Chongqing Shi Travel Forum

I hear very mixed reviews about the much hyped Yangtze River Cruise. Is it really what's it's cracked up to be? Anyone has a positive experience?

I'll be in Chongqing in Dec for a few days. I want to get a good violin for intermediate to advanced use. I heard that Guangzhou is the wholesale place that manufactures the country's violins but I won't be visiting Quangzhou at all. Can anyone tell me if it is possible to get a good violin at a cheap price in Chongqing? If yes, where should I go down to? Are there specific luthier workshops that I can visit instead of buying from music stores which tend to sell relatively expensive? Thanks.

We'll be arriving Chongqing Train Station for my onward bus journey to Dazu. As we intend to stay only 1 night in Dazu, we do not want to lug all our belongings along.

Are there any 'left luggage' counter or lockers available at the Train Station or the Long Distance Bus Station? I understand that both are next to each other.

Appreciate any advice.

I understand the train from Xian to Chongqing, originates from Lhasa.

Is it difficult to get "soft sleepers" in the month of August?

Is this train always full?

Appreciate your replies.

Hi...

I'm B Y, new member hoping to learn more here.

Planning to travel to China in August and Chongqing is part of the travel.

1. Which shore excursion is better, Shennong Stream or Less Three Gorges?

2. Visit to Dazu Grottoes, stay overnight in Chongqing, travel next morning or go direct to Dazu, visit early next morning? Arriving CQ early afternoon.


Appreciate any comments. Details will be good.

Hi. I've lived for 2.5years in China, spending 6 months at a time in one place, and Chongqing is next. Any advice to help me settle in easier will be much appreciated such as: what's the best area to live in? how do I find a good apartment? I presently teach English at a number of companies for EF, who is best to approach for work? is there a useful local website etc etc. thanking you in anticipation.

What about the ships, Cabins?

My girlfriend and I have about 4 hours to spemd in YiChang on July 17.
Our cruise ships docks about noon and our Hainan Air Flight departs for Xi'an at 19:00. I really don't wish to spend the afternoon in the YiChang Airport from what I've heard. I believe it is about 45 minutes from dock to airport by taxi?

Anyone spent an afternoon in YiChang?
I'll have seen the Dam from the Cruise Excursion

A nice lunch and a stroll down a real China street or two with a walk along the docks sounds pleasant? Any memorable sites / experience in YiChang?

I haven't come up with anything to do in YiChang that does not take over an hour drive to get there?

Thanks,
Steve

Hi VTers!
We were hoping to visit the Chongqing Zoo, but need to know the hours of operation. We will be there on a Monday.

We were also wondering about the state of the Three Gorges - our cruise is already booked (we leave 11 July) so we hope that we will be able to see some of their beauty.

Thank you in advance for your reply!

tarced

Hello VTers,

We are considering doing one of the cruises in early July (because that's when we'll be there; it'd be a bit silly to do a cruise when we're not there. But I digress...) and are just curious about the state of the river. Are the gorges still "worth" seeing or are we better off spending our time elsewhere? On the one hand, the cruises aren't cheap, we're not the sort of travellers who would ordinarily do a cruise, and we have limited time in China on this trip. On the other hand, we'll never get to see the gorges again before they're fully flooded, so it's now or never and even if there are better places (eg Yangshou) they'll still be there for later trips.

So we're prepared to do the cruise even if it's not what it used to be, but there's that nagging doubt that at the end of it we'll think "well, we enjoyed a couple of hours of that cruise but the rest was a bust". Then again, once it's gone it's gone... aaarrgh indecisions indecisions

If we *do* go there we only have a choice of two ships because of our travel dates, the 'Oriental Emperor' and 'Yangtze Paradise'. Any opinions on these two cruisers?

And finally, we've read a forum tip about buying your tickets at the docks themselves rather than through an agency for big savings. Unfortunately we'll arrive in Chongqing the day before the boat "leaves" (that is, boarding is scheduled for that evening and physically departing the next morning) and that would be cutting it too fine to risk booking it that way. Any recommendations on good reliable tour companies that we could book with?

Thanks for making it all the way to the end of this post! :)

My home won't be finished built so I need to rent an apartment close to BaiHe Road Nanping, for my wife and I. Can anyone help? Thanks-Allen

I'm a US citizen. How much money can I take into China leagally?

Many people say Chongqing is very, very hot in the summer. How would it compare to the weather in Florida USA? Florida is very hot and humid, is Chongqing the same or hotter because it is inland and not near the ocean. I only ask about Florida because that is where I live now. Our summer days average is 33.3C or 92 degrees F....

I am actually doing research for a fiction story idea where part of the story unfolds in Chongqing. I am trying to find out whether there are any docks in the city itself where a person can board either a short tour boat, a river crossing boat, or a longer trek cruise ship? Thanks

Any idea how stable the Yuan is going to be in the next year to five years?

Hello Group
My wife Yuzhen is from Chongqing and she speaks Chinese but only a little English. I am American. Soon I will send her to Chongqing cause we buy a house there. Now we live in Florida so she will have to change planes in New Jersey. I will send a letter with her for someone to help her change terminals and find her right flight but still I am concerned. Do you have any suggestions please?

Hi everyone! I have several questions regarding banking and packing regarding my stay in Chongqing. I'll be teaching in China and making money, so I wanted to know the following if anyone can give me any tips...

1) Can I transfer the money I make In Chongqing to my American bank accounts? If so, what is the typical cost of doing so? How do I do it? I have payments to make while I'm abroad and I'd like to make sure I can do it.

