kja

> As the OP is coming from NY, jet lag means waking up quite early in the morning and going to bed early in the evening.

My direct flight to Beijing from the eastern US arrived late afternoon. I had enough time to freshen, explore briefly, and eat dinner before collapsing. I did get up early the next morning, and took advantage of the opportunity to begin exploring. By mid-day, I was fading in and out. It was several days before I felt I could count on a reasonable level of energy throughout my day. So whatever time the OP's flight arrives, I personally think it wise to expect to lose some time to jetlag in the first day or two and to plan accordingly.

I'm glad to hear there are some vestiges of traditional hutong to the east of Qianmen street - thanks, JPDeM, for clarifying.

tansmets

You should cut a day from Guilin. do you plan to go to LongJi (rice terraces) straight from the airport? Also, i'd add a day to Jiuzhaigou. One day at Jiuzhaigou doesn't do it justice. The park is really special and to properly see it and wander off the crowded bus stops, you will need two days. Huang Long is about a 3 hour drive from Jiuzhaigou and you need a day for it.
I went to Longji/Guilin/Yangshou 6 weeks ago. you will have the same scenery in Yangshou as in Guilin, actually better in Yangshou. We spent a morning in 7 stars park which was nice, but once we got to Yangshou we realized we should have went straight there and bypassed Guilin. i second the Yulong river rafting. We also took a bamboo raft on the Yulong River and at points had the entire river to ourselves! It was a great, relaxing way to enjoy Yangshou without loud boats of tourists.

Susan_Muglich

Thanks so much for everyone input! Our flight isn't set for sure, but it looks like we may arrive at 1:45 pm. I thought we might have time just to look at Tian'anmen Sq. and the park but have moved stuff around a bit per various suggestions.

I saw comments that Mutianyu might be a better spot to view the Wall because it was less crowded. And that there is a cable car there which sounds like it might make it less strenuous to see some of the Wall.

Saturday Arrive Beijing - Lama Temple
Sunday Beijing - Temple of Heaven Park / Qianmen St. and east / Dashilar (hutong) / Tiananmen Sq.
Monday Beijing - Day trip to Great Wall: @ Mutianyu or Badaling / Summer Palace 
Tuesday Beijing - Forbidden City (fly that afternoon to Xi’an)

Does this seem doable, allowing to see some of the major highlights?

Then the next part. I added the Temple in Xi'an. We'll arrive in Jiuzhaigou at 8:50 am and there is a 2 day tour for both Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong. Hopefully we'll get to see at least a good part of each in those 2 days.

I added 1 night in Chengdu. I deleted the Reed Flute cave day in Guilin and then added 1 day to Hong Kong. Does the Yangshuo part make sense or still too many boat trips or 1 too many days? Though we have a boat and love the water. I just don't want to do something that is too repetitive. I figure with an extra day in Hong Kong we can also see Macau.

Tuesday Xi’an - City Wall / Great Mosque / Muslim St.
Wed. Xi'an - Terracotta Warriors / Goose Pagoda / Temple to the Eight Great Immortals
Thursday Morning fly to Jiuzhaigou
Friday Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong 
Saturday Fly from Jiuzhaigou to Chengdu
Saturday Chengdu: Pandas / Buddha @ Leshan, etc.
Sunday Fly from Chengdu to Guilin - tour of Rice Terraces; check into a hotel
Monday Guilin -morning cruise boat or bus to Yangshou; West Street at night
Tuesday Yangshuo - Yulong River rafting /sound/light show /
Wed. Yangshuo - Biking / Moon Hill / Li River raft trip ??
Thursday Yangshuo to Guilin Airport - Fly to Hong Kong
Friday Hong Kong
Saturday Hong Kong
Sunday Hong Kong - Fly Home

kja

> Saturday Arrive Beijing - Lama Temple
Sunday Beijing - Temple of Heaven Park / Qianmen St. and east / Dashilar (hutong) / Tiananmen Sq.
Monday Beijing - Day trip to Great Wall: @ Mutianyu or Badaling / Summer Palace
Tuesday Beijing - Forbidden City (fly that afternoon to Xi’an)

Could work, but keep your eye on the time. Given that your energy levels might dip unexpectedly (due to jet lag) and that you are trying to see a lot in your limited time in Beijing, it might make most sense to come prepared with several options so you can make the most of your time. For example, if you arrive in Beijing at 1:45 p.m. on a Sunday, you very well might have time for the Temple of Heaven and Tiananmen that day, and if you do have time, that would make more sense to me than devoting the rest of that day to the Lama Temple. And whatever time your flight to Xi'an is, it might make sense to plan on something for that day that is likely to allow you plenty of time, since you'll have to pack, check out, get to wherever and back to your hotel to claim your baggage before heading to the airport in plenty of time for your flight.

