ronnie56

Hubby has meeting in Beijing....4-5 days end of June. On either end, I can tack on 5-7 days, for 10- 12 days total family trip. Requesting help planning trip of interest to older kids, ages 16 and 21***; open to ideas for how long to stay in Beijing, as well as destinations for other days.

***16 yr old boy, rock music loving high school student, and 21 yr old girl, college student, fashion design major. They are "city kids" who think NYC is the center of the universe.

Please comment on any ideas for an interesting itinerary, balancing the sightseeing/museums/culture that parents like and the things that most 16-21 yr olds enjoy, i.e. the occasional opportunity to lie on the beach, shop, or do other more youthful things.

Here are my questions:

1. Itinerary:

a) all China (2 or 3 cities like Beijing, SHanghai, Xian,) plus Hong Kong,

Possible China itinerary cities include:

Beijing: how long? side trips?

Shanghai: How long? side trips?

Hong Kong: side trips?

Xian: yes or no (if no, replace with what?)

b) Beijing plus one other city/country (Tokyo, Bangkok, Saigon)

i.e., can split trip between Beijing/ China and either Vietnam or Thailand or Japan or Taiwan or Korea, etc...can add any of these, as hubby can do business in any of those places for a few days.

Notes:

***Daughter has expressed interest in Tokyo due to interest in fashion. Son has not expressed particular interest.

***I will be using frequent flyer miles and will develop a trip based on suggestions and ability to use miles.

Any suggestions are welcomed. THANK YOU!

HappyMom32

Hi Ronnie

My kids are about the same age as yours. While they appreciated the China trip they absolutely loved Tokyo. Both really had a great time checking out electronics, games, anime stuff and the unique Japanese fashion. They enjoyed the food in both China and Japan.

This is my son's blog on our trips to China and Tokyo. You can see from a teen's perspective how they like the different attractions in China and Tokyo.

http://bramptontravellers.blogspot.c...8-25-2010.html

http://bramptontravellers.blogspot.c...-may-2009.html

Happy Planning

Tracy_W

Hello Ronnie,
Beijing 3 days:
day 1: Kungfu Show in Red Theater, Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, Hutong Tour in Xicheng District, Lizexiang Pearl Store
day 2: The Mutianyu Great Wall(with round way cable car), Fly Kites at the Temple of Heaven, Temple of Heaven, Shahe Cloisonne Factory
day3: Beijing Zoo, Water Magic Cube Amusement Park

flight to Xi'an
Xi'an 2 days:
day 1: The Terracotta Warriors and Horses, Xian City Wall with Bicycle
day 2: Shaanxi History Museum, Dumplings Making at Han Tang Tian Xia Restaurant, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Xian Imperial Fine Arts center

flight to Shanghai
Shanghai 3 days:
day 1: The Shanghai World Financial Center, Yuyuan Market, Yuyuan Garden, The Bund, Shangcheng Acrobatic Show, Jiangnan Silk Museum
day 2: An In Depth Visit to Shanghai Old Alleys
day 3: Shanghai to suzhou (bus or train): Humble Administrators Garden, Lingering Garden, Rickshaw ride

Shanghai to other place

ggreen

I'm a NYer (tho not a teen) who's bias is that NYC is the center of the universe. As a teen, I loved Paris, but as an adult I have to say one of my favorite cities is Beijing because it reminds me of NYC on steroids LOL. IMO, both cities have such a similar energy. Only Beijing is so large that taxi drivers don't necessarily know their way around areas other than the one they're in! When you look at a map, the scale is unbelievable... The subway system is good and easy to navigate.

May I suggest visiting a part of the city not a lot of tourists get to see: the Haidan district in the northwestern quadrant of the city. I spent 3 weeks there in July 2007 as part of a grad school program at Tsinghua University.

This is the "university district" and part of it is also Beijing's Koreatown; lots of student-oriented shops and inexpensive restaurants. (Beijing University is often referred to as "the Harvard of China" and Tsinghua as its MIT.) Near Tsinghua is also where Microsoft, Google and others have offices in a complex with one of the city's top Peking Duck restaurants and other high end eateries. At the time of my stay, there were some good underground music clubs in the neighborhood.

To get there, take the subway to Wu Dao Kou station. This is the heart of the Koreatown area, walking distance to Tsinghua University, and on the way to the Summer Palace. The Tsinghua campus is gorgeous, having once been the residence of a Qing dynasty prince. It also has a number of very modern buildings, including the arts department where my class was held. Student sculptures are scattered around the campus. When I was there, pieces from a student fashion class were also on display.

Not far from Beijing University, Zhongguancun is a crazy electronics area, both for devices and parts. Since I was in an interactive design program, we spent a lot of hours combing the stalls for LEDs and sensors - there's nothing like it in New York!

If you want more info, let me know and I can give you more specific details. I also can probably get you a connection if you're at all interested in seeing the arts programs at Tsinghua...

ronnie56

Happy mom, thanks for sharing you son's blog...Tokyo sounds great.

Tracy, thanks for suggesting China itinerary...


GGreen, thanks for suggesting an off the beaten track area to explore in Beijing...

Time for a family pow-wow.