Korean Job Discussion Forums

[shostahoosier]

I know 2 weeks isnt enough time to truly experience China but thats what I have to work with this summer vacation.

How would you use it?

I have already spent a week in Beijing and another in Hong Kong.

I wanted to spend some time in Shanghai...but I hear that 2 weeks is way too long there.

[lowpo]

[cj1976]

What did you do in Beijing? I am going there for 6 days at the end of the month.

[samd]

It depends how hectic a trip you want.

Domestic flights are cheap and easy. Use www.ctrip.com.

If you just want to see as many places as you can, give yourself two days in a bunch of cities, you could do six or seven in 2 weeks easily. Then use ctrip to find the best and cheapest way to link them up with your city/s of arrival and departure.

Excluding Beijing and Shanghai, I would recommend Guilin and Xian, followed by Chongqing and Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Suzhou. Zhengzhou (the Shaolin temple is nearby) is also worth a visit if you don't hate 2nd/3rd tier Chinese cities.

I also like the North - Harbin is interesting, and Dandong is great, with boat tours to the North Korean side of the river, and meals in North Korean restaurants. It's an overnight train ride from Beijing. If you go there be sure to go to Real Love (真爱) Club which has a floor show worth the trip to Dandong alone.

If you want a quieter trip, you could easily spend a week in the Guilin area, including a couple of days oin Yangshuo, a couple at the Longsheng rice terraces, and maybe some other day trips. Xian is not worth more than a couple of days in my opinion, and two or three days is enough for Guangzhou/Shenzhen as well. Hangzhou and Suzhou only need a day each, as does Chongqing. You could stay longer in Chengdu, especially if you make trips to Leshan to see the stone buddha, and to the panda sanctuary/zoo place.

If you don't mind queuing for tickets, train travel in China is fun also, and you could visit less cities, but travel by train and see more of the countryside.

[samd]

[pugwall]

If I had 2 weeks, I would skip Shanghai. I would fly to Kunming and do a loop of Dali and Lijiang. You wont be dissapointed and will see something really different from East China. Prices are about 1/2 of east china as well

[D.D.]

not much to do in shanghai unless you like nightlife and partying. Otherwise I would fly to Chengdu and cruise around there for about 10 days and come back to shanghai for 3-4 days.

[matthews_world]

Are you male, m8?

If you don't have any scruples then just go there to meet a few ladies.

Chinese girls are generally more open-minded to foreigners. Find 1 or 2 that would travel around with you and show you sites that you wouldn't normally see.

Bring extra cash in this case.

Could be a welcome diversion.

[isisaredead]

i personally think six days in beijing is WAY too long. out of everywhere i've travelled, i liked beijing the very least. i'm not a huge fan of the chinese, and i thought that beijing was the armpit of the world. and i've been to st louis.

you could probably do everything in about three days. i'd recommend getting the hell out of there as quick as you can.

[shostahoosier]

[samd]

Yeah two weeks is way too long for Shanghai. If anything I'd do a couple of days there at the end of your trip, so if you're craving a bit of modernity and some familiar foods and products, you can indulge yourself. 2 days is enough to see the city in my opinion - the Bund, French Quarter, tall buildings, a few meals, a few drinks, shopping if you want. Then again, I'm not a big fan of Shanghai, so don't have much good to say about it.

[pugwall]

I would skip Shanghai completely

[Ave, L�cifer]

pretty sure shanghai is the best thing ever

[shostahoosier]

[travel zen]