Thorn Tree travel forum

1

For me the most cost effective are trains (hard)sleeper on long hauls also saves a night accommodation. For some ideas about traveltimes try a few routes here

2

Your list of places to visit in China can be done in 3 weeks but not 2.
Macau (1 day) -- ferry -- Hong Kong (2-3 days) -- bus/train -- Guangzhou (1 day) -- flight -- Shanghai (2-3 days) -- overnight train -- Xi'an (2 days) -- overnight train -- Beijing (5 days) would be my recommendation, assuming you can fly out from Beijing.
Please try to be somewhat more specific about your sightseeing interests so that we could suggest other possible destinations for you to fit in.
Also, take a look on my VirtualTourist travel pages for photos and more ideas.
Cheers!

3

Well in terms of sight seeing any must see landmarks, or cultural spots and any places to experience wildlife/nature/great scenery that kind of thing

4

Eh... for someone who's travelled much more extensively around China than you have, my list of favourite destinations is much more than what you'll be able to cover.
Personally, some of my best recommendations for natural scenery would be Jiuzhaigou and Huangshan. It all depends on what kind of landscape you're after. Yangshuo is also quite popular.
Let's try to fit some destinations into your current route, assuming 3 weeks, assuming flying open-jaw into Macau and out of Beijing.
Macau (1 day) -- ferry -- Hong Kong (2.5 days) -- bus/train -- Guangzhou (1 day) -- sleeper bus -- Yangshuo (3.5 days) -- flight (via Guilin) -- Huangshan and surrounding Hui-style villages (3 days) -- bus -- Hangzhou (1.5 days) -- bus (via Jiashan) -- Xitang (1 day including overnight) -- Shanghai (2 days) -- bus/overnight train -- Xi'an (1.5 days) -- bus/overnight train -- Datong (1 day) -- Beijing (4 days)
Cheers!