China Travel Forum

[Reginald]

I will be in Shanghai for 2 weeks in late March & would greatly welcome suggestions on what places & surrounds to visit . Will Huangshan be too cold to visit this time of year ? How many days should I spend in Hangzhou & what will be best way to reach there ?

[Adrian]

I think, two weeks is a short time for such a thrilling place as Shanghai... But if you feel like touring its environs, here goes:
- A trip to HANGZHOU is a quite-must. The distance is some 100 kms;
and Hangzhou is famous for its Wst Lake Park and charming downtown.
- DItto for Suzhou.
In other places, I recommend you spend a couple of days.
- Then there is ZHOUZHUANG, some 50 or so kms from SHANGHAI. Take a bus to Zhouzhuang or Suzhou. The trip takes more than one hour, and the small town is very interesting with its charming old architecture. It is a protected town, but beware: on weekends it gets overrun by hordes of tourists!
- Then there is CHONGMING Island in the Yangtse river, not far from Shanghai. THis is (still) a largely rural, very green area (but unfortunately soon to change).
- Farther afield is NANJING, ever more popular with westerners. It used to be something of a dump but right now, it is very attractive as a fast-developing city with a host of traditional sites of historic import.