| Around Hangzhou in 12 Days | |
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| Aug 5, 2008 06:44 |   |
 | Hi, I'll be back-packing to China in September for 12 days. This will be my first trip in China. Will be arriving in Hangzhou on a Monday afternoon. The places i plan to visit are Mt Huangshan (this is definite), Wuxi, Suzhou & Shanghai. However, this is not fixed, suggestions are welcome anytime. Any idea on how i can move around on a shoestring? Places to go along the way, where to stay and the best way to move around from place to place.. Thanx =) |
| Aug 6, 2008 01:26 | #1 |
| In Hangzhou, do not miss Impression West Lake show directed by Zhang Yimou, music composed by Kitaro, performed on the surface of the West Lake. For Huangshan, I spent 2 days climbing up and down, stayed overnight on the summit. If you stay in Tunxi (Huangshan City) before climbing Huangshan, I would like to recommend Koala Youth Hostel(Old Street Branch) Add:No.266 Old Street,Tunxi District,Huangshan City,Anhui,China. Tel:(86)559-2540388 Email:126.com|koalahuangshan Website:www.yhahuangshan.com This is right inside the nice old town of Tunxi with very helpful staff with excellent English. After Huangshan, you can spend 1 more day at Hongcun, a very lovely and photo-friendly village. There is direct bus between Tunxi and Hongcun. In Shanghai, do not miss Shanghai museum and Yuyuan Garden. |
| Aug 6, 2008 03:07 | #2 |
| I would definitely pick to go to Nanjing instead of Suzhou. And try to fit in Tongli water village as well. Hangzhou (2 days) -- bus -- Huangshan (2 days) -- overnight train -- Nanjing (3 days) -- train -- Suzhou (1 day) -- bus -- Tongli (1 day) -- bus -- Shanghai (3 days) -- train -- Hangzhou (flight out) How "shoestring" do you have to be? What's your daily budget like? Remember that admission fees for Huangshan and Suzhou are very expensive. Make sure you're not on Huangshan on a weekend. What are the dates that you'll be in China? Let me guess, you're flying in and out on AirAsia, is that right? If you want further help with itinerary and etc, email me at yahoo.com|ellyse99 and put "TravelChinaGuide" and your own username (eg Linnie17) in the subject line, thanks. |
| Aug 6, 2008 04:58 | #3 |
| Thanx Bonong & Ellyse for your prompt replies. Bonong, do you know the show times for Impression West Lake? Will it still be showing in Sep'08? I have LOTS of logistics questions here. 1. From Hangzhou, I'll have to get to Hangzhou West Bus Station to get to Tunxi, right? How frequent is the bus? Every hour? What time is the first & last bus departing Hangzhou? How long does it take and how much does it cost? 2. From Tunxi, how do i get to Mt Huangshan? I have read about starting the climb from Taiping area. How far is Taiping from Tunxi? Bonong, does Koala Youth Hostel help out with travel arrangments? 3. Accommodation up Mt Huangshan summit - I have difficulty booking rooms online. Hotel rates for foreigners are a lot steeper than locals =( . Yes, Ellyse, I'll take your advice on Huangshan on a weekday. Am planning to get a 4-bedded dorm with attached bathroom. Any suggestions? 4. Overnight train to Nanjing - do I have to pre-book tickets? How do I go about doing it? Or should I just buy them when I arrive in Tunxi from Hangzhou? 5. Wow, 3 days in Nanjing! What has Nanjing to offer? I had 3 Kingdom & Turtle Head Island in mind. Are they in Nanjing or Wuxi? 6. Train to Suzhou - how long will the journey take from Nanjing to Suzhou? Ellyse, can you please share with me why would you skip Suzhou? 7. Tongli - if I skip Suzhou, what is the best way to connect to Tongli from Nanjing? What's nice there? 8. I know Shanghai's big. Which is the correct train station (name & street) I should go to, to catch the train to Hangzhou? If I were to take a bus back to Hangzhou, which bus station should it be? Would you suggest I stay a night at Hangzhou before leaving for home? Ellyse, you got that right! I'm flying on AA. There you go. Didn't I say I've LOTS of questions? Thanx for helping me out. ;) |
| Aug 6, 2008 09:26 | #4 |
| Impressions West Lake will run daily, and it starts at 2000. 1) Yes. Express buses depart to Tunxi at 0650, 0750, 0840, 0940, 1020, 1120, 1150, 1220, 1330, 1430, 1530, 1700 and 1800. Fare is 85 RMB and the journey time is about 3 hours. 2) Taiping is about 2 hours by bus from Tunxi. You could also choose to take the direct bus from Hangzhou West long-distance bus station to Taiping at 0620, which takes about 6 hours. This might look slower, but saves you the hassle of looking for the right bus at Tunxi. 3) 4-bed dorms are probably extinct already, since all the hotels want to squeeze more beds into each room and make more money. Dorms are now typically 8 to 12-bed. I usually book Baiyun Hotel or Guangmingding Shanzhuang as they're well-located for the West Sea Canyon hike as well as for sunrise-viewing the next morning. 4) Yes. I would be able to help you out with it -- please email me at yahoo.com|ellyse99 and put "TravelChinaGuide" and your own username (eg Linnie17) in the subject line, thanks. I did mention this above, but you seem to have ignored me... 5) Plenty of historical sights, do some reading up on it. The 2 places you mentioned are in Wuxi's outskirts. 6) Around 1.5-2 hours on the D trains. I'm just not a fan of Suzhou as I find it overpriced, overly touristy and over-hyped. 7) D train for Nanjing -- Suzhou, then bus from near Suzhou train station. 8) Shanghai South train station. You really DON'T want to take a bus to Hangzhou -- it's slower, more expensive and less comfortable. If you want to connect to your AirAsia flight, I believe there're direct shuttles from Shanghai to Hangzhou airport, run by the airline. If you've any more questions, PLEASE email me at yahoo.com|ellyse99 and put "TravelChinaGuide" and your own username (eg Linnie17) in the subject line, thanks. |
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