China · FULL-DAY

The 15 Full-Day Tours in China That Repay a Whole Day

36 tours  ·  from $12

The good full-day tours go early and the great ones go earlier. Below: 15 to secure in advance, what each covers and how they differ.

Beijing Full Day Tours: Tiananmen Sq, Forbidden City, Great Wall - The Forbidden City, three hours inside the imperial complex
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Beijing Full Day Tours: Tiananmen Sq, Forbidden City, Great Wall

1.Beijing Full Day Tours: Tiananmen Sq, Forbidden City, Great Wall

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1,634 reviews · from $99Our pick

Start with hotel pickup, then visit Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City before driving to Mutianyu Great Wall. This 10 to 11 hour small-group tour includes tickets, buffet lunch, water, headsets, and a cable car or chairlift with toboggan. Guides such as Helen and Rocky are known for clear explanations and helpful photos.

“We had Helen as a tour guide. She is approachable, attentive and accommodating. She provided information about places well. We had a good experience with her.”

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Private Shanghai Full Day City Tour with Old and New Highlights - The Old Town adds food, shopping, and local texture
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Private Shanghai Full Day City Tour with Old and New Highlights

2.Private Shanghai Full Day City Tour with Old and New Highlights

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 995 reviews · from $115

Spend 7 to 8 hours exploring old and modern Shanghai with a private guide such as Annie, Sammy, or Fei Fei. Shape the day around your interests, from Yu Garden and the Bund to the Jade Buddha Temple and Shanghai Tower. Downtown pickup is offered, while lunch, transport, and entrance fees depend on the package you choose.

“Annie was an amazing tour guide! From the minute she picked us up at our hotel till the moment she dropped us off, she was professional, very knowledgeable, and funny. She also helped me navigate a food allergy with lunch so I could enjoy Read more”

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Beijing Classic Full-Day Tour including the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven - Tiananmen Square: a vast and serious opening
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Beijing Classic Full-Day Tour including the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven

3.Beijing Classic Full-Day Tour including the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 610 reviews · from $99

This nine-hour Beijing tour covers Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, and Summer Palace with an English-speaking guide, lunch, transport, and admission included. Guides such as Jenny, Lee, Mary, Murphy, and Michael are praised for clear history talks and good group care. Expect heavy walking, crowds, and possible shopping stops at a pearl market or tea venue.

“The trip included a lot of unannounced "shopping activities" i.e tea ceremonies, silk factory visit and a traditional chinese medicine visit (the latter one being a visit to a no-name center that claimed to be related to the official TCM- most probably a scam) which consumed a lot of time. As a result e only reached our last destination the Summer Palace late in the evening, with no enough light to enjoy the best part of the whole trip.”

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Beijing Essential Full-Day Tour including Great Wall at Badaling, Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square - Tiananmen Square sets the political stage
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Beijing Essential Full-Day Tour including Great Wall at Badaling, Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square

4.Beijing Essential Full-Day Tour including Great Wall at Badaling, Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 609 reviews · from $99

You’ll cover Beijing’s three headline sights in about nine hours with an English-speaking guide, air-conditioned transport, lunch, and central-hotel pickup. Guides such as Lee, Jenny, Murphy, and Michael Shi have been praised for clear explanations and personal help. Expect a full walking day, a jade shopping stop, and cable car tickets at Badaling sold separately.

“Our guide was nice and knowledgeable. But even though all the group members had paid for the entrance to the forbidden city they were told to buy tickets at the gate and this delayed our trip over an hour. This left is just less than an hour at the Great Wall which was disappointing. After all the planning we did not get to spend time at the Great Wall.”

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Great Wall of China at Mutianyu Full-Day Tour Including Lunch from Beijing - Climbing 1,400 steps at Mutianyu
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Great Wall of China at Mutianyu Full-Day Tour Including Lunch from Beijing

5.Great Wall of China at Mutianyu Full-Day Tour Including Lunch from Beijing

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 565 reviews · from $79

Travel from Beijing to the quieter Mutianyu section of the Great Wall with an English-speaking guide such as Mary, Jenny, Michael, or Vanessa. Climb steep steps, explore watchtowers, eat a Chinese-style lunch, and return to your hotel. Cable-car access costs extra, and shopping stops may lengthen the day.

