As some of you might have read on a recent post, my husband and I are planning a Dec trip to China. We would like to start out in Beijing for about 5 days and work our way to Shanghai and then onto Hong Kong for new year's.

I've been reading the postings and the one from Marija seems to be the most informative however that trip was in September, I think, so is it unrealistic to think we could do similar things in December?

Any addtional suggestions (other than reading Marija's posting) for a trip like this would be great.

I think you can do basically all the things Marija did. Except it's going to be cold, and daylight is short. That's all.

This is your second post on this subject, please see my response to your other post. . .

I visited Beijing, Xian and Shanghai in December 2001, and the weather in Beijing was fine for sightseeing, but it was absolutly freezing on one of my days at the Great Wall. It did snow, but not much, and we had no problems walking around, and we started each day early so we had lots of daylight for photos.

Shanghai was comfortable, although not nearly as interesting as Beijing.

I have been to Hong Kong many times, and it will be great in December (the Summer there is terrible, but the winters are very nice).

Thanks to everyone for the responses. Sorry for the duplication Cicerone, unfortunately something is going on because when I try to post it doesn't appear even after I've "refreshed"...

Anyway, thit_cho and others, any suggestions you might have for sights on this trip? I know there are many but our tentative itinerary is:
Bejing 5 nights, Xian 2, Shanghai 4, Hong Kong 2

Any suggestions also on places to stay in each stop, cost is not an issue as mentioned in my other posts but we'd like to not be too extravagant!

Also any thoughts on the length of time at each location as well as mode of travel would be welcomed!

I said yes to your question- "are we crazy" as rkkwan said it best- its going to be friggen cold and daylight is in short supply. But if you don't mind these issues then no, you are not crazy!

Beijing -- five nights you'll be able to see everything. If you can, I would advise arranging a visit to a section of the "wild wall" -- we had the Great Wall to ourselves and hiked for a mile or so. We also visited Badalung, and its like a Disney-fied version of the Wall and since it was December, it was empty, but its worth comparing the wild wall to Badalung. Make sure the hit the obvious sites (Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven), but we also enjoyed the zoo (lots of pandas) and wandering around the Drum Tower in an old hutong area.

Xian -- of course, see the Terracotta warriors, and we also enjoyed walking around the Muslim section and the market (plenty of snakes and dogs, for eating, for sale -- very interesting).

Shanghai -- franky, I didn't find it all that interesting. The Bund is beautiful, and the museum is OK (but no where near as interesting as the museum in Taipei).

Hong Kong -- I would recommend getting over to Macao for one night -- dinner and gambling and walking around the old area.

Hotels -- we tend to prefer local, non-chain hotels, preferably with a bit of history. So in Beijing we stayed at the Beijing Hotel (the oldest in the city, rooms OK, reasonable price and walking distance to Forbidden City).

Shanghai -- we stayed at the Peace Hotel, great location on Bund

Xian -- we were only there one night and stayed at Hyatt right in city center. Average, chain hotel.

Hong Kong -- plenty of hotels

IMO 4 nights is too many in Shanghai and 2 nights is too few in Hong Kong. Shanghai is a huge, huge city with a tiny area which is interesting, plus it will be cold and you may have had enough of cold cities at that point. Hong Kong is much more manageable in terms of English, getting around by public transport, it has the beautiful harbor and mountains views, and the great weather. Lots to see and do outside, ferry trips, walking, shopping, great restaurants, exploring neighborhoods etc. I would reverse the order (i.e. 2 nights in Shanghai and 4 in Hong Kong), and second the recco to spend a day or a day and night in Macau. For hotels, I would recco as follows:

Beijing: Grand Hyatt for location (walkable to Tiananmen Square), also consider the Peninsula, the St Regis. However Beijing is so spread out that location is not such a big deal and the Penn and St Regis are good locations too. I think in December you will find good prices at most hotels anyway.

