3 week Itinerary help

Hi,

My husband and I will be travleing to China in July. After reading all the posting this is what we came up with as our preliminary itinerary.

Does this seems fesable in the amount of time we have? Is there any places we should skip that we listed or others that are a must that we haven%26#39;t.

I am having a hard time with the transportation end. I have read a lot about buses but can%26#39;t seem to find any information on them.

We would appreciate any suggestions on travel, hotels, order of itinerary, etc.

DAY: 1-5 BEIJING

5 Take overnight sleeper train to Louyang

DAY 6-7 LOUYANG

7 Take train to Xian

DAY: 8-9 X%26#39;IAN

10 ?? Travel to Lijiang?? (does anyone know best way)

DAY:10 LIJIANG

11 ??Bus to Dali??(does anyone know best way)

DAY: 11-12 DALI

12 Travel to Kunming (overnight sleeper train)?

DAY: 13-14 KUNMING

14 Travel to Guilin?

DAY: 15-17 GULIN/YANGSHOU

Travel to Shanghai FLY

DAY: 18-20 Shanghai

Thanks! Tiffany

3 week Itinerary help

You be pretty pressed for time as the places you will be visiting are pretty far apart. It really depends on what kind of experience you want, some people don%26#39;t mind being rushed. Having been to all the places you%26#39;ve listed, if I had to choose, I%26#39;d probably skip the Kunming/Dali/Lijiang section (too far). Although if you%26#39;ve been to Vietnam and Halong Bay, you may choose to skip Guilin/Yangshuo.

If you want to go from Xi%26#39;an to Lijiang, the best way is to fly into Kunming (a much bigger hub, more connections, cheaper flights). If you fly into Kunming, you can then bus to Dali and then bus to Lijiang (buses run fairly frequently between those cities). Taking a train from Xi%26#39;an to Kunming is not advisable, since it%26#39;ll take you 36 hours to accomplish that.

If you skip Lijiang/Kunming, you have more time to spend around the Shanghai region. Personally, I would just do 2 days in Shanghai, then at least 2/3 days to Hangzhou/Shuzhou or any of the smaller cities in that region. Those were seen as the cultural and literary centers of China for centuries and definitly worth a look. Another place worth considering is Huangshan (the ';Yellow mountain';?), which appears in almost all Chinese paintings that involve a mountain.

3 week Itinerary help

Likewise, I think your itinerary is over ambitious. I did a very similar trip in 2005 and took 6 weeks although I did 3 three-day hikes, but I did not include Shanghai because I was living in Zhejiang at the time. Some of the ';days'; you have for visiting are actually taken up by 7 hour bus/train rides. Yunan is def worth visiting but you%26#39;ll have to fly as the distances are huge. (It took me 2 weeks to travel from Xi%26#39;an to Lijiang, via Chengdu %26amp; Kunming - and I flew Xi%26#39;an to Chengdu).

Perhaps go straight from BJ to Xi%26#39;an on night 5; spend days 6 %26amp; 7 there %26amp; then fly to Kunming on day 8. I think there was only a day train between Kunming %26amp; Dali when I was there (unless it returns by night).

Thanks for all the valuable information. We don%26#39;t want to be too rushed so I think we are going to cut the Yunnan area out of our itinerary and save it for another trip to China.

Do you have any suggestions to improve this?

DAY: 1-5 BEIJING

5 Take overnight sleeper train to Louyang

DAY 6-7 LOUYANG

7 Take train to Xian

DAY: 8-10 X%26#39;IAN

10 Fly or Train to Guilin????

DAY: 10-14 GULIN/YANGSHOU

14 Travel to Shanghai FLY

DAY: 15-19 Shanghai

Thanks! Tiffany

Sorry I also meant to add that while in Shangahai we do plan on taking your advise ';username: entropy'; and spending some time in Suzhuo and Hangzhou.

Do you think we should stop at these places before arriving in Shanghai since our flight will be leaving out of there to come back to the US.

Right now we have not booked out international flight yet. Please let me know if you think logistically for transportaion it would be better to enter into Shanghai and leave out of Beijing.

Again all your help is appreciated! Tiffany

To minimise back-tracking why don%26#39;t you fly from Gulin to Hangzhou %26amp; then travel by bus/train to Shanghai.? With only 2-3 daysw you don%26#39;t seem to have time for Suzhou as well.

I can%26#39;t see that it makes any difference travelling BJ-Shanghai vs Shanghai-BJ. All will be very hot. Shanghai will be more humid.

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How bad is the pollution? Smoking?

