Route for China

Pocahontas

I have finally booked my round the world tickets, woohoo!!! Trying to swot up on the routes and sights to take in at the mo.

Flying into Hong Kong from Tokyo and have to make it up to Beijing over land, via Shanghai and any other interesting places. Have allocated 4/5 weeks to China.

Anyone have any tips on travelling up the east coast (by train presumably) and any hotspots that shouldn't be missed??!!

Also, one of my travel buddies is mad to see the pandas in Chengdu but i'm not sure if it's feasible to try to get there...hard to judge by looking at a map!

All advice appreciated!!

Ta

Glowing

Hi, I did a huge loop around China starting and finishing in HK. We spent 8 weeks there and did the east coast, through Beijing and west to Xi'an/Pingyao, then south to Chengdu, Dali, Lijiang, Zhongdian and then back to HK.

The east of the country is by far the *least* interesting part of china. If I were you, i'd get a cheap flight from HK to Beijing since you're tight on time (easy to organise when you're there), then travel overland in a south-west direction - the Szechuan and Yunnan provinces are stunning, cheaper to travel, the locals are friendlier and the food is amazing. Not saying that Shanghai wasn't an experience, but for me, the west was much much more enjoyable! Theres hardly any 'china' left in Shanghai tbh! Oh and the Panda's are great!! Well worth the effort if you're going to be in that area. Chengdu itself is nice, and we stayed in the best guesthouse ever - Sims Cozy Guesthouse.

Heres my route if you've any more questions :
http://www.ballofdirt.com/journeys/9772.html

P.S Hiking the Tiger Leaping Gorge was one of the highlights, as was the Great Wall trek. ..... you'll LOVE it!

P.P.S Booking flights in China, use www.elong.com - great service, and once you're in the country, the flight prices are a lot cheaper. The price of an internal flight is on par with a soft-sleeper train ticket ...

davros

That's all sound advice from Glowing though I note you wanted to end up in Beijing, not start from there.

So to hook up with Glowing's route from Hong Kong, here's a suggestion:

1. Take the local train in HK to Lowu. Walk across the border into mainland China. You are now in Shenzhen. If you are interested in seeing the Chinese economic miracle in action, this is the place to do it. No doubt it has changed again out of all recognition since I was there.

2. Take the train from Shenzhen to Guangzhou. Guangzhou, or Canton, is the centre of gravity of the Cantonese people. Best, and strangest, food in China. This is the right place to sample snake, scorpions, beetles, silkworms and anything else you have always fancied a bite of.

(If you want to skip Shenzhen, just take a train or bus to Guangzhou from Hong Kong.)

3. Take a river boat from Guangzhou to Wuzhou up the Pearl River. Southern China is subtropical and the heat, humidity and vegetation just reminded me of Martin Sheen heading up river in Apocalype Now

4. From Wuzhou, you can take a bus to Yangshuo, very much on the backpacker trail, and very beautiful.

And then continue as Glowing suggested, for example.

Pretty much anywhere I went in China - and I've been to some right holes that wouldn't rate a mention in a guide book - was a fascinating experience. Just hitting the streets and walking around was enough to uncover something interesting and unexpected. It's an enormous and varied country, and you could never get to the end of it.

Glowing is right about Shanghai - it's a place apart. There is nowhere else in China like it. Same for its people.

Glowing

Thats a good point Davros - don't fly or take a train directly from HK - it will be much more expensive since it's 'international'. Instead, do what Davros said and take a train to the border, a short walk later you'll be in Shenzhen, a transport hub to the rest of China (and a much cheaper one at that!)

aviendha

My loop last year:
Beijing (amazing city, do everything, the Wall, Tiananmen, Forbidden City, Summer Palace etc)
- west to Datong - south to Xi'an, Chengdu (pandas are hilarious, and make sure to check out the People's Park where you have to make sure to take part in the afternoon public dancing), Songpan (horse-trekking there is fantastic)
I went eastwards then doing the 3-day boat trip on the Yangtze - the 3gorges dam at Yichang is awesome, if that's your sort of thing
Wasn't impressed by Shanghai, but went from there to Guilin and Yangshuo, geat backpacker town with the tour on the Li River fanastic Karst scenery more impressive than HaLong Bay because you were so close to the formations.
Finished up in HK via Shenzen.

rivers

agree with most of the above.

Yangshuo is a place not to be missed. Taking a bicycle ride into the surrounding countryside was the highlight. The landscape is amazing with thousands of karst peaks all over the place, many of which can be climbed.

Shanghai is not really chinese as was said above. The skyline is amazing but i'd say Hong Kong is better. I'd head west through kunming on towards lijiang/dali city for the tiger leaping gorge. Then chengdu which is a nice city to hang out in. From here, highlights on the way to beijing would be Pingyao, xian and definitely wutai shan - a little town set in a mountain valley dotted with dozens of temples. I was all temple out at this stage but it still worth a visit to relax for a day or two...


also before you go, try and pick up some mandarin chinese words and phrases...it'll be a big help...


definitely do the great wall trek once in beijing. i took a 'tour' to Jingshaling (sp?) and walked 8 km to Simatai along unrestored and crumbling parts of the great wall. Amazing! the bus picks you up at the other end...

Glowing

Ahhaha, I did the same great wall trek, and it was FAB! Whatever you do, don't go to Badaling, I think they repaired the wall with composite bricks )

And yeah, definately do a short mandarin course if you can - its great being able to 'attempt' to converse with the locals, its a great laugh and they really appreciate you being able to make the effort!

And yeah, if you're going to be in Hk, then i'd skip Shanghai to be honest.

Pocahontas

thanks for all the info!!

i'd love to spend as long as possible in China to be honest. have only provisionally booked the flights so will be picking the exact dates when we're over in Oz.

i actually started learning Mandarin last October so i'm def keen to get out into the countryside and hang out with the locals!!

looks like there'll be loads of planning to be done...can't wait though!!