We Took Four Grandparents and Three Kids Across China Beijing Shaolin Xian Shanghai

Why China Works for Three Generations

China sounds intimidating for a family that spans eight decades of ages. In practice, it’s one of the easiest big-swing international trips we’ve taken, for one reason: the high-speed rail network. Beijing to Luoyang runs about 3 to 4.5 hours on a bullet train. Luoyang to Xi’an is roughly 90 minutes. Xi’an to Shanghai is about six to seven hours on the fastest trains — or a two-hour flight if the family votes for wings.

For grandparents, trains beat airports every time: level boarding, wide seats, clean bathrooms on board, and no security theater between cities beyond a quick bag scan. For kids, a 200-mph train with a snack cart is the attraction. One thing to know up front: China uses real-name ticketing, so every train ticket, and most major attraction tickets, are tied to a passport number. Carry all nine passports everywhere — they are your tickets.

Our Route at a Glance — 14 Nights, Four Cities

Fly in on a Friday night or Saturday morning, fly home the same way — four nights, three, three, and four, with the bullet train doing the heavy lifting in between.

Beijing — The Wall, the Palace, and One Very Happy Toboggan Line (4 Nights to help with Jet Lag) – Try to Fly on Friday night or Saturday morning

For a three-generation crew, the Great Wall section to choose is Mutianyu, about a 1.5-hour drive from downtown Beijing. It’s less crowded than Badaling and it was practically designed for a family like ours. Grandparents ride the fully enclosed cable car — cabins hold up to six people — straight up to Tower 14, where the wall is at its flattest and the views are enormous. There’s even an elevator at the lower station for anyone who can’t manage stairs.

The kids’ memory of the day will be the toboggan: a 1,580-meter metal slide from the Tower 6 area back down to the base, with a hand brake so each rider controls the speed. Children under 10 ride with an adult, and the chairlift and toboggan are not recommended for travelers over 60 or anyone with heart or blood-pressure conditions — which is exactly why the split works. Grandparents glide down in the cable car; everyone under 50 races down the mountain. Entrance runs about ¥40 for adults and ¥20 for seniors 60+ and kids 6–18, with the cable car or chairlift-plus-toboggan combos around ¥140 round trip.

In the city itself, the Forbidden City is mostly flat once you’re inside, but it requires an advance reservation tied to each visitor’s passport — and it sells out. Book it the moment tickets open for your date, and treat it as that day’s one anchor sight.

Luoyang — The Day the Kids Met the Shaolin Monks (3 nights)

From Beijing, the bullet train drops you at Luoyang Longmen station in as little as three hours. Luoyang is the base; the Shaolin Temple itself sits about 55–80 km away on Mount Song near Dengfeng — roughly a 1.5-hour drive. Public buses exist, but with nine people this is the day to book a private van and driver. Split nine ways, it costs less than you think, and the grandparents will bless you on the winding mountain road.

Shaolin, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the birthplace of both Zen Buddhism and Shaolin kung fu, delivers for every generation at once. The kung fu performances at the Martial Arts Training Center run about 30 minutes and are included with entry — seating is limited, so arrive at least 30 minutes early to get the grandparents good seats. The kids will not blink for the entire show. From there it’s a short walk to the temple halls, and then to the Pagoda Forest, the largest monk cemetery in the world with roughly 250 brick pagodas. If the walking adds up — the highlights are spread out — sightseeing minibuses run inside the scenic area, so nobody has to tough it out.

Bonus for an extra half-day: Luoyang Longmen station sits about 15 minutes from the Longmen Grottoes, another UNESCO site with tens of thousands of Buddha figures carved into a riverside cliff. If your group has the energy, it pairs beautifully with the Shaolin day.

Xi’an — Two Thousand Years of Soldiers, and a Surprisingly Senior-Friendly Museum (3 nights)

Luoyang to Xi’an North is a quick 90-minute hop on the bullet train. The Terracotta Warriors sit about an hour east of the city in Lintong, and this is the stop where I expected the grandparents to struggle — and where China most surprised me. The paths around the site are flat and wheelchair-friendly, ramps lead into the pit buildings, free wheelchairs are loaned first-come first-served, and electric carts shuttle visitors from the gate to the pits, replacing what is otherwise a 15-minute walk. The combined ticket (Terracotta Army plus the Lishan Garden mausoleum area) is ¥120, half price for seniors 65+ and kids 6–18, and free for children under 6 or under 1.4 meters tall.

Plan about three hours for Pits 1, 2, and 3 plus the Bronze Chariots hall. Pit 1 — thousands of life-sized soldiers standing in battle formation — is the single most jaw-dropping room in China, and it lands on a 6-year-old and an 80-year-old exactly the same way. Tell the kids the secret before you walk in: no two faces in the entire army are alike. One quirk to plan around: there’s no cart service at the exit, so the day ends with about a kilometer of walking through a souvenir strip back to the parking lot. Build it into the grandparents’ energy budget.

Back in Xi’an, keep the evening easy: dinner in the Muslim Quarter’s food streets, where the show is the cooking itself and everyone eats standing, pointing, and laughing.

Shanghai — The Reward at the End (The Last 4 nights) – Come Back on Friday Night or Saturday Morning to rest before work on Monday

After a week of dynasties, Shanghai is dessert. Get there by bullet train in six to seven hours — book first class and let the kids watch China blur past — or take the roughly two-hour flight if the group is running low on train patience. Then keep it simple. The Bund promenade is flat, stroller-friendly, and wheelchair-friendly, with the full skyline performing across the river.

The single best all-three-generations activity of the entire trip is an evening Huangpu River cruise: everyone sits, the city does the entertaining, and the grandparents and the 6-year-old are equally hypnotized. Add a skyscraper observation deck for the kids, and Yu Garden right at opening time for the grandparents, before the crowds arrive. Nobody has to hike anything. That’s the point.

How We Moved Nine People Across China

• One anchor sight per day. Mornings for the big site, afternoons for rest, evenings for food. Three generations run on three different batteries — the schedule has to respect the smallest one.
• Private vans for the big day trips. Shaolin day and Terracotta day both justify a driver. Ride-hailing (DiDi) works well in the cities, but nine people means two or three cars every time — a van keeps the family together.
• Book trains as soon as sales open. China rail tickets typically go on sale about 15 days out (Trip.com). Nine seats together on a popular route won’t happen last-minute.
• Set up mobile payment before you fly. China runs on Alipay and WeChat Pay. Both now accept linked US cards, but verification can take a couple of days — do it at home, not at the airport. Keep some cash for small vendors.
• Hotels: two to three rooms, same floor. Ask at booking. Hotels register every guest’s passport at check-in — it’s normal, not a problem.

Goldie’s Table — The Luxury Hotels for Grandparents and Grandkids

Our booking shortcut: Amex Travel’s Fine Hotels + Resorts (a Platinum Card benefit) lets you filter luxury hotels by “Wheelchair Accessible” — hours of accessibility research done in one click. FHR perks land per room, up to three rooms per stay: daily breakfast for two, a US$100 property credit, room upgrades and noon check-in when available, and the grandparent superpower — guaranteed 4 p.m. late checkout. For a nine-person family in three rooms, that’s the breakfasts and credits tripled.