Xian: I think the ANA Grand Castle Hotel has the best location in Xian, as it has a view of the city wall, and is near to the only public access point to get up on the wall. It is only a few minutes by cab to the Grand Mosque and Bell Tower areas (and would be walkable if not too cold.) ANA is a Japanese chain and they generally run very good hotels. Check out their website at anahotels.com. Another good choice is the Grand New World, which is near another section of the wall and also a nice hotel. It is in an interesting neighborhood which has local markets, etc. You can take a cab in a few minutes to the Bell Tower and Grand Mosque areas. Take a look at the newworldhotels.com. The Bell Tower Hotel has received some good reviews on this site. Take a look at http://www.cbw.com/hotel/belltower/. There is a Hyatt and Shangri-La, which would be more luxurious than the ANA, but I don't like the location of either as they are outside the city wall areas, not in interesting neighborhoods and you may spend more time in taxis and transport than you want. The Museum in Xian is excellent (even better than the one on Shanghai, IMO) so be sure to go there as well.

Shanghai: Many to choose from, I personally would choose the Grand Hyatt as the bund and river views are great (a little smoggy in winter). If you don't stay here, come for drinks at sunset. Shangri-La would also have good views, as would the Westin and actually a bit better locations for the bund. There is a Four Seasons and a Ritz-Carlton as well. The St Regis is nice, not the greatest location in Pudong. Most every hotel brand in the world can be found here, even Howard Johnson.

Given the distance, the best way between each city is to fly ( I assume that is your question). You could take trains if you wanted to (there are even night trains), I have not done this, run a search here or post a question.

Thanks for the responses. I've posted our tentative itinerary on another post but here it is:

Arrive Bejing 12/19
Depart Bejing for Xi'an 12/23
Take train from Xi'an overnight to Shanghai on 12/24
Arrive Shanghai 12/25 afternoon
Depart Shanghai evening 12/27 for Suzhou (too meet some friends from the area)
Depart Suzhou or surrounding area 12/30 for Shanghai flight to Hong Kong
Arrive Hong Kong evening 12/30
Depart Hong Kong for US 1/2/2006

You'll see the train from xian to Shanghai, we really wanted to experience that...

Based on your comments we will try to move up our "depart from Suzhou" by 1 day and add at least another day to HKG however we are having some trouble with the hotels. Right now based on our notes above we have the Ritz Carlton in HKG for those dates with a peak view (the best we could do).

The amount of time in Shanghai is really based on our friend's arrival and her availability to show us around Suzhou and surrounding. we are really in Shanghai proper for only 2 days but then onto Suzhou, etc...

Are sites closed in Hong Kong on New Year's day? Right now we would have the 31 and the 1 (full days) to be in Hong Kong if we aren't able to change the time. Hopefully we can get to most of the things Cicerone suggested (possibly not Macau?).

We are excited and want to see as much as possible so again thank you for all of the wonderful advice!

ttt

Did not know you were going to Suzhou, that is interesting. Would love to hear how you enjoy the train ride. . .

In Hong Kong on New Year's Day things like the Star Ferry, Peak Tram, etc will be running. Public transportation will be running on a holiday schedule but will not be noticeably less frequent. I would say most shops will be closed; however most restaurants, esp in hotels and the Lan Kwai Fong area will be open. Shops in Stanley may be open, perhaps others have been out there on New Year's Day. A ride over to Repulse Bay on the double decker bus (#6 and #6A stop almost in front of the RC) and lunch/brunch at the Verandah Restaurant (go to http://www.therepulsebay.com/restaurants.html) might be a nice way to spend part of the day, you could continue on the Stanley afterward. There is also a new Asian-fusion seafood restaurant called the Top Deck on top of the Jumbo Floating Restaurant in Aberdeen (which I normally would not recco as food is average and very touristy) which is supposed to be good, take a look at http://www.peakcafe.com/TOP_DECK/v_top_deck.asp. You could hire a little boat to take you around Aberdeen harbour afterwards.