> Tuesday Xi’an - City Wall / Great Mosque / Muslim St.
Wed. Xi'an - Terracotta Warriors / Goose Pagoda / Temple to the Eight Great Immortals

Again, potentially do-able, but some of these things will close earlier than others, and it might serve you well to plan for various options to make the most of your very limited time in Xi'an. For example, you can probably access the City Wall after many of your other intended destinations close, so it might not make sense for that to be your first order of business.

Hope that helps!

tansmets

>>>>>Sunday Fly from Chengdu to Guilin - tour of Rice Terraces; check into a hotel
Monday Guilin -morning cruise boat or bus to Yangshou; West Street at night
Tuesday Yangshuo - Yulong River rafting /sound/light show /
Wed. Yangshuo - Biking / Moon Hill / Li River raft trip ??
Thursday Yangshuo to Guilin Airport - Fly to Hong Kong>>>>>>>>

Are you planning to spend Sunday night at Long Ji (the rice terraces)? The drive from Guilin to the rice terraces is on a narrow, winding road - about 2.5 hours. From Long Ji to Yangshou is about 3.5 hours, so unless you really want to do the Guilin to Yangshou cruise, you can have the driver take you directly to Yangshuo for an extra 100 - 150 RMB.

I don't think you need 3 boat trips - the yulong river bamboo rafting and Li River are very different, so I'd keep those two. Moon Hill is a lovely short climb but one tip - bring lots of bug spray!! Good bug spray from wherever you are coming from. I had some organic bug spray (that didn't work) and had lots of bad bites to prove it...

Also on Thursday morning, after you fly to Jiuzhaigou, do Huanglong first. It is closer to the airport and in the other direction from Jiuzhaigou. A driver from the airport can take you there and keep your luggage and wait for you, and then can take you to the Jiuzhaigou area (3 hours away at least).

marya_

I admire your research and planning. It will be a great trip.

What works well, I find, is to always have a sidebar list of options for when Plan A cannot be implemented. For example, I look at day 1 and worry about whether you really have time for a visit to the Lama Temple. (Someone correct me but doesn't it close at 4:00 or 4:30?) Depending on your arrival time in the afternoon at Beijing Capital, the length of the immigration lines, etc., and especially the location of your hotel, this plan may work fine or may not work at all. Beijing is so enormous that you will not only require time to get to your hotel and check in, you may need substantial cross-town travel time to get to the Lama Temple. Then you need some reasonable time to stroll through the many couyards of the temple.

If you are on the United flt from Newark that arrives at 1:45 pm, and if your hotel is not far distant from Yonghegong (Lama Temple), and your energy level is up to it, then you should be able to swing it if you are disciplined about dropping your luggage in your room and heading out quickly. If you arrive in Beijing later in the afternoon and your hotel is far from the temple, you will want to brainstorm other plans.

I hope that you do get to see it. Even though it is usually mobbed, it is an entrancing place. The Confucius Temple and old Imperial Academy more or less across the street is also very appealing.

So late to the party, I probably should not raise this next issue, but since the point of these boards is to sample a wide range of advice, here goes. IF you are getting a visa for this trip (maybe you are not), would you not want to sample Shanghai or elsewhere in the PRC and save Hong Kong, which likely does not require a visa for you, for another trip? I am a huge fan of Hong Kong. It is one of my favorite cities. I just wondered whether you wanted to see more while you have the visa. Maybe it is not an issue. Come to think of it, I don't know whether this is a first trip or return, nor whether you are getting a single entry or mltiple entry visa so I'll drop it. Just couldn't help wondering though.

Again, this will be a wonderful trip. You are starting your planning early so you have plenty of time to generate alternatives once the master plan is in place.

rkkwan

If time allows, don't go to Huanglung immediately after arriving at airport, because of altitude. Visit Jiuzhaigou first, which is at a lower altitude. I've heard too many stories of visitors getting sick and unable to enjoy the whole Jiuzhai/Huanglong trip because the tour company decides to save time.

tansmets

rkkwan has a good point about Huanglong that I forgot about. it is at a very high altitude - I think the top is about 14,000 feet up. I was fine there, but my husband, who is asthmatic, got a bit short of breath. However, they do sell inexpensive oxygen once you take the cable car up.