daisya2

I have 7 nts in China in November and am considering spending all 7 in Shanghai. We are flyling in to Shanghai, and could fly out of Beijing, if we wanted to. Or...would it be better to split time between Beijing and Shanghai?

This isn't our last trip to Asia, so I am not afraid that if we miss something, we will never get another chance to see it.

Our fave things to do our shop and dine, so does one city have better shopping/restaurants than the other?

Am staying at Four Seasons in Shanghai, would stay at St Regis in Beijing, if split time.

Lia

Just got back from Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong yesterday - the shopping (and dining) was plentiful in all three cities. If you have seven nights, I'd recommend splitting your time fairly evenly between Beijing and Shanghai. The flight time between the two cities is only two hours and not more than US$200. Certainly well worth it!

Cicerone

I would suggest 2-3 nights in Shanghai and 4-5 in Beijing. You could spend all 7 nights in Beijing and still not be able to see everything. I am also not a big fan of Shanghai, I really don?t see the charm beyond some of the bits along the river. It is a huge, crowded, polluted city. The modern architecture is amazing I will admit (I call it the Jetson city), but really I don't think it has very much to offer in terms of historical sites or charming people and places. If you really are not interested in places like the Forbidden City, Great Wall, Summer Palace, etc. then perhaps Beijing is not for you; although there are some very good restaurants and pretty good shopping. Shanghai has some excellent restaurants as well, I have never found the shopping to be much, others disagree.

If you really want great food and great shopping, then go to Hong Kong or Bangkok, esp Hong Kong as November is great weather there, sunny and in the 70s F. It will be cold in Beijing and cool to cold in Shanghai, of course in Beijing this is a good thing as crowds will be much smaller.

Lia

Thanks Cicerone - sorry I forgot to mention Hong Kong before! Daisya2, from your posting, it sounds like you are already going to Shanghai but if you can manage it, don't miss HK. Going to all three cities is probably too much for just seven nights, so maybe save Beijing for the next time?

sbobao

Beijing is worth a few days, but you will probably be bored if you had to spend more than 3 days. If you are able to fly into Shanghai, there is an abundance or "moon gate" gardens, Chinese villages, and Song dynasty architecture nearby.

If you fly into Shanghai:
Option 1: nearby Suzhou - famous for its gardens and R/R.

Option 2: nearby AnHui provence - famous for its village architecture and landscape.

Option 3: nearby NingBo, which I definitely plan to see next time I return to China.

I have been to a lot of "modern cities" in China and they represent a complete abandonment of traditional Chinese architecture. Suzhou, AnHui, and NinBo represent walking textbooks of Chinese architecture, life and culture; they are the shining stars of a great civilization. (Sheraton has very nice hotels in all those cities I mentioned.)