Suzhou Hangzhou advice please
 

I plan to travel to Shanghai around April 15 2006. I will be traveling alone, and it is my first time in China (can't speak or read chinese). Since I can't find any organized tour that I like (in any case, I don't usually like those organized tours anyway), I will just go on my own. From what I read, Shanhai is not a problem for a solitary traveler. My schedule would be 4 or 5 days in Shanghai, plus 2 side trips to Suzhou and Hangzhou (spelling?).

I plan to stay one night in Suzhou and one or two nights in Hangzhou. Here are my questions:

- Is it worth spending a night in Suzhou (so that I have more time to explore the city), or one full day from Shanghai is enough?

- Is it worth spending a couple of nights in Hangzhou?

- Are any of these towns easy to explore on your own, or do you run the risk of missing a lot of things because you don't know where to go (I have Lonely Planet guide, Frommers, Fodors, etc. but still.... maybe I would need a local guide. Any advice?)

- I have read somewhere on this board that there is a possibility to go from Suzhou to Hangzhou by boat. Does anyone know anything about this? Is it worth it, too risky, too grungy, etc.?

My budget is okay, not unlimited but I don't need to stay in hostels either. Any advice would be appreciated, as I can see a lot of experienced people are on this board. I will probably have more questions later on, but le'ts start with this first !

Thank you to all.

Christine

We spent two nights in Hangzhou last September. It's an easy train ride from Shanghai. Try to stay close to West Lake so that you can visit the scenic spots on the lake. You certainly don't need a tour guide. There are plenty of cheap taxis you can take to anywhere you want to go. The Lama temple near West Lake is worth a visit. Have fun!

You can easily do those cities on your own, as Marija says. Easiest is probably do it as a circle. Between Suzhou and Hangzhou, there are many coaches that go that route. I have no information on the boats/barges on the Grand Canal, and I highly question whether it's worth the time.

Marija is absolutely right - stay near the West Lake in Hangzhou. The city itself isn't attractive at all; the sites are all along the shore, and inside, the West Lake.

Suzhou has quite a few interesting sites to see - worth overnighting.

Thank you for your answers. They comfort me in my decision. Do you have any other suggestions?

Christine

Suggestion - run some searches on this forum and you'll find plenty of good advice on these cities.

We spent two nights in Hangzhou (pronounced like 'hung-joe') and one in Suzhou ('sue-joe') and I agree with the previous posters. If anything I would have reversed that - we felt that one night in Hangzhou would have been enough, but maybe we missed something.

Shanghai is not at all difficult to navigate and several areas are worth exploring on foot - the French Concession, Old Town and of course the Bund/Nanjing Road area. Taxis are cheap and efficient - just make sure you have your destination written in Chinese. The metro is an option, too. If you do your homework you definitely don't need a guided tour.

Another nice side trip from Shanghai is to visit a small water town like Tongli. I really loved it. The old section is charming, no cars. It was fun just wandering around the canals, sitting for some tea and just people watching.

And for some pampering in Shanghai, head to Dragonfly (there are 2 in the French Concession area) for massages!