China Itinerary tune up!
 

Leaving in 5 weeks for 13 days.
Day 1-5 Beijing (Normal tourist sites)

Day 5 -6 Unknown! and need help. We cancelled on Xian after reading comments on this board.

Day 6-9 Guilin/Yangshuo. Our question here is...what about the Li River Trip? We've read mixed reviews here and elsewhere. Some questioning also on Yangshuo, some say don't miss, others say don't stop here.

Day 9-13 Shanghai. 3 days at Expo, one day at Suzhou. Flight out to Beijing and home on day 13.

We appreciate comments...help!!!

Which comments here caused you to cancel Xi'an? It's a fascinating city with much to see.

Not only here, but on other sites we have read that the cost of airfare to see Xian for a day is not worth it. But we appreciate your thoughts on this!

Interesting...I second Marija's point that Xi'an is fascinating and well worth a visit. There are drawbacks -- the touts at the entrance to the Warriors do create bedlam, for example -- but I would hate to have missed Xi'an. Our regret after our first standard highlights visit to China (Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai/Suzhou, Hong Kong/Macau) in 2004 was not spending more time in Xi'an. All four family members on the trip felt that way.

I too think Xi'an should stay on the itinerary. The TC Warriors are wonderful to see in person and I really enjoyed walking around the Muslim Quarters and renting a bike to ride around the old wall. I wished I stayed an extra day.

The Li River IS touristy, you'll see a line of ships following one another but the scenery is breathtaking. Longji rice terraces, a day trip out of Guilin, was one of our favorite places.

> Day 5 -6 Unknown! and need help. We cancelled on Xian after reading comments on this board.

Like the others who have replied, I truly enjoyed Xi'an and found more than enough there to keep me happily busy for 4 days. But if you have already made up your mind against it, options that would fit your time frame near Beijing include Chengde and Datong.

There is more than enough to do in Xi'an for more than one day, even if you didn't visit the Warriors (I've been three times). Great Mosque, Temple to the Eight Great Immortals, Shaanxi Museum, Muslim quarter, Big Goose Pagoda...

Also, you can save time by taking the night train from Beijing.