Anyone been to China?

[Bunk]

People's Square in Shanghai and the Bund are must sees.

Go see the urban planning exhibition centre in People's Square. They have a massive scale model of central shanghai that is a must see.

[JoseCuervo]

Thanks for all the suggestions, I am definatly going to pack as much in as I can. It seems like even the time I have there will not be enough to see everything.

One other question, were planning on taking the train between cities. I have heard this is the way to go in China. Agree? And any suggestions on that?

Originally Posted by mots

As far as Mongolia, are you driving a 4x4 across the desert? I did that a while back all the way to Ulan Baatar. Its a must! You need at least a week to do it, but definately worth it.

We were planning on taking the train from Beijing which I hear is unreal. Although I imagine 4x4 would be an unreal experience.

[Canada 02]

it's not on your list of locations, but if you have time, and enjoy the outdoors, see this

It's Yangshuo county in Guangxi province, not to far from Hong Kong

another picture, too big to post - http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/22575.jpg

[CarlW]

I worked in Beijing for 1 Year and Hong Kong for 1 year.

Originally Posted by JoseCuervo

Thanks for all the suggestions, I am definatly going to pack as much in as I can. It seems like even the time I have there will not be enough to see everything.

One other question, were planning on taking the train between cities. I have heard this is the way to go in China. Agree? And any suggestions on that?

I took the train from Beijing to Shanghai on a business trip, and depending on the type of train or ticket you can get your hands on it can be pretty good, or really bad. Try and get the more expensive tickets if you can afford it as the beds are much nicer and you have more privacy. We took cheapass tickets to Xian from Shanghai and it was the worse thing ever, we had to sleep sitting (lucky we had enough ppl to take over an entire space so no sitting facing strangers), and the food in the dining car was terrible (bring your own food if you can, and prepare for squatter toilets in a train.

As for the silk street thing, you should probably visit it (though it is a tourist trap) but if you go you should also walk over to the nearby supermall called "The Place", it's a sight to behold though the actual stores are expensive. There are 2-3 more similar places like silk street (YueShou and YaShou) if you wanna look those up.

Beijing:
For the Great Wall, I would recommend SimaTai also, but not if someone in your party has Asthma as there is quite a bit of hiking (we were drenched in sweat when we got to the top) and I recommend taking the cable car up half way first also (less hiking more time for the Wall). Also MuTianYu section is pretty nice, much more renovated but not as many people as BaDaLing and you can ride a ghetto slide back down.

Summer Palace is really nice, try to get the all inclusive ticket if you plan on visiting everything, or pick and choose.

Old Summer Palace (destroyed by coalition of foreign powers around the time of the Boxer Rebellion) is ok if you like seeing ruins (though if the lotus' are in blossom it has some really nice lakes just full of them).

Temple of Heaven is like a giant public park, lots of nice architecture but go early or else they close off the actual inside of the temple in the afternoon.
Also near the temple is the pearl market if you want pearls and jewelry (they also sell electronics and other misc stuff. HAGGLE! HARD!)

Lama Temple is really nice, and it's eerie how the noise of the city just disappears as you enter. That giant buddha statue is amazing (carved out of 1 single piece of tree trunk)

Forbidden City + Tiananmen are obvious must sees, check to see if the renovations are done on the City though.

KTV (or Karaoke) at Party World - if you want to experience Karaoke this is the place to do it. With inclusive all you can eat buffet and a nice hotelesque lobby.

There is a antique/flea market at PanJiaYuan, can find some neat stuff and bargains there. Good for souvenirs or rusty swords.

PEKING DUCK - if you want it I wouldn't recommend QuanJueDe, even though it's the most famous it's not the best. I find DaDong restaurant's duck is better (classier place also).

For drinking check out HouHai or SanLiTuan, HouHai's atmosphere is nicer but SanLiTuan is the classic foreigner laden bar area.

Night Street/Food Street at WangFuJing - must see. Get your scorpions, pupas, sparrows, and other delicacies on a stick here. Crunchy!

