Visit Lhasa before it is too late?

http://www.thetibetpost.com/en/news/tibet/3382-china-destroys-the-ancient-buddhist-symbols-of-lhasa-city-in-tibet

This report says that old part of Lhasa is being "developed" along the lines of Lijiang or Zhongdian/Shangri La in Yunnan into a tourist theme park. Having been both to Lijiang and Zhongdian I can only hope that Lhasa escapes this fate...

Anyone planning to drive through China around May-Jun 2014?

We are going to do this journey around May-Jun 2014. We plan to enter China from Kazakhstan, then through XInjiang, Gansu, Qinghai, northwestern Sichuan, Chengdu, Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong and exit into Hong Kong.

You may already know, as this issue has been discussing here over and over, driving through China is not an easy task.
And the cost is in the order of thousands US$ just to get all the permit and licences.

Therefore, we'd like to ask if anyone is also interested in doing a similar journey, so we could share the cost together. The cost of most permits is for the whole team, so they are nearly the same, no matter the team just has one car or ten cars. So you are more than welcome to bring your own car as well.

Thx!

HK-Shenzhen

Hi,
Anyone knows the way from hk airport to Shenzhen? Heard some say ferry, sum say mtr. Would like to know the more convenience way is which? Will be heading to hk and also need to know how to go back from Shenzhen to hongkong?

Thanks

xinjiang: itinerary advice?

hi forum,

i'm travelling to xinjiang for three weeks this summer. i've been to china before (studied in beijing for three months, and travelled for two other months through eastern and sw china), and so i'm planning on spending a couple days in beijing meeting up with some friends and then heading west from there. i really like the idea of travelling overland from beijing to the west, to see the country's transitions.

i have done a decent bit of research and have landed on the plan below. xinjiang is so expansive and diverse, so i decided to focus on southern xinjiang and the silk road.

here's my outlined schedule -- i'd really appreciate any advice you guys have!

7/3 - 7/6 BEIJING
7/6 (evening) - 7/8 (morning) train to liyuan, bus to dunhuang
7/8 - 7/11 DUNHUANG (mogao caves, overnight trek in mingshashan desert)
7/12 in transit from dunhuang to turpan (vi... more »

Seoraksan National Park - Hotels and public transportation

I have a week (first week of October) in Korea and would like to visit Seoraksan National Park.

As I will be traveling from Seoul via public transportation, I need to know if there are any hotels either in the park or walking distance from the park's entrance.

Also, do hikes/trails/attractions start at the park's entrance or do you need to go farther afield?

I would also be open to suggestions about alternative national parks if they offer beautiful scenery, hiking and convenient hotels.

New train service between Kunming and SE Yunnan

I rode this train yesterday and thought it might be of interest to some of you planning to travel from Kunming to the SE of Yunnan, for example to Jianshui, Yuanyang, and Hekou (Vietnam border.) Up until the beginning of this month (May, 2013) the only public transport to that part of Yunnan has been by bus. But there is now limited train service, which presents another option.

There is one train a day in each direction between the main Kunming station to Mengzi Bei Zhan 蒙自北站, which is a few kilometers north of Mengzi. Mengzi is a regional bus hub, and you can easily catch a bus there to Hekou, Yuanyang County, or other remote parts of SE Yunnan.

I rode the train from Jianshui up to Kunming, on my way back from Vietnam. Hard seat 硬座 only (no soft seat or sleepers.) It was full but not packed, by which I mean all seats were taken in the cars near mine, but people were not standin... more »

third stop in China?

My wife and five year old son will be travelling with me to China for 17 days this coming July. We plan on visiting Beijing and Yangshuo. Any thoughts on a third place? We aren't keen necessarily on Xian or Shanghai. Would need a location that is between Beijing and Yangshuo, or at least reasonably easy to get to. We are thinking 5 days or thereabouts in each spot, allowing for travel between.

All suggestions are welcome!

Seoul-Andong-Sokcho-Seoul

Hello,

I'll be going to SKorea in late October. One of my plans are to travel from Seoul to Andong to Sokcho back to Seoul. I've found buses from Seoul to Andong and from Sokcho back to Seoul. But I can't find any direct bus from Andong to Sokcho. Are there any? The only way I found was to take a train from Andong to Gangneung, then from Gangneung a bus to Sokcho. My question is, are there better/faster options? Are there even buses from Andong to Gangneung? I can't seems to find any, would prefer to take a bus direct to the Gangneung Bus Terminal rather than a train to Gangneung Station than take a taxi to the Bus terminal. Would want to save as much time as possible, as the option I found would take about half a day of travel.

Any advice is much appreciated
Thank you!