2 week quickie

Hi All

Just wanted to get some tips from people who have already travelled in China as this will be my first time.

Unfortunately I only have 2 weeks so I have quite an adventurous schedule planned so far! I'll start with my Ideas and I'd appreciate your thoughts or recommendations with what to include/avoid.

I'm travelling from U.K. to Beijing 24th January. I chose this date as although it might be cold it will be before the rush of Chinese New Year and hopefully not as busy as Spring.

I'll start in Beijing and stay a few days to see the Summer Palace, Forbidden City, Thainanman Square and The Great Wall.

I will then get the bullet train to Xian to see the Terracotta Army, may only stay here a day, is that rushing it too much?

I will then get a sleeper train to Chengdu to see the pandas (and Sichuan food) but I'm already thinking I wondering if this is a good idea?

I would get a flight from Chengdu to Guilin and stay in Yangshou for a few days to see the river etc.

Then I'm thinking of getting a train to Shenzhen and into Hong Kong to spend my last few days before I get a flight back to The UK.

I want a good flavour of China with regards to culture, food and sights. For this reason I'm not interested in Shanghai (but quite fancy Hong Kong as a nice easy resting place).

I'd love to hear your ideas.

Depends what you like but I'd look at going to Mount HuaShan from Xian?

Chengdu doesn't off much to me personally, as nice and rare as pandas are... Guilin/Yangshou is a solid shout... look at la river boat cruise

I'm purely offering my finds from searching as i am too planning a vist - will keep my eye on your post, and good luck!

It is doable, but for me it is too much and I would rather cut out 1-2 destinations and have more time in others. Which one you cut out obviously depends on you and your interests and what is more important for you to see and experience.

I would stay in Beijing for at least 3 full days (but there is so much to do and see there that you could also stay for a week without getting bored). 1 day in X'ian will be very rushed, but it is better than nothing. Besides visiting the terracotta army, walking around the muslim quarter and enjoying some local food is the "main must" for me. If you have time for more, maybe rent a bike and drive around the old city on the top of the city wall.

Myself, I am a big fan of Chengdu. I've been to China several times, all together about 9 months, and Chendgu is probably my favorite big city in China. For one, I love Sichuan food (its so fragrant and spicy and tasty), and Chengdu is amazing for that. There are also plenty of tea houses, the lovely peoples park - which is a great place to people watch with a cup of tea, several walking streets and markets, atmospheric temples, the very interesting Jinsha site museum, you could also enjoy a sichuan opera etc. And yes, the Pandas are very very cute and fun to watch.

I haven't been to Yangshuo / Guilin yet, so cant comment on that.

I like Hong Kong a lot and there is plenty to do and see and experience there, and the fact that is scattered over several islands makes it an even more interesting place. I wouldn't describe it as a "resting place" though ;-), its too busy and big for that. But you can "escape" the big city by visiting some of the smaller islands like Cheung Chau.

I totally agree that with only 2 weeks, I wouldn't include Shanghai. It is not an uninteresting city (I actually quite like Shanghai), but there are many other places that are (in my opinion of course) much more interesting for a first time visitor to China.

I would NOT do as you described. It's too rushed, China is too large a country, and you are going to miss a lot of things enroute.

Remember that in January, China is cold and the days are short.

Beijing is worth 4 days, particularly as you will be jet lagged, tired, and a little bewildered by China at first.

Xi'an is an awesome city. There is so much to see and do and the food is some of the countries best. The terracotta warriors were a huge disapointment for me, but the city more than made up for it. I even went back on a later trip to enjoy it some more. If I imagined taking the expensive HSR to Xi'an, only seeing the terracotta warriors, then getting on a very slow sleeper train to Chengdu, I would be pretty said.

Chengdu isn't all that interesting. Sichuan food is everywhere in China(try the Sichuan government office in Beijing, its super authentic) and it isn't particularly better in Chengdu. Sichuan is beautiful and has many captivating activities and sights, but they are mostly outside Chengdu a few hours away, so again not a great place to go out of your way to say you have been there. It's more a place you savor and enjoy at a relaxed pace.

Yangshuo is beautiful. It's a little touristy, but it has survived pretty well over the years, certainly better than Lijiang. It's another place though that you will get more out of if you have more time. If you only have 2-3 days, I would plan on something else. 4-5 days and you might be in business

Shenzhen is not worth spending too much time in.

