China - alone?
 

I leave for Hong Kong on the 1st of October and plan to spend 3-4 weeks travelling in China, will I be safe travelling alone and can anyone suggest the best places to go on a shoestring budget? Thanks for your help.

October in China is good for almost anywhere. The coastal areas are expensive & commercial. Head for inner parts like Sichuan, Gansu, Qinghai, Xinjiang where it is much cheaper and where sceneries are more varse. Don't miss the Labrang Tibetan Monastery in Xiahe (Gansu) and Kashgar in Xinjiang. They are really quaint. These inner parts of China are also less rude & you feel much safer even when alone. But it can be quite a problem being alone in China and if you don't speak Chinese.

Hong Kong itself is a fascinating place - I spent 9 months working there a couple of years ago and am happy to give you more info on what to see and do there if you're interested. China itself I know less about, having been nervous about travelling around on my own because of my inability to speak Chinese. You should probably drop in on Guilin though - the countryside there is supposed to be stunning and it attracts a lot of backpackers who might provide welcome company and possibly travelling companions for the rest of China. Phil.

As Phil suggested, the Guilin area is beautiful, especially the Li River cruise. The town at the end of the cruise (Yangzhou, I think), looked more intersting than Guilin, but we didn'y spend much time there. I believe organized bicycle and hiking tours through the countryside are now available (we were a little too early for them).
A word of caution about the town of Guilin. You will be accosted by (uncountable) numbers of "art students" inviting you to their "studios" to buy paintings. We were told at our hotel that it is potentially dangerous to go to the studios, especially if you're alone. 'Nuff said.

CHINA: myself and a mate went for a hike along the Yangtzee river in and around Dali. The gorge is called Tiger Leaping Gorge and is one of the deepest gorges/canyons in the world. We spent three days hiking the gorge however most only take two. very relaxing and awesome scenry.
altogether we spent 3 weeks in china travelling from Harbin in the north down to Canton in the SOuth. Personally i enjoyed the country side much greater than the cities, and if fact we only spent 6 days in Beijing before having to get away from same. A great section of the Wall is easy to get to from Beijing. we organised our tour through our hostel.
AUD$20 for the complete round trip, spending about 4 hours out at the wall. i cannot recall the section of the wall from the top of my head, however if you want more info then email me and i'll go into more detail.

Sounds like you are a very brave, adventureous girl.
I have lived in China for three years and I do want
to say it's a wonderful place but you do need to be cautious. China is a changing daily. You might want to check into hostels (don't know if there are any here) or Universities for traveling companions or just good information. East China Univ. is suppose to have a lot of overseas students. There are many great people that like to work as guides very cheap and they really like the experience of being with English speaking people. If you are going to be in Shanghai, feel free to contact me at my e-mail.
Great Wall - Simitai or MuTianYu are very good -
Badaling is very crowded and touristy. But you probably need to hire a car and guide. Most hotels can help you with this. Badaling is where all the tourist buses go. In Beijing the HuTong (sp??) Tour is a nice experience. In Shanghai, skip the Jade Buddha and go to the Bund instead. Malone's is a great place to stop for young expat company. Xian and the terra cotta soldiers are great. Good
luck on your trip but be very careful.