Beijing to Xian
Feb 14th, 2006, 06:23 PM
#22
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I decided that first I’ll do a short itinerary then I’ll post my reasons for it after.
March 30: temple of heaven, Tiananmen Square, lama temple and/or temple of Confucius, visit a hutong, and bell and drum tower.
March 31st: Great wall PLUS whatever is close the part of the wall you visit PLUS (if you have time) anything you missed yesterday (you should have time)
April 1st: Summer Palace PLUS the sites to the west of the city such as the various temples and prince gongs mansion (see map on previous post) AND/OR forbidden city
Leave Beijing by TRAIN on SOFT sleeper or catch the last plane out of beijing to xi'an (eg leave 19:50 flight with China Air and arrive 21:30 in Xi'an)
Depending on how and when you leave Xi’an on the 3rd you can switch these days around but for argument’s sake I’ll just say:
Apr 2nd: leave early early for Mt Huashan by midday LATEST head to warriors (feedback from others if that’s enough time at MT Huashan) spend about 90 minutes at warriors (don’t spend too much time in the shops) head to mausoleum (if you miss this its not the end of the world), go to Hot springs for about 2 hours but if you’re pushing then 1 hour minimum still needed and if you still have time try for Banpo which if you can give yourself 1 hour for that will be worth it.
Apr 3rd: leave 8am for Banpo (if you missed it the day before), Big pagoda, steele forest, drum and bell tower and if you are up for more walking then try the small pagoda.
Leave for Beijing (probably by plane since you leave early the next day for home) stay at airport hotel??
March 30: temple of heaven, Tiananmen Square, lama temple and/or temple of Confucius, visit a hutong, and bell and drum tower.
March 31st: Great wall PLUS whatever is close the part of the wall you visit PLUS (if you have time) anything you missed yesterday (you should have time)
April 1st: Summer Palace PLUS the sites to the west of the city such as the various temples and prince gongs mansion (see map on previous post) AND/OR forbidden city
Leave Beijing by TRAIN on SOFT sleeper or catch the last plane out of beijing to xi'an (eg leave 19:50 flight with China Air and arrive 21:30 in Xi'an)
Depending on how and when you leave Xi’an on the 3rd you can switch these days around but for argument’s sake I’ll just say:
Apr 2nd: leave early early for Mt Huashan by midday LATEST head to warriors (feedback from others if that’s enough time at MT Huashan) spend about 90 minutes at warriors (don’t spend too much time in the shops) head to mausoleum (if you miss this its not the end of the world), go to Hot springs for about 2 hours but if you’re pushing then 1 hour minimum still needed and if you still have time try for Banpo which if you can give yourself 1 hour for that will be worth it.
Apr 3rd: leave 8am for Banpo (if you missed it the day before), Big pagoda, steele forest, drum and bell tower and if you are up for more walking then try the small pagoda.
Leave for Beijing (probably by plane since you leave early the next day for home) stay at airport hotel??
Feb 14th, 2006, 06:25 PM
#23
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That itinerary will get you the chance to see most anything that most tourists see plus if you miss out something its not a big deal so long as you get to the MAIN things.
I can tell you its not rushed because mine was very very similar with 2 very young kids. I'll next post the reasons for giving you those suggestions plus soem additional comments
I can tell you its not rushed because mine was very very similar with 2 very young kids. I'll next post the reasons for giving you those suggestions plus soem additional comments
Feb 14th, 2006, 07:10 PM
#24
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The ming tombs is interesting if you like to see that type of thing and you like history or to hear "in this room they did this... over here that's where this happened" but I found it boring myself (other people love this tour).
Personally I like the Taoist temple near mutianyu better (partially cos I have kids) as it’s more of an enjoyable experience and it’s not a tour requiring a guide, take lunch, enjoy the walks and activties. If you go here and miss the lama temple then this will make up for that type of temple experience.
Whatever part of the wall you choose, you'll get back to Beijing in time to see something you didn’t do previously and then, if you want, try a Peking duck dinner. We went to the oldest most famous one (don’t know if its true but it has been around for over 100 years) and for under 200RMB it was ok but see frommers guide for advice.
In fact - for Beijing advice see frommers guide to fill in the details - period.
RE: Forbidden City.
My perspective is that you walk around for 3-4 hours looking into rooms listening to a commentary saying "in this room this happened, and this room was used for this..blah blah blah". However, you may be looking for that so ignore me if you want.
I’ll be hated on for this but if you just paid 40RMB for the Roger Moore audio guide and 2-5RMB for the postcards then you’ll have nice photos and also learn something. However, if you really really feel obligated to actually go inside then IMHO if you enter it as late as possible in the day then that would, to me, be a good time management idea.
If you DON’T do forbidden city after summer palace then you can fit in the sites to the west of the city such as the various temples and prince gongs mansion. Unfortunately you won’t have gone to Peking man's site but I haven’t either and I don’t feel like I'm missing anything
Re: flying to Xi’an: The bugger with that is that the transfers to and from both airports is about an hour but you get to arrive at the hotel at night rather than in the morning so it’s up to you.
Xi’an is much smaller than other cities so what happens is that there is a bus that takes you to various hotels. Even if it doesn’t take you to your hotel then it will take you to one very close to yours. I can’t remember the cost of the bus but take the bus and NOT a taxi. Personally as it’s quite late at night I would check with the hotel to see if the bus drops you off there BEFORE booking the hotel. I’ve stayed twice the Dynasty hotel. The cost was RMB398/R/N for a business standard double room with computer and incl. single breakfast. I like it as the beds have been comfortable enough. It’s NOT in the city centre but the bus does drop you off there and a taxi to the city centre is about 7RMB. It also can arrange a driver for you too.
