Itinerary advice for china

Pingyao gets a lot of well-deserved recommendations here; I think a ten-year old would enjoy it

Datong and those caves much less so; I wouldn't go out of my way to go there. (There's a direct train now from Beijing to Pingyao, so there's no particular geographical reason to include Datong.)

As everyone is going to be telling you, there's a big travel holiday the first week of May; you're going to have to have your transport lined up well in advance. I think your son would enjoy an overnight train ride and a HSR ride, too. But flying XI'an to Guilin may be more practical.

I am travelling to China for 30 days , just me and my 10 year old son. I am planning an itinerary and looking for some help with this. Any recommendations for good hostels in these destinations too would be great. We prefer to stay in hostels over hotels as we are backpackers with the equivalent backpacking budget mentality, and we find it much more social and enjoyable. Our Trip is late April to 25 may.

Do you want private rooms, or dorms? Private rooms in hostels in China are usually as expensive or more than better quality 2 star chains. All that backpacker atmosphere costs money. Dorms might have a problem with a 10 year old staying in them alone and most dorms in China are single sex.

Day 1 Arrive in Beijing, stay for 8 days? (Is this too long) And see
-city sites such as forbidden city, temple of heaven, exploring hutongs, tianamen square, Olympic park etc.
-take in a kung fu and acrobatic show. Any Recommendations that kids would love?

Make sure you do the summer palace. Beijing is full of museums, some of them kind of wierd or cool. The military museum might be fun for your son. As would the underground city(a serise of bunkers built by Mao when it looked like the soviets were going to bomb the place). There is always more of Beijing to see, 8 days is on the longish side but you wont get bored.

-Hike the Great wall from jiankou to mutianyu (advice on the best way to do this -can it be done independently?). I'd like to possibly do 2 days at the wall as this is huge on my son's bucket list (we do lots of trekking, I'm not worried about his ability to walk distances).

Staying overnight on the great wall is illegal. But you could certainly do 2 different outings on 2 different days.

-visit datong to see the yungang caves and hanging temple (2days?, not sure how best to achieve this yet)

Take a train to Datong. See the Yungang caves. See the original great wall(its forced earth, not brick), hire a driver or tour for the hanging temple. Spend the night in Datong. Then head to Xi'an from Datong.

-does anyone know if there is a kids amusement water park easily accessible to the city??

The only one I can think of was closed for being unsafe.

Day 9 Travel day Train to xi'an.

Night train is also a possibility. Certainly fits with the budget mentality as the tickets are cheaper and you save yourself 1 night accomodation. Hard sleeper is the way to go.

I'm not sure how long to give this city but I'm thinking of 5 days so we can cycle the city walls, see the terracotta warriors, and shadow puppets. I want to visit huashan mountain from here. I think it would be best to do huashan as an overnight trip.

5 days is sounding a little long to me, even with Huashan.

Day 15 Travel day Train to guilin
-it seems there's lots to do and see here and I thought we would spend nearly two weeks in yangshuo and visiting longshen rice terraces. We'd like to spend our days cycling the villages, doing some kung fu (my son) tai chi (me) classes here, maybe some Chinese cookery as well. Visiting this area is my primary motivation for going to China, however I'm not sure if two weeks is too long.

Yangshuo is pretty touristy and not that large. I think 2 weeks might be too long. But if you have activities that you think you can fill your time with, go for it.

I'd like to also visit the zhangjiajie mountains (from avatars) in Hunan province as well and could fit this in on the way to violin f it's not too difficult to get there. Or is there any other major attraction that is unmissable in your opinions that my son would love between xi an and guilin. I don't want to create an itinerary that is too full though as would like some relaxed travelling. What do people think?

Zhangjiajie is more difficult to get to than anything you have on your list, it usually requires either flying to it or changing trains/bus to get to. It isnt that hard though, so I recommend you try it. Fenghuang might also be fun. As would trekking around Dehang.

Pingyao would also be a rewarding stop in between Datong and Xi'an. You could also do Beijing-Pingyao sleeper Pingyao-Datong day train and then Datong-Xi'an sleeper if you think longer sleepers makes more sense. Beijing-Datong and Datong to Pingyao are a little short to get a full nights rest.

If you find Datong too dificult to get to. You could see the Longmen grottos around Luoyang. I find them less interesting, less well preserved and more crowded; but Longmen is right there with Yungang (and Dazu) as being the best buddhist rock sculpture in China.

You've got too long everywhere on your list. Cut back and put additional places in this trip.

Beijing---6 days. Not going to go through the regular attractions here. Kung fu and acrobat shows are usually hits with kids (and adults)--schedule those for evenings. For water park, consider going to the one inside the Water Cube at the Olympic Park.
Pingyao--2 days. In addition to the Old Town, venturing out a bit to Wang Family Mansion and Mianshan would be worthwhile.
Xi'an--2 days, maybe part of a 3rd. Few kids are enamored of history-heavy Xi'an for more than a couple of days.
Huashan--1.5 days. Not a lot of places to stay on the mountain and very basic.
Luoyang--2 days. Consider doing the Shaolin Si in nearby Dengfeng--usually with a kid, it's a good stop.
Zhangjiajie--4 days
Fenghuang/Dehang--2 days
Rice Terraces--2 days
Guilin/Yangshuo area--7 days
The transportation can mostly be absorbed into these time frames, and some connections can be done by overnight sleeper train. This trip can be done completely overland and isn't too difficult to put together. The May holiday is only 3 days (this year, April 29-May 1) and primarily affects short-distance travel so that's not going to be too disruptive--likely you'll be parked in Beijing. However, you do need to plan ahead and book some of the intercity train segments well in advance--like early March. This means you need to settle on an itinerary reasonably soon.

