DharmaBum

Myhusband and I are arriving in Shanghai October 13th. My parents have been very ill and I haven't had a chance to do any planning except to get the tickets and I'm starting to panic. We're staying with friends in Shanghai but we also want to see the terra cotta warriors in Xian and we want to see Beijing. We're flying home from Beijing on October 23rd. Please give advice on what to see, where to stay and how to book travel inside China. This was supposed to be my husband's trip of a lifetime and I don't want to disappoint him.

Thanks in advance for the help!

Lyndie

Your friends in Shanghai should know of a travel agent where you can book flights and train tickets. They should be able to do some pre-departure bookings for you. You are lucky to have friends there. You can check out www.chinatravel1.com for some info. There are trains to Beijing and several flights to many city in China from Shanghai. Stop worrying and start researching here. You still have 2 months! I'm flying to Sri Lanka in a week and have booked only 3 nights accom, nothing else, so relax!

Lia

Sorry to hear about your parents. Don't panic - you've picked major cities in China and it will be easy to travel between Shanghai-Xian-Beijing.

"Trip of a lifetime" should probably include the major sights:
Beijing - Tian'anmen Square, Palace Museum, Beihai Park, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Yuanmingyuan (Old Summer Palace), Grand-View Garden, Great Wall, Ming Tombs, Yonghegong Lamasery, Juesheng (Giant Bell Temple), Luguo (Marco Polo Bridge), and Fragrant Hill Park.

Your friends in Shanghai can advise you on what to see there but here are some of my favorites:
Yuyuan Garden, Shanghai Old Street, Jade Buddha Temple, the Bund, Shanghai Museum, Nanjing Rd, Huaihai Rd, Xintiandi...really depends on what you like to do.

I'll be in Shanghai mid-September and will try to post a trip report when I get back.

Haven't been to Xian so I'm not sure what else to see except the terra cotta warriors.

Any travel agent in China can book internal flights for you or you can go to www.ctrip.com, www.elong.com or www.expedia.com to book your own flights. With the exception of Expedia, you may need to call or email your request if you plan to do in English as their online booking systems don't always handle that - but you should be able to see the flight schedules and costs online.

My all-time favorite hotel in Beijing is the Peninsula Palace which is centrally located and a good value though a bit pricey (~US$200/nt).

If you don't want to book travel yourself, there are many land-only packages available from tour operators (Ritz, Pacific Delight) and they can also arrange internal flights for you.

Have a good time!

sylvester

My husband and I are going Sept. 5; returning the 18th. Here are some ideas based on my own research;
there are many flights Beijing to Xian. Online cost to book now is about 1100 yuan if fly economy(@$142 US). expedia charges $5 booking fee/ticket. Flight takes 2 hours. In addition to Warriors, the town itself has some interesting things (1/2 a day, roughly). Staying at Hyatt Regency $115/night.

Beijing: cancelled a Novotel hotel and booked Marco Polo based on recent poor reviews of this Novotel. $80 at Marco polo("continental floor" with butler about $120). Trips to Great Wall: Gray Line tours and tons of others go there. We hired private guide for $100 US; probably too much but I got tired of all the planning! Are 3 different areas of Wall to choose from. Badaling is where tour busses go. Private guides seem to prefer Mutianyu (where we're going, and which has cable car) or another area where there's more hiking.

We're doing an overnight trip from Shanghai to Hangzhou. Could be done as day trip (2 hrs on train) but wanted to relax and stay at shangri La hotel ($127). Lake/scenery/laid back as opposed to lots of major "sights."

Good luck!

DharmaBum

Thanks Lyndie, Lia and Sylvester,
Sorry I couldn't thank you sooner, my mother has gotten much worse and we're running back and forth to hospitals. If my parents aren't doing better soon, I may have to look at canceling the trip. Your advice is truly appreciated!