Shanghai or Hong Kong?
 

I recently traveled to Beijing (work and pleasure), and will be going back in October. I would like to take some additional time (like an additional week) to see either Shanghai or Hong Kong after I am in Beijing in October. Which city would you recommend that I visit for that additional week? Thanks very much for the help.

I don’t think you would want to spend 7 days in Shanghai. I don’t know that you would want to spend 7 days in Hong Kong either, although you could break this up with 2 days and an overnight in Macau. There are places you can go from Shanghai for day trips and/or overnight trips as well, but 7 days in Shanghai itself would be like 7 days in Manhattan (without the museums, Broadway or Lincoln Center). With 7 days you could break this up between say Xian and Shanghai or Hong Kong or Xian and a place like Lijiang; both of which would be nice in October (check weatherbase.com, to make sure you are OK with the temps). I assume you are NOT talking about the first week in October, which is a major holiday “golden week” when virtually the entire country has off and things are very crowded. I would not travel in China that week, I would go to Hong Kong which does not have this holiday week (or Thailand).

A lot would depend also on what you want to do. Shanghai is all city, and a really big one. Neither has a lot of colonial or Chinese history left, although there are small pockets in each. (Beijing has the most of Chinese history, but presumably you have seen that, Xian does as well.) Hong Kong, while a city as well, has a lot of countryside for hikes and walks, and outlying islands you can get to by ferry, so you can really get away from the city feeling of the place. There is walking and hiking in the Lijiang region, as well as Guilin if you wanted to stay in the PRC. Weather in Hong Kong after about mid-October is fantastic, it’s the weather we wait for all year. Both Hong Kong and Shanghai have fairly bad air pollution, although I think Shanghai’s is worse (and that is saying something....)

Thanks so much for your response. No, I will not be in Beijing during their holiday period - I will be there right afterwards, and then will take the extra week after I have been in Beijing for almost a week.

Hong Kong for sure. But a week is too long, maybe 3-4 days.

How about 3 days in Shanghai and 3 days in HK? It's only a 2.5 hour flight between the two cities.

You can see a lot in Shanghai in 2 days and then take a day trip outside the city. Same for HK...spend 2 days there and then a day in Macau.

You need minimum 3 days to do Hong Kong, but Shanghai 2 days are enough. There's far more do to in Hong Kong, plus there's Macau.

Guilin Yangshuo where has the reputation of having the most beautiful landscape under heaven. It is a dream place for many tourists who want to see the real natural landscape and touch the countryside life.

Hilltops pop up from nowhere like trees in the forest and they are shaped like buns, camels, fishes, saw-teeth, horses, etc. It is a city you must visit or you will miss those beautiful landscape there. Rivers flow around like green silk ribbons while the hills reveal themselves as jade hair-pins. Guilin embraces great landscapes like green hills, clear waters, pretty rocks and fantastic caves.