Oh wow, thanks so much for your well thought out and detailed replies. It seems that everyone is recommending much the same things -consensus is a good start and definately helps!
Considering that datong seems not very popular, I think I will give that a miss, and also reduce the amount of time spent in Xian. Instead of datong I'm considering the option of visiting either pingyao or luoyang for the Longmen grottoes and shaolin temple. do you know if we could take a kung fu class at shaolin/dengfeng? We wouldn't want to sign up for a course but an introductory couple of classes would be fun since we were planning on doing this in yangshuo we could do some here instead.

I will also add in zhangjiajie as I think I will regret it if I don't go there. Any advice on how best to get there from luoyang and structure a solid four days there visiting tianmen and zhangjiajie park?Am I best to join a tour to access the sites in the park, or is it easy to do independently? I will also try and get to fenghuang if this works easily logistically before heading to guilin and if so will add an extra day here to accommodate this stop.

So here goes:
Days 1-7 Beijing.
Overnight train to Xian on day 7 (maybe change this to visit pingyao as recommended if we can't do kung fu classes in shaolin).
Day 8 Xian
Day 9 Xian warriors train to huashan in evening
Day 10 huashan mountain
Day 11 huashan to luoyang
Day 12 longmen grittier shaolin
Day 13 either another day here if we can do some kung fu classes or head to zhangjiajie.
Day 14 travel to zhangjiajie, hopefully this is not to difficult with connections. Would I be better to backtrack and travel there from Xian?
Day 15-18 ZJJ
Day 19 travel to guilin,
Day 20 arrive guilin, go to longshen rice terraces overnight,
Day 21 spend day in longshen then head to yangshuo
Day 22-29 yangshuo
Day 30 Flight from guilin

I appreciate your thoughts

Also, can anyone tell me if they generally have reduced entry fees for children into attractions and sites in China?

Also, can anyone tell me if they generally have reduced entry fees for children into attractions and sites in China?

They often do, based on height not age.

Considering that datong seems not very popular, I think I will give that a miss, and also reduce the amount of time spent in Xian.

I actually love Datong, but from what I hear the local government has been eager to destroy the old parts of town and monuments to make it more Disney like and modern. I know the old walls were completely torn down so new walls could be built.

Instead of datong I'm considering the option of visiting either pingyao or luoyang for the Longmen grottoes and shaolin temple. do you know if we could take a kung fu class at shaolin/dengfeng? We wouldn't want to sign up for a course but an introductory couple of classes would be fun since we were planning on doing this in yangshuo we could do some here instead.

Shaolin temple is the kungfu class mecca. There are dozens of private academies that teach Kungfu, mostly for beginners. Some use the heavily renovated temple complex, some are based in the town. I dont know which to recommend, but look for one with good reviews.

Days 1-7 Beijing.
Overnight train to Xian on day 7 (maybe change this to visit pingyao as recommended if we can't do kung fu classes in shaolin).
Day 8 Xian
Day 9 Xian warriors train to huashan in evening
Day 10 huashan mountain
Day 11 huashan to luoyang
Day 12 longmen grittier shaolin
Day 13 either another day here if we can do some kung fu classes or head to zhangjiajie.
Day 14 travel to zhangjiajie, hopefully this is not to difficult with connections. Would I be better to backtrack and travel there from Xian?
Day 15-18 ZJJ
Day 19 travel to guilin,
Day 20 arrive guilin, go to longshen rice terraces overnight,
Day 21 spend day in longshen then head to yangshuo
Day 22-29 yangshuo
Day 30 Flight from guilin

I appreciate your thoughts

Still a lot of time in Beijing(plenty to see IMHO)
a lot of time in Zhangjiajie, depending on your transit connections perhaps too much
and a lot of time in Yangshuo.

I agree: too much time in ZJJ; maybe add relatively nearby Fenghuang: nowhere near as nice as Pingyao, but still good for a day or two stopover.

Similarly, far too much time Guilin/Yangshuo. You'll soon get tired of being treated as a tourist in Yangshuo.

Maybe take some of those days down south and turn them into days up north? You could easily add Wutaishan on your itinerary. Visit Chengde from Beijing. With HSR, even excursions from Beijing to Taishan or Qingdao are realistic.

And in Luoyang, don't forget Bai Ma Temple, and the old city.

a nice day trip from Beijing might be to Shanhaiguan, where the great wall meets the sea. The town has been redone and the beach there isn't Ko Samui, but kids usually enjoy the beach regardless of how nice it looks and if your son is into the great wall, seeing it plunge into the ocean should be a hit.