Mainland China: Advice?
 

Hi folks,

An acquaintance of mine is heading to China for two and a half weeks and would like some advice. If anyone who has been there (Hwei? Voyd?) would be willing to talk to him via e-mail, I'd appreciate it. If you're willing to help out, PM me your e-mail address and I'll give it to him.

His name is Anthony, and he's done a bit of international travel. I just think he had some specific questions. I'll try to get him to sign up to Tpunk, but in the meantime, I'd appreciate anyone who's willing to chat with him.

Thanks!

worldwidemike

whoever is able to give the advice, it would be nice if you posted the questions and answers you went over here for those of us who might be interested :)

<--- moving to China in Feb.

True, it might be more helpful to post some Q&A on here as a public reference.

^Agree with the above. I have some limited experience, mostly from work trips. I have been in Shanghai and also in the southern part of China and in Hong Kong. Try to get some initial questions from him and maybe we can do more specifics after that?:cheers:

I pm'd you, but just get him to sign up here. ;)

not much advice to offer but i did read in this week's Economist that hotels (at least in Beijing - perhaps around the country) are being required to stock hotel rooms with condoms to slow/stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. So he won't have to worry about that...

lol...well, probably a wise move considering half the hotel rooms there get spammed with massage ad phone calls offering happy endings.

I have been to Hwangshan, which I think it in eastern China.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huangshan_Mountains

I can't stress enough how AWESOME this place was....

I really enjoyed Huangshan as well...gorgeous + my college gave me money to go!

Thanks!
 

Thank you for your posts, folks!

(This is the friend.) :)

Awesome! Glad Mike got you aboard :)

--Joey

Welcome to Tpunk!:cheers:

Maybe you could tell us a little about where specifically in China you are headed and any questions you may have and people could chime in with some suggestions?

Well I have about two weeks and can go anywhere. I plan to see the Wall and the Warriors. And do some shopping. I'm just wondering what you folks have done that you would consider must-dos.

Anthony

I am not sure what your budget is like but China is huge. The great wall, forbidden city, etc. are in the Beijing area, which is in the north. There is probably enough up in that area for you to sightsee for 5 days or so, maybe more depending on how much time you take checking things out. Just keep in mind that the summer olympics are there this summer, so it will be crazy around that time. From what I have heard, Beijing has been in a constant state of construction for awhile in order to get ready for the games. Actually, most Chinese cities have been in a constant state of construction simply because of sheer growth - its wild. If you like cities, Shanghai is maybe a 2 hr flight south from there, and Hong Kong is another couple of hours flight south of Shanghai. You could also take trains but the rides will be long. I know Freespiritz has been around to a lot of places in the north and inland and will have some recommendations. A lot depends on what you want to see: cities? ancient sites? rural towns/villages? The three gorges is a famous tourist destination. A massive dam has recently been completed there as well, its 5 times the size of the hoover dam. That area is probably worth a visit. It is inland, roughly parallel to Shanghai. There are a ton of options.

When were you planning on heading over?

Well, sounds like you're flying into Beijing and that will be your base of ops. Now, there are tonssss of things to see in China, but it would be more efficient to stay in that general area, given your limited time.

1) Beijing alone has tons to see and do. Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Great Wall (a few hours outside of town), 798 modern art district (very cool!), Lama Temple (and others), Hou Hai (lake surrounded by bars), Nanlu Guxiang (cozy restaurant & bars), Sanlitun club district, Wangfujing (shopping & weird kebobs), Silk Market (clothes shopping), Yabao Lu (Russiatown), etc etc.

2) Xi'an would be a good side trip.

3) You could also make a side trip to Shanghai or the coast. Qingdao is supposedly a pretty tourist town and home of the Tsingtao German brewery.

4) Inner Mongolia is also another option for a more cultural side trip. Although, it's a pretty impoverished, rugged area that can get pretty cold. Not a very "cushy" destination, so be forewarned...

Well, that's my .02 RMB...enjoy!

Beijing and Xi'an should keep you occupied for a good bit. I had a great time in Inner Mongolia, and here's the link to one of my travelogues from there if you are so interested in reading about horses and grasslands and Mongolian boys trying to get me to stay on with them.

Where you go definitely depends on what you want to see...my favorite memories of China are definitely from being out in the country though, from the plains of Inner Mongolia to the rugged autumn beauty of the Tibetan Plateau in Sichuan to the glorious, golden wetlands of Yunnan or the granite peaks of Huangshan. Staying north seems like your best bet though for convenience! One one of our trips we flew out to Qinghai and worked our way overland to Beijing via Inner Mongolia, maybe you could do something like that.

i just made it to shanghai about 5 dys ago and am flying out to xiang'tan today (hunan province)


there are lots of touristy things to do here, but it will be nice to get away from them :rolleyes:

i spent 4 months in china, and ive compiled loads of advice on another thread here:http://travelpunk.com/boards/showthread.php?t=14372

Wow, thanks for the additional advice. This has been really helpful! I'm going to post my plans when they are final and then post a post report when I return. (I'm going at the end of March.)

Thanks again!

Anthony