Hong Kong is interesting but very different from Mainland China. Personally I would rather do this trip in reverse, seeing HK first and Beijing last.

I'm not interested in Shanghai

Shanghai isn't all that interesting for me either. It has China's best museums, but it is a big modern asian city. China has dozens of things of which Shanghai is only the biggest/most famous. From the ground you might not be able to tell the difference. If you had more time, the area around Shanghai has a lot to see when you start including Hangzhou, Nanjing, Suzhou etc but it is also probably the most expensive region in the mainland.

Hi All

I'm travelling from U.K. to Beijing 24th January. I chose this date as although it might be cold it will be before the rush of Chinese New Year and hopefully not as busy as Spring.

You miscalculated. You are right in the Chinese new year transportation rush.

But how? Chinese New Year is the 16th of February!

Shanghai is a big modern city? Umm, what is Beijing? Beijing is a concrete jungle of nothing but buildings and office plazas, if it did not have the cultural icons listed above, nobody would go there, polluted and congested.

Shanghai, and the French Concession, at least has a park like setting, shady streets in summer and just a few building over 6 floors. The downtown riverfront area is also far more pedestrian friendly than most of anything in Beijing. Its also a gorgeous city landscape. I lived in both Beijing and Shanghai and visit Beijing yearly for family, I found the best way to tolerate Beijing is to stay 4 star in the Dongcheng/Wangfujing area near Forbidden Palace so at least I have a park to walk and quiet streets after 7PM...and easy access to anywhere via taxi.

But going to China in dead of winter will be foggy, gray and dismal bone chilling cold. Wear Long Underwear.

But how? Chinese New Year is the 16th of February!

Chinese new year is known as the largest human migration. It doesn't just happen over one day. It starts about one month prior to Chinese new year. It gets gradually worst as you approach the date and transportation gets totally impossible one week prior.

And Fast Trains sell out fast, even in normal times. They are only 8 cars long, and each car has 18 rows of 5 seats. First two cars is 1St Class, so 6 cars @ 90 Each is 540 seats, and the country has millions of people moving about on a daily basis between trains, planes and buses, never mind cars.

Tourism for locals is huge as well, foreigners are a spec of sand in a sea of natives.

If you're committed to this time frame, you need to not overdo it and you need to be prepared to fly between cities rather than take trains, which will be oversubscribed with holiday travelers, especially once you get into February. Though you can certainly try to get train tickets through an agent for some segments. IMO, you don't have time for both Chengdu and Guilin/Yangshuo and need to choose one or the other. My suggestion would be:
Jan 24-28 Arrival and Beijing
Jan 29 Morning fast train (or flight) to Xi'an, rest of day there
Jan 30 Xi'an all day. Night flight to Chengdu or Guilin, whichever is your choice. If Guilin, you can stay overnight there and get to Yangshuo next morning.

Jan 31-Feb 2 Chengdu or Yangshuo areas.
Feb 3 Get to Hong Kong, preferably by nonstop flight from Chengdu. From Yangshuo, you can check into flying from Guilin, or taking train to Guangzhou then bus/train to HK, or train Guilin-Shenzhen then cross border.
Feb 3 until departure day Hong Kong.

FYI- Security is very tight at Beijing South Railway (Fast Trains). Get there at least 2 hours before your train departs. Especially if you have to pick up tickets at the window, the ques can very long. Also, the traffic just getting into the train station is hell...many people bail from the taxi and walk...

FYI- Security is very tight at Beijing South Railway (Fast Trains). Get there at least 2 hours before your train departs. Especially if you have to pick up tickets at the window, the ques can very long. Also, the traffic just getting into the train station is hell...many people bail from the taxi and walk...

Really? I usually arrive no more than 30 minutes ahead when I need to pick up tickets. Security is no different there than other stations (and a bit of a joke). The subway is the best way to get there.

Well I was just there a week ago, and it was long lines. Maybe it was because it was the last day of the party congress meetings and a Friday to boot.

The subway with luggage is the funnest of trips, and it also depends where you are coming from and the amount of train changes/connections too.

Thanks for all your comments, I'm feeling like I may need to save China for another time of year!

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