Irina11

We have less than a month before a trip to China and still need some information, have more questions. Any advice/info very much appreciated.

Xian

1. We are going to have one full day for sightseeing. Would like to go to Warriors and then see some sites in the City: Mosque, Padoga,.... Is it worth taking a taxi for the whole day or the public transportation is sufficient enough?

2. Frommers says there easy to get an English guide at Terracota Warriors site. Does anybody have any info? Is it audio guide or you can officialy book english guide when buying tickets?

3. What order is the best to plan to see sights in the city? Can you walk between them or have to take a bus?

Beijing

4. Are there any audio guides or english tours at Summer Palace? What is the best way to see it?

5. Forbidden City : Is audio guide OK or is it better to hire an english speaking guide? Where can we find one? Are there any organized english tours at the sight?

6. Same question about The temple of Heaven and Lama Temple. Any audio guides, tours there? What is the best way to see them?

7. Hutong: which one is better : walk by ourselves with the book or rickshaw tours? There are 3 of us. Is rickshaw only for 2?

Shanghai

8. Are there any audio guides or English tours at Jade Buddha Temple ?

9. Which one has better views : Jin mao tower or Oriental Pearl TV Tower?

LeighTravelClub

For Xian, I would go to the warriors in the morning taking a taxi. There are audio guides available and a very good book also.
I don't think you need a guide for the city and you can get around quite easilly on your own. Most hotels will supply you with a little card with Please take me to.......listing all the popular destinations in Chinese and English so you can instruct any cab drivers.

I think the guide that Frommers refer to is the book I have mentioned. I believe it is called 'Dreams'. I will confirm that later.


Beijing, audio guide is very good for Forbidden City and other city sites. We found that our best times were when we did not employ local guides but used audio guides and books. We feel more in control that way.

Shanghai, we did Jin Mao Tower at night and Pearl during the day. We preferred the Pearl. We really enjoyed the tourist tunnel....great fun.

Our No1 tip for China?....Visit the parks wherever you go. Absolutely fascinating and more than anything else, that's what I will remember most fondly about China.

LeighTravelClub

Oh, I have started to upload the photos from our recent trip to China. They are not all on yet and I need to some editing, but you can see them at

http://leightravel.smugmug.com/ or
www.leightravelclub.com

Irina11

LeighTravelClub,Thanks very much for your response. Your pictures are great! We also prefer books and walking tours and like to be in control but somehow I am a little bit worried to get lost in China. I also thought that may be a good guide can provide more historical information/insights than a book in some cases. Did you walk in Hutongs area or take a rickshaw?

ekscrunchy

I thought the audio guides for Forbidden City were very confusing. I did not see official English-speaking guides at the site, although unofficial guides are thick on the ground.

I did not see audio guides at the Lama Temple, or at the Temple of Heaven, not were there guides waiting to be hired at those two sites.

A normal rickshaw holds two passengers comfortably. If you book a tour you will have access to a private home...you might be able to enter a home for a fee even if you just walk through the hutong near the Back Lakes.

If you book the hutong tour through your hotel you will pay extra; I recommend booking through their website if you choose to take the tour.

I did not see audio tours or guides at Jade Buddha Temple. I recommend visiting the temple when you can observe a service taking place.

One of the best views of Shanghai is from the bar at the top of the Le Royal Meridien Hotel.

TC

Irina, I do not mean to be unkind, so please take this suggestion accordingly -- with less than a month before your trip and so many questions still, I think you are in jeapordy of missing quite a few things in China or at the least spending masses of time trying to get organized once there. We toured with a small, select tour company and I am so happy that we did this. We almost alway travel independently, but for this trip we took the advice of our neighbors from home who happen to be Chinese. They still maintain a home and business in Hong Kong. They advised against touring alone in China. Stating that the language and traffic is so confusing that even they would not consider going it alone. I will say that we loved all the inside information we received from our tour guides and the meetings with university professors, art historians, artists, etc. I was so very happy not to be negotiating traffic or even public transport in most cities. I highly recommend that you consider hiring guides for at least part of your tour. At any rate, have a wonderful trip. China is truly beautiful.

LadyOLeisure

We just returned from a China tour as well - 20 people in the group and it was wonderful. (Our first tour ever -- we too have always traveled independently).

