China - Help with itinerary and more questions

Replies: 4 - Last Post: 15-Oct-2007 03:35 Last Post By: ellyse

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fito

02-Oct-2007 12:39
Posts: 6

China - Help with itinerary and more questions

Dear fellow travelers:
1. How's this itinerary look:
10/06 Beijing - Arrive in the afternoon
10/07 Beijing - Forbidden City and summer palace
10/08 Beijing - Great wall (Jinshanling to Simatai tour)
10/09 Beijing - Temple of heaven and bike around the city. Night train to Pingyao
10/10 Pingyao - Walk/bike around the town. Night train/bus to Xian
10/11 Xian - Terra cotta warriers
10/12 Xian
10/13 Shanghai - Flight from Xian to Shanghai
10/14 Shanghai
10/15 Shanghai - day trip to Suzhuo/Tongli
10/16 Hangzhou
10/17 - Guilin - flight from Hangzhou to Guilin and then on to Ping-an
10/18 - Ping-an and then on to Yangshuo
10/19 - Yangshuo and night bus/train to HKG
10/20 - HKG
10/21 - HKG
10/22 - HKG and fly back to Canada

2. Are there any buses or fast overnight trains between xian/shanghai? trains seem to take a bit too long

3. Any idea if it's easier/better/cheaper to fly from Shanghai or Hangzhuo to Guilin?

4. Where can we get the best exchange rate for HKG money at the border between shenzhen and wo lu for the train ride to the kowloon?

5. How much time should we wait before we buy airline tickets?

6. Any idea if Bank of china exchange desk is open at beijing airport on a saturday afternoon? is it a good rate or a "weekend" rate?

7. Has anyone used CTrip travel booth at beijing airport? Do they offer better rates than travel agencies in beijing?

8. Are phone numbers for Ctrip/elong/9588 etc free? I dont remember seeing public phones in beijing a few years ago. Any idea where to call them from?

Thank you so much for your valuable advise
happy travelling

is it NOW?

paddisonr

02-Oct-2007 14:54
Posts: 149

3. I flew Shanghai to Guilin and you can get very cheap flights as there are quite a few a day (It was 390 RMB plus taxes). Don't think you can fly to Guilin from Hangzhuo.
5. Buy your tickets a day or 2 out. This is the cheapest time
I booked my flights with ctrip using the internet. It was the easiest way as you don't have to worry about language issues. The counter at Beijing airport will not be able to issue your ticket on the spot. They just take all the details and deliver it to your Hotel. It just takes way longer to do this than enter your details via the internet.

ang40

02-Oct-2007 16:35
Posts: 514

Forbidden City and Summer palace would be very hard in one day, they are both huge and you may need more time, of course that depends if you really want to see it well, there's at least a 40 minute to an hour trip between them depending on traffic.

vegasgambler

03-Oct-2007 08:30
Posts: 720

This traveller has no idea how immense Beijing is.

The Forbidden City alone can take up to 5 hrs. not counting travel time.

And then there are the other sights not even mentioned like f.i. the "Underground City", the"Peking Duck" gourmet restaurant should not be missed either. Then there is Fujin Street and the adjoining alleys with their ethnic food stall, the "hutongs" etc. I could go on and on.

ellyse

15-Oct-2007 03:35
Posts: 8,932

2) The Xi'an -- Shanghai bus sucks to high heaven (or hell) and doesn't take any less time than the trains. The fastest trains for this route are about 16+ hours overnight.
3) Perhaps Shanghai, especially if you're using the budget airline Spring Airlines.
6) It should be. Same rates.
Cheers!

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