flyingbaran

Hi everyone,
I'm planning a solo trip, a first in Asia. My only other experience for the region is a group trip to Japan. As usual my trips have never been longer than 2 weeks so I'm not sure when I'll run out of steam here. I've been reading a few guide books and forum posts. I've made note have extra patience and always have places written down to show for directions/buying transportation tickets. : )

Travel style: I enjoy walking around, finding smaller streets and snacking on whatever looks good. Although I'm no expert, I appreciate interesting architecture and artwork. I like to take trips outside of the large cities to see rural areas and scenic hikes. I'm not big on clubs and a lot of drinking but I do like to have a drink with my meal. For accommodations-- budget friendly and clean within walking distance of sites. Prefer private room but willing to share as long as it's not a lot of people. I've used Airbnb in the past as the cost has been similar to hostels.


So is this itinerary looking crazy or what?

Beijing
Day 1: Summer Palace
Day 2: Temple of Heaven park + Beihai Park
Day 3: Forbidden City + Tiananmen Square-- Is entering the square free? And then pay for different areas?
Day 4: Lama Temple + 798 Art Zone?

Other things... maybe another day added?
-Houhai (Back Lakes) - Nighttime walk
-Wangfujing Street - Night Market - for snacks
-Ghost Street (Gui Jie) - Show I eat here or just walk around?
-National Stadium / Bird's Nest at evening
-Hutong - walks
-Niujie Mosque (Ox Street Mosque)
-See a show?

Food
Peking Duck
Jianbing (savoury pancake)
Beijing yoghurt?

Great Wall (2 days)
Jinshanling + Jiankou

[Train, 6 hours / overnight]

Datong to see Yungang Caves and Hanging Temple (1 Day)

[Train, 8 hours / overnight] Should I buy these tickets when in Beijing as well?

Pingyao (2 days)

[Train, 8-10 hours / overnight; There's a new (faster) train now right?]

Xi'an
Day 1: Walk/bike around the city walls + Great Goose Pagoda (outside area) + Shaanxi History Museum
Day 2: Muslim Quarter + Great Mosque + Bei Yuan Men 144
Day 3: Terracotta Warriors
Day 4: Hua Shan-- 1 day for hiking, stay overnight to see sunrise, then go back to Xi'an

At this point I assume a train will take at least a full day so I'm up for flying if the prices are not very expensive.

Day 5: Take a flight from Xi'an to Lijiang
Will I need to come back here to go to Hong Kong?
Tips-- Where to find and book tickets? What do I need to know about domestic flights-- Weight or size limit? Security? How early to get there?

Lìjiāng
Arrive and go to hostel near Tiger Leaping Gorge to rest up for the day before starting 2 day hike. OR skip it and continue to Dali... Save the hike for last?

Dali (1 day in town, 1 day bike riding around nearby Erhai lake/villages)

Day trips from Dali:
-Weishan / Weibao Shan
-Donglianhua

Shaxi / Qianshi Shan (One Thousand Lions Mountain)
Spend arrival day in town. Next day at Lions Mt and return to Dali

Train to Hong Kong?

Hong Kong (3 days)
I haven't researched much here. I'm sure there's a list a mile long. I'm thinking I'll be tired so I want a nice bed to catchup on sleep, maybe get a massage. Stuff my face with great food. Hop on a ferry to see the harbor views... wander around.

kvchina

It's not crazy, but might need a bit of time reblocking to shift a little more from north to south. Would be helpful to know how long in total you have for the trip, from arrival in PEK to departure from HKG. Also time of year this trip is---Yunnan is VERY rainy in summer, especially July/August. Peaks and valleys in domestic Chinese tourism patterns can also affect travel.

Some specific thoughts:
--Six total days in Beijing including 2 separate GW areas (each of which take a day). One of these days is a candidate for shifting to Yunnan.
--Consider flying Beijing to Datong on early evening KN flight from Nanyuan airport--often it is dirt cheap when booked at the appropriate time. And it usually runs on time. The overnight train service is short enough that you won't get much sleep and the train is not the greatest in quality.
--Xi'an/Huashan probably a day too many, shift to south.
--Can't figure out how much total time you propose for Yunnan (Lijiang/TLG trek, Shaxi, Dali & surroundings) but I'd suggest 10 days including a day to get to Kunming, which I think you'll need for a reasonably-priced transport connection to Hong Kong.
--I'd fly KMG-HKG directly if you can get a decent price. Other option is flying to Shenzhen (domestic Chinese flight, usually much cheaper) then taking a bus across the land border to HK. Train on this distance is too far, as there is no high speed rail option yet.
--If you are willing to rearrange the Yunnan part and fly Xi'an - Kunming then rail to Dali, road to Shaxi then Lijiang/TLG....fly nonstop Lijiang to Guiyang then take high speed rail to Guangzhou then to Hong Kong, that is currently possible though doubtful you'd end up saving much.

Airbnb: some people use in China. Remember though, that China has a required registration of all overnight stays with the local Public Security Bureau. Hotels and hostels do this automatically for their guests, but many Airbnb hosts are operating illegally and under radar to avoid taxes and licensing, so cannot register you. And you cannot register yourself without their cooperation. Something to ask your prospective host about BEFORE you commit. Personally, I think it's easier and no more expensive to stay in decent budget Chinese hotels (i.e. Jinjiang Inns) or in good hostels.

