China/Tibet trip - not interested in Hong Kong or Shanghai

My husband and I will be going to China in April on a budget. We are around 30 and like adventurous travel and also to take in the culture of the places we visit. We prefer natural places/scenery and like to avoid touristy places but do want to see some of the historical sites. We have ruled out going to Shanghai and Hong Kong. Here is what our itinerary looks like. We have already booked a flight from Bangkok to Guilin on March 11 because it was so cheap. We have about 23 days in China before going to Lhasa.

Guilin/Yangshuo - 5-7 days

Xian - 4 days

Beijing - 3-4 days

(Train from Beijing to Lhasa - 2 days) not definite, have not booked

We have an 11-day tour already booked from Lhasa to Kathmandu and need to be in Lhasa by April 3rd or before. I think we may have time for one more place but still need to figure out how we are going to get to places within China. The Lijiang and Kunming areas also looked interesting. If you have any advice, please let me know. Thank you!

China/Tibet trip - not interested in Hong Kong or Shanghai

Yangshuo (3 days) -- overnight train (via Guilin) -- Kunming (1 day) -- overnight train -- Dali (1 day) -- 3-hour bus -- Lijiang (2 days) -- bus to Qiaotou -- hike Tiger Leaping Gorge to Walnut Grove (2 days) -- hike Walnut Grove to Haba/Baishuitai (1 day) -- bus -- Zhongdian (1 day) -- flight -- Chengdu (1 day) -- 10-hour bus (1 day) -- Jiuzhaigou (2 days) -- flight -- Xi%26#39;an (3 days) -- overnight train -- Beijing (4 days)

China/Tibet trip - not interested in Hong Kong or Shanghai

1) Jiuzhaigou is the northeast corner of Tibetan plateau, it refers to the 9 Tibetan hamlets there. The attraction is for fall colours, but you are going there in April, and you will be in Tibet anyway.

2) I believe the usual Beijing-Lhasa train passed through Xian, so why not travel the slow way from Beijing through Datong, Pingyao etc to Xian before getting on the train to Lhasa.

Thank you both for your suggestions. After doing some more research into Juizhagou, we would really like to see it and possibly spend a day in Chengdu with the pandas although the pandas are not a must see for us. Here is what our itinerary now looks like:

March 11 - March 18 - arrive Guilin, Yangshuo most of the week and possibly Longshen

fly to Beijing

March 18-March 22 - Beijing

train to Xian

March 23-March 28 - Xi%26#39;an

fly to Chengdu

March 28-April 2 - Chengdu/Juizhaigou/Emei Shan

train/flight to Lhasa from Chengdu

April 3-13 Lhasa to Kathmandu with tour

April 13-19 Kathmandu

Questions:

1)Should I have my domestic flights and hotels booked within China before we arrive in March?

2)I like the idea of taking the slow train from Beijing to Xian through Pingyao. Do you actually get off the train at these sites? Is there a website with more information on this?

3) Would a flight be the best way to go from Chengu to Lhasa?

4)Anything we are missing in China? We would rather spend a little extra time in places versus getting on a bus every 2-3 days.

THANK YOU!

Hmm, I would suggest flying directly to Jiuzhaigou from Xi%26#39;an (if possible in that season) instead of flying to Chengdu (further south) and then having to double back on yourself. This was basically what my friends and I did at the end of September last year.

Jiuzhaigou is definitely worth visiting at any time of year, though of course it%26#39;s the most beautiful (and crowded!) during autumn for the gorgeous colours. The second best would probably be in winter after snowfall and with sunshine, had a traveller go during that season and he was amazed by the beauty.

I would skip Emeishan unless you%26#39;re interested in a multitude of temples and being molested by monkeys.

I would offer to help with your hotels and plane tickets if you need, but only if you think you would like to trust me. I%26#39;m studying here and definitely not in the business of ripping off travellers for extra pocket money. I%26#39;ve been to all these places and would be able to recommend good hotels to stay at, based on experience.

Yes, you could definitely catch an overnight train for Beijing -- Pingyao and then another overnight train for Pingyao -- Xi%26#39;an. That would require 2 separate tickets as you would be getting off to explore for a day or two at Pingyao. You would need the assistance of a guesthouse at Pingyao in order to secure your onward sleeper train tickets to Xi%26#39;an.

In view of your timeframe, yes, flying would be the best way to travel from Chengdu to Lhasa. Sim%26#39;s Cozy Guesthouse (http://www.gogosc.com) in Chengdu is reliable and charges reasonably for assistance with tickets and paperwork to Lhasa, you don%26#39;t necessarily need to be staying there for them to help.

Tiger Leaping Gorge and the hike from Haba to Tiger Leaping are both quite stunning as well, but you don%26#39;t have enough time if you want to take it at a more relaxed pace. I would definitely pick Jiuzhaigou over it if I had to make a distinction between the two.

From Chengdu you should find time to visit Sanxiangdu which is an archaeology museum on bronze age civilization, and Dujiangyan which is an ancient waterworks site still in use today.

Ah, that reminds me. A good day itinerary for that would be Chengdu Panda Reserve in the morning, Sanxingdui Museum (http://www.sxd.cn) in the afternoon, Sichuan hotpot dinner and Sichuan opera (';face-changing';) performance in the evening.

you also can ty from xi%26#39;an to LHASAS by trian and back by flight.

Tibet is one of the best places in China.

Xi%26#39;an is also,i wish can offer some useful information of xi%26#39;an for your trip.

jeff

Jeff,

Why Xi%26#39;an? We had just about taken it off our itinerary. The TerraCotta warriors are truly amazing but I have seen a small scale exhibit of them in the US. We%26#39;re doing similar to the preceeding:

1st week: Beijing and Hengchou (don%26#39;t ask why)

2nd week: Guilin, Yangshuo, Li River, etc.

3rd week: Chengdu to Lhasa (because this is the first week in May and we understand we should be out of the tourist aeas. Am I wrong to assume the Chinese tourists will not be going to Tibet?

4th week: Undecided. To get out of China forr week three, we decided to forgo the Lijaing area but could rethink it. Or add both Lijaing and Xi%26#39;an. Or stay in Tibet. Suggestions welcomed.

hi, it is quite different from what you suppose !

xi%26#39;an ,with or whithout terra cotta warriors is still great !

it%26#39;s the ancient capital of China and also the origin of Chinese culture !

you come here not only see the warriors but also feel the real China and touch Chinese culture !

you can%26#39;t find the same thing only in Xi%26#39;an.

It%26#39;s the root of Chinese 5000 years history !

Jeff

You%26#39;re definitely wrong to assume Lhasa would be a good place to escape from the May holiday week crowds. Tibet is getting to be a real ';hot spot'; for Chinese tourists since the opening of the train line to Lhasa.

Where%26#39;s Hengchou???

Seeing a part of the Terracotta Warriors elsewhere still isn%26#39;t the same as seeing them at their original location and scale. I%26#39;ve just watched a documentary late last night about them and the archaeologist who%26#39;s been in charge of their excavation all his life (the director or something, of the Terracotta Warriors Museum) and it was just amazing.

powy, have you already been to China before? If yes, where have you already visited? What are you sightseeing interests and preferences like? What%26#39;s your budget like? Do you have any knowledge of Chinese?