Beijing Travel Forum

Hello Fellow VTer's

I am planning my first trip to China and am taking the family (husband, son-17 and daughter-14). We are planning on a trip of 10-14 days and have definitely decided on Beijing for at least 6 days. My question is-is that enough time to really see Beijing? Should we add or subtract time? We don't want to feel rushed. We love history and immersing ourselves in other cultures. If you had to suggest one other city for us to visit for the rest of our journey, which would you suggest and why?

Thanks for the input and I look forward to your answers, Donna

6 days is good for Beijing. :) Kudos to you!
History and culture for 8 days? Hmmm. Why not more? I can't think of any place that could occupy you for 8 days, unless you do a region eg Shanghai and surroundings?

Hello,,

We are considering Shanghai and the surrounding towns especially the canal towns. Do you think we would have enough to do for 6-8 days in this area? It doesn't seem to me that there is a lot to do in Shanghai. Am I missing something? We are not into shopping or the night life. We would much rather see Chinese historical sites and get a feel for the way the locals live. To give you an example- we love Rome. There are a lot of very significant historical sites as well as numerous churches and museums. Now we are trying to get a feel for the same thing but in the east. Any help you can give will be very appreciated.

Donna

A classic itinerary for the first trip to China would include Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai. If you love history and cultures, you may be interested in the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China that refers to Beijing, Nanjing, Luoyang, and Xi'an. The later phrase Seven Ancient Capitals of China includs Kaifeng, Hangzhou and Anyang. Since you have about 2 weeks and don't want to rush, you could visit Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai plus one city nearby (Nanjing, Hangzhou, Suzhou, or Zhouzhuang). You can find more information on those cities at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page.

You will find plenty to do in Beijing for 6 days - the olympic venues will be part of history too and they are interesting!

Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou areas would be nice to visit but I'm not sure about 8 days (I had 8 days and it was a bit much).

Have you thought about Xian; terracotta warriors, a great walled town and lots of history and charm.

I love China and will be heading back this year - have a great time

Historical cites related to Palace and ancient dynasty are most in the north of China, while other cites related to Buddaism and Taoism are most in the south of the country.

Qufu near Mt. Thai is a place worth visiting, it is the hometown of Confucious, the most famous philosopher in chinese history. 3 days trip is enough.

Fujian is another recommended destination. Mt. Wuyi is renowned for the history of Chinese tea; 3000-year-old ancient hanging boat coffins; lixue of Zhuxi, one of the most famous philosophers in China. Yongding, a small town not too far from Mt. Wuyi, is famous for its unique Hakka brick architect. You have spend at least 4-5 days for both sites.

Mt. Tai or Taishan, not Mt. "Thai"!
I don't think 8 days would be too much for Shanghai and the surrounding area. I would probably suggest that you do Huangshan and the surrounding Hui-style villages for 3-4 days, and then perhaps Shanghai and a couple of water villages for the remaining 4-5 days.

Thanks Everyone for the wonderful help!

So, I think that we will do 6 days in Beijing and then head down to Shanghai and the surrounding area. I have heard of Suzhou (sp?) and thought that might be a nice overnight trip. What do you think? Enough to see for two days? or should I do it as a daytrip from Shanghai? How far is Huangshan from Shanghai and how would we get there? I assume we would take the train? Thanks again for the help.

Donna

Either fly or take a longish overnight train for Beijing -- Huangshan. I usually recommend 2 days for the mountain (1 day to climb up, stay overnight for sunrise then climb down on 2nd day) and perhaps 1-2 days for the Hui-style villages.
Then overnight train Huangshan -- Suzhou, and take a bus to Tongli.
Stay overnight then go by bus again to Shanghai.

It's enough to stay 6 days in Beijing, and you don't have to rush with you kids. If you really love history and culture, you could not miss Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an, the ancient walled capital city. Just imagine 7,000 armed soldiers submerged for more 2,000 years. Shaanxi History Museum is one of the top three national museums, the ancient city wall, the only well-preserved city wall in China, as well as the interesting Muslim quarter.

Hello Donna - you will LOVE China (and it's people).
Beijing 6 days is good - you can see the main highlights and not feel rushed.

Xian is a "must" as far as I'm concerned.
Talk about history!
(I'd reserve 2 days for this).

Guilin (if you have a couple of extra days) and on to Shanghai.
We personally loved Hong Kong - amongst our favorite cities in the world now.
Do not fly into Hong Kong directly from China it's considered International and very expensive.
Fly to Shenzhen and then ferry across on the hydro.
NOTE: You will either need a re-entry visa back into China or, to fly on to your onward destination from HK.

Enjoy China with your children and read up lots on the culture before hand!

Homer

Thank you all for the wonderful and helpful advice. I will, indeed, add Xian to our plans. We will take the night train from Beijing to Xian. From there we will make our way to shanghai for 4 days. I hope there is a night train for this, also. Can anyone tell me the web addy for the train system in China? I would like to start getting an idea of the cost. Would you suggest a 4 bed soft sleeper? Will that be big enough?

Donna

Yes, there're overnight trains for Xi'an -- Shanghai as well. There're a number of trains but T140 (1953--1134) is the only one where you can count on getting sleeper tickets for, so aim for that.
Yes, 4-bunk soft sleeper will be fine for you.
Are you also flying out from Beijing? If so, I usually advise doing Beijing -- Shanghai -- Xi'an -- Beijing instead of the reverse, easier to get train tickets.

You can check the train schedule at

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/china-trains/

Hello,

Thank you all so much for your help. Right now the plan is Beijing-Xian-Shanghai-Beijing. At least now I don't have to worry about the "where" part of my trip. Now comes worrying about the rest.

Thanks again, Donna

Well just to be "au contraire" I would say that my family with the same interests as you, spent 10 nights in Beijing and just one in Xi'an. We were on the night train to and from Xi'an, and absolutely by no means felt that we were through with Beijing. We are going back to Beijing (hopefully) this october simply because we feel that we did not have enough time to just let ourselves be engulfed by the place. If I were to do our trip all over again and had two weeks I would say 10 nights in Beijing 2 nights in Xi'an and 2 nights on the train to and from Beijing. There is no way you can cover all of China in two weeks. Select the places you want to see and spend enough time on them is my advice.

I have been to China 4 times , and where you are going , you need a minimum of 3 weeks to have it worth your while or you will be frustrated when finished, there is TOO MUCH to see.!!! Or go back again.