| 2 Week Travel starting in Beijing. Need advice! | |
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| Mar 23, 2007 17:24 |   |
 | Hello, I am a new member and I was looking for some advice on my upcoming trip. I am going to China July 20 - August 27. The first three weeks are part of a Study Abroad program with my University. I will be spending those three weeks in the countryside of China aided by Chinese University Students. The last two weeks (August 13-27) will be used for personal travel. This is what I need help with. I am currently taking Mandarian, but I do not expect to have anything more than a basic travel knowledge. I am looking for advice on where to go and what to see during these two weeks of travel. I will begin the two weeks at Beijing. I prefer to see the natural side of China and I am more interested in historical, cultural, and the geography of China rather than Cities, shows, operas, and popular tourist sites. (For example, I would rather go for a week backpacking trip in the Yellowstone park than a week in L.A.) Some of things I was considering was a traditional Buddhist monastery, a protected wilderness area of China, and natural features like mountains and rivers of interest. I know there are alot of Buddhist monastaries, but I was looking for one or two that has survived most of the carnage and fires of the past and hasnt been renovated beyond its historical appearance. My beginning ideas was from Beijing ---> Xian ----> Shanghai. I have tons of specific and smaller questions, but the general route and direction of my trip is the most crucial part before I plan everything else. Thanks alot for any help :) |
| Mar 23, 2007 19:15 | #1 |
| Hi, I suggest you go from Beijing to Shaanxi province, to the city of Pingyao. From Pingyao you can go to Xi'an, and from there I suggest going to the Song mountains, near Luoyang. The Song mountains is also home to Shaolin Temple (which is pretty touristy but still worth seeing--especially the temple itself). You can climb the Song mountains which are comparatively less touristy than some other choices (like WuTai Shan near Pingyao, but WuTai Shan is also an option). From Luoyang you can go to Suzhou. Once in Suzhou you can take a bus to a small small village (famous for being "original and preserved") called Wuzhen. It is located between Suzhou and Hangzhou (and you probably won't find any information about it in tourist guides). I'll be writing an article about it soon, you can look for more information about it then. From there you can see Hangzhou and then end in Shanghai. I think that's the best route for the locations you suggested, but if you really want to get out there, the west of China--western Yunnan province, western and northern Sichuan province, Qinghai province, etc. are much more untracked, scenic, and "solitary". But harder to navigate and get from one place to the other. Have a great trip! |
| Mar 23, 2007 19:50 | #2 |
| Thanks for the advice Stocktov. How do you feel about the Beijing --> Xian --> Shanghai route for two weeks? Do you feel there is a better route to take for two weeks? Maybe a round trip starting and ending in Beijing? I like this route (Beijing --> Xian --> Shanghai) because I am able to hit many of the most important sites while also visiting a cultural and less commericalized side of the China through the places you mentioned. Also the path is simple and straight forward. Plus I should not encounter to much difficultly scheduling my flight as arriving in Beijing and departing from Shanghai. Luckily I will have the pleasure of traveling to the countryside during my Study Abroad program. Plus for flight reasons, I would like to end in a city I can fly home from without having to take an incountry flight to get there. |
| Mar 23, 2007 20:34 | #3 |
| Hi, Yes, I think the Beijing-Xi'an-Shanghai route you suggested (and which I elaborated on) is best given the amount of time you have. You will chew up a lot of time travelling from one place to another if you head further west, so I think your idea is good for the time you've got and the things you want to see. So I definitely think that Beijing--Pingyao--(WuTaiShan)--Luoyang [SongShan, Shaolin]--Suzhou--Wuzhen--Hangzhou--Shanghai is a good route for you. That route also has good, reputable hostels or cheapish hotels in all the towns and cities. A correction: I wasn't totally clear before when I said that Wuzhen isn't in any tourist guides. What I meant was that it's not published in the books, usually. But you can find lots of good information on the internet...including on this website, in the information/destinations section. |
| Mar 23, 2007 20:38 | #4 |
| Oh sorry, I keep leaving things out: throw Xi'an into that itinerary between Pingyao and Luoyang |
| Mar 23, 2007 22:15 | #5 |
| The pedant returns: Just to avoid any confusion, Pingyao is in Shanxi 山西, whose capital is Taiyuan, not to be confused with Shaanxi 陕西, whose capital is Xi'an. Also, I'd advise choosing between Wutaishan and Songshan if there's only two weeks to play with. If you choose Songshan, I'd go Beijing direct to Xi'an, then to either Luoyang or Zhengzhou. Zhengzhou could be a good base for exploring Songshan/Shaolin and Kaifeng, being smack in the middle of the two, both being easy day trips from Zhengzhou. Another option, but one which skips Xi'an, could be Beijing-Datong, see the Yungang Grottoes, Hanging Temple, etc, on to Wutaishan, then Pingyao, down to Zhengzhou, from where you do day trips to Songshan/Shaolin and Kaifeng, then down to Shanghai, perhaps making a few stops along the way, depending on time. Nanjing and Suzhou could be good stopovers on that last leg of the trip, or maybe Huangshan. Of course, that suggestion means spending a lot of time in Shanxi, also known as the world's biggest collection of coal mines, but Shanxi has a huge amount of history to it, a lot of it very well preserved, so it may be worth it. |
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