Shanghai, Chengdu and Chongqing

Hello guys!  We’re headed to China again arriving on December 24th and leaving on January 5th.  I would like to visit Shanghai, Chengdu and Chongqing.  Is that too much for such a short time?  Is 4 days a reasonable time to spend in each city or should we only choose 2 cities?

I was in SH for 4 days in October and had a blast. I did't really go to any "sights", other than the Bund, but I found it a great city to just walk around, explore the different neighborhoods. Never have I seen so many Laowai in the the wild in China - both expat and tourist. In Jingan, downtown, etc. I overheard so many different languages walking around the Bund. This was my first time in SH in years, the last time I went I wasn't even learning Chinese. I was expecting to get lot's of English replies to my Chinese, but I don't think it happened even once. My cousin did a 3 week China trip starting in BJ and ending in SH, which also included CD and CQ. After returning home, she told me SH was the least interesting of anywhere they went in China. But obv everyone has there own taste and interests.

Anyway, with your short time budget, I definitely don't think you need 4 days there, I'm guessing CD/CQ are going to be more interesting. Going from SH to CQ is nearly crossing the whole country. Are you flying or taking a sleeping train? Then do you need to get back to SH for return flight? There are direct flights 3 times a week from London to Chengdu on Air China, not sure what other cities offer direct flights. If possible, I'd fly into CD and skip SH this time. I'd do SH another time along with Anhui, Hangzhou whatever, on the eastern seaboard. I've not been to Sichuan yet, but I'm planning 2-3 weeks there in May. Both cities sound very interesting and the mountains outside of CD, plus further afield in Sichuan, all definitely more exotic than SH. 

There are some good and very active China travel groups on Facebook like this one: https://www.facebook.com/groups/travelchina3 , you'd get a lot more replies and info there. If you do go to SH I recommend staying in Jingan district, such a nice neighborhood feel with restaurants, bars, etc.

On 12/19/2025 at 3:43 PM, Larry Language Lover said:

Is 4 days a reasonable time to spend in each city or should we only choose 2 cities?

I would only visit two of those cities. I would choose Chengdu and Chongqing, since they are closer together. 

Remember that when you fly from one city in China to another one, you will spend most of that day in transit. Just the basic mechanics of checking out of your hotel, getting to the airport, getting your boarding pass, clearing security and boarding the flight, deplaning, getting into the city, and checking into a new hotel all eat up time. Getting from A to B is much more than the hour or two of actual flight time that is listed in the airline schedules. 

Also, between Chengdu and Chongqing, a train might be feasible. It's only a couple of hours. 

On 12/20/2025 at 10:26 AM, abcdefg said:

Also, between Chengdu and Chongqing, a train might be feasible. It's only a couple of hours. 

More than feasible. It's less than one and a half hours on the 高铁🚄, trains running all day long.