China is THE top travel destination these days, and after traveling solo there for the second time, we decided to create the ultimate Travel Tribe group trip that will take you to 3 different cities in just 9 days so that we can all easily get the 240 hour free visa!

We've also made this trip in a prime shoulder season, and during Labor Day weekend so that you can maximize your PTO if that applies to you!

We've compiled the absolute must-see and do activities in each place, however we realize that a few things are a bit uh...scary, and also some do have restrictions (health, height, and unfortunately weight...), so we are making the more "dangerous activities" as optional add-ons -- please be sure to check out that section and sign up for the ones you'd like to do!

We're also trying something new out, where you can choose your last city! We know many of you either have already been to Beijing, or really want to go, so we're letting you choose between there to hike the Great Wall of China, or to head to Shanghai for some fabulous city experiences!

We will have English speaking guides at all times, and our usual full-preparation for the trip beforehand, which is essential, because China is a bit more difficult to travel in!

Check out all the details and sign up ASAP if you'd like to join this amazing adventure!

IMPORTANT NOTE: To qualify for the 240 hour free visa, you MUST exit China through a 3rd country (for example, you cannot do a round trip from USA, you would have to depart USA, go to China, leave to Japan, then depart to USA, unless you'd like to opt for a China visa for around $150 which lasts for 10 years!)

You will need to arrive in Chongqing (airport code CKG), preferably as early as possible on September 4th!

Your departure will need to be anytime on September 12th, with the LATEST departure being September 13th -- remember we only have a MAXIMUM of 10 days in China with this visa, and if you overstay it, you can get detained or fined!

Since this trip includes flights, the deposit will need to be non-refundable, because we need to book those ASAP and they usually don't offer refunds or name changes.

Our cancellation policy is based on our local tour companies’ policies as well for timing until things like hotels and tours are not refundable, as well as our own fees for all of the admin and work we do to create these trips, and handle all of your bookings! We hope you understand! 

This is also why we make travel insurance MANDATORY, and we highly recommend getting it around the same time you book your flights. That way if a covered issue happens like a flight cancellation or delay, or you (god forbid) get sick or injured, the insurance will likely cover your trip. However, if you cancel for PERSONAL reasons, including work-related issues, financial-issues, family-issues, or fear of travel, the insurance does not cover those reasons, and neither can we, however we try to be as flexible as possible! 

Here is our payment requirements:

• 50% of total trip price paid by 6 months before the trip

• 100% of total trip price paid by 3 months before the trip

• We offer everyone a standard 6 month payment plan with the option to do less installments

Below is an overview of our cancellation policy timeline for personal reasons:

• Up to 8 months before:  Payments other than deposit refunded

• Up to 6 months before: Any other payments besides deposit refunded if spot is filled 

• Up to 3 months before: Payments refunded if spot is filled only, otherwise non-refundable deposit + potential fees from tour company deducted from non-refundable/non-transferable items and admin fees

• Less than 3 months before: non-refundable

For emergency health situations; we will evaluate them on a per basis situation depending on the time of cancellation and ability to have travel insurance cover it or not.

Trip price is based on double occupancy (sharing a room). Please be aware that most hotels do not offer twin beds, and you may have to share a large queen bed, but we will do our best to find twin beds! If this is a deal breaker for you, please select our solo room add on!

Please be aware that traveling in China can be very stressful at times, and that our itinerary is subject to change dependent on things like weather, and crowds -- for example if crowds cause us to have to wait longer than expected at one activity, we may have to miss another one, however we are doing everything possible to avoid situations like these.

It is also very important to be aware of cultural differences and to respect the local rules, traditions, and customs. Negativity towards locals (or fellow travelers) will not be tolerated.

We also ask for your utmost your patience and cooperation, as planning and executing a custom itinerary in this destination is challenging and requires many difficult obstacles that we do our best to keep behind the scenes in order to give you a seamless, enjoyable trip!

We can never guarantee what will happen with flights or certain activities, which is why we make travel insurance mandatory. You can book it directly through this platform or use your preferred company or our recommendations.

Liability waivers are also mandatory!

Last but not least, we have new privacy policies starting in 2026 to prevent further copying of our custom trips -- we kindly ask that you do not share this itinerary publicly (close friends and family are ok), and that you mention @mylifesatraveltribe as the trip creator and host. If friends or followers ask what tour company you used, please refer to us, or to MyLifesAMovie.com for the exact booking information for certain activities and hotels.

We also ask that if anyone is pursuing a group trip business, that you let us know before booking, as we now require NDA's and non-Compete's.

Welcome to CHINA and to Chongqing — the city that looks like someone merged Blade Runner with ancient Chinese culture. Today, we’re diving straight into the adrenaline and the awe!

Once everyone gets their 240 hour free visa and makes it to the hotel, we'll hit the ground running! We'll book a hotel in a prime walkable area so that anyone arriving early can explore, or you can also start doing some of the optional activities!

