Shanghai or Beijing: which to visit first, and how to do both in one trip
An honest comparison for Australians choosing between Shanghai and Beijing: what each city is actually like, which suits families, first-timers and business travellers, the weather by month, how many days each needs, and the one-week route that links them by train.
Australians planning a first China trip usually ask us the same question in the first email: Shanghai or Beijing? The honest answer is that they are different countries’ worth of experience in one, and if you can give it a week you should do both. If you have four or five days, here is how to choose.
What each city is actually like
Shanghai is the modern face: the Bund’s colonial waterfront facing the Pudong skyline, the plane-tree lanes of the former French Concession, a food scene that covers all of China, and the easiest city in the country for a first-time visitor to navigate. It is compact at the centre, the metro is excellent, and it has the gardens, canals and water towns of Suzhou and Hangzhou within an hour by train. It is also, by Chinese standards, soft on foreigners: English is more common, menus have pictures, and the airport-to-hotel run is simple. The 4-day Shanghai itinerary shows what a visit looks like day by day.
Beijing is the imperial capital and the weight of history: the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace, the hutong lanes, and the Great Wall ninety minutes away. It is bigger, drier, flatter, more spread out, and more Chinese in the sense that less of it is arranged for visitors. The sights are enormous and need planning (real-name bookings, Monday closures, early starts). The reward is that nothing in Shanghai matches standing on the Wall at Mutianyu or walking the central axis of the Forbidden City at opening time. The 3-day Beijing itinerary covers the plan.
Choose by who is travelling
| You are | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| First-timers with 4 to 5 days | Shanghai | Easier logistics, Suzhou or Hangzhou as a day trip, gentler on jet lag |
| Families with children under 10 | Shanghai | Shorter distances, Disneyland, water towns, less walking between sights |
| Families with teenagers | Beijing | The Wall, the toboggan, the scale of the Forbidden City |
| History and architecture people | Beijing | There is no contest |
| Food and city-life people | Shanghai | More variety, better neighbourhoods for wandering |
| Business trip with a free weekend | Shanghai | Most Australian importers’ suppliers are within two hours of it |
| Visiting relatives in the Yangtze Delta | Shanghai | Add Beijing by train if time allows |
| A week or more | Both | Shanghai first, train north, fly home from Beijing |
How many days each needs
- Shanghai: three full days minimum, four is right. Two days in the city (the Bund, Yu Garden, the French Concession, one tall building), one day in Suzhou or Hangzhou, and a morning in a water town. A fifth day for Disneyland if you have children.
- Beijing: three full days. One for the Forbidden City and the hutongs, one for the Wall, one for the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace. Two days works only if you skip either the Wall or the palace in daylight, which is a poor trade.
Weather and timing
The two cities are 1,200 kilometres apart and the climate differs more than people expect:
- Spring (April to May): both are at their best. Beijing is dry with occasional dust; Shanghai is mild and green.
- Summer (June to August): Shanghai is humid and wet in June (the plum rains) then hot; Beijing is hot and dry with afternoon storms. Both are manageable with a car and early starts.
- Autumn (September to November): the best season in Beijing, clear and golden; Shanghai is warm into November and hairy crab season starts in October.
- Winter (December to February): Shanghai is grey and damp, rarely below freezing; Beijing is cold, dry, bright and empty, with the Wall and the palace under occasional snow.
Avoid the first week of October and Chinese New Year in both cities. The best time to visit guide has the full calendar.
Logistics compared
| Shanghai | Beijing | |
|---|---|---|
| Airport to centre | Pudong 45 to 60 min by car; Hongqiao 30 min | Capital 45 to 60 min; Daxing 60 to 75 min |
| Getting around | Metro and short taxi rides; walkable centre | Metro for long hops, car for the Wall; long distances |
| Advance bookings needed | Few; Disneyland and some museums | Forbidden City (7 days ahead), Tiananmen, National Museum |
| English in public | More | Less |
| Day trips | Suzhou 25 min, Hangzhou 45 min, water towns 1 h | The Wall 90 min; Tianjin 30 min by train |
| Walking per day | 8 to 12 km | 12 to 18 km |
The one-week route: both cities by train
The itinerary we run most is simple and works in either direction:
- Days 1 to 3, Shanghai. Arrive on the overnight flight, soft first day on the Bund and in the lanes, then the city properly, then Suzhou or Hangzhou.
- Day 4, the train north. Shanghai Hongqiao to Beijing South in about four and a half hours in first class, booked under your passports. City centre to city centre, no airport. Arrive mid-afternoon, hutong hotel, duck for dinner. The train guide explains how it works.
- Days 5 to 7, Beijing. The Forbidden City and the hutongs, the Wall at Mutianyu, the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace. Fly home from Beijing.
Flying into one city and out of the other avoids backtracking; most airlines price it the same as a return. This is exactly our Shanghai to Beijing tour, with the guide, driver, hotels, train and tickets handled.
Which first, if you are doing both?
Shanghai first. It is the easier landing: shorter airport run, gentler streets, better for the first jet-lagged day. By the time you reach Beijing you know how Alipay, the metro gates and the passport checks work, and the Wall is the climax of the trip rather than a tired first morning. The exception is winter, when flying into Beijing while the weather is clear and ending in milder Shanghai can be kinder.
If you truly only have one
Four days or fewer and a first visit: Shanghai, with a day in Suzhou. You will leave wanting Beijing, which is the right way to leave China. Five days and you want the Wall above everything: Beijing, and accept that you will be tired. Either way, a day with a guide on your first full day pays for itself in the time it saves for the rest.
