Alisonv

My husband I have just booked a spur of the moment trip to China. We will be going in May and flying into Hong Kong then leaving 17 days later from Beijing.
We are planning on spending 5 nights in HK at the Langham Place. Then fly(?) to Xian.
We want to spend 3 days in Xi'an and 5 days in Beijing. This leaves us with 4 days to fill. Any suggestions? I really want to see some of the countryside.

We would like to take the overnight train from Xian to Beijing for the fun and experience. By the way my husband and I speak only English and french and were hoping to do a lot of the getting around on our own or by hiring guides from the hotels. Is this sensible? I know we are fine in HK but the rest?

PeterN_H

Many thousands of people travel all over China every year without two words of Mandarin to rub together. A little bit of preparatory reading and use of your hotel reception to write down the Chinese characters for your destinations will see you through. Both Xi'an and Beijing see vast numbers of foreign visitors every year, and are quite used to dealing with them. Most street names, metro station signs, and many others appear in Latin script as well as Chinese. Avoid hiring guides from hotels or anywhere else. A little use of the search box at the top of the page will deliver you further discussions on guides, independent travel and so on.

If you plan to take the train from Xi'an to Beijing then you would probably want to squeeze in some countryside before Xi'an, but that's at least in a vaguely Xi'an-wards direction. Have a read about Kaili and the Guizhou countryside, for instance. Otherwise consider that countryside day trips are easily made from both Xi'an and Beijing. Add time in Beijing and you could go up to Chengde (-de not -du) by train for one or nights. There are also assorted countryside routes via various sights to be taken between Xi'an and Beijing instead of the train.

Peter N-H

Alisonv

That's a relief. The language was our biggest concern. The options you mention are excellent. I will look into them futher. Chengde sounds very interesting. I think we will want to visit this area for at least an overnight as you suggest. My only concern re Guizhou is getting there. What is the best option and where is the best starting point? It is a 3 hour flight from Beijing. Is this the best option?
Also, I know you are the Beijing expert so may I please ask you if the Crowne Plaza in Beijing is a worthwhile place to stay. We will be booking a club room.
Thank you Peter for your quick and informative response.

PeterN_H

The point of the suggestion of Guizhou is that it is very roughly en route from Hong Kong to Xi'an. Any half-decent guidebook to China will give you some idea of access, but you'd be flying to Guiyang, and then taking a bus for about two hours, later flying from Guiyang to Xi'an.

There are five Crowne Plazas in Beijing: The Zhongguancun and Airport properties are two far out to be worth considering. The Sun Palace on the northeast third ring road I don't know. The Wuzhou on the north fourth ring is a decent if conventional hotel, a little far out but handy for the Olympic site if that's of interest. The Wangfu Jing property is a little old, sees so much traffic it quickly wears out each refurbishment, and would come low down my list of choices for the area. If it is Wangfu Jing you want, then (in no particular order), the Raffles, Regent, Peninsula, Hilton Wangfu Jing, and Grand Hyatt would all come first.

Peter N-H

Alisonv

Perfect. I bought a few guide books and will check it out. I like the idea of the break between HK and Xi'an.
I was looking at WANGFUJING property so I will strike that and check out your other suggestions. Thanks again