How bad is the pollution in late June, early July in Beijing, Xian, Hangzhou and Shanghai? Suggestions to combat it?

Also, is smoking allowed everywhere? Even on the internal Chinese airlines?

How bad is the pollution? Smoking?

Depending on the heat, I%26#39;ve heard the pollution can get pretty heavy, especially in Beijing. Shanghai would probably be a close second, as would Hong Kong. As of last fall, when we visited China, smoking was most definitely NOT allowed on domestic Chinese airlines. But it is still allowed in most public places, though they%26#39;re working on improving that. Hope this helps!

How bad is the pollution? Smoking?

Smoking seems to be far worse in Vietnam and Japan. Many of the atractions are outdoors so you will be OK. The Chinese internal airlines are OK.

Beijing is bad in terms of pollution. The only way to avoid it is to hope all industry shuts down whilst you visit. That won%26#39;t happen!!!

Thanks for the info LAAdventurer and xiantraveller.

So with the pollution-just grin and bear it? Do many of the tourists/locals wear masks?

Glad there is no smoking on the airlines, that would be tough in an enclosed space.

I have seen masks on TV news programs but did not see any being worn in Beijing, Shanghai, Xian and HK.

Actually, there is a growing awareness about the pollution problem in China, and we did see some locals wearing blue medical masks (or they could have just been sick at the time). But even more common is carrying a handkerchief and putting it up to one%26#39;s nose/mouth area whenever a bus rushes by.

So, grin and bear it? I suppose that%26#39;s all one can do for now.

The pollution in Beijing is getting worse now. I came back from BJ 2 weeks ago, and when you land , you feel the chemicals in your nose and troath.

They dont care about it, because economy is more important, and they open one coalburned powerstation in CHINA every week.

The burning of coal in China gives more CO2 to the air than all the cars in US and Europe together!! Difficult to imagine..

Wow, the pollution sounds very discouraging. I thought they would try to clean it up for the Olympics, but as you said, economy comes first.

Authentic Tiffany Jewelry? Better pricing than in the USA?

My husband will be in Shanghai on Friday for one day and will have some shopping time. How is the pricing on authentic Tiffany jewelry and where would he go to get it? Also, what about Burberry too? Thanks!

Authentic Tiffany Jewelry? Better pricing than in the USA?

The onlu authemtic Tiffany jewelry you are going to find is at Tiffany%26#39;s. Same with Burberry, everything else are knock offs. I got a Tiffanys charm bracelet at Ru Pei Pei on Najing Lu, but had to ask fo rit, and it took a few days for them to come up with a real silver one.

Authentic Tiffany Jewelry? Better pricing than in the USA?

Thank you for the reply. I was afraid of that. I%26#39;ll just have him look for something else. Surely he can find something. lol.

Itinerary and Transportation Advise

My husband and I will be going be going to China in July and plan on spending 20 days there. We will be traveling on our own and booking our transportation while in China. These are the place that we plan on visiting and the order that we think will work. We haven%26#39;t booked our international flight yet so we can change our entry/departure cities.

Can anyone advise us if there is a better order we should do this in, logistically speaking for transportation? We are on somewhat of a budget so any suggestions on what type of transportation is best between these cities would be appreciated. Also if anyone has any recommendations on what is the best way about booking transportation while in China.

Beijing---Luoyang---Xian---Guilin(w/ side trip to Yangshuo)---Shanghai (w/ side trips to Hangzhou and Suzhou)

All of you help is really appreciated.

Thanks! Tiffany

Itinerary and Transportation Advise

For a budget traveller in china, train is the best choice. The itinerary you proivide is ok, you can almost take all these legs by train. But I suggest taking air from Guilin to shanghai, more convenient and if you can get a discount flight ticket, that will not cost you a lot of money. BTW, you can check the china train timetable through www.adventurechinatrip.com/chinatrain.asp.

Good luck for your china trip

Itinerary and Transportation Advise

Beijing-xian-guilin-zhengzhou-shanghai is better, about booking transportation,in China,you olny can get the train tickets at local city,cant book all train tickets in one city.Beijing-Xi`an by train,Xian-Guilin by flight,To Zhengzhou by flight,Toshanghai By train

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Anyone recommend a day or overnight trip from Beijing

My friend and I will be there for 9 days in March. While we have a good idea of what to see in Beijing I would like to maybe take a day or possibly overnight trip to see some other parts of China. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Anyone recommend a day or overnight trip from Beijing

With 9 days, you have quite a bit of time - here are suggestions:

1. Chengde - about 4 hours train/bus ride away from Beijing. It was the ';summer retreat'; for the emperors of the Qing dynasty. Think the Summer Palace but 10 times the size and you get the idea. Also has some very interesting temples (including a miniture version of the Jokhang temple in Tibet). The city is also relatively ';non-touristy';. I%26#39;d probably just spend 2/3 days here.