Hong Kong:

Big Buddha to see the Big Buddha. Take the NgongPing 360 cable car to test your luck as apparantly it's had a past of getting stuck lol.

The Peak - Take the tram up to the peak, look around (hope it's not foggy) and I recommend taking a Mini-Bus back down the mountain so you can fear for your life.

LanKuaiFong for drinking, clubbing, drinking while clubbing, clubbing while drinking.

There's a monkey mountain in Hong Kong where you can see wild monkeys all around you, watch for the poo projectiles though, and try not to feed them.

Harbour Light Show everyday at 7 or 8 pm (i forget which one) try and watch it from the TsimShaTsui side near the Avenue of stars (which is where a bunch of handprints from chinese celebs are.

Ladies Market in MongKok for cheap shopping.

If you're walking in WanChai at night and you look Foreign (Caucasian) be prepared to be approached aggressively by all the Filipino/Indonesian working girls at all those neon lit "adult" clubs that line the street.

You can also catch horse races in Hong Kong.

All I can think about right now. If you want Restaurant advice just ask.

Edit: If you have time in Hong Kong you can take ships from central to all the nearby islands like Lamma Island or CheungChau for seafood, or exploring the islands.

[Fozzie_DeBear]

Originally Posted by JoseCuervo

Thanks for all the suggestions, I am definatly going to pack as much in as I can. It seems like even the time I have there will not be enough to see everything.

One other question, were planning on taking the train between cities. I have heard this is the way to go in China. Agree? And any suggestions on that?

We were planning on taking the train from Beijing which I hear is unreal. Although I imagine 4x4 would be an unreal experience.

Train is good, and if you plan it right you can take an overnight train and save yourself paying for a hotel room. If you get a 'hard sleeper' you will be in a basic bunk with 5 other people and no privacy (kinda like a hostel)...usually acceptably comfortable but we had a long trip one time and I got really claustraphobic when the AC went out...

The soft sleepers are private 4 bed rooms and are totally worth it on overnight trips. They are ideal if you can have it all to yourself...if you share it with the locals you may (they may) have a less ideal experience. I think that the difference in cost between a soft/hard sleeper is about $40 worth every penny (for overnight trips).

[oxygen]

There are a lot of great suggestions in this thread.

I'm planning a trip to China and Japan in May, but will only have 3 weeks to pack as much in a possible. I was thinking 8 - 9 days in each country. I wanted to hit at least the 3 big cities in China and get a Japan Rail pass for Japan. Has anyone been to both countries? Should I spend more time in one country? Also, would it be cheaper to book my flight between say HK and Tokyo in HK or should I book it all at once?

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[kirant]

HONG KONG:
If you're one to shop, Stanley Market is a great place to visit. Prices are good (Ties VERY much so). Just beware that "Silk" generally means "Something that looks like silk".

Plus, you're right by the beach, which is generally uninhabited any time of the year, despite being pretty warm (15-20 Celcius and nobody will be there). Plus, some of the best resteraunts (If you want international style food) will be right on the beachline.

[CrusaderPi]

Has anyone in this thread said "I've spent one night in Chyna"? Because, if not, I'd like to.

[jjbouma]

Originally Posted by oxygen

There are a lot of great suggestions in this thread.

I'm planning a trip to China and Japan in May, but will only have 3 weeks to pack as much in a possible. I was thinking 8 - 9 days in each country. I wanted to hit at least the 3 big cities in China and get a Japan Rail pass for Japan. Has anyone been to both countries? Should I spend more time in one country? Also, would it be cheaper to book my flight between say HK and Tokyo in HK or should I book it all at once?

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I did something similar last summer (10 days in Japan and 14 days in China) - I've also been to China on another occasion, so you can PM me for more info. Impossible to say how long in each country, depends what you want to do. I would say at least 11 days to work your way from HK to Beijing and then 1 travel day to Japan followed by 9 days in Japan.