China itinerary - any suggestions much appreciated

Hello,

My girlfriend and I are planning our first trip to China this April. Below is our proposed itinerary. We would appreciate any thoughts/suggestions on our plan. Thanks in advance, Adam.

Beijing - 3 days

Dunhuang - 2 days

Xian - 1 day

Dali - 2 days

Lijiang - 2 days

Shanghai - 1.5 days

China itinerary - any suggestions much appreciated

This means 5 transit days within China, or is the transit time included in the number of days you have allowed to ';Enjoy'; China.

Take a map of the USA and a map of China, change the Chinese cities to US cities the same distance apart and see how realistic it would be for you to visit all those places in the time you have allowed.

Then take into account the cultural and language problems.

Is this a once in a lifetime trip so you can display photos, and say you have done China or do you want to go home having benefited from the experience.

If so, divide by two and choose max 3, then you will have given each place enough time to enjoy it and the travel in between will not take up most of the holiday.

China itinerary - any suggestions much appreciated

Thanks for your response. I agree that people have a tendency to see as much as they can so that they can say they ';did China';. That is not our intention. What would you suggest for a 14 day trip?

Thanks

I would say that this is way too rushed and not realistic at all, especially for 1st-time travellers to China with no knowledge of Chinese at all.

What are you more interested in seeing/doing/experiencing on this trip?

What%26#39;s your budget like? Eg are you going to fly everywhere, or take buses and trains?

I would be able to help work out a better itinerary if you could answer those questions. You could also email me directly at ellyse99@yahoo.com if you like. I%26#39;m studying in Shanghai and have travelled extensively in mainland China for the last 3.5 years.

I suggest focusing on one region.

In 14 days, you might do Beijing/Xian/Dunhuang, or Kunming/Dali/Lijiang/Chengdu or Beijing/Shanghai/Hangzhou/Nanjing.

You could also do Beijing for a few days and then fly to Kunming and spend the rest of the time in Kunming, Dali and Lijiang.

The above would be very different trips.

you just try to see the representive places in China is ok !

and which aslo depends on your interest !

i wish to offer useful information for everyone who loves Xi%26#39;an.

Jeff