“Be prepared, wear comfortable shoes and get ready to climb steep stairs. The lift is well worth it. Enjoy the view at the top as well as the view from the lift.”

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Private Full-Day Tour: Incredible Shanghai Highlights - Walking the Bund beside the Huangpu River
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Private Full-Day Tour: Incredible Shanghai Highlights

6.Private Full-Day Tour: Incredible Shanghai Highlights

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 352 reviews · from $109

Spend about eight hours exploring Shanghai with a private guide such as Peggy, Apple, Troy, Nora, or Grace. Choose a Pudong tower, walk the Bund, visit Yuyuan Garden and its bazaar, eat dumplings, tour the Confucius Temple, and enjoy a tea ceremony. Transport can be by private car or public transit.

“We had a most wonderful experience in Shanghai with a great help of our amazing tour guide Peggy that works for Jenny’s China tours. She is the most experienced and knowledgeable guide and we will definitely recommend her and the company to all of our friends and family. Besides the great tour she introduced us to Shanghai’s pan fried pork dumplings from Yang dumplings restaurant,and as soon as U returned to Pittsburgh I researched to find similar place near by. I will definitely return to Shanghai that became my favorite city in Asia,and I’ve visited quite a few countries there.”

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Beijing: Full-Day Small-Group Great Wall Hiking at Jinshanling - The first climb is the test
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Beijing: Full-Day Small-Group Great Wall Hiking at Jinshanling

7.Full-Day Small-Group Great Wall Hiking at Jinshanling

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 347 reviews · from $138

Spend about nine hours hiking from Simatai West toward Jinshanling with an English-speaking guide such as Dewit, Cheney, Jason, or Luis. Expect steep steps, restored and original wall sections, wide mountain views, bottled water, trekking poles on request, and a filling local lunch after the hike.

“I joined a trek on the Great Wall at Jinshanling with Dewit and it was an unforgettable experience. Dewit was an excellent guide who made the hike both enjoyable and informative. He knew the best spots for views and photos, shared history aRead more”

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Private Full Day Tour: Forbidden City, Tiananmen & Summer Palace - The Forbidden City: the day’s main event
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Private Full Day Tour: Forbidden City, Tiananmen & Summer Palace

8.Private Full Day Tour: Forbidden City, Tiananmen & Summer Palace

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 272 reviews · from $130

Spend about eight hours exploring Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, and Summer Palace with a private guide. Choose private transport or the subway, enjoy lunch at a local Chinese restaurant, and ask your guide to shape the pace around your interests. Guides such as May, Peter, Jenny, and Wendy are praised for clear explanations and practical help.

“Enjoyed all of the tour particularly the Summer Palace. Has a 40 minute wait to get into Tian’anmen Sqaure but it was worth the wait to get a sense of recent history. Lots of cctv hardware on display. forbidden City was impressive. Our guide Suzie was excellent - very knowledgable and very friendly.”

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Highlights from Guilin to Yangshuo Full Day Private Tour - Route 1: Reed Flute Cave, the classic opening
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Highlights from Guilin to Yangshuo Full Day Private Tour

9.Highlights from Guilin to Yangshuo Full Day Private Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 261 reviews · 8 hours · from $108

Spend eight hours with an English-speaking driver-guide exploring Guilin and Yangshuo by private vehicle. Choose Reed Flute Cave or the countryside route with mirror-like rice fields and Zhuangyuan Bridge, then see Xianggong Hill, Fuli Ancient Town, and take a one-hour bamboo raft on a quieter stretch of the Li River.

“Leon, our guides, has been really kind with us. He guided us all day long, his tour has been full and detailed.”

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Full-Day Private Guided Tour of Shanghai - People’s Park and the weekend marriage market
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Full-Day Private Guided Tour of Shanghai

10.Full-Day Private Guided Tour of Shanghai

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 211 reviews · from $99

Spend eight hours exploring Shanghai with a private guide such as Peggy, Apple, Troy, or Jessie. Set your start time, choose a private car or metro and taxis, and shape the day around temples, markets, the Bund, Nanjing Road, and local food. Hotel pickup and drop-off are included.

