China Travel Forum

[Jonathan]

I am going to be in China on a trip and am planning to spend 7 days sightseeing. I am thinking of spending three days in Beijing + vicinity during which I will keep one day for Tiananmen + Forbidden City and a few extras, one day to go to the Wall at Simatai + a few extras and a third day for checking out marketplaces and getting a feel for the average city life. I would like to use the remaining four days to get out in the country and go to one place where I can see some spectacular scenery as well as get a taste of rural china. I was thinking of Guilin + Yanghuo + Rice terraces etc. This sounds like a beautiful and lazy destination. Is four days too much for this? The hiker and photographer in me pulls me to Huangshan - the pictures I have seen of this place are breathtaking. Urumqi and surroundings sound fascinating. So many options ... I do not want to go to Tibet because I hope to some day go for two weeks to enjoy that destination.

What do you suggest and why? I want this trip to give me a taste of China and some good opportunities for photography. I will doubtless return when I have more time on my hands. I get too little vacation in my current job to travel freely.

Thanks for your replies and suggestions.

[Bert]

Hi
I just fly into Guilin yesterday and headed straight for yangshou...even in one day I loved it...scenary is fab and highly receomend a bike tour to the countryside...ya go through lots of little villages and rice paddies...the real country china..deadly.(if ya do this i went with a gu called joseph from Good company hotel on main rd..cost y60 and was very good..ya can do bamboo raftin if ya havent done itbefore as well but to be honest would prob reccommend ya just keep on your bike and see as much of the villages as possible). Ya can also do a one day tour to rice paddies and a minority village if ya want..cant comment on that as didnt do it as had done something similar b4. so ya 2 days here even allowing for 2 days traveling would be grand. By chatting to others they aggreed that skipping guilin altgether and comin straight here was wise.
happy travellin!!!!