ducky2

Any suggestions or changes to our 3 week itinerary to China in Oct./Nov? Dates are not set, so I can change anything. I was debating a tour or independent, but did not find an itinerary that didn't have Beijing(been there)and we don't want the Yangtze cruise. It just seems daunting with hotels, domestic flights and all logistics. We have travelled independently to Europe, Japan and Vietnam and are a Chinese couple in our mid-50's. Can read Chinese but cannot speak Mandarin, only Cantonese. Thank you in advance for any help.

6 nts Shanghai - allows for jetlag, Old Town, Pudong, French cocession, Bund and day trips to some water towns.

2 nts Hangzhou

2 nts Xian

4 nts Lijiang

2 nts Guilin(for Longsheng rice terraces, also - closer than Yangshuo)

3 nts Yangshuo

3 nts Hong Kong

Dogmatix

6 nts in Shanghai sounds a bit too long. You can probably include couple of nights in Suzhou and reduce in Shanghai.

Chengdu could have been a nice addition if it weren't for the earthquake..

marksfour

You may want to check out Wiselindag 's 23 day trip report just to see where, how long, what they did, etc.. This may help fine tune your itinerary. Have a great trip!

thursdaysd

I agree that six nights in Shanghai sounds long - but I'm not a big city person. The only reason I went back to Shanghai was to spend more time in the Art Museum. I would spend more time in Yunnan.

I don't speak or read Mandarin, and survived seven weeks on my own, so you should do fine.

Shanghainese

I like your itinerary, by omitting Beijing, it gives you time to include both Lijiang and Guilin/Yangshou. Definitely do an independent tour, you can get many ideas to help with the logistics on this board.

I third the suggestion of taking one night from Shanghai and spending it in Suzhou, or you can do a daytrip. Per thursdaysd, if you'd like to spend more time in Yunan, cut a day each from Shanghai and Hangzhou, the new train from Shanghai to Hangzhou is just over 1.5 hours.

Please let me know when your dates are set, DH and I will be in Shanghai, Xian and Lijiang around the same time, and we can get together for a bite if you like. We've booked roundtrip Shanghai using FF mileages tho we're checking for cancellations daily to move it up a week if possible, that's why itinerary in China is open.

wiselindag

I would agree with all the recommendations above. Does your HK visit give you three days or only two? Have you been there before? We ended up with only two days and I would have liked another day or two there.

Feel free to read my trip report (23 Days in China) and ask any questions you may have.

Linda

samuell

we did a similar trip last Nov. for four weeks, we are also in our 50's, originally from H.K. Speak little Mandarin and we were apprehensive in touring China independently.

We had a lot of help from this board and encouragement from folks such as thursdaysd, rrkwan, shanghainese and others, the only thing we booked ahead was our first three night hotel in BJ, we bought train ticket, flights and hotel in all other cities as we went and gotten good prices and had no major hiccup. We had a lot more fun and saw a lot more than being on a tour bus, it also cost less and more flexible.

Since you can read Chinese, I assume you can write, best to have destination/date in writing when buying air/train ticket.

Like thursdaysd said, if she can do it, you will do just fine.

Have a great trip.

Sam.