| Please help with our first trip to China | |
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| Mar 8, 2006 15:43 |   |
 | My brother and I are planning our first trip to China (14-16 days). We are planning on flying into Hong Kong around April 20th. We'd like to stay in HK for about 5-6 nights. Then we'd like to board a Z train (deluxe soft sleeper) to Xian (with a day stop in Guilin, if possible). We'd like to spend a night in Xian and then take a daytime train to Luoyang. We'd like to spend the day in Luoyang and then travel to Dengfeng to see the Shaolin temple. My brother would like to train with the Shaolin Monks for the day. That night we'd like to stay in Zhengzhou. The next day we'd like to board another Z train (deluxe soft sleeper) to Beijing. We'd like to stay 6 nights in Beijing and then fly back to the USA. Here are some of the many questions that I have: 1. How can we find out the Z train schedules and purchase the tickets? 2. I heard there was a train from Xian to Zhengzhou and another from Zhengzhou to Beijing. How do you find out the schedules and purchase the tickets? 3. Where is the best place to stay in Hong Kong (Causeway bay/North Point, Central/Admirility, Wan Chai, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hung Hom, Kowloon City, Sheung Wan, etc)? 4. Where is the best place to stay in Beijing, that's close to the main attractions? 5. Is it easy to travel to and from the Badaling Great Wall? 6. How flexible are the 12-14 day tours? Do you have to do all of the activities listed? Can you add stops along the way (ex. Shaolin Temple)? 7. A friend told me to pack light and take one weeks worth of clothing. He said to plan on washing my clothes at the hotel. Is this a good idea? 8. Any tips or tricks for a first trip to China? I apologize for all of the questions. We are just excited about our trip and want to make the most of it. :-) Thanks in advance for all of your help! Joe |
| Mar 8, 2006 18:14 | #1 |
| Heres a couple tips First, I dont think you need so many days in HK. You didnt say anything about your budget but its an expensive place and its not that big. 3 days and nights is plenty. I recommend from there you should go to Guangzhou and get a taste of real China. There is so much to see there and its so different from Hong Kong. From Guangzhou you can easily go to Guillin. From there I really reccomend talking the Boat Cruize to Youngzhou. Its amazing. After that I dont know much, Ive never been to Xian, those warriors are supposed to be "ok". I would say go to Yunnan. Places like Dali, Lijiang, and Tiger leaping gorge are much better then a whole bunch of men in a building. From Kunming you can fly to Beijing for just as much, or even cheaper! Around 800RMB. As for clothes, pack light if you have time to shop. From Hong Kong to Beijing there is a massive change in climate. You need a scarf for the snow up there, and shorts for the sun down there. Good luck! |
| Mar 8, 2006 18:35 | #2 |
| That is a very well-planned itinerary!! Good job! I mean except the HK part, I agree with Kyle, 5-6nights in Hong Kong for sightseeing or shopping may be too long unless you have other business to take care of. 1, As far as I know, there are no trains running directly from Hong Kong to Guilin, you can either take flight from HK to GL or take an express train from HK to Guangzhou then to Guilin by train. Another good route is taking train from HK(Kowloon) to Zhuzhou then to Guilin, this one is economical and is the shortest on distance. Z trains only operate between some cities, not all cities. Sometimes "K" category train are good, too. If you want detailed train schedules between those cities you travel, I can make a list for you. 2, You are right, there are a lot of options of trains between Xian and zhengzhou, the two cities are very close to each other. There are some websites offer the detailed info, but only in Chinese, i am sorry. The best way for backpackers to purchase train tickets are through the front dest of the hotel/ hostel, in a very low service charge. Usually the travel agencies do not like booking train tickets only for their clients, they can charge service charge more than the ticket price, and the ticket price is very cheap. You can also check the detailed train schedule upon your checking in any hotels/ guesthouses. 3, Sorry, I can't answer you this question, I've never been to HK. 4, In Beijing, people like to stay close to the Tian'anmen Square/ Wangfujing Street, those are the very center of the city. 5, Absolutely. There are regular buses running between the city center and Badaling and other tourist attractions...etc 6, If you do not join in an organized tour designed by travel agency, it can be as flexible as you like it to be. Furthermore, traveling by train is good to make it even flexible. 7, Yes, your friend is experienced!!! 8, I think many of our foreign friends can give you more on this Please feel free to ask, anything you like to know. All of us will be very happy to help you. |
| Mar 8, 2006 20:08 | #3 |
| Hi,Joe, "Z"train only was started from Beijing to the other cities,and they all start from evening and arrive next morning,about 10hours to 12 hours!And from Beijing to Xi'an,Shanghai,Changchun,Harbin,Suzhou,Nanjing,Yangzhou,Changsha,Wuhan,Hangzhou,there are "Z"trains. For chinese train speend,the train No.from ####---K###---T###---Z##,getting faster and faster...... Wecome to China:-) |
| Mar 8, 2006 20:20 | #4 |
| And from Xi'an to Luoyang about 4 hours by train,Luoyang to Dengfeng(Shaolin),1.5 hours by bus,so many buses!!!From Dengfeng to Zhengzhou,about 1.5 hours by bus! From Zhengzhou to Beijing,the fastest train about 6 hours! In Beijing,you can visit Great Wall,Summer Palace,Forbidden City,Heave Temple......So many beautiful places! Good luck! |
| Mar 8, 2006 23:56 | #5 |
