We'll be in Beijing and Shanghai for business. Wondering what side trips we can take from Beijing or Shanghai afterwards, for about a week-long?

Thanks advance for your suggestions.

I should add this is for the end of May and early June. What's a good part of China to travel in during that time? Will it be rainy then?

Thanks.

It's better from Beijing,this season is the goden season for travelling to Beijing.You can go to the Great Wall(Mitianyu Great Wall is the most beautiful in this season),the Summer Palace,the Tian'anmen Square and the Forbbiden City,ect.

Beijing has a lot of places for sightseeing so if you stay one week there, you have all the time to visit them.
However,from Shanghai,if you're tired of the bustling metropolis, there's always Hangzhou, Suzhou the water towns which are neighboring towns to Shanghai..

Thanks for your responses. We've been to Beijing and Shanghai before and are looking to go further afield on this trip.

We've also been to Hangzhou and Suzhou, athough briefly, and we might consider another visit. konglinbeijing,what other watery towns near Shanghai you refer to?

How about Yunnan? Heard of Lijiang, Kunming? Difficult to travel to? How about the weather in that part of china in late May/early June?

Thanks.

It will be warm, humid and rainy in Shanghai that time of year, so Beijing would be better.

Beijing - To access day trip type sights from Beijing, I would highly recommend a private car and drive. Beijing taxi drivers are offer from outside of town and have no idea where they're going, the last thing you need is to waste time getting lost and many taxi drivers in Beijing are not honest. Most nice hotels can arrange car and driver for you (it may cost a little more but you'll have peace of mind).

Beijing Sidetrip: Datong - Overnight trip from Beijing. It's in Shanxi province and has amazing historical sites (Yun Guang Grottos with 10,000 buddha carvings dating back to 450AD and some of the oldest large buddhas in the world). The 1,500 year old Hanging Monastery is also nearby. You can do both in the same day and but it's an overnight trip from Beijing (4+ hours by car). We used a local guide in Datong, Anna Ling, Anna and is an English teacher who takes tourists around to practice her English. She knows all the history and stories of the sights and really enhanced our experience there. Here's her email: [email protected]

For day trips, you can hike a more remote Great Wall, 3 hours East at Huang Ya Guan section and then see the Eastern Qing Tombs. Also, the Simatai section of the Great Wall is also a great hike (2-3 hours north).

Shanghai-Sidetrips: Suzhou, Hangzhou, Nanxun and Yellow Mountain are all worth visiting. Each would be a day trip from Shanghai in different directions. Yellow Mountain may require an overnight trip.

In Shanghai, you can rent a car and a driver to take you to day trips. We just rented a car with driver through Hertz in Shanghai at a very reasonable rate. It worked out great.

Thanks, SeeSee, for the detailed response. It looks like we should stick to the northern part of China in early June. I have to do some research on the places you've mentioned. Never heard of Datong before. Sounds interesting.

What about doing part of the Silk Road? DunHuang? Thanks.

Dunhuang is in the desert. After dealing with business in Beijing and Shanghai, I think the best place for you to unwind is Guilin/Yangshuo and enjoy the amazing natural beauty of the area.

In late May/early June Beijing will be as hot, humid and muggy as Shanghai. Beijing may be dry in the winter but the summers are sticky, grey and polluted.