Great Wall, XIan then what?
#1
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Great Wall, XIan then what?
We want to see the terra cotta warriors and walk on the Great Wall - but where do we go from there?
We would really appreciate some favorites. We love to see history and enjoy the local village life at a slower pace.
We'll have 10-12 days.
We would really appreciate some favorites. We love to see history and enjoy the local village life at a slower pace.
We'll have 10-12 days.
#3
Join Date: Jul 2008
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Are you planning to spend time in Beijing? We spent 8 days there and did not run out of things to do, although you can limit your time to a minimum of 4 including your day out to the wall. While Shanghai is a fabulous city, you say you want to see village life. If you read my trip report which is almost completed, you will see that none of the cities I visited would be considered local villages. If that is what you wish to see, perhaps you should visit the southwestern area or the Guillin area,neither of which we went to as we were planning on saving those for a 2nd trip to China.
#4
If you want a slower pace you will have to get out of the cities. I can't imagine why Bob is recommending Shanghai, which is a great place for shop-and-eat tourism, and for fans of very modern architecture, but is otherwise skippable.
I agree, you need to go west, probably southwest, and will likely need to take buses rather than trains. You could start from Kunming (but avoid Dali and Lijiang - go south), or possibly Chengdu.
I agree, you need to go west, probably southwest, and will likely need to take buses rather than trains. You could start from Kunming (but avoid Dali and Lijiang - go south), or possibly Chengdu.
#6
True, but not at all what the OP asked for.
AMY - article in today's NYT you may find interesting: http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/12/30...tml?ref=travel
AMY - article in today's NYT you may find interesting: http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/12/30...tml?ref=travel
#7
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If you want history then you need to go to Beijing more than Xi'An. If you want village and slower pace you can go to Yangshuo for the scenery or Pingyao for old Chinese. Shanghai is the opposite of what you are looking for.
#11
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The Wall is thousands of miles long but someone who is only in China 12 days should see it near Beijing which is where it is best visited. Jiayuguan is essentially fake and totally rebuilt, the Disney version of the Wall.
#14
Join Date: May 2011
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Amy, just got back ourselves and am working on a trip report. We hiked the area of the wall from Jinshanling to Simatai, which is unfortunately still closed. Perhaps because of the cold and snow it was practically deserted. And the scenery was incredible! We only met one group on our 3 1/2 hour walk.
As for villages, I can only speak of what I personally know. We spent several days in Tangkou, at the base of Huangshan. The natural scenery was beautiful but perhaps our favorite part of this trip was our visit to ChengKan, a village about 45min away. While there is an entry fee of 70cny to enter the ancient village, it is most definitely still a very lived-in and used area. Neat to see the history and the every day next to each other. I have to confess to feeling a little weird about paying to watch the peasant lifestyle but it was necessary for entering the temple. Were you to choose to avoid the temple you could still wander ChengKan, see the historical buildings and also spend more time just outside this ancient part to see a more realistic mix of life today. This is in southern Anhui province, by the way, and is a difficult place to get around due to the different dialect of Mandarin, but by no means should that deter anyone.
As for villages, I can only speak of what I personally know. We spent several days in Tangkou, at the base of Huangshan. The natural scenery was beautiful but perhaps our favorite part of this trip was our visit to ChengKan, a village about 45min away. While there is an entry fee of 70cny to enter the ancient village, it is most definitely still a very lived-in and used area. Neat to see the history and the every day next to each other. I have to confess to feeling a little weird about paying to watch the peasant lifestyle but it was necessary for entering the temple. Were you to choose to avoid the temple you could still wander ChengKan, see the historical buildings and also spend more time just outside this ancient part to see a more realistic mix of life today. This is in southern Anhui province, by the way, and is a difficult place to get around due to the different dialect of Mandarin, but by no means should that deter anyone.
#16
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I've only been to Beijing and Lijiang, so am not an expert. But my friend, who's been all over China, suggested Lijiang, and I loved it! I did a nine day trip, half in Beijing and half in Lijiang, and that worked very well, and gave me a feel for the city and for a small town.
#20
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Hi loncall, you can find my trip report here: http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...orth-china.cfm
Getting to tangkou was in my top two craziest travel moments. Between the heavy snowstorm and strange unplanned bus switches we had no choice but to roll with it and hope we made it to the right place. It's in the TR but feel free to ask me any specific questions - that trip is permanently imprinted in my memory!
Getting to tangkou was in my top two craziest travel moments. Between the heavy snowstorm and strange unplanned bus switches we had no choice but to roll with it and hope we made it to the right place. It's in the TR but feel free to ask me any specific questions - that trip is permanently imprinted in my memory!