CN Expedition巷陌经纬

China trip design services and prices

We design private trips to Yunnan, Guangxi and Qinghai–Gansu in the order China requires, so nothing sells out, closes or turns you away once you are there. Essentials trip design is US$190 for up to 7 days; Signature is US$250 for 8 to 14 days; WhatsApp concierge support is US$40 a day; or have the whole approved plan booked for you by our partner team in China. The first route check is free.

Essentials trip design

Trips of up to 7 days in China

US$190

Plan delivered within 5 business days of payment

A finished plan for a trip of up to a week: every day timed, every hotel chosen, every booking dated. You book from it, or our partner team books it for you.

  • A short questionnaire on pace, food and mobility, by email; a Zoom call if you prefer to talk it through
  • An entry check: visa or 240-hour transit, matched to your flights
  • Every day in morning, afternoon and evening blocks, with each transfer's departure time, duration and cost
  • Two hotels per stop, a first choice and a backup, with the room type to book and why
  • A dated booking list: what to book, when it opens and where
  • A Plan B for every day that depends on weather
  • Chinese address cards for every hotel, and a pinned map of every stop
  • One round of revisions
Start with a free route check

Signature trip design

Trips of 8 to 14 days, in one region or two

US$250

Plan delivered within 10 business days of payment

Everything in Essentials for a longer or multi-region trip, planned to the hour on the days that matter and checked again the week before you fly.

  • Everything in Essentials, for 8 to 14 days or two regions
  • Planning by email, a Zoom call whenever you want one, and a written briefing the week before you fly
  • Hour-by-hour timing on transfer days, mountain days and sunrise days
  • Hotel requests confirmed in Chinese: room, view, airport pickup, oxygen
  • A driver brief in Chinese for every driving day
  • A risk sheet: holidays, closures, weather and altitude, each with what we do instead
  • A full re-check of trains, openings and roads 7 days before departure
  • Two rounds of revisions
Start with a free route check

Remote China concierge

Add to either trip design, for the days you are in China

US$40 a day

or US$350 for a trip of up to 10 days

Replies in two daily windows, China time

A person you can message on WhatsApp while you travel, for bookings, translation and the small problems that otherwise eat half a day.

  • Restaurant and experience reservations made in Chinese
  • Help with payment, ride-hailing or ticket apps when something fails
  • Live translation by message or photo
  • Re-planning a day around weather, closures or tiredness
  • Replies between 7 and 11 am and between 7 and 10 pm China time
Start with a free route check

Or have the whole trip booked for you

Prefer to hand it over? Once your plan is approved, our partner team in China books all of it: hotels, private cars, drivers and guides, under one quote. The licensed agency contracts and invoices the bookings; we stay your planner and single point of contact from the first email to the last day.

  1. Your planner

    CN Expedition, a company registered in Shanghai, China

    Designs the route, writes every brief and stays your one point of contact, from the first email to the day you fly home.

  2. Licensed travel agency

    Our inbound agency partner in China

    Books and contracts hotels, private cars and guides under its travel licence, with one quote and one invoice for everything booked in China.

  3. Drivers and local guides

    Arranged through the agency

    Briefed by us in Chinese on your exact route, timings, stops and preferences before you meet them.

Hotels, cars and guides booked through the partner team are contracted and invoiced by our licensed inbound travel agency partner in China. CN Expedition designs and coordinates the trip.

What your plan settles before you fly

High-end travel is bought for certainty. Each line below is something that goes wrong in China when the order is wrong: a ticket that sells out seven days ahead, a hotel that cannot register a foreign guest, a first night too high, a closed road with no backup. Your plan settles every one of them before you fly.

ItemEssentialsUS$190, up to 7 daysSignatureUS$250, 8 to 14 days
How we work togetherBy email; a Zoom call if you preferBy email, Zoom calls whenever you want them, and a written briefing the week before you fly
Entry check: visa or 240-hour transitIncludedIncluded
Day planMorning, afternoon and evening blocksHour by hour on transfer, mountain and sunrise days
Every transfer: departure time, duration, costIncludedIncluded
HotelsTwo per stop, with the room type to bookTwo per stop, with requests confirmed in Chinese
Dated booking list (what opens when)IncludedIncluded
Plan B for weather-dependent daysIncludedIncluded
Chinese address cards and pinned mapIncludedIncluded
Driver brief in Chinese for each driving dayNot includedIncluded
Risk sheet: holidays, closures, weather, altitudeNot includedIncluded
Re-check of trains, openings and roads 7 days before departureNot includedIncluded
RevisionsOne roundTwo rounds

What a planned day looks like

This is the level of detail in every plan: times, drives, altitude, the backup, and the words you need in Chinese. Your plan has one of these for every day of the trip.

