A seven-day China trip is easier to budget than it looks, once you split it into seven lines and price them one at a time. This page gives you the skeleton, shows which lines are fixed and which swing, and flags the two or three places where a week goes wrong.
If you have a single week of leave and no idea what the total will be, you are in good company. Most people start there.
What are the seven lines of the budget?
List these in the budget planner and fill each with a current quote.
- Return flights from Malaysia
- Six nights of hotels
- Trains, domestic flights or coaches between cities
- Local transport: metro, taxi, airport transfers
- Food, including at least one treat meal
- Sights, tickets and any guide for one day
- Cushion, insurance and mobile data
Lines one and two are the biggest and the least flexible. Lines three to six are where your choices count.
Which lines are fixed and which swing?
| Line | How firm is it? | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | Fixed once booked | Season, day of week, airline |
| Hotels | Fixed once booked | Area, star level, room sharing |
| City-to-city travel | Fairly firm | Rail or air, number of cities |
| Local transport | Swings | Metro or taxi, luggage, tiredness |
| Food | Swings | Street food or restaurants |
| Sights | Partly firm | How many paid sights you add |
The table points you to where to spend your attention. Haggling over food saves little if you have chosen three cities in six nights.
How many cities fit in one week?
Two cities is comfortable, and three is the limit for a relaxed week. Each extra city costs a transfer day and a hotel change.
If you pick Beijing and Shanghai, the Beijing South to Shanghai Hongqiao line is about 1,318 km[1]. Plan most of a morning for that leg, including the station, and read our guide on rail-based budgeting for the numbers worth checking.
What should you book before you fly?
Malaysia and mainland China share one time zone, so there is no jet lag to recover from[2]. That helps a short week. What does need advance action:
- Train tickets, which usually go on sale 15 days before departure[3]
- Any sight that needs a booked slot, such as the Forbidden City, which opens reservations seven days ahead at 20:00[4]
- Entry rules, since Malaysian ordinary passport holders can stay up to 30 days per stay without a visa[5]
Rules can change, so confirm each one on the official source before you pay for anything.
What do paid sights add up to?
A few paid sights in a week are small beside flights and hotels. The Forbidden City, for example, is listed at CNY 60 in peak season and CNY 40 in off-peak season[6], though that comes from a secondary source, so check the official mini-program.
Add up your must-see list and enter it as one line. Our guide to scenic fees that fall outside a package covers cable cars and shuttles.
What should you ask a package quote?
If you are comparing a seven-day package, ask whether each of the seven lines is covered, and which are left to you. Our guide to what a China trip costs by style shows how to compare two quotes fairly. For meals, the daily food budget guide helps you set a realistic line.
Prices move with season and exchange rate. Fill in today’s quotes, and revisit the total a week before you pay the deposit.