China Travel Forum

[Ingersoll]

Hi everyone,

Sorry I'm posting this hoping I don't get abused for being lazy, as I'm genuinely stuck for ideas and not within easy reach of a China travel guide (in English that is).

I'm heading to China in late Jan and taking a 9 day Intrepid trip which will cover the following:
Beijing - 2 days
Xi'an - 1 day
Zhouzhuang - 2 days
Shanghai - 1 day
(By the way, I know the math doesn't add up, but with travelling time it does).
I'm staying in Shanghai another day with family friends and was planning to head to Hong Kong for my remaining 4 days but with the price of flights (coz I have limited time) have decided to stay on the mainland and explore. I need to get back to Beijing for my international flight and need some recommendations:

1) should I head straight back to Beijing by flight(?) and spend the rest of my time there
2) spend a little longer in Shanghai then back to Beijing
3) take a train and stop at one or more places along the way (this seems like it could be fun) or
4) anything else

I really had wanted to see Huangshan or one of the gorges, but it seems like there's not so much running during Winter, plus it's probably a bit too cold.

Also please keep in mind that despite being Chinese-Australian I have no command of Mandarin or any other dialect (I know, shameful). Any recommendations for transport (preferably low-cost) would be great too, not sure if taking the train will be a bit hard not speaking Mandarin.
Any help welcome!
Thanks

[Liwei]

I can't imagine the additional 4 days in Beijing being much fun, because it'll be cold and Intrepid will cover a fair bit in it's whirlwind 2-days.

If exploring's what you have in mind, then you'll either love or hate Shanghai for the additional 4 days. Intrepid's 1-day can't hope to do justice to this wonderful city, perhaps only tarnish it's mystique a bit.

I'm going to guess that you enjoyed France, that the stay with family friends will be refreshing, and the extra 4-days will be better spent in/around Shanghai/ Hangzhou/ Suzhou

[Guest]

If you have the extra couple of dollars, then fly to Guilin - bus to Yangshuo - and then relax in and around the Li River. Lots of people speak English and the place is fun, I had a really good time there. Then fly back to Beijing.