Last min trip - Help please

Hi, i'm a Brit staying in New Zealand but plans have changed I need to go back to UK by Apirl. Have now booked flight back stopping in Shanghai, staying in China for 25 days then flying out of Hong Kong. Leave soon, and still got stuff to wrap up over here, not much time to look things up, so any good itinery plans would be most welcome.

Cheers guys!
Matt B

Hi Matt,

I spent 4 weeks going from HK - Shanghai a few years back so will go through my itinerary backwards.

Shanghai - Beijing - Xian - Chengdu - Leshan - Emei shan - Chongqing - Guilin - Yangshou - Wuzhou - Guangzhou - HK.

Obviously missed out loads of places so I must go back. Personally, I think you can omit Wuzhou and Guangzhou and replace with somewhere else. Also, I got on trains, buses and a boat but you might prefer to take a domestic flight if you have no time and spare cash!

Also spent 2 weeks on top of the 4 weeks in HK itself which was a long time but its definitely worth a few days. It was hard to leave for me as my old man was there so we stayed at his flat overlooking the harbour in mid levels. Very easy start to my backpacking journey!

Because you have been so thorough about your hobbies and interests in the OP, I suggest visiting the Mainland area of China

Hongkong is easy to get with very cheap flights, so I would suggest you spend 3 weeks in mainland China and 4 -5 days in Hongkong is really more than enough (accommodation in Hongkong is absolutely more expensive than in the former)

Shanghai/Suzhou/ Zhouzhuang etc. 4nights
Beijing: Great Wall,Ming Tombs, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven 3-4nights
Xian: 2nights
Yichang/Yangtze Cruise/Chongqing: 4-5nights
Kunming/Lijiang: 3-4nights
Guilin/Yangshuo: 3 nights
Hongkong: 3nights

Enjoy it Matt

1) What are your sightseeing interests and preferences?
2) What's your budget like?
3) What date are you arriving in Shanghai?
4) What date are you leaving Hong Kong?
5) Is this your 1st trip to China?
6) Do you have any knowledge of Chinese?
Cheers!

It's his first time to post, guys, so cut him some slack! (Woolf, since when did you become so sarcastic. I don't remember you being like this.)

If you like outdoor activities and scenery, with a bit of history, try Shanghai, Beijing, (fly to) Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, Tiger Leaping Gorge, Kunming, fly to Guilin and bus to Yangshuo, bus to Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

If you like history, try Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Beijing, Kaifeng, Luoyang, Xi'an, Chengdu, fly to HK. Or Shanghai, Beijing, Datong, Pingyao, Xi'an, Chengdu, fly to HK. Might be able to fit a trip to Yangshuo in there, too, if you spend fewer days in HK and Macau.

Hehe #2 must be having a bad day. I had quite a good day but lousy at the end, so I'm currently pretty depressed too. :( However I don't think I did anything by asking OP to provide more information!
Cheers!

Cheers for the tips guys, didn' t expect any abuse though! sorry for being so vauge i'm not used to using these things. I've actually already spent 4 nights in HK on way to NZ so not too bothered about staying there for long again. I must admit the night life was pretty good in HK and wouldn't mind a few good sessions in the bigger cities, but again don't really no what there like, but heard people say Shanghai is similar to HK ? But really into scenery and treks walks etc over History (although still appealing) think the river cruise sounds really good, what exactly is the Tiger Leaping Gorge? Anyway, i know no chinese, and this is my first time in the country (bit nervous now!) Land Shanghai 13th March leave HK 6th April, and budget is approx 800 Pounds, are flights cheap? it dosen't bother me too taking long train journeys.

Thanks again guys, mate put me on to this web site and thought would be waste of time, but been proved wrong! any other tips would be greatfully recived!

Oh, i'm 24 by the way if that helps?

Ok, that's 27 days. 800 GBP is about 12035 RMB at the moment. Taking it as 12000 RMB, you have about 444 RMB per day. That should be quite a mid-range budget.
Google "Tiger Leaping Gorge" if you want to know what it is.
Here're some itinerary options:

1) Shanghai (2 days) -- overnight train -- Beijing (4 days) -- train (2 days) -- Lhasa (4 days) -- flight -- Zhongdian aka Shangri-La (2 days) -- bus -- trek from Haba to Tiger Leaping Gorge (1 day) -- Tiger Leaping Gorge hike (2 days) -- bus -- Lijiang (2 days) -- overnight bus -- Kunming (1 day) -- overnight train -- Guilin (only for transit) -- bus -- Yangshuo (4 days) -- bus -- Guangzhou (1 day) -- train/bus/ferry -- Hong Kong

2) Shanghai (2 days) -- overnight train -- Beijing (4 days) -- overnight train -- Xi'an (2 days) -- flight -- Lhasa (5 days) -- train (2 days) -- Chengdu (1 day) -- flight -- Jiuzhaigou (2 days) -- flight -- Chengdu (1 day) -- flight -- Guilin (only for transit) -- bus -- Yangshuo (4 days) -- bus -- Guangzhou (1 day) -- train/bus/ferry -- Hong Kong

3) Shanghai (2 days) -- overnight train -- Beijing (3 days) -- overnight train -- Xi'an (2 days) -- overnight train -- Chengdu (1.5 days) -- buses from Chengdu to Zhongdian aka Shangri-La via Kangding, Daocheng etc (around 5.5 days) -- Zhongdian (2 days) -- bus -- trek from Haba to Tiger Leaping Gorge (1 day) -- Tiger Leaping Gorge hike (2 days) -- bus -- Lijiang (2 days) -- overnight bus -- Kunming (1 day) -- overnight train -- Guilin (only for transit) -- bus -- Yangshuo (3 days) -- bus -- Guangzhou (1 day) -- train/bus/ferry -- Hong Kong

Cheers!

hello
you'll have a great time
I have no chinese either and managed 31 days with a phrase book and lot of smiling and pointing.
Most people are lovely. Beware the chicken feet....
try www.9588.com for cheap internal flights
Guilin scenery is lovely, (try Universal hotel in Guilin if you do hotels, not expensive)
yangste river cruises too
I did find that all the cities I went to were identical, although the Chinese will disagree.
Everything looks like something mystical, when actually, that rock formation over there looks like, well, a rock really.
regret not seeing more of the countryside
you must see the Warrioirs in Xi'an.
have fun!

ps about trains
we found (in August mind you) that overnight trains were very, very difficult to book due to massive demand. we only manged a couple and due to time constraints took several flights, eg £35 Beijing to Xi'an , cheap by UK standards but trains much cheaper. Large train stations absolutely stuffed with millions of chinese trying to buy tickets, read guide book carefully for advice on how to deal with that. Also, with no language buses are hard, but not impossible. I did it and I'd never been anyweher in asia beofre and i'm not an adventrous person!

#10, in August it's still not any peak travel period by any length!
Cheers!

Except for the very end of August, when university students are returning to school.

Yes, agree wih #12.
Cheers!