I have visited Beijing several years ago and stopped by Shanghai for three days recently. I am thinking about 4-5 weeks trip of "do-it-yourself" trip touring the Eastern and Central Part of China. Not that I have anything against the Western China, but I thought that part is too vast and sparsely populated to go. Thinking about visiting Beijing - Datong- Pingyao - Xi'an - YangShuo- Longji - Kunming - Chuxiong - Dali- Lijiang - Zhong Dian and somehow back to Beijing. Any more places you'd like to recommend?

Would like to visit Heinan Island too if time permits. Do you think this is doable in 4-5 weeks by an independent traveler? I started learning Mandarin and have some knowledge of Chinese characters.

Some very heavily touristed places on that list, you might want to do some more research. Four to five weeks sounds a bit short, although I suppose these days you might fly some of those legs.

If by western China you mean Xinjiang province there are - or were - some very interesting places, but they are more scattered.

I agree with thursdaysd -- sounds a bit short on time and a bit tilted toward heavily touristed areas.

Have you looked at my trip report? I spent 4 weeks in just northern parts of China independently and solo as a first time visiter. Some things have changed since I was there (in 2010), but you might find some helpful info in the report even so.

Thank you, thursdaysd and kja.
Kja, for some reason I could not find your report; can you upload the link for me? I would love to read.

I guess I should add one more week and make 6 weeks or even make it 8 weeks I just started planning this trip and need all the help I can get. Most articles deal with the same places like Xi'an, Beijing, Shanghai, or even river cruises. Where is a good place to start researching?
It looks like you two (kja and thursdaysd) have been all over the places: Europe and Asia.
It is good to see that someone has been to Central Asia. I visited Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrghizstan. It was over 10 years ago when the Capital of Kazakhstan was still in Almaty and the names of most cities have both their original name plus Russian (USSR) name.

Here you go:
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...na-amazing.cfm

I've been fortunate to have traveled a bit. I envy thursdaysd for her much more extensive experiences and am grateful to have benefitted from her insights.

In 3 weeks , we did Beijing , Xi'an , Shanghai , Chengdu and Yangshuo/Guilin.
I recommend Yangshuo beacuse it's an amazing place .
Read this article to have the feel of this region http://www.weareborntoexplore.com/?p=3216

Enjoy !

Let's try to put some estimates on your itinerary (this is not an exact science):
Beijing 4 full days
Datong 1 day
Pingyao 2 days
Xi'An 3 days (including Huashan)
Yangshuo and Longji 4 days
Yunnan 7-8 days
Add 4-5 days wasted on transportation and you are well within you 4-5 week estimate.
I would add Sichuan before adding Hainan.

Thank you, kja for the link. I think I will follow your steps closely and add some more. I can do a 8-week trip. The reason why I have not started with eight weeks was, as you know, hotel expense is the largest expense if you have a long trip. I did not want to just sit around to wait for my return flight. But if there are things to do and see, I can extend my trip to 8 weeks or even longer.

So I think I will use the kja's trip as the base and some more as ChinaCanadaTraveller suggests.

I am in very early stage of planning. At this time I have a hard time finding the time to make the trip because of other trips that I am committed to. June,2017 is possible but I am concerned about the hot Summer weather. If I miss the slot, then late April 2018 would be next. But we all know planning a long trip, albeit not in detrail in this case, is a part of joy of traveling. Except the r/t air ticket and the first few days and the last day hotel, everything will be open. I hear you can negotiate the hotel. So I will decide where I go next and how long I stay there will be decided at the last minute. One of advantages of waiting longer before I leave for China is; I have more time to practice my Mandarin.

Thank you ArwaKassir, I will certainly put your suggestions into consideration. Right now, I need all the help I can get.

I’m flattered that you think my steps worth following, but I should note a few things you might consider before making any commitments. For one thing, my trip was very specifically tailored to MY interests, which might not dovetail with yours. For another, China has changed even since I was there in 2010. As one very important example, it is now possible to easily and reliably reserve trains in advance from outside China. Third, while I did bargain for room rates – and almost always did so with at least some success – I did not try to stay at Western hotels. My understanding, which could be wrong, is that rates at Western hotels are non-negotiable. If those are the hotels you seek, I would think you would do well to consider booking in advance. And one last thing (for now ;-) ) – I view the trip about which you read as the first of at least 4 trips of similar length that I anticipate will be needed for me to see what I want to see of the highlights of China. Just some context to consider!

I would urge you to consult some really good guidebooks as you plan. In particular, look for ones with which Peter Neville-Hadley has been involved, even if they are currently out-of-date, and use them to supplement your research with anything you use that is more recent.

Good luck!