6 days in China - where to?

kraggy

Looking for suggestions guys and gals.

Thinking of heading over to China for 6 or 7 days at the end of July but not sure where I should go. I'm travelling from Seoul so no issues with jet lag etc.


The 4 places I have in mind are:

1. Lijiang/Tiger Leaping Gorge
2. Guilin
3. Beijing
4. Hong Kong

Where would you reccommend on the 6 day time basis alone?

Now, what I'm after...

a. Nice scenery
b. authentic Chinese experience
c. bit of history

I have a feeling that you'll tell me that all of my places have 1 or 2 of the criteria but that none of them have all 3?

Although they're on my list, HK and Beijing may have to be relegated as I live in the 3rd or 4th largest city in the world and maybe I could do with a break from a city.

However, I'm willing to listen to the selling points of all locations on my list.

That said, in the event that it does come down to a battle between Tiger Leaping Gorge and Guilin, which do you reckon should win (again bearing in mind I have 6 days). Ideally, I'd like to fly over and not have to move too far again once I'm there.

Thanks for reading. Hope I didn't confuse you!

Jacksquat

Hi, I've never been to Lijiang though I hear it's beautiful and on my 'to get there sometime' list.
Of the others, Hong Kong is one of my favourite places in the world, though as you say you want to get out of a big city. Even though it's technically part of China, it's really like a different country, very multi-cultural and run completely different. I compare it to New York.

Beijing has most of the famous Chinese things like the Forbidden City(Palace Museum), The Wall, Temple of Heaven and lots of history. I also found that even though it is huge, it doesn't feel as big as it is.

Guilin is my favourite place so far in mainland China. It's much smaller with only a couple of million or so. It is a nice place to relax for a few days. The scenery is beautiful along the Li river. You can take the boat trip to Yangshuo and stay there for a night, which is a bit touristy but I still found it very pleasant. Longsheng rice terraces are also very impressive and near Guilin. I spent a while there and it has it's own history as everywhere in China has and which you will be told by anyone you ask, but not the obvious famous history like Beijing.

It's hard to say which one because everyone should see the wall, forbidden city etc. I prefer Guilin but I've been to both and can't say don't go to Beijing! Guilin and Beijing offer different experiences of China.
I'm just rambling on here and probably confusing you more so sorry about that!

kraggy

Jacksquat wrote: »

Hi, I've never been to Lijiang though I hear it's beautiful and on my 'to get there sometime' list.
Of the others, Hong Kong is one of my favourite places in the world, though as you say you want to get out of a big city. Even though it's technically part of China, it's really like a different country, very multi-cultural and run completely different. I compare it to New York.

Beijing has most of the famous Chinese things like the Forbidden City(Palace Museum), The Wall, Temple of Heaven and lots of history. I also found that even though it is huge, it doesn't feel as big as it is.

Guilin is my favourite place so far in mainland China. It's much smaller with only a couple of million or so. It is a nice place to relax for a few days. The scenery is beautiful along the Li river. You can take the boat trip to Yangshuo and stay there for a night, which is a bit touristy but I still found it very pleasant. Longsheng rice terraces are also very impressive and near Guilin. I spent a while there and it has it's own history as everywhere in China has and which you will be told by anyone you ask, but not the obvious famous history like Beijing.

It's hard to say which one because everyone should see the wall, forbidden city etc. I prefer Guilin but I've been to both and can't say don't go to Beijing! Guilin and Beijing offer different experiences of China.
I'm just rambling on here and probably confusing you more so sorry about that!

Hey Jack,


Thanks for the long reply. Really helpful. I'm leaning more towards the Guilin/Yanshuo region now. I really like the look of the scenery, karst landscape photos that I saw on google images.

So with that in mind, how would you compare Yangshuo and Guilin? Would you recommend staying in Yangshuo for 5 or 6 days? I'd like somwhere as small as possible with nice scenery. Happy to go on the river and take pictures and just soak in the scenery a couple of days and laze about for the rest of the time.

Is Yangshuo big/interesting enough for this? Is the town itself pretty?

Or should I maybe spend a couple of days in Guilin as well?

Thanks.

