Trip Itinerary in China: Feedback Wanted

whiz

Hi Guys, I am thinking about travelling to the east part of China in July or August for 3.5 weeks, I hope to cover these areas below. Does anybody have feedback on areas that I am visiting or not visiting ? is the trip too ambitious ?

Note I will be organising this trip myself, I plan to stay in hostels and I will pay for guides when I arrive at various attractions. ....any feedback on my proposed itinerary is most welcome.


TRIP:
Beijing (Great Wall of China, Tiananmen Square , Forbidden City Tour)
Shanghai (Bund, Shanghai Museum)
Xi'an (The Great Mosque in the Muslim Quarter, Terracotta Warriors)
Leshan (Giant Buddha Visit)
Yangtze River Cruise
Macau
Hong Kong

duffman13

whiz wrote: »

Hi Guys, I am thinking about travelling to the east part of China in July or August for 3.5 weeks, I hope to cover these areas below. Does anybody have feedback on areas that I am visiting or not visiting ? is the trip too ambitious ?

Note I will be organising this trip myself, I plan to stay in hostels and I will pay for guides when I arrive at various attractions. ....any feedback on my proposed itinerary is most welcome.


TRIP:
Beijing (Great Wall of China, Tiananmen Square , Forbidden City Tour)
Shanghai (Bund, Shanghai Museum)
Xi'an (The Great Mosque in the Muslim Quarter, Terracotta Warriors)
Leshan (Giant Buddha Visit)
Yangtze River Cruise
Macau
Hong Kong

I did most of that with Chengdu tacked on to get the Giant Pandas in, I did miss out Leshan and the river cruise though. I did it in 20 days and did my travelling on overnight trains to save some money and move while I slept.

Where possible do your on thing when going to the likes of the great wall and the terracotta warriors, the tours are a feckin rip off with the operators trying to peddle cheap tat.

Just be aware that Hong Kong and Macau are budget sapping and tbh I'd only recommend a day trip to Macau. Interesting place but wears quickly. Xi'an was probanly my favourite place, it was such a melting pot. Hire a bike and cycle around the city wall.

You've all the key areas ticked off tbf

whiz

Thanks for your response, can you share me your itinerary ?
Plus was there anywhere you should have stayed abit longer ?

duffman13

whiz wrote: »

Thanks for your response, can you share me your itinerary ?
Plus was there anywhere you should have stayed abit longer ?

We stayed 5 nights in Hong Kong after a late night arrival. Got our visa for China while there and did a day trip to Macau and out to the Buddha. 4/5 days is a perfect amount of time.

Then got the train to Guangzhou and flew to Chengdu for 4 nights. This was way too long and we could have just stayed two nights

Then we got an overnight train to Xi'an where we spent four nights. Did the Muslim markets, Terrcotta Warriors and city wall etc. This was my favourite place. Loads to do and a real fusion of cultures.

Got an overnight to Shanghai, did the buns and muesem and a little exploring and spent 4 nights there. Probably 1 day too much but didn't feel it.

Beijing we spent 6 nights here which was about 2 too many. Forbidden city, great wall and Tianeman square were all good but we had the smog against us which affected our enjoyment a little. Could barely see the wall through crowds and smog. There is a great park outside the forbidden city which I'll try find the name. There is a viewing platform which gives great views of the City and also the locals activities. Edit: Jingshan Park

I was on a budget as it was part of a 9 month overall trip so we only had an English guide at the warriors however China as a whole is difficult to navigate without a native speaker so if you have the money you can guides relatively cheaply

whiz

is there much to do in Hong Kong ?

Also how do you book over night trains or internal flights ?

Thanks for your responses so far

_Brian

I think I’d drop Shanghai altogether and spend that time elsewhere within China.
We included a few days in Shanghai on our last trip and honestly it’s just like most cosmopolitan cities, More time in Beijing would even be preferable.

duffman13

whiz wrote: »

is there much to do in Hong Kong ?

Also how do you book over night trains or internal flights ?

Thanks for your responses so far

Yeah I found it very interesting city and it's a good city to dip your toe in before hitting mainland China. It's a culture shock and HK somewhat helps prepare you a little bit. There is loads to do in HK, markets, muesems, day trips to Buddhist temples or even hikes up the hill. Depends if its your first or last stop on how much time I'd spend.

http://www.china-diy-travel.com/ is the crowd I booked all my trains with. Found them exceptional to deal with, they sent videos etc on how to navigate train stations aswell which was hugely helpful. I only had one internal flight which I got on skyscanner.

I found trains to be cheaper than flights but it could have been just the time of year I was travelling. We stayed in soft sleepers which were very comfortable in the trains.