Things to do / see/ eat / shop in guangzhou?

[HowardCoombs]

Mine are more generalizations, it's very easy to find good chinese food - pretty much anywhere that is reasonably busy. Finding good western food (I'm sure it exists) will take considerably more effort and research.

On that, we can agree.
But if you do choose to look, there are some quite nice western choices available...

I do enjoy my street food and luckily, there is still plenty of that around in GZ.

[si0001]

Another point is that on a whole, western food is better in HK and chinese food is better in Guangzhou. I rarely go for chinese food in HK because I can better food for a fraction of the price in Guangzhou.

[Drunken Master]

There is a Vietnamese restaurant called Tiger Prawn (Guangming mall, Beijing Lu) that is quite impressive.

[Natfixit]

Booking.com is OK if you are staying in a 5 star international hotel, but if you are looking for a cheaper 3-4 star alternative, use ctrip or elong (while you might be able to book a cheaper hotel using booking.com, whether the hotel gets your booking is another question).

I recently booked a cheap apartment in Shenzhen for a hiking trip, and no problems at all. I rarely stay in five star accomodation. Especially if it is only for two nights , sleeping only and being out all day.

[HowardCoombs]

I recently booked a cheap apartment in Shenzhen for a hiking trip, and no problems at all. I rarely stay in five star accomodation. Especially if it is only for two nights , sleeping only and being out all day.

The problem in China is that if you dont book 5*, then its very hard to tell if the beds are western style (firm but bouncy) or Chinese style (hard as a rock).

Most westerners get aches and pains from sleeping on wooden boards
so its a bit of a hit and miss when you rent budget hotels.

The few that I've recommended on this thread are all have western style beds (box, springs, firm, bouncy etc)

[Natfixit]

The problem in China is that if you dont book 5*, then its very hard to tell if the beds are western style (firm but bouncy) or Chinese style (hard as a rock).

Most westerners get aches and pains from sleeping on wooden boards
so its a bit of a hit and miss when you rent budget hotels.

The few that I've recommended on this thread are all have western style beds (box, springs, firm, bouncy etc)

Ha ha, the bed I slept in was so hard that my bones dug into the mattress, however, I like a hard bed and the duvet, pillows, linen was pretty plush for the standard. After hiking all day followed by a killer of a massage, the second night I slept like a log. In fact, almost overslept past check out time.

[441211]

I recently booked a cheap apartment in Shenzhen for a hiking trip

What hike did you do in Shenzhen?

[HK_Katherine]

I would read the reviews on TripAdvisor. Look at who writes them (nationality ) to get a feel for likely background. (Ie Chinese people won't notice noise but most westerners will). Ignore the best and worst few and look for general trends

[Natfixit]

What hike did you do in Shenzhen?

Wutongshan. I would like to do the Three Gorges and also around Guilin but depending if I can fly back before my China visa runs out in late March.