mdmom

Going to China for the first time in early May for 2 weeks total, will arrive in Beijing and fly out of Hong Kong. Not doing Shanghai. Need help with where to go in between and how many days in each city? Xi'an, Three Gorges, Guilin? Can fly and/ or train between cities. We are a couple in our mid 50s, enjoy travel independently and have done so extensively in Europe, but have not been to Asia. Thanks in advance.

kja

Two weeks is, unfortunately, not much for Beijing, Xi'an, and Hong Kong (let alone anything else), so it really depends on some difficult choices, and only you can decide what to see and experience.

I recommend that you get some good guidebooks (or spend some time with a few in your local library), identify the things you most want to see in each location, check their opening/closing times on the internet, and mark them on a calendar. Pencil in your transportation, add some time on either side (for getting to/from your lodging, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting oriented, etc.). Then see how things fit together

You might find some helpful information in my trip report:
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...na-amazing.cfm

Good luck!

mdmom

Thank you KJA - wish we did have more time, but sadly limited by vacation time at work. Must admit, we feel a bit overwhelmed by all the choices, but want to have a rough idea before we book the flights (which we plan to do this week). Thanks so much for your thoughts!

CanadaChinaTraveller

This is the typical itinerary for a first time in China for 2 weeks. Here is a general guide:
Beijing 4-5 days
Xi'An - 2 days
Guilin area - 3 days
Hong Kong - 3-4 days
The balance will be for transportation. Beijing to Xi'An is probably better by train (good overnight trains give you more sightseeing time). I would fly Xi'An-Guilin. There are many high-speed trains from Guilin or Yangshuo to HK (via Guangzhou or Shenzhen). Check flight schedules and prices on elong.net and for trains check on china-diy-travel.com

mdmom

Thank you SO much CanadaChinaTraveller - this is very helpful!

thursdaysd

I would recommend dropping the very touristy Guilin area. You say two weeks, but how many nights on the ground is that?

CanadaChinaTraveller

OP is a tourist, so going to tourist places makes sense doesn't it?

thursdaysd

Even if you are a tourist, going to less touristy places or at less touristy times makes sense. I go to Venice in November, not July, for instance. And I have reluctantly crossed Luang Prabang and Angkor Wat off the list of places to revisit (fortunately I saw them, more than once, before they became so popular). China is a very big country, there other places worth seeing. But in any case, the OP may well not enough time for more than Beijing, Xi'an and Hong Kong - possibly with a day trip to Macau.

kja

I think thursdaysd makes a good point about the time. I can't speak to what is or is not a "typical" first-time 2-week itinerary, but I can say that I would have been very frustrated to have had only 4 or 5 days in Beijing and only 2 days in Xi'an.

mdmom

Thanks to all for the responses. We will be on the ground 2 full weeks - arrive Beijing on a Sunday at around 2pm and leave Hong Kong on a Sunday morning 2 weeks later

janisj

So you have about 13 usable days - you will have barely half a day on your arrival sunday and Sunday/Monday might be pretty jet lagged.

So you could 'almost' squeeze in Canada's itinerary. I would want 4 full days in HK myself (the others posting are more expert -- I have yet to get to Mainland China but have been to HK 3 times)

mdmom

Thanks Janis J. We changed our flights slightly - now booked to arrive 5am in Beijing on a Sunday, leave out of Hong Kong at midnight on Saturday 2 weeks later - so gives us essentially another full day.

kja

That extra day will come in handy! If it helps you plan, I had 7 full days in Beijing, and could easily have used more, and 3 full days in Xi'an, and again, could have used more.