?

Seven days in Beijing: the full city, plus a second wall day Seven days means you can give the Great Wall a second visit instead of just one, this time the quiet, rugged section instead of the crowd-pleaser. Here’s the full week, cost by cost. Shorter trip? See the 6-day version. Splitting time between Beijing and the rest of China? See Beyond Beijing: China on a Budget and its own 7-day gateway plan .

5 Days in Lhasa: The Car and Driver Is Your Real Budget Line The single biggest cost variable in a Tibet itinerary is not the flight or the hotel, it is the private car and driver every day trip requires. Five days is where that cost first pays off with a genuine high-altitude lake. Want less driving? Our 4-day plan stops at Ganden; our 6-day plan uses the extra day back in the city instead of Namtso.

Six days in Beijing: palace, wall, temples, tombs, and a bargaining afternoon Six days is where you can finally give the Ming Tombs their own half-day instead of bolting them onto a rushed Wall tour, and still end with an afternoon spent haggling instead of queuing. Here’s the full run, cost by cost. Shorter trip? See the 5-day version; the 7-day plan adds a second, quieter Wall day. Day Focus Rough spend pp Day 1 Tiananmen, Forbidden City, Jingshan Park ¥230-330 Day 2 Great Wall at Mutianyu ¥350-550 Day 3 Temple of Heaven, hutongs, Houhai ¥90-190 Day 4 Summer Palace, 798 Art District ¥45-70 Day 5 Lama Temple, National Museum, Wangfujing ¥65-85 Day 6 Ming Tombs, Olympic Green, Panjiayuan Market ¥210-360 Book these before you go:

4 Days in Lhasa: Old Town Money vs New City Money Lhasa is really two cities stitched together, and four days is the first itinerary length long enough to see both plus one real day trip beyond them. Coming from a shorter trip? Our 3-day itinerary stays in-city; our 5-day plan adds Yamdrok Lake to this same spine. Book these before you go A licensed Tibet agency package: TTP, guide, and driver, processing 10-15 working days, booked 20-25 days ahead.

Five days in Beijing: the full sightseeing set Five days lets you add a museum-and-temple day to the palace, wall, and hutong core without ever feeling rushed. Here’s the full spine with costs for each day. Want a tighter trip? See the 4-day cut; the 6-day plan adds a market afternoon and the Ming Tombs. Day Focus Rough spend pp Day 1 Tiananmen, Forbidden City, Jingshan Park ¥230-330 Day 2 Great Wall at Mutianyu ¥350-550 Day 3 Temple of Heaven, hutongs, Houhai ¥90-190 Day 4 Summer Palace, 798 Art District ¥45-70 Day 5 Lama Temple, National Museum, Wangfujing ¥65-85 Book these before you go:

3 Days in Lhasa: What the Package Price Actually Covers Ask three Tibet agencies for a 3-day Lhasa quote and you will get three different numbers for what is legally the same product: a Tibet Travel Permit (TTP), a guide, a driver, and a Potala Palace slot. Need more room for a day trip? Our 4-day and 5-day Lhasa + Tibet itineraries add Ganden and Yamdrok Lake to this same spine.

Four days in Beijing: palace, wall, temple, and a free afternoon Four days is enough to slow down without wasting a day. This builds on the tight two-day core with a temple-and-hutong day and a fourth day that costs almost nothing beyond a single palace ticket. Shorter trip? See the 3-day version; longer, the 6-day plan adds the Ming Tombs and a market afternoon. Day Focus Rough spend pp Day 1 Tiananmen, Forbidden City, Jingshan Park ¥230-330 Day 2 Great Wall at Mutianyu ¥350-550 Day 3 Temple of Heaven, hutongs, Houhai ¥90-190 Day 4 Summer Palace, 798 Art District ¥45-70 Book these before you go:

2 Days in Lhasa: The China Logistics Reality Check Two days is not enough time for Everest Base Camp, Namtso Lake, or a scenic overnight train. It buys Lhasa city and nothing higher, plus the agency paperwork that gets you here at all. Longer window available? Our 3-day , 4-day , and 5-day Lhasa + Tibet itineraries start adding real day trips. Book these before you go A licensed Tibet agency package: guide, driver, and Tibet Travel Permit (TTP), processing 10-15 working days, book 20-25 days ahead.

Three days in Beijing: palace, wall, and the city at street level Three days is the point where Beijing stops being a two-stop checklist and gives you a slower day too, walking temples and back alleys instead of queuing at gates. Here’s the plan, day by day, with what it costs. Need less time? See the 2-day cut; need more? The 5-day version adds the Lama Temple and a shopping night.