I think I would avoid going to the Peak on New Year's Day, it is likely to be very crowded. It will probably be crowded on the 31st, but a bit less so than on the 1st. If the lines for the Peak Tram are very long either going up or coming back down, you can take the #15 double decker bus, which is in some ways a more thrilling ride (maniacal drivers), also offers excellent views and is much cheaper. You might take the tram up and then see how the line looks for the tram ride down and if it is long, take the bus. The bus station is in the Galleria shopping mall on the Peak, on the ground floor, follow the signs or ask someone.

I would agree if you only have 2 days in Hong Kong, going to Macau would be tough. If you end up having 3 days, you could go for a day to Macau, or go to Lantau (Big Buddha and/or hikes and walks) or hiking in the New Territories if you want a more active day. You could also spend the 3 days in Hong Kong.

Peak view at RC is nice, you probably will also see the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank and maybe the Bank of China Building, both iconic symbols of the city; the Peak is very pretty from the Central area, esp backlit at sunset/twilight. The RC has a very good Shanghainese restaurant (by maybe you will have had enough Shanghainense food. . .)

Actually, my experience is that most shops in Hong Kong will be open on 1/1. They may have a late opening, but after 12pm or so, most stores and restaurants are open for business.

The Peak is seldom very crowded these days. I always go up there during my visits to Hong Kong, even though I've been there probably >100 times. I find fewer locals up there then say 30 years ago, even though the population has almost doubled. For one, Hong Kong people like to go to new places, and there's nothing new about The Peak.

I'll bet that if you go up there before noon on 1/1, you'll find it super super quiet.

I agree that you don't have enough time to go to Macau. Save it for next trip.

rkkwan, on public holidays, the Peak tends to get very crowded, and Jan 1 in a public holiday, that is why I would avoid it. Last Tuesday was Chung Ying and it was packed. I live up on the Peak now and it is still pretty popular, IMO, and its not the Hong Kongers that are the problem, it’s the PRC tourists who are being allowed in in record numbers, esp with Disney just being opened.

2seeds, another hotel in Shanghai was just recco'd to me by a friend. It is in the Xiantiandi district, which is an old part of the French Concession in central Shanghai with stone houses that has been restored and is mostly shops and restaurants, also walkable to the Bund. She said the hotel was very nice, rooms are basically all suites, and had some lake views. There is a spa and an indoor pool. She said she thought lake view rooms on a high floor would be the quietest:

88 Xiantiandi
380 Huang Pi Nan Road
Shanghai
http://www.88xintiandi.com

Certainly is a lucky address. . . .

Thanks Cicerone!
I'll check out the website for the hotel in Shanghai. Before your message I was leaning toward the JW Marriott on Tomorrow Square or the Grand Hyatt. Any thoughts about those?

I stayed in the JW Mariott Tomorrow Square in Shanghai with my family about a month ago, and it's a wonderful choice. It's about a 10 minute walk from Nanjing Dong Lu, which is the main shopping drag in Shanghai. It's also less than a 10 minute walk to the subway station near the People's Square.

The JW Marriott is very well located for sightseeing and shopping and within walking distance to the Shanghai Museum, Nanjing Rd, the Bund, Yu Yuan, Huai Hai Rd. The metro station at People's Sq is also where line 1 and line 2 cross, so you have easy access to both.

If you stay at the Grand Hyatt in Pudong, you'll need to travel by cab or metro for most of your sightseeing. I do like the hotel very much and agree that the views are fabulous (when you can see across the river ) so it just depends on whether you mind a little extra traveling.

I included the Grand Hyatt in my original list, it has great views on a clear day, large rooms and pretty incredible bathrooms. I also think the JW is a very nice hotel, I wouldn't have thought it was that walkable to the Bund area (have not walked it myself as I only stayed there once during a convention and didn't really leave the hotel) but if others say so, I take them at their word. Is a very striking building architecturally speaking.

IIRC it took 20 minutes give or take to walk from the Bund to the JW Marriott. I didn't really time it but it's definitely walkable when the weather's pleasant. Not something I'd want to do in the middle of summer though.