Jacksquat

Guilin is a city while Yangshou is a town. I'm not good at describing size but you could walk all the streets in Yangshuo in half an hour, or comfortably stroll them in an hour. Yangshuo is more touristy and you will see a lot more westerners there but that didnt bother me. It's also a bit more expensive for food and hotels but not too bad. It has “west street” which is the main pedestrian street with lots of stalls and shops and pubs catering for tourists. Branching off that there are plenty of restaurants, guesthouses etc. It has KFC and McDonalds which put me off a bit before I went but it turned out it's the nicest Mcdonalds I've ever sat in looking out at a beautiful karst view. I found it easy to relax in. One day we hired bikes and cycled for a day around the local area, visiting villages, parks and such. Another day went swimming in the river and went out on a cormorant fisherman's boat which was good. It would be very easy just to sit around in the sun with a drink for a day.

Yangshou is more scenic like the photos you see online because it's literally built around the karst formations with one right in the middle of the town which you can climb up.

Guilin has a couple of parks (elephant trunk park and seven star) which you have to pay into, and has nice walks around the river and lakes area. There are a couple of old villages to visit along the river between Guilin and Yangshuo which I didn't get to go to but I read they are nice to see.
If going for a week I'd split my time between the two. Both are very laid back places but any place you stay will have a list of things to do and see.

RadioClash

Tiger leaping gorge is superb, one place I'll never forget, simply majestic. You can do the trek from sunup to sundown in one day if you're fit, or (like me) two days if you're less so. A few nice guesthouses along the the way to kip and get decent grub.

pauldla

If you're planning on taking in Beijing, Hong Kong and Guilin all in six days, you're going to spend a lot of time in transit. In truth, there is plenty at each destination to keep you amused for a week. From what you have said, I'd have to agree with Jack and suggest the Guilin/Yangshuo option (favouring Yangshuo: very picturesque, karst hills, water buffalo, rice paddies, etc). It's a good place to chill out and rest the heels. It can get pretty hot there in summer, though, so be prepared!

kraggy

Sorry if my original post was misleading, but I meant that I was going to pick one of those places and spend 6 days there.

But now things might be changing. I actually might be going to China for a couple of months backpacking. Still just an idea but in the meantime,

1. Would a weekly budget of say 1500 cyr/€190 be enough for staying in hostels, drinking Tsingtao, eating modestly (but not street food all the time)?

2. What places would you recommend over a 2 month period? I'm thinking of Lijiang and Guilin so far. I love majestic scenery, so what other places would you recommend?

3. Any suggested routes?

4. In smaller cities/towns, could you give me ball park figures for the following costs:

a. bottle of beer
b. rice and veg dish
c. train ticket say, 6 or 12 hours
d. hostel/cheap guesthouse per night


5. What cities would recommend for living in? I might be spending a 6 months to a year in China teaching English (I''m a qualified primary teacher but think international schools are out as i don't have quite enough experience)

6. Could you give me a typical salary in a city you live in and an estimate as to how much of that could be saved?

That's it I think.

Any info would be great. Thanks.

pauldla

1. Yes, you should be able to get around on about that amount a week, living modestly.

2. I've spent most of my time in southern China, so I can only really speak about Guangdong, Guangxi and Hunan. We mentioned Guilin/Yangshuo before, but you might also like to check out Zhangjiajie in Hunan, if you're into scenery. And monkeys. Apparently it inspired the scenery for Avatar. Some if it is really breath-taking, and, as I said, there are monkeys. As far as I remember there is a rail link to there. While you're in Hunan, you can check out Mao's hometown which is not too far from Changsha (a few hours on the bus). Can't check the spelling of it right now I'm afraid as the Great Firewall just killed my connection for googling "Hunan" (ah, China).

3. I'll leave the pleasure of finding routes to your good self...

4. Prices will vary from place to place and eatery to eatery, but a large Tsingtao should be yours to enjoy for 4-5 RMB (it'll be cold if you're lucky!), you should be able to eat your fill for 20-30 RMB, depending on how adventerous your palate is, a hotel room can be pricey sometimes so expect to drop a few hundred for that, and again, similiar for rail tickets, depending on how far you travel and the seat you get (soft/hard, sleeper, etc).