Then it's off to do our Welcome Dinner Hot Pot -- a super fun and tasty experience that we're sure you'll never forget! Afterwards we'll explore Hongyadong Cave, with options to do a Hanfa (traditional outfit) photoshoot, and then we will cross the bridge to have some tea or drinks at one of the best viewpoints of Hongyadong!

Lights in the city go out by 10pm, so afterwards it's back to the hotel to enjoy the beautiful luxury experience!

Overnight at: SEYA or similar

Meals: Dinner

Today we’re diving headfirst into Chongqing’s greatest hits — the cultural icons, the funky local experiences, and the “is my life a movie?” nighttime scenes that make this city unforgettable.

We’ll start with the classics: The 22 Story Building (with bottom floors on 2 levels), and Liziba Station (where the monorail goes through the building), and the cliff‑side Huguang Guild Hall for a dose of history with dramatic river views. Expect winding alleys, lantern‑lit balconies, and architecture that feels like a mashup of old‑world China and a movie set.

Then we'll head to the Raffles City area to go up to the observatory platform -- a breathtaking, slightly terrifying view of the city and river from the top of the "horizontal skyscraper". If time permits, we'll make a quick stop at the famous rooftop bar here too!

For the adrenaline junkies, you can opt to add-on the Cloud Walk (walking on the edge of the top) and Swing (swings you out over the ledge) package. We are so sorry to say this, but just for the Swing there is a weight limit of 100kgs (220 lbs).

Then… as the sun sets, the city transforms. Neon signs flicker on, skyscrapers glow, and suddenly we’re in full cyberpunk mode. We’ll explore the best nighttime lookouts, glowing skywalks, and futuristic districts — the kind of places where every photo looks like a still from Blade Runner. And you'll get the chance to get some of those photos too!

First, we will have dinner, since we don't know how late into the night the next activity will take..

Then, we'll go up to the "World Trade Center" of Chongqing, all the way to the heli-pad, and then even further up to the "60th floor" platform for some 360 degree views!

Another daring opportunity awaits you here -- the viral Skyscraper Rappelling -- an optional add-on and a triple liability waiver form requirement.

(Note: it usually takes a while to do the rappelling so those wanting to do it must be willing to wait, and those who don't want to do it will have free time at the observatory and the pedestrian street below)

By the end of the night, you’ll understand exactly why Chongqing is the unofficial capital of neon‑city chaos.

Overnight: SEYA or similar

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Today we escape the chaos of the city and head to a cave with a massive Buddha statue inside of it! It's cool to see, and even cooler to rappel in front of -- yes, that's another optional activity!

It's a long 2.5 hour drive each way, so we will leave early and try to be back by 3 or 4pm in order to give you all some free time to explore the fabulous Nanbin Road! This is a very cute and much more relaxed area, with a few shops and nice terrace restaurants where we will have a sunset meal together.

After dinner your time is free to either keep exploring Nanbin Road, or to do yet another daring optional add-on...the viral Chongqing Motorbike Trend!

Overnight near Nanbin Road

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

Good morning, mountains! After arriving in Zhangjiajie by speed train, we’ll immediately go to Tianman Mountain since it's nearby (unless the weather is better the last day, then we will adjust the plans).

But first! We'll eat a light lunch of local cuisine deliciousness!

Tianman Mountain seems to be even more notorious and famous than the actual Avatar mountains, and for a good reason! High up at the top of one of the tallest mountains in the region, is a gaping hole that is said to be the gateway to heaven!

Something most posts don't tell you (but we will) is that you also have to do a 15 minute cable car right (the longest in the world) to get up to the base of it, then a bus ride, and THEN, if you're up to the challenge, you can climb 1000+ stairs to the top! OR you can take the escalator ;) OR just enjoy the view from the bottom, it's up to you!

After enjoying this magical moment in the heavens, we'll descend back down to Earth, and head to our bus! We'll make a quick photo stop at the 72 Wonders Tower, and continue on to our beautiful boutique hotel tucked right near the national park — think cozy, scenic, and the perfect base for our Avatar‑world adventures.

The hotel is actually a working tea-factory too, so after we've checked in we will do an authentic tea tasting experience, and then have a home cooked meal for dinner.

We'll stay in for the night because in the morning we're getting up with the sun to avoid the extreme crowds of the main attractions!

It’s the perfect warm‑up day: stretch your legs, breathe that fresh mountain air, and get ready for the big days ahead.

Overnight: Tea House Boutique Hotel Zhangjiajie

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Set your alarms, manifest sunshine, and channel your inner morning person — today we rise before the crowds, the tour buses, and the chaos. Trust me, it’s worth it!

We’ll head straight into the park, which is only a short walk away thanks to our strategic hotel planning, and then it's off to hit all the major highlights while they’re still quiet!