I do think you can visit the main cities and tourist sites independently with daytrip assistance to do special things (e.g., Long Sheng Dragon Spine Rice Terraces and day trip to Long Ji) from places like Guilin which are pleasure destinations for the Chinese as well as foreigners.

Use TAXIs as much as possible -- public transportation looks confusing and crowded and Taxi's are REALLY cheap. ($2-5 fares for very long distances.) You will want your hotel concierge to give you cards with the Chinese characters for where you want to go, and of course to return to the hotel. While you will see English frequently on signs, it isn't spoken much. Still, the Chinese are very serious about providing a wonderful experience to Western tourists, and you will be treated very well.

Having come off a 35-day Spain and France independently done road trip last Fall, it was nice not to have to worry about details and we enjoyed our tour. I don't see how you could do the same trip independently at the same inexpensive rate, but you will certainly spend way less than you would in Europe and you will enjoy all the fabulous sites.

Irina11

Thanks everybody. I am not unprepared as it may sound. I did a lot of research and have all the different books. We are experienced independent travelers, though of course it is much easier to travel in Europe. That is exactly why I am asking all these questions because we do consider taking guides or some tours in China exactly because it is not Europe. We just need to decide if it worth and where do we need a guide or driver and where it is better to do it by ourselves.

Shanghainese

Irina: Just keep the questions coming, you will need all the info you can get.

Lil1210

The audio guide at the Terracotta Warriors was very good, whereas I agree with ekscruncy that the audio guide at the Forbidden City was very confusing. If I had to do it again, I would have gotten a book about the Forbidden City and read up on my own the night before. It's crazy crowded in there so to have to struggle with the audio guide inside is really frustrating.

The Temple of Heaven, which is truly stunning, is a pretty small site compared to the Forbidden City and Summer Palace and doesn't really require an audio guide. I would just read up on it in your guidebook.

In Xian, the mosque and Muslim quarter are in the heart of the city and easy to navigate by foot. The only main sight within the city that would require a taxi is the Shaanxi Museum (though you'd probably want to skip it anyway given the short time you have in Xian.)

I definitely agree that you should do the Terracotta Warriors early in the morning before it gets unbearably hot and crowded and save the city sights for the afternoon. Since you only have a day to do all your sightseeing, I'd take a taxi there and back as finding the right bus in the train station parking lot was a bit of a hassle for us and many other tourists we encountered (and we speak Chinese!)

As for Beijing, I would strongly suggest that you walk the hutongs on your own with a good guidebook rather than taking a rickshaw. The Back Lakes area was my favorite part of Beijing, and it's a pleasant area for strolling and seeing local life.

travelgo7

I'll be taking the overnight Z train from Beijing to Xi'an arriving at 8am. Do people recommend that I immediately head straight to the Terracotta Warriors from the train station (to try to avoid crowds/heat) or is there time to check in to my hotel first?

I'm staying at the Bell Tower. Ideally, I'd probably like to clean up after the train ride but I don't want to start too late. I assume too that I can leave my luggage then at the train station?

Lil1210

You should check to see what time the terracotta warriors open.

I recall, though, that the Bell Tower Hotel is only a 10 minute ride or so from the train station, so it might not be too long of a detour to pop into the hotel first before heading to the warriors, assuming you're going by taxi. If you're going by public bus, then you might want to go straight from the train station since that's where the bus departs. (Don't know about luggage storage.)

Lil1210

I should mention that you're probably going to encounter crowds at the Terracotta Warriors even early in the day. We found that crowds were pretty much the norm at all of the major tourist attractions in China. (In Lijiang, for instance, we tried to escape the crowds by waking up extra early but found the tour buses full of Chinese tourists pouring in even at 7 in the morning!)

Personally, I just found that the extreme heat (and it gets hot in Xian!) made it even more unpleasant to shove past the crowds, which is why I suggest visiting the Warriors earlier in the day.

travelgo7

Lil1210 - thanks for the advice. If the Bell Tower is that close to the train station, I think I will try to drop off my luggage first.

Rather than use a guide, I'm now leaning towards just catching a cab and renting the audio tour as it sounds like it's good.

sssteve

Irina11:

Please check out my web page on our trip to China 2 months ago. We traveled independently (my wife and I) with guides arranged by a Chinese company. Everything was great!

Maybe the page can help you in your last minute planning. Here's the URL:
http://www.travel.stv77.com/china/china.htm