Lhasa in 7 Days on a Budget: A Full Week in the City Itself Seven days is enough to know Lhasa properly without ever leaving it: the full core (rest, Potala and Jokhang, Sera and Drepung, Norbulingka and the museum), plus real time in both the old town and the newer Chinese-built district, the food scene, and the market. If you’d rather spend a week reaching Yamdrok Lake, Namtso, or Shigatse, our 7-day Lhasa + Tibet gateway itinerary builds those day trips in instead; this one is the city-only version.

Two days in Beijing: just the palace and the wall Two days buys exactly two big things here, the imperial core and the Great Wall, and squeezing in a third stop is how you end up seeing both through a taxi window. This is the version that works, with what everything costs. Want more room to breathe? See the 3-day or 5-day version instead; the full 13 cheap and free things to do guide covers everything this plan has to skip.

Lhasa in 5 Days on a Budget: The Deep In-City Version Five days is enough to slow down and stay inside the city itself: the full three-day core, plus two extra days for Norbulingka, the Tibet Museum, and the Barkhor’s back streets instead of rushing back to the airport. If you’d rather spend those two extra days on a day trip to Ganden or Yamdrok Lake, our 5-day Lhasa + Tibet gateway itinerary builds that version instead; this one stays in Lhasa proper.

What a day in Beijing actually costs A full sightseeing day here, one paid ticket, transport, and three meals, runs roughly ¥150-350 per person, cheap by any major-capital standard. The catch isn’t the price, it’s the booking window: the Forbidden City sells out weekend slots within minutes of releasing, while plenty of the best things in the city, a park view, a hutong walk, an art district, cost next to nothing and need no reservation at all.

Lhasa in 3 Days on a Budget: The Classic Route Three days is the sweet spot for a first Lhasa trip: enough time for the Potala and Jokhang without rushing, plus a full extra day for the two big monasteries outside the old town, no day trips required. Shorter on time? Our 2-day itinerary strips it to the essentials. Got five or seven? Our 5-day and 7-day plans go deeper into the city itself.

Lhasa in 2 Days on a Budget: The Honest Version Two days buys the essentials only: Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, and the Barkhor kora, no more. That’s genuinely enough for a tight, honest first look at the city. If you can stretch further, our 3-day , 5-day , and 7-day Lhasa budget itineraries add the monasteries and neighborhoods this one skips. Book these before you go Your licensed Tibet agency package (guide, driver, Tibet Travel Permit): mandatory for every foreign visitor except Hong Kong/Macau SAR passport holders, book 20-30 days ahead in peak season.

Beijing as the way in, not just the destination If a flight through Beijing is how you’re getting to the rest of China, or the rest of Asia, the city itself is only the first budget decision you’ll make. Citizens of around 55 countries, the UK, most of the EU, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil among them, get 240 hours (10 days) inside China visa-free at Beijing’s airports, no advance paperwork, as long as they’re holding a confirmed onward ticket to a third country.

Tibet Beyond Lhasa: What the Day Trips Actually Cost Lhasa itself is the cheap part of a Tibet trip. The moment you go further, whether that’s Ganden Monastery an hour and a half out or Everest Base Camp five days round-trip, the private vehicle and driver your agency provides becomes the dominant cost, more than any single entrance fee. This guide covers what’s actually out there, what it costs on top of your base package, and which trips are worth the extra permit paperwork.

Beijing on a budget: what actually costs money here Most of what makes Beijing worth visiting is either nearly free or cheap by any world-capital standard. A ¥2 park ticket buys the single best skyline view in the city. The hutongs cost nothing but the time to walk them. Even the sights that do charge, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Temple of Heaven, run ¥15-65, as long as you book the ones that require it in advance.

The Real Lhasa Budget: Free Sights, Then One Big Line Item Lhasa itself is cheap. The Barkhor kora costs nothing, a sweet tea house session costs less than a coffee at home, and even the paid monasteries top out around CNY 85. The number that actually sets your budget is the one before any of that: the mandatory licensed-agency tour, guide, and Tibet Travel Permit (TTP) every foreign visitor (except Hong Kong and Macau SAR passport holders) needs just to land here.

Six Days: Add Beijing Properly Instead of Rushing It Six days is the shortest trip length where a Beijing add-on stops being a compromise, because you can finally give the Forbidden City and the Great Wall separate days instead of squeezing both into one exhausting round trip. Book these before you go: Check Beijing HSR times on Trip.com before you fix day five. Book a Mutianyu Great Wall tour for day six.

Five Days: The Point Where Beijing Becomes a Real Option Five days is enough to add a genuine third city to the trip, not just a day trip, but it’s also short enough that you have to be honest about what a Beijing add-on actually costs you in time. Book these before you go: Check Beijing HSR times on Trip.com before you decide on day five. Check hotel rates on Agoda for your Shanghai base.

