Two weeks in China - recommended itinerary.

Aurora Borealis

Hi peops,

Just wondering if anyone might have any ideas on a two week itinerary in China, starting off in Beijing??

Could spend up to a week in Beijing i'd imagine and rather than hotfoot it around the incredibly vast country that china is, I was thinking of maybe taking in just one or two other places before flying home. I'd love to see some scenic parts landscape wise.

Any suggestions at all would be great.

AB

sarkozy

It's a tough one. I had three weeks in China, one in Beijing, the rest getting internal flights about the place. Culturally, China's so different (great, though), so doing more in fewer places is best. Even one other place could work well if it means good excursions by day.

Therefore, for landscape, people will recommend different places. I went to Yunnan Province, and had Dali and Lijiang recommended to me. They may have been great once, but have since been designated tourist zones (for domestic tourism) by the provincial government. There are beautiful outlying towns in proper rural areas, which are beautiful and you need more time to visit them. So spend more time in one place and branch out.

I also went to Xi'an. A big city, but we got to know a local who we hung out with and who brought us to more interesting places. I thought the terracotta warriors (mausoleum of Emperor Qin) was a bit of a disappointment.

China is overwhelming, but I'd definitely go back. Others will recommend other places. There's simply too much choice, but everywhere is interesting, if not always for the best reasons.

May you travel in interesting times.

Aurora Borealis

sarkozy wrote: »

It's a tough one. I had three weeks in China, one in Beijing, the rest getting internal flights about the place. Culturally, China's so different (great, though), so doing more in fewer places is best. Even one other place could work well if it means good excursions by day.

Therefore, for landscape, people will recommend different places. I went to Yunnan Province, and had Dali and Lijiang recommended to me. They may have been great once, but have since been designated tourist zones (for domestic tourism) by the provincial government. There are beautiful outlying towns in proper rural areas, which are beautiful and you need more time to visit them. So spend more time in one place and branch out.

I also went to Xi'an. A big city, but we got to know a local who we hung out with and who brought us to more interesting places. I thought the terracotta warriors (mausoleum of Emperor Qin) was a bit of a disappointment.

China is overwhelming, but I'd definitely go back. Others will recommend other places. There's simply too much choice, but everywhere is interesting, if not always for the best reasons.

May you travel in interesting times.

Ideally I would just take in one other place, for some landscape and chill time, and then fly home from whichever airport is convenient. It's funny you say you were disappointed in the terracotta warriors, I've heard so much about but it just doesn't grab me.

Thanks for the post Sarkozy. The research continues..

killbillvol2

Your idea of Beijing and one other place makes sense. The problem is that flights might be expensive. Try to book it as a multi city trip as one booking, for example, Dublin - Beijing - Chengdu - Dublin. Flying from Beijing to your other destination makes sense anyway as distances are enormous.

I'd agree that the terracotta warriors are a big letdown - and Xian isn't very interesting otherwise.

As to where to go? I mentioned Chengdu - it's a lovely city with plenty nearby. Other places I liked were Guilin and surrounding areas (Li River etc.), Yunnan and the south east coast. The possibilities are endless so it really depends on what you want.

I'd avoid Shanghai - it's a soulless place and very unChinese.

Aurora Borealis

killbillvol2 wrote: »

Your idea of Beijing and one other place makes sense. The problem is that flights might be expensive. Try to book it as a multi city trip as one booking, for example, Dublin - Beijing - Chengdu - Dublin. Flying from Beijing to your other destination makes sense anyway as distances are enormous.

I'd agree that the terracotta warriors are a big letdown - and Xian isn't very interesting otherwise.

As to where to go? I mentioned Chengdu - it's a lovely city with plenty nearby. Other places I liked were Guilin and surrounding areas (Li River etc.), Yunnan and the south east coast. The possibilities are endless so it really depends on what you want.

I'd avoid Shanghai - it's a soulless place and very unChinese.

Yeah, just reckon cramming loads in would be pointless. I will have travelled from Russia through Mongolia by train to Beijing, so really once I've seen the sights I want to see around Beijing all I'll want will be some scenery, and a restaurant to people watch from with a beer.

sarkozy

I forgot I also spent a night in Kunming. More chilled as a city with some good food, but not worth the trek. Only went there as a way to get somewhere else (but it's in Yunnan). I'd disagree Xi'an has little else to see, there's the ancient walls, the stele museum, some other things. But it's massive, and if I did China again, I'd spend more time in very rural areas.

Oh, for food in Beijing, there's a street called 'Ghost Street' ... end-to-end places to eat. Go where is most popular. Amazing.

killbillvol2

sarkozy wrote: »

I forgot I also spent a night in Kunming. More chilled as a city with some good food, but not worth the trek. Only went there as a way to get somewhere else (but it's in Yunnan). I'd disagree Xi'an has little else to see, there's the ancient walls, the stele museum, some other things. But it's massive, and if I did China again, I'd spend more time in very rural areas.

Oh, for food in Beijing, there's a street called 'Ghost Street' ... end-to-end places to eat. Go where is most popular. Amazing.

Definitely. People are amazingly friendly in rural areas.

Challo

I'd really recommend Pingyao which is a small stone walled town that's an overnight train ride from Beijing.