Most first China trips include both, and the order matters more than people expect — not for logistics, which work either way, but for how the trip feels.
Why Beijing first#
It asks more of you. The Forbidden City is a long walk, the Great Wall is a full day out of the city, the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace are each a half-day, and the distances between them are large. Doing that on day two beats doing it on day nine.
Its bookings are the strictest. The Forbidden City releases passport-linked timed tickets seven days ahead and they clear fast. Fixing that date first and building the rest of the trip around it is far easier than trying to slot it in at the end.
It is the harder cultural landing, which is the point. Beijing is the imperial capital, the political centre and the least internationalised of the two. Arriving there first means the rest of the trip reads against it.
Shanghai is the gentler exit. It has the widest range of international food, the easiest English, the best late-night city and an airport with the most onward connections. It is a good place to be tired.
When to reverse it#
Your flights say so. If a cheap or direct routing lands you in Shanghai, take it. This preference is not worth paying for.
You are going on to Japan, Korea or Southeast Asia. Shanghai and Hong Kong are the better exits eastward and southward.
You arrive in winter. Beijing in January is cold, dry and grey, and Shanghai's damp cold is milder. If the trip is short and the weather is against you, front-load the south.
You want the water towns. Suzhou, Hangzhou and the canal towns cluster around Shanghai, and building a first block there works well if that is the trip you want.
The connection between them#
High-speed rail, about 4h30 between Beijing South and Shanghai Hongqiao, with departures all day. It is one of the great train rides on the network and there is no case for flying it.
That also means you do not have to choose a single direction of travel. Beijing → Xi'an → Shanghai is the standard first-trip shape, and it works precisely because the rail spine runs through the middle of the country.
How long each needs#
Beijing: three nights minimum, four is right. One day for the Forbidden City and Tiananmen, a full day for the Great Wall, one for the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace or a hutong wander.
Shanghai: two nights covers it, three is comfortable. The Bund, the former French Concession on foot, one museum, and either a water town or a day trip to Suzhou.
For the routes that join them, see the seven-day China itinerary; for each city, the Beijing and Shanghai travel guides.