Four Days: Two Bullet Trains and a Water Town Four days is enough to stop treating Shanghai as the whole trip: one evening in the city, two classic day trips by bullet train, and a fourth day most people skip that turns out to be the most relaxing of the four, a water town instead of another skyline. Book these before you go: Check train times on Trip.com before you land, so days two and three aren’t a scramble.

Three Days: One in Shanghai, Two on the Bullet Train Three days is a tight budget for a China trip, so don’t spend all of it inside Shanghai’s city limits. Most of what makes this country distinct sits a 30-45 minute train ride away, and some of the fastest trains on earth are sitting at Hongqiao station ready to take you there. Book these before you go: Check Suzhou and Hangzhou train times on Trip.

Seven Days in Shanghai: The Full Week, Done Properly A full week inside Shanghai means you can actually rest between days, cover the neighborhoods a three-day trip skips entirely, and still close with a flex day. This is the deepest in-city version of the spine shared with our shorter 6-day , 5-day , and 4-day itineraries. If a week means Shanghai plus Suzhou, Hangzhou, or a bullet-train run to Beijing or Xi’an, that’s a different trip, our Shanghai-as-gateway guide covers the rail times, costs, and visa logistics for going further.

Six Days in Shanghai: City, Culture, and the Neighborhoods Most Visitors Skip Six days is enough to do the city properly, add a water-town day, and still get to the corners most three-day visitors never see. This builds on the same spine as our 5-day itinerary ; if the plan is Suzhou, Hangzhou, or a rail hop deeper into China rather than another day inside Shanghai, that’s the Shanghai-as-gateway guide .

Five Days in Shanghai: A Real Plan, Not a Wish List Five days is enough to cover the core sights properly, take a full day out to a water town, and still have a day left for the neighborhoods most visitors never reach. This is the deep in-city version, built on the same spine as our 4-day itinerary ; if you’re treating Shanghai as the launchpad for Suzhou, Hangzhou, or the wider China rail network, use the Shanghai-as-gateway guide instead.

Four Days in Shanghai: Room to Actually Slow Down Four days lets you cover the greatest hits without the rush, and it gives you enough slack to add a proper day out to a water town. This is the in-city plan, our sibling 3-day itinerary is the same core route compressed; if what you actually want is Suzhou, Hangzhou, or a rail hop deeper into China, that’s the Shanghai-as-gateway guide , not this one.

Three Days in Shanghai: The Bund, Pudong, and Everything Between Three days gets you the whole city without sprinting: old town and the Bund on day one, Pudong’s towers on day two, museums and the French Concession on day three. This is the in-city version, if you’re using Shanghai as a base to reach Suzhou, Hangzhou, or further into China, our Shanghai-as-gateway guide covers those trips and the rail logistics; this one stays inside the city limits.

Two Days in Shanghai: Enough Time, Barely Two days is enough to see the Bund, walk the French Concession, and eat well without rushing every meal, but only if you cut the fluff. Skip the Yu Garden bazaar retail, skip Din Tai Fung if you actually want local flavor, and forget the Maglev as a downtown shortcut, it only reaches Longyang Road station and you still transfer to Metro Line 2 from there with your bags.

Shanghai Isn’t “China,” It’s Your Way Into It Most first-timers picture the Great Wall, dynastic temples, or the terracotta army when they imagine a China trip, then land in Shanghai and find skyscrapers, English metro signage, and a skyline that reads more like a finance capital than the country from the guidebooks. That’s not a mistake in your planning, it’s just what Shanghai has always been: the outward-facing edge of the country, a treaty port carved up between foreign powers a century ago, now the financial capital.

Lhasa on a Budget: What It Actually Costs to Get In Forget entrance fees for a second: the number that matters here is the mandatory agency package (guide, driver, Tibet Travel Permit) every foreign visitor needs before setting foot in the city. Budget for that first. Once you’re here, Lhasa itself is one of the cheaper cities in Tibet to actually spend a day in. Lhasa at a glance Potala Palace CNY 200 peak season / CNY 100 low season, timed 1-2hr visit, book weeks ahead Sera Monastery debates CNY 50 peak / CNY 25 low season, best 3-5pm Monday to Saturday Mandatory tour package Guide, driver, and Tibet Travel Permit, price varies by group size Time needed 2-4 days minimum, altitude included Booking lead Permit and Potala slot: 20-30 days ahead in peak season What costs money, and what doesn’t Jokhang Temple runs about CNY 85, Sera Monastery around CNY 50 in season (half that in winter) for the afternoon monk debates, and Drepung is a similar CNY 50-60.