Korean Job Discussion Forums

[waywardwanderer]

Going to China in late June and don't need to return until late August. Have the first part of the trip to Beijing fairly well sorted; however, after that our plan is sketchy. Any advice is welcome.

We are planning on going by train from Beijing to Qufu, Shandong =>Xidi/Huangshan (Wuyaun mountains and Tea Gardens) =>Wuhan/Wuchang => 3 rivers dam => Xi'an =>Pingyao (?) => Lanzhou=>(long train ride) Urumqi/Wulumqi to visit Tianchi Lake and Taklamakan Desert. Then possibly to Kashgar near the border of Kyrgyzstaz.
Big questions:
1) Lodging and transportation around Lake Tianchi and the Taklamakan Desert.
2) Safety and things to be aware in all places
3) Anything about Urumqi and Kashgar
4) Possible buses from Urumqi to Lahasa and/or from Kashgar to Lahasa
Any and all advice is welcome. Thanks in advance!

[soviet_man]

Western China eh?

My only advice is that if the bus/train options look shitty on the day, I'd look into doing some of those sectors by air.

I know that Kashgar > Urumqi > Lhasa are flown daily by domestic Chinese airlines and probably wouldn't be too expensive.

The long-haul trains will be of a good standard - I've been on several Chinese mainline trains and without exception they were lovely.

But I would probably have *issues* with using some of the regional/local trains and buses. (Remember: it is western china in summer, it will be boiling hot, you will probably have mild diarrhea or stomach bugs due to the food + even with the best attitude and plans, it won't be glamorous).

[waywardwanderer]

Thanks soviet_man. Plane hops might be the way to go if time and comfort become bigger issues during the trip.

Any recommendation for stomach medicine to carry along?

Also still hoping some to find out anything about Xi'an, Pingyao, Lanzhou, Urumqi/Wulumqi, Tianchi Lake , the Taklamakan Desert. and Kashgar from anyone who has been to those places.

[dimnd]

Viactin...comes in chocolate, caramel for calcium..in case you do not get much milk, dairy, etc.

Xantac, tums (the kind you just put on your tongue ==good ole' Walmart has em); gax X..same..peel of strips...Immodium

bring lg bottle of Ibuprofin for yourself..baby aspirin for the flight over to avoid DVT on the plane..

[RufusW]

Yes, Kashgar etc should be scorching.

Urumqi might be nice, there's nothing particularly special there, you could probably hit the hills around town but the city itself has a few parks, CBD etc but nothing too amazing.

Between Urumqi and Langzhou there's Dunhuang. It's a cliff with hundreds of Buddhist caves. It's meant to be one of the best sites for such things. It will be packed in summer, but you can get an English guide and it's in a very nice location, right on the edge of the Gobi desert. Accomodation might be tight, but it's probably one of the more well known 'attractions' in that area.

I don't think you can go Urumqi or Kashgar - Lhasa (you're talking about Tibet right?) overground. The closest you could do is a train or a bus from Xining - 3 hours from Lanzhou. It'd take 24 hours to get to Lhasa from Xining. I'd prefer to hit Tibet when you've got 2 weeks+ however, unless you've got plans to return, you may well want to go to Everest, Shigatse etc etc

Maybe you can go Kashgar - Lhasa, but I though western Tibet was always closed to foreigners. Maybe this has changed or maybe you can get away with hitching. But yes, flights are probably the answer.

You might also want to look at how available tickets on trains are. I think China has problems with some tickets getting sold out, and you don't want to waste time when you're traveling buying tickets etc.

Anyway, I'd look at (lonely planet) Thorntree travel forums, there'll be lots of info there.

[waynehead]

This won't be your first time in China, will it?

[waywardwanderer]

[waywardwanderer]

[waynehead]

Well then you might find western china very difficult to maneuver around.

Make sure you have everything well planned and plotted. Make sure you have any necessary destinations written down in Chinese. Don't expect to rely on English or trying to read pinyin.

Also, if you want to go to Tibet you will need a special visa.

Good luck! I hope you're not biting off more than you can chew. China's a whole other world, especially the further west you go.

[southern boy]

..

[RufusW]

If you're going to Tibet I'd probably want to be there for 10 days at least. You will need a special Tibet permit. This can be organized in Beijing (I think) by travel agents. It will cost you a bit of cash though. Because you're flying in, this will definitely be checked so make sure you have it! Travel restrictions may have been tightened since the Olympics etc etc, so do your research now (thorntree will have a busy thread about this). You also need a permit to go along the 'friendship highway' towards Nepal. This is usually done in groups of 4/5 in a land cruiser with a driver. Basically the driver is the permit, there's no piece of paper. All this can be organized in Lhasa, but again, email travel agents there beforehand to make sure it can be done. You should be able to meet people in Lhasa who want to do the trip. Everest is well over a day from Lhasa, if you took in a few towns on the way, Shigatse, Gysantse and the lake that's around there somewhere, then you're looking at 3/4 days return, minimum. You'll need a permit for Everest Base Camp, the travel agent at Lhasa can organise it. Once again, this isn't too cheap. Watch out for dodgy travel agents - go with recommendations!

I think you may struggle doing all this in 4 weeks. Maybe drop anything west of Urumqi/Dunhuang from your itinerary.

If you can get hold of an up-to-date lonely planet that's going to help a lot.

Be prepared for altitude sickness when you step off the plane in Lhasa, you will have gone up 3000m in a few seconds :) What about the train up the plateau and a flight off?

Also, Tibet is gorgeous :)

[travel zen]

I remember seeing pictures of Western China years ago. It seemed to have its own peoples, culture and history. Nowadays, I wonder if it is more like the Eastern provinces ...

[ashwri]

I don't know if you still want any advice since you are in China now, but in my opinion western China is awesome!

I previously lived in China and had a chance to travel to various locations. Urumqi being one of my favorites. Traveling in Xin Jiang can get a little tricky when you leave Urumqi. You'll probably want to hire a guide who can speak Uyghur.

And you should for sure see Kashgar, especially since recent news reports say it might not be there too much longer, since the government has decided to tear down the old city.

As for Tibet.... you do need a special visa. And traveling there can be even more tricky than Xin Jiang, but well worth it!

Good luck!