byronelaine

I am leading a group to China in June and our itinerary includes a stop to see the Beijing zoo...of course to see the pandas. Any comments? Does anyone recommend it? We are doing this instead of the Summer Palace. Also, can't find much on two cities we will be visiting. Our itinerary is Beijing 3, Xi'an 2, Louyang 2, Zhengshou, 1, Shanghai, 2. Has anyone been to Louyang or Zhengshou? thanks!

thursdaysd

There are pandas in the zoo, but not many and in cages. The rest of the zoo is depressing. I'd go to the Summer Palace instead. Or do a hutong tour.

rkkwan

There's nothing to see in Zhengzhou. It's a major transportation center, at the junction of the main N-S and E-W railroads in China, and just south of Yellow River.

Luoyang is the 2nd most important ancient capital of China, after Xi'an. Both the Han and Tang dynasties (most powerful in Chinese history) later moved their capital eastward to Luoyang.

One of the major sites there is the Longmen Grottoes - one of the 3-4 most famous ones in all of China.

I also suggest going to the Summer Palace. I don't know where you live, but here in the US, you can see pandas in Washington, DC or San Diego. Can't see the Summer Palace except in Beijing.

byronelaine

We are scheduled to see the Longmen Grottos and the White Horse Temple in Luoyang and on our way to Zhengzhou stop at the Shaolin Temple and see a Kung Fu performance. I am thinking of getting us to Shanghai sooner so we can take in a water town. We have a full day in Shanghai so it sounds as if I should cut the stop in Zhengzhou and go straight to Shanghai. Getting good info. tks.

rhkkmk

we went to see the pandas 3-4 years ago and the conditions were horrid....and so were the pandas....the zoo is terrible from what we could see...cancel that idea...

the summer palace is a must and very interesting....do that instead...take good walking shoes...

CanadaKate

Definitely go to the Summer Palace rather than the zoo. The Summer Palace is calm, beautiful and will be cooler than much of the rest of the city in June.

Another thought: depending on how much time you have and if your tour participants really want to see the pandas, you might want to take a boat along the canal from the zoo to the Summer Palace.

CanadaKate

baaj

Definitely don't miss the Summer Palace. IMHO it is more impressive than the Forbidden City.

Skip Zhengzhou if you can - there is nothing there for a tourist. It is a large city that is overpopulated even by China standards.

If you really, really want to see Pandas in China, the Panda sanctuary in Chengdu is very nice.

kaneda

When I went to the Beijing zoo several years ago, it cost 1p/2cents to get in and double that to visit the pandas. The pandas were on a stone area surrounded by a gap and being shy creatures were trying to hide from the tourists but had nowhere to hide. The panda section but horrible but I enjoyed the rest of the zoo, especially some hairless rats the size of dogs who were squealing at each other as they raced for the pieces of bread I threw to them. There were road runners too as well as a reasonable souvenier shop. I'd say go, but the pandas will be a disappointment. Lots of other places to visit in Beijing and the subway is easy to use and helps getting around the centre of town.

http://www.ineedhotel.com/luoyang/tour/sight/sight.html

http://www.zhengzhou.org.cn/english/...songshan05.htm

Mademoiselle

I wasn't impressed with the Beijing zoo, it was sad and saw two pandas, then some monkeys in a circus of sorts which was even sadder. I definitely recommend The Summer Palace over the zoo.

The Forbidden City is another must see, and I really enjoyed the Ming Tombs. They are these huge statues along a path, all carved in white (limestone?), it was much less crowded than the other Beijing sights.