Fantastic report! Thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed trip report, it was fun to read and will really help me with part of my own planning (Xi'an and Beijing). There is one problem with your report though... now I'm so excited for my trip that I don't know how on earth I'm going to wait until December to go! :)

This trip report also helps as I'm woman who will be traveling alone. It's always nice to see someone else do it and be able to read about how well it went for them.

PeterN_H - I guess that explains why I was rarely successful in negotiating a rate lower than the discount!

Iowa_Redhead - I'm glad you enjoyed my report and found it helpful. I enjoy traveling alone and hope your experience is as wonderful as mine was. If you're anything like me, December will come faster than you think!

Have finally caught up with your report. It is so much fun to read another solo travelers experiences. Your writing is wonderful and now I cannot wait to revisit China, where I traveled by myself in 2008. Thank you for sharing your trip.

Nywoman – Thanks for the compliments! I remember being encouraged and inspired by the report you wrote after your solo trip to China. Your description of Fayuan Si was one of the things that made me decide that I had to see it – and it was wonderful. So my thanks to you for sharing your experiences!

With your particular interest in Fayuan Si you might now enjoy reading 'Martyrs' Shrine' by Taiwanese author Lee Ao, a novel which is set partly in the temple and in the neighbourhood at the time of the '100 days reforms' of the Guangxu emperor. After these were crushed by Cixi, the reformers (or, at least, those who hadn't fled to Japan), were executed at nearby Cao Shi Kou, having formerly held meetings in nearby guildhalls, some of which still stand. There's something on this in the 'Joining the Club' hutong walking notes.

I should add I haven't read the novel myself, but am waiting to find the time to do so.

Thanks for the suggestion, PeterN_H - sounds interesting!

Thank you so much for such a brilliant report!
It is very inspiring and helpful for my coming trip to China.

Thanks so much, vizho - I'm glad you found it helpful. Let us know how your trip goes!

This is a brilliant report-Heading to China next week and your info is invaluable.

Thanks, irecommend! I hope my comments on a truly wonderful trip do, indeed, prove valuable as you create your own memories. Keep us posted!

kja - what a great report - I am going to read it again! My trip (I have only booked a return flight from London to Shanghai on 9th May 2012 and return to London on 21st June 2012) is 6 weeks in duration. I have sketched a rough itinerary as follows:

10 May - 3 nts in Shanghai
13 May - bullet train to Beijing - 5 nights
18th May - night train to Xi'An
19th May -24th May - Xi'An and Huashan
24th May - night train to Chengdu
25th - 28th May - Leshan - E'Mei Shan and Chengdu city
28th May - night train to Guilin
29th May - 2nd June - Guilin - Yangshou (Longji Terrace field)
2nd June - night train to Kunming
3rd - 8th June - Kunming/Dali/Lijiang/Shangri La
8th June - night train to Gansu-Xiahe
9th June - night train to Zhangjiajie
10th - 13th June - Zhangjiajie/Phoenix Old Town
13th June - train to Huangshan
14th - 16th June - Anhui Huangshan
17th - 18th June - Hangzhou
18th June - train to Suzhou
18th - 19th June - Suzhou/Zhouzhuang
20th June - return to Shanghai
21st June depart for London

I would appreciate it if comments could be made on this proposed itinerary - all advice gratefully received.

Well, looks like lots of interesting places, and great that you're taking the train, but have you looked at a map? You're zig-zagging all over the place. I'd put Gansu-Xiahe between Xi'an and Chengdu, and Guilin after Kunming.

Thanks for your kind words, Wonkyknee!

I'm not sure I can offer any particularly helpful comments on this itinerary, since I've only been to Beijing and Xi'an. I didn't visit Huashan (though it sounds wonderful), but think you might want to consider cutting one day from your Xi'an/Huashan time and adding it to Beijing, But that really depends on what you want to see and experience.

I think you might get more comments - and more helpful comments (like those that thursdaysd has already offered) if you start your own thread.

Enjoy!

Dear Kja,

I totally loved your trip report and now fully trust your judgment :)
Though your trip was some time ago I still hope to get a piece of advise from you.

We are now in the middle of planning our second trip to China and decided on most things we want to do.
After spending some time in Pingyao, Xia an, Shanghai, Suzou and Hangzou we still have 3 days that are not planned

For this 3 days we have a real trouble to pick one place to go as they all sound quite amazing - Chengde, Tai An or Datong (caves)

Which did you personally liked the best?
Chengde sounds really interesting, but is seams very complicated to get there. Does it worth the effort?

Thank you very very much in advance
Yulia

Hi, vizho! I'm pleased that you enjoyed my report, but please don't trust my judgment "fully" - my experience of China was wonderful, but limited!

I can't say which of Chengde, Tai An, or Datong I liked best - they were so different that it would be like choosing between apples and movies!

It sounds like Datong might fit your itinerary better than Tai An or Chengde. Although heavily polluted, Datong has some truly remarkable and - I believe - quite unusual sites: the Yungang Grottoes are amazing, the Muta is unique and fascinating, and the Hanging Temple is stunning and stunningly beautiful. And in Datong itself, the Shanhua temple has some very lovely features that are much older than can be seen in most other parts of China. And my hotpot - what a meal!

If you are stopping in Beijing, getting to Chengde shouldn't be difficult at all. There are regular trains and buses, including express buses. Unfortunately, I made an avoidable error in failing to confirm which bus I was on. Strictly my mistake! The train ride (which is how I returned to Beijing) was an easy ride through memorable scenery. I enjoyed the Mountain Resort and outlying temples, and am glad I saw them, but there is an opportunity cost in the time it takes to get there and back to Beijing, and if you aren't going to Beijing, well then the time to get there would definitely be something to consider. It was near the end of a long journey for me, so I was glad to have a bit of down time. Too, I had seen enough different types of temples to appreciate some of the distinctions of Chengde's temples.

Tai Shan also sounds off your route a bit. Again, I'm very glad I saw it, at least as much for the cultural experience as the scenery and the temples. I had known that visiting Tai Shan is something that Chinese people try to do at least once in their life. Seeing what it takes for them to do so, seeing how many people climb every one of those many stairs, seeing the offerings they make at the various temples at the top - those were memorable experiences for me.

I hope this information helps! Please let me know if I can answer any other questions. And do let us know how your trip goes!

Dear Kja,
thank you so much for your replay.
We will fly to Beijing, but still spending 4+4 hours on the train during 2 days seams quite wasteful, especially as it will be in the very beginning of the trip.
Then I will follow your advise and include Datong :)
Thank you again!
And I wish you lots of amazing traveling experiences in the coming time :)
(& hope to see more of your reports)

Thanks for your good wishes, vizho, and may you also have many amazing travels! I'll look forward to learning what you think of Datong and your other destinations.

Hi kja,

My wife and I are in China now. Your posts have been incredibly helpful and inspiring as we explored Xi'an and took the sleeper train to Beijing. We plan to visit the Forbidden City tomorrow and have one question. You wrote that you started at the north end and worked your way south. Is there a northern entrance, or did you just enter from the south like everyone else and immediately head to the north end? Thanks for your help.

I can answer that. yes, there is a northern entrance and it tends to be much less busy that the main Southern entrance, although it's used by many, many tour groups. Still, they don't seem to hold up the lines as much as all the individuals at the main South entrance.

I'm glad you've found my posts helpful, mrtaz, and hope that you and your wife are enjoying your time in China.

There is an entrance to the north side of the Forbidden City, just south of Jingshan (Coal Hill) Park, and that is the entrance I used, in part for the reasons NeoPatrick mentions.