Nothing left to guess

Every transfer has a time, a duration and a cost. Every ticket that can sell out has a date in your booking list.

Checked, not copied

Timetables, opening notices and road conditions are checked in the week we deliver your plan, from official Chinese sources.

Fixed free before you fly

If something in your plan closes, sells out or changes before departure, we rework it at no charge.

Sample: day 6 of a 7-day Yunnan plan

Tiger Leaping Gorge to Shangri-La

Sleep at
Shangri-La, about 3,300 m
Climb today
About 1,500 m from the gorge
Time in the car
About 4.5 hours, in two legs

  1. Leave Lijiang

    Private car from your hotel door. Driver confirmed in Chinese the evening before; the name and plate number are in your trip chat.

  2. Upper Tiger Leaping Gorge viewpoint

    Allow 90 minutes. The stairs down to the river viewpoint are steep; the upper platform alone is enough for most travelers.

  3. Lunch near the gorge

    One restaurant chosen for the day, with three dishes written in Chinese to point at.

  4. Drive up to Shangri-La

    About 2.5 hours, climbing onto the plateau. Two photo stops are marked on your map.

  5. Check in and rest

    Your room request for in-room oxygen is confirmed. Keep the evening light: a short walk in Dukezong Old Town, an early dinner and no alcohol.

Plan B

If heavy rain closes the gorge viewpoints, drive straight to Shangri-La and spend a slow afternoon at Songzanlin Monastery instead.

请送我到：独克宗古城Please take me to: Dukezong Old Town

How it works

  1. Free route check

    Tell us your dates, who is traveling and what you have booked so far. We reply by email with whether the route works in that order, what will sell out first, and which service fits. Prefer to talk it through? Ask for a Zoom call.

  2. Pay for the design you choose

    We send a secure card payment link for Essentials or Signature. Nothing is charged before the route check.

  3. Receive your plan

    A day-by-day itinerary with hotel picks, transfer times, booking links and the reasoning behind each choice. You ask for changes; we revise.

  4. Travel with backup

    Book the plan yourself, or have our partner team in China book all of it. Add the remote concierge if you want someone on WhatsApp while you are in China.

Questions about the services

What does CN Expedition actually do?

We design private, day-by-day trip plans for Yunnan, Guangxi and Qinghai–Gansu, and offer WhatsApp support while you travel. Trip design starts at US$190. You either book the plan yourself or have our partner team in China book all of it for you.

Are you a travel agency?

We are trip designers, and we work with a licensed inbound travel agency in China. We plan the trip and coordinate it; when you want hotels, cars and guides booked for you, our agency partner contracts and invoices those bookings under its licence.

How much does a China trip plan cost?

Essentials trip design is US$190 for up to 7 days. Signature trip design is US$250 for 8 to 14 days, in one region or two; longer trips are quoted before we start. The remote concierge is US$40 a day or US$350 for up to 10 days. The route check is free.

What happens on the free route check?

You tell us your dates, party, interests and pace. We reply by email with whether your route is realistic in that order, what will sell out first, and which service fits; if you would rather talk it through, we set up a Zoom call. There is no obligation to buy anything.

How long does it take to receive the plan?

Essentials plans are delivered within 5 business days of payment, Signature plans within 10. We work by email; a Zoom call is there whenever you want one.

Can you book hotels and drivers for me?

Yes, through our partner team. Our licensed inbound agency partner in China books the approved plan, with one quote and one invoice, and we stay on as your planner. You can also book it yourself from the dated booking list in your plan.

What are the concierge reply times?

Between 7 and 11 am and between 7 and 10 pm China time, every day you are covered. For emergencies, call local emergency services first: 110 for police, 120 for ambulance.

Can you plan regions other than Yunnan, Guangxi and Qinghai–Gansu?

We focus on the three regions we know first-hand. For a trip that adds Beijing, Xi'an or Shanghai at the start or end, we include the connection and basic city stay in the plan.

When do I pay?

After the free route check, once you choose a service. We send a secure card payment link. The concierge is paid before your trip starts.

What if I cancel?

Full refund before we start planning. Half refund once planning has started but before the first draft. The design fee is non-refundable once the first draft is delivered. Concierge days are refundable up to 7 days before your trip starts.

Can I change the plan after it is delivered?

Yes. Essentials includes one round of revisions and Signature includes two. Later changes, such as new dates months after delivery, are quoted before we start.

Read the full terms

Not sure which service fits?

Book the free route check. We will tell you what sells out first and recommend the smallest service that does the job.

Request a free route checkEmail hello@cnexpedition.com