Korean Job Discussion Forums

[tired of LA]

i'm planning on going to china for about 4 weeks and japan for about 3 weeks when i finish my contract next month. i'm wondering if i'm missing any places that are a must see. so far i'm planning to gp to beijing, luoyang, xian, guilin, and shanghai. i'm also thinking about cruising the 3 gorges or visiting jiuzhaigou. also hong kong and macau for china. for japan i'm planning to go to fukuoka, hiroshima, osaka, kyoto, nara, nagoya, and tokyo.

[pugwall]

The whole of Yunnan province is a must see in China.

[thatwhitegirl]

My husband went to Lijiang and did the 3 gorges tour...said that lijiang was one of the most wonderful little city/towns he has ever been to. Everything I hear about it is good....and Kunming. My dad fell in love with that city and wants to live there...'city of eternal spring'.
Suzhou is also great....nice little place.

[ujin821]

If you have time, check out Harbin (Heilongjiang province) in northeast China. Really cool looking city and their ice festival is freaking fantastic (and should be lasting up until early March).

Guilin IMO is overrated, head to Yangshuo a one hour bus ride from there. 1-2 days in Guilin is enough, you'll want AT LEAST 3 days in Yangshuo. Yangshuo is probably my favorite place in China to visit. Essentially, everything that is great about Guillin is five times better in Yangshuo.

Beijing is nice for its tourist sites and could be done in 4-6 days... check out the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, and the Temple of Heaven... I think everything else is overrated (but if you have the time, go to the Lama Temple and the Summer Palace). Also if you want to get your taste of how Koreans have taken to living in Beijing, go to Wudaokou, towards northwest Beijing close to the major universities, which happens to be on the way to the Summer Palace. Also check out Wangfujing for its shopping area and its night market stalls

Xian is good for 3-4 days... and make that one day less because the Western Line tour isn't that great. Stick with the Eastern Line tour (which includes the Terracota Warriors and Qin Shi Huang's burial place).

I highly recommend Chengdu, it's probably my second-favorite place that I've been to in China. You can go to Jiuzhaigou from there, but I also recommend taking a look at Leshan where the world's largest buddha is.

Kunming is worth a look too... one of my favorite things to see there was surprisingly Yunnan University, quite a great looking school. But city was nice too.



Anyhow I think Harbin is a must see

[chris_J2]

The three gorges are between Chongqing & Yichang. Nowhere near Lijiang. I think "thatwhitegirl" is confused with Tiger Leaping Gorge?

[Jove]

I've done the 3 Gorges tour...it was three days of hell on a all chinese speaking tour and with the dam, the water levels have risen so that when you do the small tour of the little three gorges have been diminished.

Must see places in China:
1. Yangshuo: take a bike tour with a local and the Li River cruise. You don't need to take a package tour and can take a local bus to the departure for the boats that will take you on a couple hour tour.

2. Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces: You can take a bus to these from Yangshuo. Stay at one of the lodges run by the locals at the terrace and spend the money to eat at one of the local "long-haired ladies" houses. It won't cost you much and you will see what the living conditions of rural Chinese is like.

3. Hangzhou: Just an hour west of Shanghai; a beautiful city where the Chinese elite come (Ferrari dealership anyone). Beautiful scenery surrounding the lake in the city.

4. Szechuan Province: Chengdu isn't much of a city, but you can get to some really great places. Go north and take a horse trek with Tibetan guides or go south to Leshan and spend 3 days climbing and descending steps of one of the "holy" mountains of China.

5. Yunnan Province: As was stated earlier, Lijiang is a wonderful city. Stay with Mama Naxi in the old town for her home cooked meals and the travelers you can hang out with. It is near Tiger Leaping Gorge, which is pretty cool, but a bit over-rated. Dali is an nice little town, as is Kumning.

6. Beijing: A huge city, polluted and overpopulated, but the attractions in and around the city require a minimum of 5 days. Forbidden City, Summer Palace, a variety of temples and parks, plus a day trip to the Great Wall demand a good deal of your time.

7. Xian: The Muslim quarter is cool, but changing rapidly. The city is cleaning the area up and it has changed in the past 5 years...doesn't feel as vibrant. If you go to see the Terracotta warriors, go through the different buildings backwards. If you go to the main building first, the rest is a bit of an anticlimax.

8. Ping-an: North of Xian and very interesting traditional village surrounded by a wall. A bit touristy now, but still worth a day or more.

9. Changbaishan (or Baekdusan for the Koreans): Very difficult to get to on the North Korean border and more than likely the weather will be awful, but the scenery is incredible and Koreans are always amazed and interested that a westerner has gone to one of their most holy (?) sites.

10. Tibet: This is one of the places in China I have yet to get to...and you'll need to hurry because by all accounts it is changing rapidly now that the train has reached Lhasa.[/b][/u]

[stevieg4ever]

is baekdosan really doable? how do you go about it can you just literally go there or do you need any permits or something to that effect?