Our strategy will take us up the Balong Elevator first, and straight to the towering sandstone pillars, panoramic viewpoints, and those “is this even real?” landscapes that inspired Avatar. Your camera roll will be screaming.

OH! And if you don't want to take your own pictures, there are plenty of "photographer stands" and even "drone video points" that you can pay around $10 for and have professional content! We'll of course have our own gear too, but it's an option!

We’ll grab a quick lunch inside the park (local street food), then keep exploring until we’ve squeezed every last drop of magic out of the park!

**Important to note: there are some steps and A LOT of walking involved at this park, but no steep inclines/declines. Also it takes about 15 transfers to get through the park, please be aware of that and be patient! Especially since the crowds will arrive by the time we are halfway through!

Finally we'll make it back to our beautiful tea house oasis, for a home cooked early dinner and some much deserved Chinese wine (or beer, or tea).

Overnight: Tea House Hotel Zhangjiajie.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Another early start — but don’t worry, this one comes with more bragging rights. Today we’re going to what Alyssa describes as the ultimate nature-adventure park -- Zhangjiajie's Grand Canyon area!

As the name implies, it's a massive canyon with a pretty turquoise river at bottom, and it's complete with the famous Glass Bridge that scares the hell out of most people! We found it quite pretty though!

Then it's off to more adventures! There's two ways down to the river, either by elevator, OR by zip line and canyon-slide. We highly recommend the latter option.

**NOTE: If time permits, we will be able to offer the bungee jumping as an add-on either here or in the main park

Once we get down to the canyon, there's a couple fast food restaurants we can stop at if we're super hungry (spoiler alert: it's basically just a Chinese McDonald's), and then we'll do a short but sweet little "river cruise" situation. That part definitely gives Disneyworld vibes.

After the river cruise ride, we'll take the labyrinth all the way back up (by elevator this time), back across the glass bridge, and finally out of the park!

But the adventure isn't over just yet! You'll have a whole 1.5-2 hours to rest on the bus on the way to Furong Waterfall Town! It's a bit out of the way, but it's worth the drive! We'll experience this enchanting town built atop waterfalls in the early evening and for dinner.

Depending on flight schedules (not announced yet) we will either stay the night in Furong town, or drive 1.5 hours back towards the city area to be closer to the airport if we take an early morning flight.

Overnight: TBD

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

So far flight options are looking like they will be afternoon or evening flights, which means you'll have the morning to sleep in, pack up, and do some last minute souvenir shopping in Zhangjiajie before heading to the airport, and off to your final city of choice!

**IMPORTANT NOTE: Choose ONE of the options when booking your package and be sure to also check flights out to make sure something is available on the last day or the day after (we suggest aiming for the last day of the trip, day 9 of your visa, in case there are any delays or issues, so you don't overstay the 10 day visa!)

SHANGHAI OPTION:

For those heading to Shanghai, the city’s neon heartbeat is waiting for you. After your airport pickup, you’ll glide straight to our luxury hotel in one of the most iconic corners of the city. Think plush, modern, and dangerously photogenic.

The itinerary today will be dependent on what time the flight is (not available yet), but we are thinking we take you to one of the viral "24 hour luxury spas" to relax a bit after all that walking and adventuring, plus they have unlimited food and (non alcohol) drinks!

BEIJING OPTION:

The flights to Beijing will also likely land in the evening, so we'll have just enough time to do either a little street-food-crawl, or just have a nice dinner at or near the hotel.

SHANGHAI OPTION:

You'll wake up early-ish so that we can get to Yu Garden -- one of the most famous, and therefore, most crowded places in Shanghai. But as we said, we will get there early to be first in line, and we'll head straight into the gardens to explore the labyrinth of plants and rock walls before everyone else gets there! We'll give you a little time outside of the gardens as well, since it's a prime shopping and eating area, then we'll start the rest of the city tour around Shanghai!

We'll go by the fancy Ningxia Road area, to the quieter "Former French Concession", we'll walk along the fun and bustling Nanjing Road, then we'll end the tour with a stroll along the Bund, and a drink at a rooftop so you can get the best views of the city!

For dinner we will go to a fun and immersive hot pot!

BEIJING OPTION:

You'll definitely wake up super early for the Great Wall of China! We'll aim to go to the Mutianyu and Jianku sections of the wall instead of the main most popular areas that everyone else goes to. This is a beautiful and scenic stretch of the wall that will take several hours to explore, especially with photo stops!

Manifest good weather for these days, because the wall is stunning to see in the sun! But don't worry if it's cloudy or foggy, that only adds to the dramatic effect!

Afterwards we will stop for lunch, and then take a little city tour of Beijing to see the highlights, before a final dinner together!

Sadly it's time to leave China before our visas expire! Please schedule your departure flights today, and remember it HAS to be to a third country (cannot be directly back to USA!!!)

We recommend doing our Japan-transit add-on or Japan Hidden Gems group trip, as it's the cheapest flights back to the US!