Beijing Shi Travel Forum

Hi all! I have some questions about my itinerary for China in March 2007 (going solo!). Here it is (feel free to comment on the questions posed, or give opinions): 1. Arriving Beijing March 2 2007. Staying at the RJ Brown Hotel. Need to arrange a day trip to Simatai (hire a cab? Take a bus? How close does the bus take you?) 2. Need to arrange a 1/2 day trip to Badaling (cab? bus?) 3. Buy a train ticket to Kunming (can I buy my train ticket the day I arrive in Beijing and still get a soft sleeper seat?). 4. Staying at the Camellia Hotel in Kunming for 3 nights, want to arrange a visit to YuanYang rice terraces, and Stone Forest (hire a cab? Go by bus? Tour company?) Who can I call/email for more YuanYang info? 5. Train to Guilin, stay 2 nights. River Cruise & cave touring. 6. Head to Hong Kong for 2 nights. Fly home. BIG QUESTION: how hard is it to buy train tickets (soft sleeper) a couple of days prior to departing each of the towns i've mentioned?? I don't want to be stranded and not be able to leave! I found a reputable train schedule site but no mention of buying beforehand...ok thanks! it's a lot to go through! -SandiM

1) Easiest way would be to hire a vehicle. Or, join one of those Jinshanling-Simatai daytrips offered by the hostels (I did mine with Peking Downtown Backpackers Accommodation, a good choice) which would be cheaper than hiring your own vehicle.
2) If you go to Simatai, why would you still need to go to Badaling??
3) Soft sleeper, or soft seat? There won't be soft seat carriages on the trains going for such a long journey. Don't count on being able to get a soft sleeper on the same day, advisable to find a ticket agent to buy in advance. Same for each of the other cities you're visiting. How much would that Beijing hotel charge you for such a service? The ticket office at Camellia helps with train ticket bookings for a nominal 5 RMB surcharge, but you might need to find some way to wire them the money in advance.
4) Camellia has a daytrip to the Stone Forest, but it might be a little over-priced. If you're going to Yunnan by train from Beijing, don't buy a ticket to Kunming, buy a ticket to Shilin (Stone Forest) instead, then you'll save on 2 hours of travel time between Kunming and Stone Forest each way. Get off at Shilin train station and then transport to the sight in a shared minivan was about 10 RMB, but I'm not sure if I remember that correctly. For Yuanyang, you'll need to take a bus to Jianshui and then change buses there. Allow at least 3 days to make this sidetrip.
5) Stay in Yangshuo instead, not Guilin. Guilin is a over-hyped tourist trap for all the tour duckies; Yangshuo is where all the savvy travellers go. Check out http://www.yangers.com for more good info about Yangshuo.

thank you! This is very helpful. I have to do both Simatai as well as Badaling since I want my customers (who buy my photographs) to get a good cross-selection of views. Thank you for the great service!

Good grief... still, why Badaling?! There're so many other parts of the Great Wall that you could visit!

Well, it seemed like an easy one to do--lots of people enjoy seeing the Great Wall if they've never seen it before, and they are sort of expecting a 'nice-looking' wall and thus will buy these ones. Although Simatai is more authentic from what I've read, a lot of my customers want the 'cleaned up' look. And those who've seen The Wall before and know the difference between attractive and authentic will buy my Simatai photos. Make any sense? Plus, I don't mind putting out the effort to go to Simatai, and if I only have time for another spot along the wall to shoot, then the easiest one is Badaling, so I can go there really early March 5 in the a.m. and come back in time to enjoy the Lantern Festival events. (Lantern Festival IS march 5, isn't it???) Know any good spots to shoot pretty lanterns March 5? I know the moon will be pretty full that evening too! Great photo ops!

You get BOTH the types you want at Simatai, it all depends on how far from the entrance you walk. You also get "cleaned-up" versions at Mutianyu as well, much less touristy than Badaling.
No, the lantern festival is on 4/3, not 5/3.