Shelby Solski

We are planning a trip to China in October -- this has been my Mothers dream<BR>for some time. There will be eight of us Her, Myself and my children - 5<BR>teens and one child. We started with two weeks, but have not expanded it to<BR>almost four weeks (China is so big and interesting). Below is our Itinerary<BR>so far -- if anyone could make comments or suggestions it would be very much<BR>appreciated!! All touring will be done with a private car and guide(there's eight of us almost like our own minitour. We will be brining a wheel chair for my mother (she can make it up some stairs). She/We realize<BR>China is not the most handicap assessable - but are willing to try anyway <BR><BR>NOTE: the last part of the tour does not seem to make sense too much <BR>back<BR>and forth -- why didn't they put Suzhou as a day trip out of Shanghai??<BR>Also we would like possible to visit the south western region - I <BR>believe<BR>close to the Burma/Vietnam border -- does anyone have any suggestions??<BR><BR>Day Two Beijing Tour(Tian'anmen Square Forbidden City Summer Palace) <BR> Peking Duck Banquet <BR> Hademen Hotel<BR>Day Three Beijing Tour(Great Wall, Sacred Road etc) <BR> Peking Opera Performance<BR>Day Four Beijing Tour(half day pedicab tour of city/silk market)<BR> Overnight Train to Xian<BR>Day Five Xian Tour (Terra Cotta Soldiers/Wild Goose) <BR> Tank Dynasty Show<BR> Bell Tower Hotel<BR>Day Six Xian Tour (museum and city wall) <BR> Overnight Train to Wuhan<BR>Day Seven Wuhan (half day tour Guiyuan Buddist Temple/Yellow Crane<BR>Tower) <BR> Bus to Yichang Board Cruise<BR>Day Eight Yangtse River Cruise Ms Isabella <BR> (tour dam site)<BR>Day Nine Yangtse River <BR> Excursion of Little Gorges<BR>Day Ten Yangtse River <BR> Excursion on Fengdu<BR>Day Eleven Yangtse River to Chongqing <BR> Tour of Chongqing (Panda Zoo, Ciqikou old street)<BR> Huangjia Grant Hotel<BR>Day Twelve Chongqing day tour to Dazu<BR> Tour Sculptures<BR> Drive to Zigong<BR> Dazu Hotel<BR>Day 13 FLY Chongqing to Guilin<BR> Guilin Tour (Elephant Trunk Hill/Fubo Hill/Illuminated<BR>Caven/Reed Flute Cave)<BR> Hotel Universal<BR>Day 14 Guilin Tour Drive to Zhujiang Dock Li River Cruise<BR> Disembark Yangshuo - Hello Market<BR> Drive back to Guilin<BR>Day 15 Guilin - Early morning Drive to Longsheng (forests/rise<BR>fields/terraces)<BR> Rice Field Mountains See Ximen Red Yao Village<BR> Stop Longquan - VIP Hot Spring Hotel Long Sheng<BR>Day 16 Longsheng to Guillian<BR> Fly Guilin to Shanghai<BR>Day 17 Shanghai<BR>Day 18 Shanghai<BR>Day 19 Shanghai to Huagshan (day train)<BR> Liyuan Hotel<BR>Day 20 Huangshan (cable car to mountain)<BR>Day 21 Huangshan to Suzhou (day train)<BR> Nanlin Hotel<BR>Day 22 Suzhou - Cruise of the Canal <BR> Visit Master Net Garden Humble Garden<BR> Silk Factory<BR>Day 23 Suhouz to Beijing (overnight train)<BR><BR><BR><BR>There are 3-4 more days that can be fit in on this itinerary??<BR><BR>Thanks for any suggestions advise it will be most appreciated!<BR><BR>

