First Time Visitor
 

Myself and two others are planning on visiting Beijing, Shangai and Hong Kong in February. We will be there for some 17 days, and would like some tips on whether the 3 can be combined and whether to travel by train to be able to see a few traditional places in between. Thanks

hello!nice to meet you<BR>I come from Hong Kong indeed,let me tell you some travelling tips of Hong Kong<BR>If you prefer to stay for a numerous days in Hong Kong,i strongly recommend you buying an Octopus card,which is very convenient for your visiting in Hong Kong,as it is all-purpose for most of the vehicles.In Addition,MTR is a kind of cheap,convenient and comfortable transport in Hong Kong.Sorry for my poor English.I hope the information will be useful to you.<BR>

Do keep in mind that Feburary is the busiest travel season in China - Chinese New Year. I personally prefer flying between the three cities. As I know, most business should remain open in HK during New Year (except the first day of New Year I believe). However, this may be different in the mainland.

You definately have time to do all three cities in 17 days.<BR><BR>I recommend you choose your day excursions first, then figure out whether the train or plane is better for each leg of the journey. You'll get to see more interesting sights than if you just try to go along a set train route - a LOT of cities in China are grey, industrial cities that aren't of much interest to the average tourist - you'll get more from your visit, I think, if you plan your stops in advance.<BR><BR>Sometimes the train is faster (esp. considering that the airports are outside of town and that you have to arrive an hour early). The night train between Shanghai and Beijing is a good deal, since you get on in the evening and arrive in the other city in the morning (thus saving a hotel night, and the time you would have wasted going to and from airports & waiting). There is a new "deluxe" train now, but when I did it on the normal train (soft class, the best one available), it was fine. You don't see much, since it's dark most of the time, but it is kind of fun, and a good way to save on one hotel night.<BR><BR>I recommend you start in Hong Kong, since it's much more modern than China. It will make a more interesting contrast, I think, to go to HK first and then into China. <BR><BR>From HK, I'd recommend you go into Southern China (ABSOLUTELY skip Guangzhou and Shenzhen - your schedule allows you to skip these primarily industrial cities). I'd highly recommend you visit Yangshuo (near Guilin & the famous Li River "cruise", which costs under $5 US and takes you through breathtaking scenery). The countryside is amazing - you can visit by bicycle, motorcycle, or via a little golf cart/tuk tuk thing. There are breathtaking mountains in the background, farmers in pointy straw hats leading their oxen, tiny little villages - it's a great place. There are some other well-known places in that area as well. We really wanted to go to the rice paddies, but it would have been an additional 2 days and we couldn't do it.<BR><BR>Good luck!

The trains are very nice and it was great to see some scenery outside of the cities.