| Hi Joe, I've been to Hong Kong on business several times. About the places to stay, actually Causeway Bay(Hong Kong Island) is the best district. But the hotels there are extremely expensive.Tsim Sha Tsui and Kowloon are not bad as well. If you're on a budget trip, you could make reservations of guesthouse in advance.YMCA International Guesthouse is the most popular on in HK. Here is a link for your information. www.yp.com.hk/ymca But remember to book at least one month in advance, because this is really the hottest GH in HK. Actually it won't take you so many days in HK. As you're from the States, so HK Disneyland won't be a can't-miss sight for you. If you want, you could go to the Ocean Park, one of the most famous theme park in Asia. HK is more of a place for shopping due to its low taxes. Another thing I'd warn you is that, leaving for China around Apr.20th is really NOT a good choice. May 1st is the Workers' Day and in mainland China, we'll have a "golden week" from May 1st to May 7th. People don't work during this period and just go traveling. So inevitably hotels are full of travelers, prices go up, everywhere is overcrowded, and you'll even have trouble in buying tickets or make reservation of hotels/hostels. My suggestions is that you reconsider the time for the trip. Anyway, have fun in China! |
| Mar 9, 2006 10:45 | #6 |
| Thank you very much for all of your responses. You are great! You're helping us out tremendously! Based on your suggestions, I've come up with the following itinerary. Please give me any suggestions that you have. Is this itinerary realistic? Day 1-3 Arrive in HK Ride the Star Ferry across the harbor Take the tram up Victoria Peak Take a ferry to one of the outlying islands. Visit Ocean Park Visit HK Disneyland (maybe) Shop Day 4 Take morning express train from HK to Guangzhou (How much time should we spend in Guangzhou?) Guangzhou to Guilin via Train Day 5 Guilin Visit Elephant Trunk Hill, Reed Flute Cave and Seven-Star Park Take boat cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo. How much does the cruise cost? How long is the cruise? Is it round trip? Day 6 Take morning train from Guilin to Xi’an Visit Terror cotta warriors Day 7 Xi’an Big Wild Goose Pagoda Huaqing Hot Spring Tang Dynasty Dinner Show Day 8 Take morning train from Xi'an to Luoyang Visit Cave - dwelling Houses Longmen Grottoes White Horse Temple Day 9 Morning bus ride from Luoyang to Dengfeng Spend the day at the Shaolin Temple Take late afternoon bus from Dengfeng to Zhengzhou Day 10 Zhengzhou Visit the Yellow River Scenic Area Board evening train to Beijing Day 11-15 Visit the Badaling Great Wall Beijing's Hutong and Courtyard Forbidden City Summer Palace Temple of Heaven Tiananmen Square Ming Tombs Yonghe Lamasery Liulichang Culture Street Qing Tombs 1. Are we trying to do too much on this trip? Or are there any other "Must See" sites that we are missing? 2. What Must see shows, exhibitions, etc are there along the way? 3. Do we buy all of the train tickets up front, or do we buy them as we go? Do they sell out often? 4. What is the climate for the above trip during Late April and Mid May? 5. Are there any days that are difficult for seeing sites or traveling? 6. BAUHINIA suggests that we don’t travel during the first week of May. We are flexible. What are the best dates for visiting China? May 11-27 Thanks again! I look forward to your responses! Joe |
| Mar 9, 2006 19:04 | #7 |
| Day 1-3 ... ... Fine, I think!! Day 4...... 1~1.5 day in Guangzhou is fairly enough:-) Day 5 Guilin...... The Li River cruise costs about 330 yuan rmb, there are different cruise ships available. It takes about 4~5 hours(83 km), starting at 9:00am and arriving in Yangshuo at about 2:00pm. It's one-way trip. Day 7 Xi’an Big Wild Goose Pagoda Huaqing Hot Spring Tang Dynasty Dinner Show You can visit the Huaqing Hot Spring on the day you visit Terror cotta warriors one the way, the Spring is not in the city. ... |
| Mar 9, 2006 19:13 | #8 |
| Quote: Day 6 Take morning train from Guilin to Xi’an Visit Terror cotta warriors ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It's impossibe for you to take a morning train from Guilin to Xi'an and then visit the warriors. There's only one train run from Guilin to Xian starts from 17.20 and arrive at 21.13 next day. If you want to save time, you have to choose flight! |
| Mar 9, 2006 19:22 | #9 |
| 1. Are we trying to do too much on this trip? Or are there any other "Must See" sites that we are missing? I don't think you are trying to squeeze too many activities in this trip. Actually your plan is very good for references of those who reasonably fit. 2. What Must see shows, exhibitions, etc are there along the way? Interesting shows: Guilin: Ethnic Songs and Dances at Lijiang Theatre Yangshuo: Impression Sanjie Liu Xian: Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show(But I think you should skip the dinner there, it's expensive and tasteless) ------------------------------------- "3. Do we buy all of the train tickets up front, or do we buy them as we go? Do they sell out often?" I think if you book the train tickets at the hotel as I previously suggested, you should book right after you check in. They sell the tickets in advance - normally 7 days in advance. ---------------------------------- 4. What is the climate for the above trip during Late April and Mid May? That is the best season of the year!! :) Here in this link, you can find some details about weather: http://www.travelchinaguide.com/climate/index.htm |
| Mar 9, 2006 19:33 | #10 |
| Sorry, the thread is too long and I was dazzled a little bit:-) 5. Are there any days that are difficult for seeing sites or traveling? Nobody can guarantee, but the places you covered were all highlights, there are no reason for them to just lock people out. But everytime I travel, there is always somewhere being rebuilt, I don't know if I was just back luck or there are someplaces keep worn out by receiving too many tourists. 6, If your schedule is flexible, please avoid traveling in China during the first week of May. |
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