Summer China Visit
 

I'm contemplating a vacation with my wife, daughter age 16, and son age 15 to China this summer (7/22/05 - 8/5/05). Any recommendations on intineraries, sites, etc?. We are energetic, not really museum goers or shoppers, but interested in seeing different cultures, sites, and activities. Not really into "group tours". Have about 10-12 days in China plus 2 days or so in HK.
Any help would be appreciated

If you have not been to China before, then you may want to start with the major cities and sightseeing in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. I'd allow three days in each city so if you have more time, you can also take 1-day side trips to Macau, Suzhou, Guilin, Xi'an or Guangzhou. Rather than a group tour, consider booking air/hotel separately and then taking "day trips" in each city. Tourist walking maps with all of the major sights are readily available - you can do pretty much on your own and get around quite easily via modern subways or taxis, even if you don't speak Chinese. You may need to enlist the help of hotel doormen with taxi drivers since none of them speak English - use bilingual taxi cards or have them tell the driver where you want to go. Locals are very helpful to tourists and there is usually someone who can translate if needed. Do keep in mind that Hong Kong will be extremely hot and humid that time of year...but still well worth the trip. Also, check out the local festivals that may be taking place while you're there. China is a great place for families and will certainly be a learning experience for your teenagers.

Thanks so much for the advice....my current "plan" is to fly LAX-Hong Kong, spend 3 days there....then fly to Bejeing for 4 days, then somehow see Guilan, Xian, and possibly Shanghai if time allows.

Then back to the USA (via HK on Cathay Pacific).

I have no problem booking hotels myself from here in advance. Any advice on booking the air in China for "domestic" travel?

If you have a total of 12 days, I would suggest 3 in Hong Kong, at least 5 in Beijing, fly to Xi'an for two days, then to Guilin for a day+,then back to HKG, and skip Shanghai. Have been to Beijing and Hong Kong over 30 times, lots to Shanghai, 3 times to Guilin and once to Xi'an. There are a lot of interesting cities/places in China. One cannot take all of them in in one short trip. It's easy to see Hong Kong/Kowloon in 3 busy days. Impossible to see all of the sites in Beijing in a month, let alone a week.

Would suggest booking hotels in China when you arrive. Also, air fare is much less expensive when booked in-country.

Please do yourselves a favor and don't even think about Guangzhou. It's dirty, polluted, and there isn't much to see there.

If you all need suggestions on what to see in the cities you finally decide on I'll be glad to try and help.

Michael

while i have only been to beijing once, i have been to HK several times...i disagree with michael...i find that there are many more things to do in HK than there are in Bei....i would have 4 in HK and 3 in bei....plus the side trips and also skip shanghai until the next visit...

Your international flights should be just fine. Flying in/out of HK is easier than from Beijing or Shanghai though both are acceptable. The important thing to remember is that China considers HK to be "international" so different rules might apply as opposed to mainland flights. Check China Eastern, Air China or Dragonair for flights between mainland cities or to/from HK. You can book these yourself on the airline web sites directly or through Orbitz, Expedia, etc...just be sure to print a confirmation, get paper tickets and reconfirm 72 hours in advance of each flight (hotel concierge can take care of this for you).

While you can certainly book hotels and flights when you are there and might get a slightly better deal, I find it more reassuring to have basic travel arrangements done in advance.

I haven't been to Guilin though I hear it's very nice and well worth the trip. I enjoy Shanghai a lot, though I know many other people do not care for the city. However I will say that, the few times I have had problems with flights or hotels, they have all been in Shanghai!!!

We spent a week in Beijing and didn't run out of things to see and do. The Great Wall, Summer Palace (a half day in itself) and the Forbidden City (a.k.a. Palace Museum) are obvious attractions, but we also enjoyed just walking along the Back Lakes and nearby hutong districts, and Beihai and Jinshan parks. That was late September, though - I suspect that summer may not be a time for very extended walks. Taxis are numerous, efficient and cheap, but I'd give the rickshaws a miss. There's certainly no need for group tours, unless you want to sign up for a trip to the Great Wall.

A "must" is the readily-available tourist map giving street, etc., names in both Chinese characters and Pinyin (Roman alphabet). A phrase book (I liked the Dorling Kindersley) is useful for picking up a few courtesies and understand common words like 'jie' (street).

We also enjoyed walking around parts of Shanghai, especially the former French Concession district and nearby shopping streets (magnets for our two daughters), the Dongtailu "antiques" market and the Old Town. Again, a map is essential. The French Concession area also gives you the opportunity to take a break over a coffee - you soon learn to appreciate that in China, and we became temporary converts to Starbucks. There's a selection of cafes near the corner of Madang and Taican roads.

By the way, taking the 430 km/hr maglev train from Shanghai's Pudong airport terminal is a buzz. It runs about 30 km to Long Yang station, still some way short of the city centre, where you can either change trains or take a cab to your hotel.