4-week travel from Beijing to Hong Kong via Yunnan by high speed train

Hi everyone,

I'm planning a 4-week (mainly) solo trip through China from the end of Octorber to mid November. I arrive in Beijing on 25 or 26 October and leave Hong Kong on 21/22 November depending on the ticket prices from Amsterdam/Brussels. I want to do everything by high speed train within China, is this reasonable?

I'm aiming for a mix of cultural sites, nature, and a slower pace in places like Yunnan and Yangshuo. I am still not sure about the number of places I want to visit and whether I am rushing a bit. Note that in Beijing I have some family who is also visiting the city for a few days so the days are fixed until 30/31 October.

In Hong Kong a friend is also flying over to visit me, so I also want to show him the city (I visited HK before and have roots there). It depends on my friend's work whether he'll come, but if he can't, I want to stay longer in China and visit extra places which I have skipped in my schedule now. The places I skipped are Pingyao, Zhangjiajie, Chongqing and Guangzhou (I speak Cantonese).

My main question, is my schedule too thight? And when my friend is not coming, should I stay in Yunnan longer or add some extra places that I have scrapped from the list?

I can enjoy the visa exemption for EU citizens for 30 days as I am Dutch.