China Travel Forum

[Alice]

Hi there everyone,

I am from the UK and I will be travelling to China in the next couple of months. I will be visiting my girlfriend there and currently plan to meet in Shanghai. (She is in Wuhan at the moment working). She is Chinese but has very limited experience of travel outside of Hubei province and I have never been to China before. I am looking for someone who has been there a great deal and give us some advice. We may stay in Shanghai or we may travel to other nearby cities and even Beijing (money permitting). Therfore my main question is where to stay in Shanghai for a budget price (not hostel or dorm). We have found a good website that shows many hotels in Shanghai and a reasonable price seems to be $30 per night. I would like to know where in Shanghai to stay for best access to the attractions.

Also, which cities nearby would you recommend and why? Any other tips you can think of would help. I will probably be going for 2 weeks so there is scope for travelling around.

Any help you can give me will be much appreciated.

Thanks Alice

[kamal]

The peoples square area is certain very good to go to most of the tourist attractions in Shanghai, if you are talking about the Bond, the Yu Gardens, the Shanghai old street, the Shanghai museum, & the TV tower. Nanjing Road, Huaihai road, Shaanxi Road are also very nice.

Nearby cities:

Hangzhou, tourist city, 2 hours from Shanghai by train. 1 day trip.

Suzhou, 1.5 hours by train, famous for Chinese Gardens. 1 day trip.

Huangshan, Hongcun & Xidi village, overnight train from Shanghai, 10 hrs. (this is my next destination to explore my beautiful country in the end of May). 5 days trip.

Beijing, definitely is worth to visit, you won't find any other places in China with such a rich culture, so many historical sites to visit. And of course the Great Wall. Train from Shanghai to Bejing on a hard sleeper cost some 400 rmb, less than ￡30, 12-14 hours overnight. 1 week in Beijing is not too much.

As a matter of fact, if your GF is in Wuhan, where do not you consider to take the Yangtze cruise from Wuhan to Chongqing, from there to Xi'an, then go to Beijing. 2 weeks would be just right. The cruise is 4- 5 days, Xi'an 2-3 days, and the rest in Bejing.

Be aware that from June on, it is going to be very hot in most of these places I mentioned. It will rain quite a bit in Shanghai in June.

Enjoy your trip.