A multi-city route is feasible when every leg fits inside a day with time to spare, and when the sightseeing days between legs are not squeezed by them. The test below takes about twenty minutes and saves you from paying for a plan that cannot be done. You do not need to be an expert, only careful.
If you are a return visitor, you have probably felt the pull of “just one more city”. That is the exact moment to test.
Step 1: What are your legs?
Write the cities in order and draw a line between each pair. Each line is a leg. Four cities means three legs, plus the flights in and out.
Mark each leg as rail or flight. Then note which stations or airports you would use, because big cities have more than one.
Step 2: How long is each leg really?
Look up the headline time on 12306 or the airline for your actual date. Examples help you sense scale. The fastest Shanghai Hongqiao to Hangzhou East trains take about 45 minutes, though the station pair matters, and Hangzhou West to Hongqiao is about 78 minutes[1]. The fastest Beijing to Xi’an high-speed trains take as little as about 4 hours 17 minutes[2].
Short legs like the first one are easy to fit between sights. Legs like the second one eat most of a morning once you add the transfer.
Step 3: What buffers do you add?
Add the trip to the station, the security queue and a margin. Expect X-ray bag checks at station entrances, and arrive 30 to 40 minutes before departure at major stations[3]. After arrival, allow time to reach the hotel and, if checking in early, to leave bags.
Our guide on reading train and flight times walks through the door-to-door sum.
Step 4: Can you actually buy the tickets?
A good plan fails if the ticket is not there. Foreigners with ordinary passports can verify their details and buy tickets online through 12306, according to an announcement of 28 November 2023[4]. Train tickets usually go on sale 15 days before departure and cannot be bought earlier[5].
You will also need your passport to buy a long-distance ticket and to pass the platform gates[6]. Keep it in your hand luggage. Some sights need booking too, so read which attractions need advance tickets.
Step 5: What do you cut?
If the legs add up to more than a third of your days, cut something. Drop the city with the weakest reason to be there, or swap a train leg for a short flight. Add a rest day after the longest leg.
Run the result through the pace checker and the rail versus flight tool. Browse the getting around topic page if you want more on moving between cities.
What should you do next?
Make your leg list today and fill in the times for your dates. Mark the longest leg and ask if it is worth it. Sending us the list on WhatsApp gets you a second pair of eyes.