“Unforgettable! Everything went well, the guide was great and thanks to Jenny for her many tipsAuto-translated”

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Terra-Cotta Warriors & Horses Essential Full Day Tour from Xi'an - Lunch is convenient, but do not expect a food-focused tour
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Terra-Cotta Warriors & Horses Essential Full Day Tour from Xi’an

11.Terra-Cotta Warriors & Horses Essential Full Day Tour from Xi’an

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 160 reviews · from $79

Spend about nine hours visiting the Terracotta Warriors from Xi’an with an English-speaking guide, transport, admission, and Chinese-style lunch included. The day may also include Banpo Museum, a terracotta workshop, or a souvenir stop. Guides such as Amy, Lucia, Coco, Nana, and Rose have earned strong praise for clear explanations and helpful service.

“very worthy tour! Lucia was a great guide. they take you to Bampo site first which is 6000 years old, this place has great historic significance. followed by lunch and then to terra cotta army site. The site has 3 pits which are open to public. The pit 1 is marvellous as you see through the remains of a rich history legacy. must visit site in China to understand the essence of culture and history of china. overall the tour was very well organised with no issues at all.”

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BusDa-Mutianyu Great Wall Sightseeing Full-day Bus Tours - Five hours at Mutianyu: how to use the time
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BusDa-Mutianyu Great Wall Sightseeing Full-day Bus Tours

12.BusDa-Mutianyu Great Wall Sightseeing Full-day Bus Tours

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 153 reviews · from $18Best value

Take an air-conditioned bus from Beijing to Mutianyu with an English-speaking guide, then enjoy about five hours at one of the Great Wall’s most scenic sections. The tour includes site admission and local shuttle transport when selected. Guides such as Christina, Evelyn, and Linda have helped visitors with tickets, routes, and cable car choices.

“This tour was as described, so if you want easy transport to the Great Wall so that you can explore on your own, book it. The bus was clean, and it was well-organized. My guide, Evelyn, reached out the night before to ensure I was clear on deRead more”

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Full Day Trip Mutianyu Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tiananmen Sq. - Three hours inside the Forbidden City
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Full Day Trip Mutianyu Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tiananmen Sq.

13.Full Day Trip Mutianyu Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tiananmen Sq.

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 110 reviews · from $99

Spend 9 to 10 hours with a private English-speaking guide, chauffeur, and air-conditioned car. Visit Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and Mutianyu Great Wall, with admission, buffet lunch, soft drinks, and round-trip cable car or chairlift and toboggan included. If Jerry is your guide, expect lively historical explanations and help with photos.

“We were met in our hotel lobby by our guide for the day then taken to all the sights in a comfortable car with a safe driver. We never felt rushed and had lots of time to ask questions and see the sights. We only had one day (a Monday) in Read more”

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Full-Day Private Customized Walking Tour of Hong Kong - Victoria Peak and the harbor view
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Full-Day Private Customized Walking Tour of Hong Kong

14.Full-Day Private Customized Walking Tour of Hong Kong

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 106 reviews · from $306

Meet your English-speaking guide at your Hong Kong hotel and build a private day around your interests. Use public transport, walk local streets, ride the Star Ferry, and choose from sights such as Victoria Peak, Sheung Wan, Mong Kok, Aberdeen, or Stanley. Guides including Richard, Nicole, and Jess have adapted routes and pacing for individual groups.

“My wife and I had 72 hours on our first visit to Hong Kong. Nicole was surprised at our ambition to see as much Of the city as we could and this tour delivered just that. By combining public transport, taxis and walking Nicole’s tour made for an unforgettable day.”

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Private Hong Kong Car Tour - Half Day or Full Day - Markets, temples, and gardens across Kowloon
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Private Hong Kong Car Tour – Half Day or Full Day

15.Private Hong Kong Car Tour – Half Day or Full Day

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 86 reviews · from $374

Build a four- to eight-hour Hong Kong tour around your interests with a private air-conditioned vehicle and licensed guide. Guides such as Andy, Mel, Sinclair, Kiyo, and Alfred have led guests through Victoria Peak, Sheung Wan, temples, markets, Kowloon, and Stanley. Hotel pickup and Star Ferry tickets are included when selected.

“Andy was an absolutely amazing ! He showed us every part of the city that we had identified we wanted to see! Gave us all the cool spots to take pictures ! He was funny and entertaining ! The time together flew by!! I would highly recommend!! 11/10 would recommend!”

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