As for hotel hoppers, Hotels in Beijing are a little bit outdated. Shenzhen has many brand-new and decent hotels, but Shenzhen has few tourist attractions while its seaside parks and shopping malls are nice. Considering City Walk and brand-new hotels, I'd recommend Chengdu and Chongqing, which only take 1.5h by HSR to commute. Otherwise, Shanghai, Suzhou, and Hangzhou are also nice for hotels and city walks.

Thanks for the feedback, team - as of now, I have the following plan:

• 4 nights in Shenzhen
• 4 nights in Guangzhou
• 3 nights in Chongqing
• 2 nights in Chengdu
• 3 nights in Wuhan
• 4 nights in Beijing
• 1 night in Suzhou (really going for the Park Hyatt)
• 4 nights in Shanghai (all hotels I haven't tried yet)

I'll do HSR between Shenzhen and Guangzhou and between Chongqing and Chengdu but will likely fly Guangzhou to Chongqing, Chengdu to Wuhan, Wuhan to Beijing, and Beijing to either Wuxi or Hongqiao for Suzhou.

Wow, this is an aggressive itinerary and I look forward to reading about your trip!

Agreed; I'm getting exhausted just reading the list sitting here in my armchair! :D

I have read on the German Frequent Traveller Forum that if as a foreigner you reserve the train ticket via the 12306 App or website, you do not need to queue with your passport at the platform entry/exit, but you can use your Smartphone QR-code instead. On the other hand side using Trip.com to book the train ticket (+fee per booking) and use the passport one can skip the sometimes endless queues. :D

I haven't been to Wuhan, Suzhou, and Beijing for many years. Other Cities I've been for the past 2 years. Some hotels I have tried and would like to recommend:
Shenzhen: Mandarin Oriental, Andaz, Marriott Nanshan, Renaissance Shenzhen BAY, Raffles, Shangri-la Nanshan, Park Hyatt
Chongqing: Marriott, Regent
Chengdu: The Langbo
Guangzhou:White Swan