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China
1st time in china and hopefully Tibet
Posted: Wed February 8, 2012 04:04 AM UTC
hello my travel friends!

I am getting ready to explore exotic china and would like to get inputs from everyone. I would like to travel in between Beijing and shanghai and would like to know which of these 2 cities is more accessible to the great wall and is there a train ride between these 2 cities and how much would it costs? I also would like to visit tibet and from what I am reading I need to be a part of a tour group to get into tibet? Is that for real??Also, If I ever made it to Tibet, is it possible to travel to kathmandu from lhasa and what is the best mode of transportation do you recommend?? thanks everyone
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China
Re: 1st time in china and hopefully Tibet
Posted: Wed February 8, 2012 04:25 AM UTC
Both Beijing and Shanghai are amazing, but in totally different ways. The European settlement (the Bund) is quite historic, plus any number of other places. Beijing has both the Imperial (Forbidden City, Summer Palace) and the more modern (Tianamen Gate and Square). Beijing is close to the Great Wall, Shanghai is not.

Tibet, yes you have to be part of an official tour and that is for real. Because of the altitude involved, it is a physically tough place to visit (acclimatization takes weeks), but it is one of the most stunning places I have ever visited. I can't comment on travel to Nepal, but we did run into people that did the Kathmandu to Lhasa trip, but that was a number of years ago, and there is more instability in both Nepal and Tibet right now. Frankly there is a lot more to Tibet than Lhasa (we spent 2 weeks travelling around Tibet).

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China
Re: 1st time in china and hopefully Tibet
Posted: Wed February 8, 2012 05:14 AM UTC
Firstly, Shanghai is nowhere near the Great Wall. There are, of course, trains between the cities. Prices vary greatly depending on the class of the cabin and the type of train.

As for Tibet, you do have to be part of a "tour". This could mean a tour of 1 person. The point is you have to be escorted. It is possible to go overland to Nepal, either by land (minimum 2 days) or by air.

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Re: 1st time in china and hopefully Tibet
Posted: Wed February 8, 2012 11:04 AM UTC
I should have clarified, and FluffyBunny is quite right about the definition of a tour. You have to use an official tour guide and have a driver. It does not have to be a tour offered by a tour company. In our case, there were the two of us, me and my wife, plus the guide and driver travelling around for a couple of weeks in one of the ubiqious Toyota Landcruisers.

If you do go, try to get a Tibetan, rather than Chinese guide. The Tibetan guide will be able to deal with the locals, who often do not speak Mandarin and get you into places that might otherwise be more difficult to access.

My Tibet page: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/123dc5/5a7/

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Re: 1st time in china and hopefully Tibet
Posted: Wed February 8, 2012 01:45 PM UTC
Great Wall is definitely a day trip from Beijing.
For Tibet, not necessarily a tour group as such, but you need a permission to go there which usually local travel agencies can arrange

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Re: 1st time in china and hopefully Tibet
Posted: Wed February 8, 2012 02:00 PM UTC
Carefully said:

1. Most countries need a visa to visit China;

2. You need a police permit to visit Tibet. They are only issued if you have a planned itinerary and official guide and transport. A tour covers these requirements; BUT there are times where these permits are not issued. We were looking to return to Tibet in 2008, but the government stopped issuing permits in the run up to the Beijing Olympics while we were settin up our trip, so we ended up not going. Permits seem to be cut off during times of unrest.

3. If you want to visit the Mount Everest region you need an additional police permit. I'm not sure about other regions in Tibet, but those are the ones we needed.

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Re: 1st time in china and hopefully Tibet
Posted: Wed February 8, 2012 11:48 PM UTC
Thank you all for the wonderful info and wl chk your blogs, as well. thanks to all

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