We would like to take a side trip of 2-3 days from Beijing. We thought of Xian but the fact you have to hire a private guide/driver sounds kind of like a tourist trap. We thought of Quingdao..any thoughts? My daughter speaks Chinese so that opens up some doors for us. We don't want to spend a lot of money on the venture. Thanks for any sugestions. The forum members have never let me down yet.

Audrey, <BR>You didn't say how you were planning to get around, but the implication is that you would travel by car. I don't know how the roads are, but Xian is pretty far from Beijing (I'm estimating 600 to 700 miles), so even with roads as good as they are in the states (and they're not), you'd spend most of your 2 or 3 days getting there and returning. <BR>Xian is not a tourist trap, and is interesting. The Terra Cotta Warriors (outside of Xian)are obviously a tourist attraction, but are VERY worth seeing, so I wouldn't call them a "tourist trap". <BR>My suggestion would be to fly between Beijing and Xian, and get a private car and driver to take you to the Terra Cotta Warrior excavation site. <BR>Or, you could probably also arrange a group tour from your hotel in Xian (we travelled alone and usually had a car, driver and guide, but in Xian we went with about 8 other very enjoyable people that we'd never met before). However, we didn't feel that we had enough time at the site, so I'd opt for a private car next time. <BR>

Just to clarify, we were planning on flying to what ever destination we decide upon.

I also vote for Xian. The warriors are wonderful to see, and the city itself is fun to explore because it has a large Chinese Muslim community. There are side streets around the Bell Tower that are wonderful to explore. <BR> <BR>I haven't been to Qingdao, but many of my friends have, and the general consensus is that it's a nice beach area for China, but not a "must see" destination for tourists. <BR> <BR>When we were in Xian we just asked the hotel to book us a driver. The only "tourist trap" thing about it is that they will try to stop at a Jade Factory, Pottery factory, etc. Since your daughter speaks Chinese, you should be able to avoid that if you want to. We acquiesced and went to one, and it was mildly interesting, but told them to skip the rest of the stops. <BR> <BR>You can hire a guide very inexpensively once you get to the site with the warriors, which I recommend. We didn't do that because my family is anti-tour guide (I'm not), and I regretted it, because I could hear snippets of what the other guides were saying and it was pretty interesting. <BR> <BR>Oh, and one more thing - IMO one night is enough in Xian. You might want to plan it for the middle of the trip so that you can decide whether to stay another day or return to BJ for more exploring. <BR> <BR>Good luck! <BR>

Audrey: My husband and I visited Beijing and Xi'an in January; it is safe to say Xi'an was one of the most impressive sites, up there with the Forbidden City, etc. The reason it is handy to have a guide is beacuse you must drive to various destinations; the warrios are outside the city. And a good guide can shed a LOT of light on the Chinese culture and current development. We flew just for the day since we were short on time, another reason it was handy to have a guide/driver. The only aspect which is touristy is the village just outsie the walls of the soldiers complex; there you can buy replicas of all sizes, chat with the farmers who unearthed the first of the tomb pieces, and be harassed by little kids selling postcards. It is absoltuely worth the journey!

Welcome to xi'an. <BR>My name is clarence guo,a taxi driver and tour guide in <BR>xi'an----the home town of terra-cotta warriors,i offer you a special tour to terra-cotta museum,banpo site,and cave dwelling village where you'll find some family still live in the cave houses which built hundreds of years ago,meet local farmers and kids there. There is no "tourist trap" ( stop at a Jade Factory, Pottery factory) with me. <BR>pls check: http://www.time.com/time/asia/travel...131/index.html <BR>the story about my tour. <BR>pls visit my web site http://www.taxitour.com <BR>Do you like my special tour? <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

Clarence, I tried to access your web page but it seems to be experiencing difficulties. I'm interested in more information about your tour. Could you post here or e-mail me? <BR>Thanks

If you want to see some beautiful scenery, really enjoy the Chinese culture without a ton of other tourists around, and see some excellent sites, rent a car and driver an go to Chengde for a couple of days. It's about a 4 hour drive from Beijing, and is the home of the Winter Palace. <BR> <BR>I think you will find no place like it and will see few foreigners.

Seeing the Terra Cotta Warriors in Xi'an was amazing. But like one of the other posters, I wouldn't recommend anymore than one night in the city. In fact, we had been booked for 2 nights and immediately we switched our airline tickets and flew out the next evening. Two days was plenty to see everything we wanted, particularly with the use of our own private driver. I would recommend that you stay at the Hyatt. We didn't and wished we had. Instead we stayed at the Bell Tower Hotel which had been recommended to us. We only had hot water for 2 hours a day to take a shower and the rooms weren't very clean. <BR> <BR>While in Xi'an make sure to wander down to the artist village along the wall - people at the hotel should be able to provide you with directions.