JPDeM

You do not say when you plan to travel. This can have an impact on my views but your plan is generally ok.
If you plan to go from Kunming to HK, check this discount airline: http://www.hkexpress.com/
For some of the trains that you mention, I would not expect to be able to buy these tickets when you are in Beijing. Might be too late but again depends on when.
Agree with the comments above. And, if on a budget, I'd got with hostels rather than AirBnB. You can also find some pretty decent cheap hotels in China when out of the biggest cities.
For the food, add hot pot to your list. And have some chuan'r while in Beijing.

LancasterLad

The respected authority of rail travel anywhere is...

http://www.seat61.com/China.htm#.VUjMOI5Viko

flyingbaran

I knew there was something I forgot. I haven't booked my flights so when is still up in the air (along with where I start and end). I'm looking at September/October. As for time-- I'm aiming for 3 weeks but 4 is max. There are holidays starting at the end of September, should I plan my trip around it?


About Airbnb-- that's good to know. I assume couchsurfing, which I was considering for Beijing, is just the same.


Transportation-- I looked at how long versus timing and price so I'm sure my itinerary will shift. Thank you for the different options in getting to Hong Kong. I'll have to compare cost/convenience. What site should I use for train and flights? Are there airlines to avoid?


Yunnan-- I list 7 days, 9 if I do TLG. If I end up traveling via Kunming, I will definitely need more time. I'm not sure how to budget time here as it seems to be more about wandering versus Beijing where there are specific sites I want to visit.


Maybe it's too much time in Xi'an and I can add a day somewhere else. For Beijing I don't think I'll cut any days here. I'll be jetlagged too.

kvchina

Oh dear, you absolutely need to avoid the entire holiday period which in 2015 means Mid-Autumn Festival (late September) plus National Day Holiday Week Oct 1-7. Suggest that you delay your arrival to China until around October 10. October is a good weather month for your itinerary plan.

Deal with the daily details per location after figuring out the time blocking and major intercity connections/timings. Your daily plans aren't yet optimized. Based on current transport schedules and experience of what's likely to be on tap at that time, I'd suggest:
Day 0 Arrival PEK.
Days 1-6 Beijing/GW with Day 6 early eve flight to Datong.
Day 7 Datong full day, night train to Pingyao.
Days 8-9 Pingyao and nearby area (doesn't need 2 full days). Day 9 late afternoon fast train to Xi'an arriving mid-evening.
Days 10-12 Xi'an bracketing Huashan on Day 11. Day 12 evening flight to Kunming.
Days 13-21 Yunnan (Kunming, Dali, Shaxi, TLG, Lijiang). Don't worry about the internals of this yet, just trust me that it works and block it. Yunnan is a place that no amount of time you give it, is really enough.
Day 22 Fly Lijiang to Hong Kong (possibly nonstop, possibly with KMG connection; other train + flight options available). Be in HK by afternoon for usable rest of day/evening.
Days 23-25 Hong Kong then departure.

This itinerary is a real squeeze at 3 weeks but can be comfortably done at reasonable cost with an extra few days, keeping the entire thing under 4 weeks. None of the Chinese domestic flights/trains should be done at this time--for October travel on this route, no need to think about bookings until early August. What you should do now is get your international flights booked. This may adjust this time span slightly, as you look for competitive fares. Once you have the bookends nailed down and know the exact number of days you have to work with, the general itinerary can be parsed again and finalized.

Domestic Chinese flights are best booked on domestic China-based websites. The most popular sites that are reliable and have English-language interfaces and can take foreign credit cards (warning, may be a 3% surcharge) are www.elong.net and www.ctrip.com. You should know that due to the Chinese system, booking too far in advance usually doesn't result in the best fares. For trains, better sites for foreigners without Chinese bank cards to use are www.china-diy-travel.com and www.travelchinaguide.com. They will charge commission for ticketing but on some routes at certain times of year, tickets will sell out in advance (sometimes well in advance) so you just need to figure this in as a necessary cost. Specific routes on your journey that should be done in advance would be Datong-Pingyao standard/sleeper and Pingyao-Xi'an high speed/seat. The short-haul Xi'an-Huashan-Xi'an and anything in Yunnan can wait until you get to China, where you can purchase yourself without an agent. Intercity coach tickets are purchased as walk-up or day-before, depending on route/demand.

Lijiang-Hong Kong is an international route and can be booked farther in advance than Chinese domestic. The nonstop is normally more convenient than the connection via Kunming, but too early to know how much each will be discounted. A perusal of other options such as flying domestic Lijiang-Guangzhou or Lijiang-Shenzhen (then taking land transport over border to HK) so far doesn't reveal any price savings, and the annoyance factor is increased due to the transfers. This is a segment for which the best thing to do is wait a few months, then make decision on how to play it. Lijiang-Kunming overnight sleeper train followed by a Kunming-Hong Kong nonstop is another option. I just don't see any cost- or time-benefit to long distance training from Yunnan all the way to Guangzhou/Hong Kong.

JPDeM

This is bad timing if it includes the first week of October. Tis is the sort of thing to be expected at that time: http://www.chinasmack.com/2011/pictu...out-china.html
As said above, Seat61 has good info although it is no longer an 'independent' point of view as it has become a very commercial site. Can't blame the guy to want to cash in on his popularity.

rkkwan

There is no nonstop LJG-HKG. China Eastern does have a one-stop "direct" LJG-KMG-HKG though.

kvchina

Rkkwan is right, no true nonstop. The MU "direct" flight (same plane) is the one I was thinking of, and it can be pretty well-priced considering the convenience factor. Right now for proxy date Nov 1, RMB 1100 all-in.

flyingbaran

@JPDeM I thought the wall always looked like that. But yes, I will make note to plan around that time.


Any suggestions on must try food in the areas? Accommodations or what area of the city should I look in?