China: Independant Itinerary
 

We're in the process of planning a month independent tour of China for March-April 07. After much reading and reflection we've put together the following itinerary:

March 22-28 (6 nights) Shanghai
March 28-30 (2) Hangzhou
March 30-April 01 (2) Suzhou
April 01-04 (3) Nanjing
April 04-07 (3) Guilin
April 07-09 (2) Guangzhou
April 09-13 (4) Sanya (Hainan)
April 13-15 (2) Chongqing
April 15-17 (2) Chengdu
April 17-20 (3) Xian
April 20-24 (4) Beijing

Would really appreciate any opinion on this - does it look unrealistic? We're also a little anxious regarding air travel in China but do not wish to travel long distances by train. We plan to fly between each location, with the exception of Shanghai-Hangzhou-Suzhou-Nanjing which we plan on covering by train.
Although Hainan is a little out of the way, we're quite keen on having that in the middle of our trip to relax a little.

We have already visited Hong Kong and would like to save Tibet and Yunnan for another tme.

Thanks for your help!

Looks good except 6 nights in Shanghai seems a bit long. Between Suzhou and Nanjing (an hour bus/train from Suzhou) is Wuxi with the huge Taihu Lake, which is quite relaxing.

- 6 nights Shanghai too long.
- Why Guangzhou?

- What are you planning to do in Chengdu for those two nights? Cutting out some time in Shanghai and Guangzhou will allow you to go to areas near Chengdu like Leshan (the huge buddha) and Ermei Mountain.

- You can also consider taking the train betwen Chengdu and Xian. It supposedly have great scenery, being a famous mountain railway.

Thanks for your feedback, Shanghainese, rkkwan.

Lake Taihu sounds nice, can it be done as a side trip from Suzhou?

In Chengdu we were planning a day trip to Emei Mountain, and on the other day the panda preserve and Sangxingdui museum. Should we add one more night in Chengdu - and perhaps spend less time in Xian?

Guangzhou is in the itinerary in part because I didn't find direct flights from Guilin to Sanya, so we thought we would make a short stop there - arriving late from Guilin and leaving early for Sanya.

How many days/nights would you suggest for Shanghai?

any comments are always appreciated

yes,6days un Shanghai is too long time,2days in enough,why not go to Yunnan(nice place) or Louyang&kaifeng(history city with long time)?

Wuxi is between Suzhou and Nanjing. After Suzhou, you can take train there to visit and overnight. Then you go to Nanjing.

3 nights in Shanghai is enough. You can visit one or more of the watertowns in the area when you travel between Shanghai and Hangzhou, or between Hangzhou and Suzhou. Probably between Hangzhou and Suzhou as you should be going on road and not train on that trip anyways.

If you need to stay overnight in Guangzhou, then just do that. No need to stay 2 nights.

Daytrip to Ermei Shan is not enough. Make it an overnight trip to Chengdu, at the least.

Probably just one or two nights in Xian, especially if you're taking the overnight train to Beijing.

I also wonder if you'll get bored in Hainan for 4 nights.

You can expand the Guilin part to 2 nights in Guilin and 2 nights in Yangshou.

If you only have one day for a mountain near Chengdu, visit Qingchen Shan instead of Emei Shan. You can get there by bus from the west bus station in Chengdu. Take the cable car part way up and do the rest on foot. I was there on a misty, rainy day, and found it extremely atmospheric.

I'd cut out Chongqing too if you're not doing the Yangtze Cruise. It's in interesting city, but not a "must see". You may want investigate about the Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong national parks, an hour flight north of Chengdu. Beware of the high altitude and crowds, however.

What are your interests?What are your interests? What are you hoping to get out of this trip? Personally, having just been to China I would spend less days in Shanghai more in places like Yangshuo(south of Guilin) and Beijing!

Yes, rkkwan is right, take the bus/train from Suzhou to Wuxi and spend the night, the bus was a couple of dollars more and cleaner. We stayed at a hotel across the Grand Canal from the stations, I'll look for the name if you like.

Thanks Shanghainese, rkkwan, tourday, thursdaysd, albaaust for taking the time to answer, I have read your suggestions and made corrections to my itinerary

Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong sound great - We enjoy national parks as much as we like culture, history and cities and when possible we try to get a mix of all. I'm also intrigued by the tibetan villages in the park. I think we'll take out Yalong Bay out and do a two day/three night trip there. Do you know if April is an ok time to visit?

Here's what my itinerary looks like now
24 March - Shanghai (3 nights)
train to Hangzhou (2n)
bus to Suzhou (2n)
bus or train to Wuxi and Lake Tai (1n) - not yet sure about this one?
train to Nanjing (2n)
fly to Guilin - Li river cruise - Yangshou (3n)
fly to Chongqing - Dazu grottoes day trip (2n)
fly to Jiuzhaigou + Huanglong (3n)
fly to Chengdu - Le Shan Dafo, Qingchen shan day trips (3n)
fly to Xian - Terra cotta warriors day trip (2 or 3 nights)
fly to Beijing (4 or 5 nights)

Would you suggest 4 full days rather than 3 in Beijing?

While we tend to visit places at a good pace, we also don't like to feel rushed. Do you think this will make a good introduction to China?

Any comments much appreciated - Thanks again!

That's more than a "good introduction" to China. You're seeing many of the best. I think that itinerary is great, though you may still fine-tune it later on.

Also, I noticed you're going in late March. Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong may still be pretty cold and depending on how much snow it gets, may not be totally accessible. So, be flexible and ask around.

It still looks a bit rushed to me, but you're certainly covering lots of ground. If you can add time to Beijing I would do it, taking time from Shanghai if necessary - but I'm not a fan of Shanghai, aside from the excellent museum.

Your tour looks excellent, although I wouldn't write off the long train journies - if used overnight they provide for a good nights sleep and are comfortable. Perhaps when in the Shanghai area you could visit Zhouzhuang. It's a pretty town with a significant old-style quarter that is built around a series of canals in a sort of mini-venetian style. I personally enjoyed a relaxing day there.

There are probably a dozen watertowns in the triangle between Shanghai, Hangzhou and Suzhou. I suggest you don't go to Zhouzhang as that's the most commercialized. Check with your driver and ask about smaller, less well-known ones. Those will be quieter and more authentic.

Watertowns: Day trip - Tongli,take the 1/2 hour little boat ride on the small canals crisscrossing the town. 1/2 day trip - Qibao, didn't see boats.