cookiescompanion

Globalvhc we did not spend any time in Chongqing so cannot comment on the pollution. On the river cruise we did not notice the pollution as being worse than any other place we visited. In fact, as we cruised down the Yangtze River, pollution was the last thing on our minds. (except for when we saw the occasional dead animal floating by! yuck!)

Thanks FUrrytiles!

MiriamH

Hello everyone,
What a great thread this is! We were in the same places last year, Cookie your report brought back such good memories! We traveled with 2 kids and my two 74-year-old parents, so our trip was a bit different! I hope to be able to contribute some to this forum if anyone happens to be traveling with kids and grandparents!

althom1122 maybe you could do a quick search on YouTube for videos on Jinshanling to Simatai to get an idea of the "roughness" of this part of the wall. Do try to visit Simatai, it's worth it. This time we went to Mutianyu, my parents wouldn't have liked the walk from Jinshanling to Simatai, and I wasn't too sure about the kids 8 and 10, we went in summer, so Mutianyu seemed safer.

We are planning another trip for 2009 (hopefully), so I will be visiting here a lot!

cookiescompanion

How wonderful that you are going back so soon Miriam. Will parents and kids be in tow?

Another wonderful thing we did in Beijing, that I forgot to mention, was visit the 798 Art District. This is a huge block of old warehouses that have now been turned into art galleries (and a few cafes). It is massive, there would be quite a lot of independent galleries there, and you just wander around from gallery to gallery. There are also terrific sculptures and graffiti art in the streets. The galleries are mostly modern art galleries but there is some photography and other things. I would certainly recommend a visit - it's a very raw space and the art is fabulous.

MiriamH

The galleries sound cool, I admit we didn't have time to look around galleries with the kids!
I forgot to mention, we are overseas chinese, the kids are learning the language so we want to try to bring them as long as they are still interested and begging to go! My parents would probably go as long as they're able, not a chance of staying behind. I bet next time we are back, everything will have changed, that's the best part about China trips!

JuliannPM

Thank you for the info. My husband and I are going to be in China later this spring. We are going to many of the same places. We are scheduled on the cruise in the other direction and as well as a visit to Xian, Beijing and Shanghai. Bless you for posting as we are doing much of it on our own.

rhkkmk

nice report, thanks

chris45ny

Great report. I remember grabbing my husband's hand and running for dear life to cross the street and that was years ago. Probably much more traffic now! Like you we did a lot of internal flights. What impressed me then was how efficient air travel was in China. Flights always on time. Great service while on the plane. Was it like that for you?

Few things: the river you mentioned in Shanghai is the Haungpu. If you are by the river walkway you can gaze at the Pudong area where the Jin Mao Tower and Oriental Pearl Tower are located-2 different buildings. Then you turn yourself around and are gazing at the Bund area with lots of interesting buildings influenced by European countries. When you were in Shanghai did you have the opportunity to use their metro/subway system? It's very easy to use.

Other cities to consider for a visit are Guilin, Yangshuo-very scenic. Side trip north of Guilin to Long Sheng where you can mingle with the minority Yao people and see their amazing rice terraces. If you're into pandas the Chengdu Panda Research Station is a must. China is an amazing country.

We did a month long trip in 2007 with a Chinese agency. Now my daughter lives and works in China. She's been there for 2 years now-just outside of Hong Kong. She loves China.