5. Here in SZ most places are offering 150-225/hr for teaching. Don't work for 150, that was the rate when I first came here seven years ago. If you're willing to work kindie, you won't want for work at all. Schools should pay about 12-15,000 pm for ESL/EFL, and more if you've more strings to your bow (I know some maths, science and economics teachers here earning almost twice that). They should also offer visa, residence permit, apartment, insurance and accomodation (either a flat or allowance). If you've been teaching in Korea you probably know the drill on all that, though. Try the international schools, the worst they can say is no. Beware the language centres though, there are some real cowboys out there and they will buck you around unmercifully if you're not careful. Yes, you can save, if you live frugally, but that can be a challenge if you visit a western supermarket (Cheese! Butter! Sliced ham! HOB NOBS!!! etc).

Hope that helps!

Lazarus Malrax

hi, I'm jealous of you. I'm just back after nearly seven weeks in China. Best experience of my life. For scenery I would recommend Yangshuo over Guilin. You are bang on the Li River, right in the centre of the lime karst mountains and there are lots of lovely walks and tiny villages all around it. I would also recommend Hangzhou where I spent five weeks with work. They have the wonderful West Lake and lovely tea plantations and nice small hills. Beijing is great for the history and the culture.
food is very very cheap. Beer is cheap. All public transport - buses and trains are cheap. Check out any of the Booking.com sites etc to get ball park figures on hotels/hostels etc. When we went to Beijing and Yangshuo we stayed four five star so won't recommend them.
Be aware when taking internal flights that the time you initially book is a 'ball park' figure. check on the previous day with the airline company the actual time.
Also be aware outside the big cities almost nobody has English.
ATMS are every where and you can your Maestro cards in them.
I would actually recommend living in Hangzhou - east coast, an hour from Shanghai. It is one of the wealthier areas in the country but still very unspoiled. Virtually no foreigners and the people are wonderful.
Typical salary not sure as I was there for work. But look at this site or similar to get an idea of salary http://www.teachcn.com/
If you have any more questions please ask.
and best of luck

Lihui

I lived in SZ myself too, 6 years and half and just moved out of there. Totally agree with pualdla, there is a train but considering Kraggy is going in July I really would not recommend it because a lot of students would travel and buying train ticket would be painful situation.

I am not sure if you gonna land in HongKong then cross the boarder to Shenzhen then to places you mentioned but below are some of my own opinion,

1. Lijiang/Tiger Leaping Gorge - totally worth to go, might be a lot of people going there in summer so pre-book accommodation is recommend.

2. Guilin - agree on going to Yangshuo instead of guilin, great place to hang out, loads of pubs and day activity


3. Beijing - would totally recommend it. Besides must see places like forbidden city, There should be some cool places for eating and drinking my myself had not been there for a few years but I used to go to Fu Xing Men.


4. Hong Kong
Try lamar island for sea food besides your shopping and seeing trip. Hong Kong would be the most expensive place - hotel prices had been increased because many tourists went there shopping because weak HKD against RMB. Besides going on Peak in Central, star ferry would be one of my favorite too..

6 days is very tight if you want to go all of these places but I think it is great pick and would be manageable.

kraggy

Thanks for all your input guys. Just about to book a week in Guilin/Yanghsuo area.

Just want to confirm that 7 days is not too long for the area and is there enough to do in Guilin to justify using 2 or 3 days of the 7 for there or should I stay the whole 7 days in Yangshuo.

What I'm after now is a relaxed time, taking in scenery, a few drinks at night, cycling, motorbike trips if possible.

Does Yangshuo have enough of this for 7 days?

pauldla

kraggy wrote: »

Thanks for all your input guys. Just about to book a week in Guilin/Yanghsuo area.

Just want to confirm that 7 days is not too long for the area and is there enough to do in Guilin to justify using 2 or 3 days of the 7 for there or should I stay the whole 7 days in Yangshuo.

What I'm after now is a relaxed time, taking in scenery, a few drinks at night, cycling, motorbike trips if possible.

Does Yangshuo have enough of this for 7 days?

The last time I was in Yangshuo was a few years back, but I spent a week there that time and yep, that's pretty much all I did. And it was fun, just what I needed at the time.

If you're not up for the biking you can ride a water buffalo.

Can't speak for Guilin as I didn't really spend much time there sightseeing, though I'm told there are a few scenic spots worth checking out. I did visit the elephant island (? cave? rock? hill? It looks like an elephant, anyhow), but didn't have time for anything else.