2. Shanghai/Hangzhou/Suzhou region - it%26#39;s a short flight or an over-night train ride away from Beijing to Shanghai. Once in Shanghai (and I wouldn%26#39;t stay there for more than a day given you time retraint), take a train to Hangzhou or Suzhou (multiple connections, between 1 to 3 hours). That region is vastly different from Beijing, it%26#39;s the region with the famous West Lake, the stone bridges, the exquisite Chinese gardens. For centuries, Beijing was considered the political center while this region was considered the cultural centre of China. So definitly worth a look. VERY touristy though (although for good reason).

If you go with this option, you%26#39;d probably have to cut Beijing a bit short, down to 5 days should be reasonable.

Anyone recommend a day or overnight trip from Beijing

Hi Sandimae10,

1. Pingyao

2. Chengde

3. Tianjin

4. Shanhaiguan (Beidaihe %26amp; Qinhuangdao)

Each is interesting in its own way. Depends on what you are looking for.

Enjoy this great country.

actually,9 days in Beijing is long,Beijing 4days,and overnight trip to Xi`dan shopping area of Shisha lake for Wine bar,Xian 2 days,shanghai 3days.

thank you de last one~

sending you a big hug. thank you~ have a wonderful year~

thank you de last one~

i hoped u had found a good price at the site I had suggested ? good luck and enjoy HK !

places to eat near disneyland

hi there tripadvisors / addicts!

i%26#39;ve been lingering around the site for quite a while... love how everyone%26#39;s willing to help. it%26#39;s really generous of you guys to be sharing tips to first-time travelers to different locations.

boy, am i glad to stumble upon this site, thanks for the tips %26amp; warnings, will take note of them when we go to hongkong next month...

anyway, speaking of hongkong, we%26#39;re about to stay in disney%26#39;s hollywood hotel for 1 night and the rest in a city hotel.

i was wondering if any of you guys know

%26lt;b%26gt;good cheap restaurants near disney (around lantau)%26lt;/b%26gt; especially for dinner time?

i know there%26#39;s a chef mickey restaurant in our hotel lobby but we%26#39;re sort of on a budget especially since we%26#39;re a pretty huge group and all. we might just have 1 meal at the hotel and then try to save money by eating at some other place.

i know there are food stalls in the park itself but would those be open till 8pm or so? is it advisable to stay out of disney till nighttime? there probably isn%26#39;t a curfew or anything but since the park closes at about 7pm, how does the surrounding look like at night then? dark %26amp; boring except for maybe the hotel area? what%26#39;s a nice activity at night? haha, curious little me.

oh, and lastly, which of Disney%26#39;s buffets is the best? which restaurant and what meal --breakfast or dinner?

i know this is a lot so thanks in advance!

places to eat near disneyland

I would suggest to do the Disneyland Hotel%26#39;s lunch buffet, it%26#39;s very good, and good value, and characters will make children, and adults enjoy and have good memories.

Dinner buffet is kind of expensive, and in my opinion, not worth it.

I haven%26#39;t been to Hollywood hotel, just Disneyland hotel, so I can%26#39;t comment.

Lantau Island nearby restaurants will not be near the resort hotels at all, it%26#39;s on the other side. From Hollywood hotel, I would just take the MTR over to Tsing Yi Station, and there will be LOTS of shopping centers, restaurants to choose from.

Take a look at this and you will see the MTR stations.

www.johomaps.com/as/hongkong/hkmetro_ch.html

From Sunny Bay, you can also go to Tung Chung station, there is a good shopping center, with factory outlets store, and restaurants as well.

There is absolutely NOTHING surrounding the two hotels. Yes, very dark, and very quiet.

Usually, I would suggest a day in Disneyland, after breakfast, head in to the park until close. The next day, go OUT of this area to see the real Hong Kong.

THe food inside Disneyland is terrible. Don%26#39;t expect much.

The prices for Disnelyand Hotel%26#39;s buffets: Breakfast buffet $198 adult, $ 100 Child, Lunch $ 298 adult, $135 child, (but only available for Sat, Sun, or holidays). Dinner, $ 398 adult, $ 180 Child.

For the price of the dinner buffet, you can get a REALLY good buffet in the 5 star hotels in Kowloon or HK for the same price. Just my opinion.

Have fun.

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