China in September for 15 days - advice on where to visit

[katiem84]

Hi all

I'm going to be visiting China at the end of the year, and want to hit Beijing, Guilin (Yangtze river) and Shanghai, but i want to know if there are any places we should go which aren't too difficult to get to, but which would offer something a bit different than the typical tourist routes.

Any experiences/advice from people would be great. Also, any places which really aren't worth going to would be worth mentioning too - i want to get the most out of my 15 day trip!

I understand my query is very general (since its all planning at the moment), so anything you give me will be a great help.

Thanks!

[bak875]

I heard Xian is interesting. planning to go there myself in April

[drumbrake]

Yangshuo rather than Guilin. Go rafting on the Yulong River - branch of the Li River. The river trips from Guilin to Yangshuo I would not recommend. Large noisy boats, and you can see just as good scenery from the rafts on the Yulong river.

Xi'an if you want to see the terracotta warriors. In the same general area are Pingyao (small old town) and Datong (hanging monastery and Buddhist caves) which you could see bwteen Xi'an and Beijing.

Yangtze River I would give a miss on a short trip like yours. Now the dam has been built, the trip through the gorges is not as spectacular.

Shanghai does not have much for me. Maybe worth a day. Otherwise skip.

Beijing- lots to see and worth 4 or 5 days.

[virago]

Unfortunately for where you want to go there isn't really an 'off the beaten track' type of thing you can do.

I think Xian is worth it for the Warriors, Old walled city and a number of monuments and buildings in the city.

And another near Xian a couple of hours drive is Huashan which is a full day trip but I think it was good. Plenty of people though. Hard climb though doable in 1 1/2 hours.

huashan - Google 搜尋

You can do Xian in a three day, two night trip or two days two nights and then fly or catch a train in the morning to Beijing.

Pingyao is a good option but a little difficult to get to but it may have changed when i was there in 2005.

Yangshuo is worth it. Get to Guilin and then get the boatride down to Yangshuo. Not much in Guilin really so get in there in the afternoon or night and then get the boat down the river to Yangshuo.

Shanghai is worth a visit if you haven't been before but not much there. Beijing is good. Tiananmen obviously, Forbidden City and Hutongs behind the wall and the Great Wall definitely.

There are a number of places for the wall. The main tourist attraction is Badaling. Though I have never been there it's the main tourist wall area which is very busy. It's also been reconstructed so you can see the original form.

I have been to Simatai which is alot less people but still great. It's untouched alot and hasn't been recreated.

simatai - Google 搜尋

The other area which I recommend is Mutianyu. it's also relatively untouched but more dramatic and very steep. A number of hotels are around now and can stay close by. We rode a horse up to the bottom of the wall.

mutianyu - Google 搜尋

We drove to both these locations so couldn't recommend a travel agent but with you are staying at the YHA they can organise something relatively cheaper.

If you haven't been to China then Beijing (4 days, 3 nights), Shanghai (2 days, 1 night), Xian (2 days, 2 nights), Guilin/Yangshuo (3 days, 2 nights), Pingyao (2 days, 1 night) and probably Chengdu (though I haven't been there).

But if you left out Shanghai you wouldn't miss much.

[Char Siu King]

Mt. Huangshan in Anhui province is absolutely stunning. Can get very crowded, but that's China for you. You need to take a bus or hire a car & driver.

[virago]

Mt. Huangshan in Anhui province is absolutely stunning. Can get very crowded, but that's China for you. You need to take a bus or hire a car & driver.

Oh, I was just looking at photos today! How timely! I will be there next week. We will drive from Hangzhou, also a great city to visit and probably the most livable in China!

[Morrison]

Beijing at least 10 days ( around Autumn is a very good time to visit ) its huge and has tons of sights
XiAn 2-3 days
Forget about Shanghai
Optional: Chengdu ( LeShan Big BUddha, and Panda research center )

check wikitravel for sights

[bryant.english]

I was in Beijing working over the Olympics and one of the best things I did was buy a bicycle. You can get a folding bike which can go in a cab for 400 - 500 Yuan from Wal-mart. Just brilliant, cycling along with the locals, getting lost in the Hutongs, riding around the suburbs near my hotel. Even if I was there for 3 or 4 days I would buy one. When I left, I gave it to a guard at my hotel!

[virago]

Yes the guard now has made a few adjustments...

[Char Siu King]

Oh, I was just looking at photos today! How timely! I will be there next week. We will drive from Hangzhou, also a great city to visit and probably the most livable in China!

Brave man for going there during CNY. One of the most memorable things was seeing Chinese tourists walking on an icy mountain wearing their regular outfit of a suit and those little black shoes they like. No joke - the paths may be covered by inches of ice this time of year as it was when we were there. Saw quite a few injuries from falls. You can buy ice cleats up on the mountain, but if you plan on walking up instead of taking the gondola it may be a good idea to buy them beforehand.