Hope you have a good time! Learn a cupla fhocail of the Chinese before you go, they'll love you for it.

Lazarus Malrax

kraggy wrote: »

Thanks for all your input guys. Just about to book a week in Guilin/Yanghsuo area.

Just want to confirm that 7 days is not too long for the area and is there enough to do in Guilin to justify using 2 or 3 days of the 7 for there or should I stay the whole 7 days in Yangshuo.

What I'm after now is a relaxed time, taking in scenery, a few drinks at night, cycling, motorbike trips if possible.

Does Yangshuo have enough of this for 7 days?

We spent four days in Yangshuo and found it was enough to do what we wanted to do. but we would also have enjoyed a few days more to relax around the area.
There will be plenty of bars on West street for the night time drinks. Plenty of restaurants as well. Plenty of cycling routes away from the town itself. There are nice walks in all directions away from the town. Also, take some bamboo boat trips to little towns around the place. I recommend taking these boats from near the Green Lotus hotel - these are the legit boats. Haggle them down the price - offer half of what they ask. Also, be prepared to haggle on every shop on West Street. My wife went shopping on her own and gave up half way through because there was no set price on anything.
We didn't spend any time in Guilin but it is a major city so there should be lots to do there.
Have a great time!!!

kraggy

Thanks a million folks. Really good info.

I booked the flights a few days ago. Will have 8 days there altogether. Decided I'm going to spend pretty much all of it in Yangshuo.

One more question. Is the cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo worth it or should I just take a shorter trip on a raft when I get to Yangshuo? I think the cruise is 200rmb or thereabouts. Would it be worth it?

And any other must-do suggestions would be great too. I've already decided on a hike, cycling and maybe a motorbike ride if they rent them.

Thanks again.

pauldla

kraggy wrote: »

Thanks a million folks. Really good info.

I booked the flights a few days ago. Will have 8 days there altogether. Decided I'm going to spend pretty much all of it in Yangshuo.

One more question. Is the cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo worth it or should I just take a shorter trip on a raft when I get to Yangshuo? I think the cruise is 200rmb or thereabouts. Would it be worth it?

And any other must-do suggestions would be great too. I've already decided on a hike, cycling and maybe a motorbike ride if they rent them.

Thanks again.

200 RMB is what, 20 Euro? I'd say it's worth it. My second morning in China was spent eating rice noodles in a restaurant overlooking the river: a very nice introduction to the country, and I regret not taking the cruise when I had the chance. I'd say go for it.

Lazarus Malrax

kraggy wrote: »

Thanks a million folks. Really good info.

I booked the flights a few days ago. Will have 8 days there altogether. Decided I'm going to spend pretty much all of it in Yangshuo.

One more question. Is the cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo worth it or should I just take a shorter trip on a raft when I get to Yangshuo? I think the cruise is 200rmb or thereabouts. Would it be worth it?

And any other must-do suggestions would be great too. I've already decided on a hike, cycling and maybe a motorbike ride if they rent them.

Thanks again.

200 rmb is roughly equivalent to 20 euro so it would be worth doing it. We didn't do it. we went the other direction up the river and it was beautiful.
I would be wary of renting a motorbike. Let's just say that their traffic is like nothing you will have seen here
There are some lovely authentic little villages around Yangzhuo which I would recommend visiting. I don't have the names off the top of my head but I will check out later when I get a chance.

Lazarus Malrax

kraggy wrote: »

Thanks a million folks. Really good info.

I booked the flights a few days ago. Will have 8 days there altogether. Decided I'm going to spend pretty much all of it in Yangshuo.

One more question. Is the cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo worth it or should I just take a shorter trip on a raft when I get to Yangshuo? I think the cruise is 200rmb or thereabouts. Would it be worth it?

And any other must-do suggestions would be great too. I've already decided on a hike, cycling and maybe a motorbike ride if they rent them.

Thanks again.

If you are interested in motorbike hire then the following might be of interest
http://www.dragon-river-retreat.com/Facilities.asp

A nice walk or cycle is that which leads to Shibanqiao Village. We did this twice and it was lovely both times.
We took one of the bamboo boats to Fuli. This was a lovely very authentic Chinese town.
http://www.chinaodysseytours.com/guilin/yangshuo-village-fuli.html
You can also cycle there.

