Xi'an, Shanghai and HK itinerary
 

I will be traveling to these cities after spending a week in Beijing at a conference. I plan on spending a day or two in Xian, two or three days in Shanghai and three days in Hong Kong. Do you think that this amount of time makes sense for each of these cities? Can you suggest how best to make airline reservations between these cities? I researched flights on-line and did not know how reliable it is to book directly with Air China. Should I consider taking the train between Beijing and Xian? One last question for all of you experts...in Xian, should I consider a tour that includes the Terra Cotta warriors (what I really want to see there), or should I travel to that site on my own? Thank you very much in advance for your suggestions!

Where is the conference in Beijing? I go for work near the World Trade Centre I think its called? I can reccommend a little here for you.

I think the days are fine you are planning. But I would fly to Xian if time is short I am not sure but I believe you can do the Terracotta warriors on your own. Do a search on the web as there must be a public type bus that goes. Also I usually use China air for internal flights and I have been very happy with them Enjoy the trip

- Yes, the overnight train between Beijing and Shanghai is a possibility. You should at least take the soft sleeper (4 berths in a room), better in a deluxe soft sleeper (2 in a room). They are comparable to airfares (or even more), but you save a night of hotel.

- To book plane tickets, you can wait until you're in China. Then use a local agent there to get all for you. If you want to prebook, try one of these sites:

ctrip.com
elong.net
yoee.com
zuji.com (a Travelocity company)

I have not used any, but I like the search engines and displays for yoee.com most recently. You should expect to pay about 50-60% of the full fare for domestic routes.

PVG-HKG tickets can be quite expensive. You can consider going to Shanghai first, then Xian, then Hong Kong. Or fly from SHA to SZX (Shenzhen), then ferry or bus to Hong Kong from there.

I'm also pretty sure you can visit the terracotta warriors on your own. Avoid tour groups as much as possible in China, as they waste all your time at shops. You can hire your own guide at most historical sites in China after you get there.

Thank you, SiobhanP and rkkwan, for your suggestions! SiobhanP, the conference is at the Beijing Exhibition Center, not that far from the Zoo. Luckily, I have already been to Beijing - in March. I was able to spend almost a week visiting the major sites.

Again, thank you for the suggestions.

Xian was one of our favorite places. We spent 3 days there and wanted more. It's smaller and easier to navigate than Beijing and Shanghai. It's very easy to get around on your own with taxis, the Muslim area and mosque, Wild Goose Pagoda and Drum and Bell Towers are great. We took a one day CIT bus tour to see the warriors and it worked out well. (The only drawback was the included tour lunch which was totally edible, but definitely "tourist fare" and the worst meal we had in China.) The dumpling restaurants in the center of town and the Muslim restaurants are wonderful.
We took a train from Shanghai to Xian, soft sleeper, and it was quite comfortable. The dining car was the smoking area, so we did what everyone else did and got buckets of instant noodles on the train.
We stayed in the Mercure Hotel on Renmin Square which was wonderful. Beautiful rooms, great breakfast buffet, extremely good service and we paid about $65 per night for a double, then were upgraded to a small suite. (This was in May.) Have a great trip.

You can definitely visit the terracotta warriors on your own. I used public buses, following the directions in Lonely Planet (I believe the new Fodors China guide also has instructions).

I would allot more time to Xi'an and less to Shanghai, but the only thing in Shanghai that truly excites me is the wonderful museum, as I'm not a shopper.
In Xi'an I would add the Taoist Temple of the Eight Great Immortals to the list of sights, along with just wandering around the back streets. And soft sleeper on the trains is really comfortable! (I love the hot water thermoses you get on Chinese trains.) I've found the food quite edible too, although ordering can sometimes be a bit difficult. Learning the characters for chicken helps....

I used the website ticket.9588.com to purchase the intra-country flying I did in China this past May. I used it for three legs of my journey; the only problem I had was that when I purchased one ticket my CC didn't go through properly...I e-mailed the customer service and heard back within a few hours and was able to book then.

You can do a tour if you want and might get some good info, but I, too, visited the Terra Cotta Warriors on my on my own...there is a bus that leaves from the train station.

At the time of my visit, some colleges were on break, so the site had free college student volunteer guides who walked with me and told me all about the site and history(they did it to practice their English)...it may be worth asking if they have any of these guides when you visit if you do decide to go it on your own...

Jayna
travels at www.ususbaby.com