2) Can I easily withdraw money from my checking/debit card in Chongqing?

3) Can I use my credit cards?

4) I need to take a 7 months supply of my medication with me...will I be stopped or run into any problems in the airports by having so much medication in my luggage?

5) What do you suggest I pack before heading to Chongqing such as toiletries not available there? Does anyone suggest I bring a lot of clothes or just buy more clothes when I get there? I know the brands differ, but how expensive are most clothes in Chongqing?

6) What are some of the top things that you wish people had told you to pack and what are some of the top things you wish you had known before going to Chongqing?

7) Lastly, I know the climate in Chongqing is very hot and humid. Is this a very uncomfortable place to live when it comes to climate?

If anyone has any other tips regarding banking or packing in general then that would be most appreciated. Sorry for all the questions, but if anyone could help me out that would be great...thanks!!!

Hi

I'm hoping to visit Chongquin in mid February but can't find out much information about Yangtze trips then. The only boat that I can find that is running is the Victoria Cruises ship - once a week.

Are there any others running then (don't have to be 5* cruise ships). Details and web links would be great. Should I book before I arrive or can I book at in CQ? Any idea of costs?

Many thanks

Hi

I'm hoping to visit Chongquin in mid February but can't find out much information about Yangtze trips then. The only boat that I can find that is running is the Victoria Cruises ship - once a week.

Are there any others running then (don't have to be 5* cruise ships). Details and web links would be great. Should I book before I arrive or can I book at in CQ? Any idea of costs?

Many thanks

I'm going to the Nan'an district in Chongqing. Where can I find information and some pictures of the area. Thank you for your help...Allen

Hi,
i have half a day to spare in chongqing after getting off a cruise and before i catch my flight.
does anyone have any suggestions of how best to pass the time? is there anything that should definitely do?
also, is there anywhere i could leave my luggage while i do this?
thanks a lot in advance for all your help,
Kind regards,
Gavin.

I did not find Dazu as a location on VT. So: where is Dazu? I would like to build an extra Dazu-page on VT.

Thanks

Hi folks, my name is yeoth, a new memeber.I'm planning to come chongqing and need tips and suggestion about this part of china.Though I have been to beijing n shanghai (the modern chinese cities)I'm not sure chongqing is the same (or very different?)September or October is the better month to travel?(or no difference?). What kind of weather to expect? which part of the city should I book my hotel?(reasonable rate). Are the local friendly? Hopefully, to meet a local where I can know more about Chongqing.It would be nice if someone can speak English as my chinese is fairly poor. What are the 'must see n do' there? Days need to cover enough of chongqing(I mean those 'must see' places... hopefully they are not very far apart from each other.)What is the mode of transport when travelling to those places? Any tips and suggestion will be very very very much appreciated.Thanks

Regards
yeoth

Hi, my name is Yeoth and I'm a new member and hoping to learn more about Chongqing before going. I was wondering if September and October are good time to visit? Will there be any special chinese event during then? Also, what kind of weather to expect then? What are the "must do" when visiting chongqing?Also, what are the "must not miss" too? Which part of the city to look for hotel? (reasonable rates and safe). Your kind reply, tips and suggestions will very very appreciated.

Regards
yeoth

Me and my two kids would be in Hong Kong for 10 days in December and intend to spend 5 days in Chongqing. Could any kind soul tell me if apart from travelling by air (expensive!), whether there is any train or coach services from Hong Kong to Chongqing ? If yes, what is the estimated cost per person ?

Thank you for your help!

I plan to arrive at CQ, travel to Lijiang and fly back to Singapore from Kunming - within 7 days. Is the transportation for this route difficult? Do i take a bus or train?

Any suggestion would be useful. Thanks!!!

Still have not figured out which is the best place for living long term. I'm Dutch, so a real yangguizi hehe... I'm working freelance in China from july, and still havent decided whether to go to Chongqing or Chengdu. Which will be mist relaxed for me? In time, I even want to get married there. With a pretty Sichuanese, of course ;)

Any tips?

Thank you to all those who replied to our previous query regarding the train timetables.

After viewing the web sites suggested we have established that it would be cheaper and quicker for us to travel from HK to Yichang rather than Chongquin.

My question is Does anyone know if we would be able to cruise up river from Yichang to Chongquin in December. We would then propose to travel by train from Chongquin to Xian. Most advertised cruises appear to operate from Chongquin to Yichang but I assume the ships would have to take passengers on the way back. If cruses operate up river does anyone know how often they run in December as I assume it would not be that frequent as in summer.
many thanks

Hi, we will be in China for a roundtrip in July. From july 21st to 24th we are on a river cruise at yangtse 3 gorges and from 25th to 27th we wil be in guilin. Recently I have heard a lot about bad wather, floods, typhus and deads because of that. Who is in that region actually or can tell because of his experience what is awaiting us. Will the ships be going if there is flood or will the scenery/landsape/fields ... be destroyed? Pleas help us to plan our trip, maybe we can go anywhere else, thoug we wanted to see that part of china.
Thanks and greetings from Austria, Doris

Does anyone know a good web site that I would be able to obtain train timetable in order that we can plan our holiday. We propose to start in HK catch train to Chongqing and take cruise to Yichang and then train to Xian and then onto Beijing, Shanghai and back to HK. We will be traveling in December 2005.

I know trains do not run every day so I need to plan accommodation around the train travel.

We want to do our own thing not on an organized tour.