Since you are there for 8 days I would recommend one or two days just choosing a direction to walk and walk. Every direction has something interesting.

Our least favourite part was West Street - to us it seemed too bustly - we did one night there and that was enough for us.
In terms of cost of boat rides and stalls - be prepared to haggle. Don't pay what you are initially asked for. A good rule of thumb is offer a third or half of what they are asking. Offer half and expect to go up from that is probably the best way to do it.
And be ready for the fact that people there have very little English.
And be ready for people to look at you and ask to have their photo taken with you. this happened to us an awful lot in China.
In terms of nice places to eat the place we enjoyed the most was the Riverview Cafe - it is part of the River View Hotel. http://riverview.hotel.com.tw/eng/

Jacksquat

Have fun, I'm very jealous. I was there in the middle of summer and on Christmas day, it's beautiful in all seasons. Can't wait to go back some day.

kraggy

The webiste where I read about the cruise must be from a few years back. Have read a bit more and discovered it's actually about 400rmb.

So that's 50 euro. A bit steep for a 3 or 4 hours. Also, I read a lot of people on Lonely Planet's thorntree forum saying not to bother with it. That it's better to just get to Yangshuo and do loads of bamboo raft, hiking and cycling trips from there.

Anyone been up the Yulong river from Yangshuo? I've read that it's nice.

Thanks again for all your info folks. Will bear it all in mind and check those things out.

simonsez

hangzhou rocks

Lazarus Malrax

simonsez wrote: »

hangzhou rocks

it pretty much does.
and if you get a chance visit Hangzhou Municipal Library - not for the books, just for the building itself. It is so impressive. And you have free wifi Actually, that whole area is impressive - the municipal government are moving in there in October, when the subway opens.

simonsez

Lazarus Malrax wrote: »

it pretty much does.
and if you get a chance visit Hangzhou Municipal Library - not for the books, just for the building itself. It is so impressive. And you have free wifi Actually, that whole area is impressive - the municipal government are moving in there in October, when the subway opens.

the subway train or subway franchise? lol. the subway and i'm quoting 'In Hangzhou' magazine, 'going from where the f@@k? to who gives a f@@k?'


ss

Lazarus Malrax

simonsez wrote: »

the subway train or subway franchise? lol. the subway and i'm quoting 'In Hangzhou' magazine, 'going from where the f@@k? to who gives a f@@k?'


ss

subway train. but they do have Subway franchise. and Burger King, KFC and McDonalds. as well as these if you are into Chinese food there are plenty of Chinese restaurants around. You have to try the Green Tea restaurants - particularly the one near West Lake. And they have Tesco - worth going into just to see the live fish in tanks that you catch yourself for your dinner

simonsez

Lazarus Malrax wrote: »

subway train. but they do have Subway franchise. and Burger King, KFC and McDonalds. as well as these if you are into Chinese food there are plenty of Chinese restaurants around. You have to try the Green Tea restaurants - particularly the one near West Lake. And they have Tesco - worth going into just to see the live fish in tanks that you catch yourself for your dinner

And 'KUNG FU' which made me feel at home as we have that Franchis in Dublin haha:) . Did ya ever check out the C-straits Franchise .LM, Are you still in Hanghzou/China?

Lazarus Malrax

simonsez wrote: »

And 'KUNG FU' which made me feel at home as we have that Franchis in Dublin haha:) . Did ya ever check out the C-straits Franchise .LM, Are you still in Hanghzou/China?

Hi Simonsez. Didn't check out the C-Straits. Went to the door of one day and couldn't work out what floor it was on so left it Nope, not still in Hangzhou. Unfortunately. Was there for six weeks in March / April. Four weeks for work in Hangzhou and then travelled around to Yangzhuo and Beijing for the other two weeks. One of the best experiences of my life. The people are just wonderful...

Jacksquat

How did you get on?

seraphimvc

^probably busy having a good time despite the funny 'foreigner moment' :P

ya please tell how are you getting on OP

Lazarus Malrax

seraphimvc wrote: »

^probably busy having a good time despite the funny 'foreigner moment' :P

ya please tell how are you getting on OP

I miss those funny foreigner moments.