Mt Huashan is about 1 ½ - 2 hours drive so you’ll want to arrive there real early. This place and everything else listed for this day are east of Xi’an and require a driver to get there (everything else on day 2 can be travelled to by taxi and is quite close to or in the city). So for the sake of hiring the driver for ONLY 1 day I’d tried to do all these things together (if I had to drop one thing I would drop Mt Huashan only because it’s a long way away but if you’re full of beans then that’s up to you).
ON day 2, if you only did one pagoda then you won’t be massively disappointed.
NOW was long i know. hope it helps you make a decision
Personally I like the Taoist temple near mutianyu better (partially cos I have kids) as it’s more of an enjoyable experience and it’s not a tour requiring a guide, take lunch, enjoy the walks and activties. If you go here and miss the lama temple then this will make up for that type of temple experience.
Whatever part of the wall you choose, you'll get back to Beijing in time to see something you didn’t do previously and then, if you want, try a Peking duck dinner. We went to the oldest most famous one (don’t know if its true but it has been around for over 100 years) and for under 200RMB it was ok but see frommers guide for advice.
In fact - for Beijing advice see frommers guide to fill in the details - period.
RE: Forbidden City.
My perspective is that you walk around for 3-4 hours looking into rooms listening to a commentary saying "in this room this happened, and this room was used for this..blah blah blah". However, you may be looking for that so ignore me if you want.
I’ll be hated on for this but if you just paid 40RMB for the Roger Moore audio guide and 2-5RMB for the postcards then you’ll have nice photos and also learn something. However, if you really really feel obligated to actually go inside then IMHO if you enter it as late as possible in the day then that would, to me, be a good time management idea.
If you DON’T do forbidden city after summer palace then you can fit in the sites to the west of the city such as the various temples and prince gongs mansion. Unfortunately you won’t have gone to Peking man's site but I haven’t either and I don’t feel like I'm missing anything
Re: flying to Xi’an: The bugger with that is that the transfers to and from both airports is about an hour but you get to arrive at the hotel at night rather than in the morning so it’s up to you.
Xi’an is much smaller than other cities so what happens is that there is a bus that takes you to various hotels. Even if it doesn’t take you to your hotel then it will take you to one very close to yours. I can’t remember the cost of the bus but take the bus and NOT a taxi. Personally as it’s quite late at night I would check with the hotel to see if the bus drops you off there BEFORE booking the hotel. I’ve stayed twice the Dynasty hotel. The cost was RMB398/R/N for a business standard double room with computer and incl. single breakfast. I like it as the beds have been comfortable enough. It’s NOT in the city centre but the bus does drop you off there and a taxi to the city centre is about 7RMB. It also can arrange a driver for you too.
Mt Huashan is about 1 ½ - 2 hours drive so you’ll want to arrive there real early. This place and everything else listed for this day are east of Xi’an and require a driver to get there (everything else on day 2 can be travelled to by taxi and is quite close to or in the city). So for the sake of hiring the driver for ONLY 1 day I’d tried to do all these things together (if I had to drop one thing I would drop Mt Huashan only because it’s a long way away but if you’re full of beans then that’s up to you).
ON day 2, if you only did one pagoda then you won’t be massively disappointed.
NOW was long i know. hope it helps you make a decision
Jun 25th, 2007, 08:25 AM
#26
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We were in Beijing thios past March and decided at the last minute we couldn't leave without seeing Xian and the terracotta warriers.
We went to the CITS travel agency on A tuesday and booked a flight, car, driver and english speaking guide for the next day.
Leaving the Pen at 6AM we caught the early flight to Xian and were met at the airport by the most fantastic guide, Nancy. They took us to Xian, the Pagoda and then lunch and the terra cotta warriors. We caught a 6PM flight back to Beijing and were back in our hotel by 8 PM.
We loved every minute of the tour, perfect in every way.
If you're in Beijing, definitely don't miss Xian and the warriors.
We went to the CITS travel agency on A tuesday and booked a flight, car, driver and english speaking guide for the next day.
Leaving the Pen at 6AM we caught the early flight to Xian and were met at the airport by the most fantastic guide, Nancy. They took us to Xian, the Pagoda and then lunch and the terra cotta warriors. We caught a 6PM flight back to Beijing and were back in our hotel by 8 PM.
We loved every minute of the tour, perfect in every way.
If you're in Beijing, definitely don't miss Xian and the warriors.
Jun 25th, 2007, 09:57 AM
#27
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i have a similar decision re this thread - 6 days booked in beijing.
thinking of flying south for 2/3 days in guilin/yanshuo and like the look of it - but is xian a better option? there doesn't look like too much to do apart from the terrcotta warriors...?
thinking of flying south for 2/3 days in guilin/yanshuo and like the look of it - but is xian a better option? there doesn't look like too much to do apart from the terrcotta warriors...?
Jun 25th, 2007, 10:58 AM
#28
There's plenty to do in Xi'an. From a previous post of mine: "See the Shaanxi Museum, the Great Mosque and the Taoist temple to the Eight Great Immortals, then wander round the Muslim quarter for somewhere to eat. Wandering around the back streets in other parts of town can also be interesting." Also the Big Goose Pagoda.
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