Alex & Marilyn Wedding · Lijiang, Oct 2026
Getting to the wedding via Shanghai — with the Tim overlap
Route Vancouver → Shanghai → Lijiang so we land in Shanghai while Tim is there (his Shanghai window: Oct 5–8), then fly to Lijiang together on Oct 8. Wedding is fixed: welcome dinner Fri Oct 9, ceremony Sat Oct 10 at Hylla.
Three options below, ordered by trip length. Prices per person, USD, nonstop unless noted · priced May 28, 2026 · nothing booked yet.
★
Recommendation: Variant A
Best balance — only +1 day vs the tightest option, a real 2-night Shanghai stay with Tim, and it's cheaper than the 1-night version. Depart Oct 5, home Oct 12.
The three options
C · tightest
One night in Shanghai
Oct 6 → 12 · 7 days · no date change
$1,652/ person
≈ $3,304 for two
Shanghai · 1 nightYunnan · skip
★ Recommended
A · balanced
Depart one day earlier
Oct 5 → 12 · 8 days · +1 day
$1,585/ person
≈ $3,170 for two
Shanghai · 2 nightsYunnan · skip
B · cheapest fare
Full match + squad Yunnan
Oct 4 → 15 · ~12 days · +6 days
$1,507/ person
≈ $3,014 for two
Shanghai · 3 nightsYunnan · included
Day-by-day timeline
In flight
Shanghai
Lijiang / wedding
Yunnan w/ squad
Taipei (Tim only)
Tim in Shanghai
TIM IN SHANGHAI
4
Sun
5
Mon
6
Tue
7
Wed
8
Thu
9
Fri 🥂
10
Sat 💍
11
Sun
12
Mon
13
Tue
14
Wed
15
Thu
16
Fri
Tim reference
Variant C 1 night · Oct 6–12
Variant A ★ 2 nights · Oct 5–12
Variant B 3 nts + squad · Oct 4–15
How to book Variant A (the pick)
1YVR ↔ PVG round trip · Oct 5 / Oct 12 · Air Canada AC25, nonstop 12h15m
dep YVR 10:50a → arr Shanghai Oct 6, 2:05p · book as ONE round-trip ticket Open in Google Flights ↗$1,361
2PVG → LJG · Oct 8 · Spring 9C, nonstop 3h50m · fly with Tim
book direct on Spring Airlines or Trip.com View ↗$101
3LJG → PVG · Oct 11 · Spring 9C · overnight near PVG, fly home Oct 12
book direct on Spring Airlines or Trip.com View ↗$123
Per person · 1 round-trip + 2 one-ways~$1,585
Don't book all four legs as one multi-city ticket — priced that way Google quotes $5,000+ (it forces a premium combined fare and can't sell the cheap Spring legs). The right structure is one Air Canada round trip + two separate Spring one-ways.
Side by side
| | C — tightest | A — recommended ★ | B — cheapest fare |
|---|
| Dates | Oct 6 → 12 (7d) | Oct 5 → 12 (8d) | Oct 4 → 15 (~12d) |
| Date change vs plan | none | +1 day | +6 days |
| Airfare / person | ~$1,652 | ~$1,585 | ~$1,507 |
| Airfare / two | ~$3,304 | ~$3,170 | ~$3,014 |
| Shanghai w/ Tim | 1 night | 2 nights | 3 nights |
| Fly to Lijiang w/ Tim | ✓ Oct 8 | ✓ Oct 8 | ✓ Oct 8 |
| Squad Yunnan (Oct 11–15) | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
Before booking: tell Alex your Lijiang arrival is Oct 8 (1 night Banyan Tree → Hylla Oct 9–10). On the way home, fly LJG→PVG the day before the international leg and overnight near PVG — don't risk a same-day domestic→international connection.