pknielsen

Zhangjiajie definitely beats Wuhan, rain or not. There might be some logistical issues, of course

Downtown Beijing is approx 1 hour away (airport express + subway) - most of the major sights are within easy reach this way. Beijing subway...

She will very likely be able to get getter deals in the US. Can't help you much apart from that... Edited by: pknielsen

Walking around downtown Xi'an, i.e. Bell Tower area, should do the trick (if you look non-Chinese. You'll definitely be approached by guys...

No, you don't need a tour operator. Finding a driver would be fine. One of the drawbacks using tour operators is that they'd very likely...

If you want to stick to the itinerary, check out Chongqing as a place to make connections on the Jiuzhaiguo - Beijing leg. Check elong.net...

The cities you are mentioning are not exactly small, nor traditional.. Can't you fly to Kunming, and then take the train to Lijiang. ...

#7 OK, point taken. Especially the driving in darkness bit makes a very good point. That can be really scary, at times.

Jiejie's comments are excellent. A few corrections, though. Sunset in December is around 17 (16.49 to be exact....). If using the airport...

BTW, I find Dunhuang amazing, highly worthwhile a visit (just take a look at my avatar...), but in a 15-day itinerary focusing on SE Asia?...

Kunming - Dunhuang. No direct flights, you'd need to make connections in Xi'an or Urumqi.. I agree, forget about land transportation on...

Mutianyu is doable from the airport. Badaling not. Mutianyu is a little less than an hour (if I remember correctly), and from the airport,...

#10 Personnally I love Ærø. However... Ærøskøbing and Marstal are characterized by a lot of old houses in narrow streets, i.e. they are...

#9 I do not think Shanghai has much to offer in terms of sights, compared to so many other places in China. There are some sky-scrapers...

From my perspective, it would be more in the lines of: 4 days in Beijing, 0 days in Shanghai, 1-2 days in Hong Kong. Depends a bit on just...