Andrea

That itinerary looks pretty good! I can't help with all of your destinations, but if you want to cut something to add W China, here's my two cents: Don't cut BJ, XN, or Guilin/Longsheng - they are all worth the time you've allotted already. You can prob. cut your SH time - it's a very modern city that can really be "done" in 2 days (I'll admit this even though I live here & love it!). You could cut down your SZ time to a day trip from SH, as you mentioned. <BR><BR>The BJ part looks good; just enough time without being rushed. The pedicab tour was one of our favorite parts.<BR><BR>Don't forget an acrobatics show in SH - I've topped a msg w Shanghai venues.<BR><BR>Note that in XN (and perhaps also some of the other smaller cities) you'll find much lower prices on "antiques" in the market just outside of the terracotta warriors than in SH or BJ. The trick is NOT being afraid to offer 1/3 (NO MORE) of what they first offer. <BR><BR>In Xian, you can self-book a pedicab tour to take you through the Muslim area of town. Well worth it - very interesting. Your Xian hotel should be fine - a very common choice in the center of town.<BR><BR>Guilin: One of the highlights of that area is a tour through the countryside by bike, motorbike, or a golf-cartish sort of thing (which is what my mom and I chose). It is an unforgettable experience, and one you should NOT miss. You can ask your tour guide how to fit it in (they are done out of Yangshou). One possibility is a shorter cruise (yours is 4-5 hours).<BR><BR>You didn't mention a hotel in SH - travel agencies are notorious for booking hotels in the Hong Qiao area, which isn't close to anything other than the zoo and old airport. If you post here I'd be happy to vet it for you!<BR><BR>SH to Huangshan by train takes literally ALL DAY - you leave at 7 a.m. and arrive at Huangshan at 7 p.m. Only "hard class" is available, and while I haven't done it, have heard that it can be described as anything from "adventuresome: you can see the real China" to "horrific; I'd rather walk than do that again" (my husband sat next to a man with 3 live chickens on a several-hour hard class train once). The flight is just an hour, so when you get close to that stage of your trip, you may want to see how you feel and re-evaluate (just tell your tour guide not to book the tickets for that part of your trip until midway). You may want to ask about the length of the Huangshan to Suzhou leg, too.<BR><BR>Suzhou: You could absolutely do SZ in a day trip from SH. Huangshan is relatively hard to get to, so that's prob. why they've structured it that way - you have to get to & from Huangshan anyway, and Suzhou is one stop on the overnight train from Shanghai to Beijing.<BR><BR>Have a wonderful trip!!

daniel

Bonjour.<BR>We travelled in China on our own last march and visited some place you have on your itinary. My suggestion would be to leave yourself at least 4 days on your schedule either to improvise on the spot or, and I think you will really need it, to face the unexpected because I think your time planning is too tight. If you have questions about Beijing,Xian,or Yangshuo just send email<BR>Daniel

Connie

Yes, do try to see the acrobats. They are amazing.

John G

My god, darling, if I took this tour I would be in Hospital on day 7 from exhaustion!!! How old is your mother?? I think this may be a bit strenuous for her if she is past 60.<BR><BR>I flew between cities when I was in China. I think taking the train, while allowing to see the countryside, will be very time consuming.<BR><BR>I, personally, would just pick 4-5 cities and spend 4 days in each one.<BR><BR>For example, I would visit Guilin, Xian, Beijing, Shanghai, and maybe take the Yangsee River cruise (although, I have been told by several that it is very boring).<BR><BR>But, this is just my opinion.<BR><BR>Another opinion is to skip the Tang Dynasty show. I thought is was better than a Valium for inducing sleep.(The food was very good, however.)<BR><BR>Good Luck.<BR>

Carrie

Shelby, I don't know how fit your mother is. Even though you can catch cable car going up Huangshan Mountain, you'll have to walk about 2 miles to the cable car station on the way down. The steps are quite narrow and steep. You can of course hire a sedan chair for your mother but from the expressions of those people using sedan chairs carry by two porters, they're anything but comfortable.<BR><BR>I don't see "temple of heaven, Beijing" in your itinerary. A few hundred years old temple built without a single nail, doesn't it say anything?<BR><BR><BR><BR>

Les

Comment on Huangshan:<BR>From the top of the cable car to the nearest hotel (the Beihai, I think) is 300 steps (down going to the hotel, up going back to the cable car). Unless your mother plans to just sit on the hotel balcony (plenty of beautiful views to enjoy from there), ANYWHERE ELSE you choose to walk will involve more steps (sometimes a LOT of steps).

Patty

Shelby,<BR>I don't know how old your mother or your youngest child is (and also how much they have traveled and what type of travel), but I think you need plan your itinerary around the members of your party with the least amount of stamina. Otherwise you might end up with a very miserable group. And as others have mentioned, you have several long train trips and you may want to consider changing a few of those to flights. You may also want to consider having a couple of days in your itinerary with no specific plans for walking around on your own or resting (perhaps that's your intention for Shanghai?). Just my 2 cents.