I am going on a business trip to Hong Kong and Beijing and I want to make a side trip to the major sites including ..Shanghi and Xian?? Also is Guilan worth the extra distance??? or can one visit it from Hong Kong.I will be in Hong Kong first and fly to Beijing.Will fly home from Shanghi.Also can I take a ground tour then??? does anyone know who does this for those of us traveling on business? Thanks

There is no way to take a ground trip,if you cann't fly to Guilin directly from HOngKong.
So in spite of which city you choose to go first,there are no differences.
Have a good trip!

I want to see more than Hong Kong and Beijing ie: more natural beauty and less pollution and old syle buildings and villages etc. but have less than a week plus I'm going to Bangkok and Chaing Mai first.Maybe I will do guilin from Hong Kong
As for after Beijijng.So I was thinking about doing a a gtound tour like the China Focus "historic China" which includes Ji'nan,Tai'an,Qufu,Suzhou and Shanghai..However they don't do a ground without Beijing of course..And I dont like shopping stops...How hard would this be to do my myself as a newbie? Have done other traveling on my own in Europe Thanks

Less than a week OF EXTRA TIME!!! not total

You shouldn't have any trouble arranging everything yourself. Here's our "do-it-yourself" China trip link:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34682619