Visiting China outside of Beijing, Shanghai and Xian

[Happy Dude]

China gets better as you travel west. There's nothing overly complicated about travelling/communicating in my experience. The only place I've taken a tour is Tibet and that's because you must (outside of Lhasa anyways). Xinjiang province is incredible. Take a train from Xian to Urumqi and on to Kashgar would be a fabulous adventure (we flew). My wife and I had a memorable chat in English with a schoolgirl in Urumqi over a dinner of spicy meat kebabs and garlicky bread.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Hello Team,

We've got 5 nights and four days in Beijing early September.

Would the brains trust suggest staying in Beijing for the whole time or would a short trip out of town be worthwhile? First time in China and looking for suggestions.

Thanks in advance.

JV

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Travel plans? Into PEK / out of PEK? We've = who? Ages? 4 days not a huge amount of time to try to do more than 1 city.

 

[moa999]

Hello Team,
We've got 5 nights and four days in Beijing early September.

Great wall is out of town...
Wouldn't go much further afield.

If in January/Feb, would also recommend the ice caves near the Badaling Great Wall - Longqing Gorge Ice Lantern Festival but way too early for this
[h=2][/h]

 

[Jacques Vert]

Travel plans? Into PEK / out of PEK? We've = who? Ages? 4 days not a huge amount of time to try to do more than 1 city.

Sorry for being a little scant with the details. Yes, flying into PEK and out of PEK; just a short stop on our way from Japan to France. We = my +1 & I; no kids.

Am thinking that there will be more than enough in Beijing to keep us busy but also don't want to miss out on any gems nearby just because we don't know about them. My knowledge of China is not great so I thought the best place to start our research is here on AFF.

Great wall is out of town...
Wouldn't go much further afield.

If in January/Feb, would also recommend the ice caves near the Badaling Great Wall - Longqing Gorge Ice Lantern Festival but way too early for this

How much time would we need to allow for the wall? Would it be better to concentrate on Beijing and leave the wall to another time?

Thanks to both for the speedy replies.

 

[seanpodge]

For the amount of time you have, I don't think there's much point in leaving Beijing. Beijing is pretty big and there is plenty of things to see and do. The only major city that could be done easily and quickly from Beijing is Tianjin, which is connected by high speed rail (travel time is about 35 minutes). After that you're going to lose major chunks of your day to transport that could be better spent exploring another part of Beijing in my opinion. The only significant sites worth seeing on the outskirts of Beijing are the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs, I reckon. Could see both on a day trip, although make sure that any tour you go on doesn't stop off at some craft factory for a oh so fascinating "tour" of the factory's rather well maintained gift shop.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Thanks for the tips seanpodge.

 

[moa999]

I've done the Wall a couple of times..
Every hotel will offer private car but unlikely to be cheap or lots of tours
Last time I just took the subway or as far as I could then jumped in a cab. Paid him about$50 for 5hrs (with a good tip on top ,- waiting time is literally nothing). Just used hotel card and a couple of words the hotel had written down for me

 

[Jacques Vert]

I've done the Wall a couple of times..
Every hotel will offer private car but unlikely to be cheap or lots of tours
Last time I just took the subway or as far as I could then jumped in a cab. Paid him about$50 for 5hrs (with a good tip on top ,- waiting time is literally nothing). Just used hotel card and a couple of words the hotel had written down for me

Seems like a good option.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Just 2 of you does make it a bit easier - but 5nts / 4days is prolly just 1 day/1 nt short of making 2 cities viable. PEK has shoot loads of stuff to do;
1. Day trip to Wall and Ming Tombs - Wall an absolute must and don't skimp on time - walk as far as you can / feel comfortable as when you leave China this one unique memory will remain with you for like. Ming Tombs IMHO are ho hum but still glad I did it and most others think much higher of it than I do.
2. Forbidden Palace - you could easily spend a FULL day here - jeez you walk for hours and so much to see and take in - it can appear a bit repetitive but really every stage is different
3. Tiananmen Square / Mao's Mausoleum - just mentally staggering to walk Tiananmen Square and physically feel the history - I am actually getting chills up the spine as typing - you can walk in and say g'day to Mao baby as he sleeps right there in front of you
4. Summer Palace / Temple of Heaven - also well worth seeing if you can put up with the touristy side of it - I strongly recommend you do - it is a bit over the top tourist wise in just a few days bit you will really appreciate pest leaving.
5. Fake Market - still well worth doing and experiencing - Ya Show (Sunlitan) and Silk Market now dead - Pearl Market (Hongqiao Market - not to be confused with Honqqiao in Shanghai) is only real big fame market still operating in PEK
Bugger - you are out of time! Birds Nest Stadium / Wanfujiang Walking St / Soho Streets - so much to do - so little time. TBH more than way too much for you in PEK in 4 days - but of course only important decision is what YOU decide to do.
Do you have your accom sorted? I can get you a very competitive rate at Renaissance Beijing Capital Hotel - pm me if you would like to pursue.
PEK - so much history - China so much history - China - never a dull moment!

 

[Isochronous]

If you decide to go to Tianjin that's a lot of fun - possibly the best preserved colonial city in China.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Just 2 of you does make it a bit easier - but 5nts / 4days is prolly just 1 day/1 nt short of making 2 cities viable. PEK has shoot loads of stuff to do;.....

Do you have your accom sorted? I can get you a very competitive rate at Renaissance Beijing Capital Hotel - pm me if you would like to pursue.
PEK - so much history - China so much history - China - never a dull moment!

Thanks CE,

Yes we are short on time; we were originally looking at longer in China but with the other parts of this trip we were way over budget so something had to give. Together with award flight availability we ended up deciding to just have a small taste of China and come back for a month in a future year.

Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions; most helpful.

We haven't organised our accommodation yet. I'll send you a PM when we firm up our thoughts.

JV

 

[sinophile888]

My +1 and have visited Beijing 5 times, three of which were leading groups of Year 12s from Perth. We had about 7 days each time and saw all the main attractions:
· Great Wall at Badeling, Mutianyu, JuYong Pass or Simitai. My +1 recommends JuYong Pass for ease of access and smaller crowds.
· Forbidden City which could be combined with Mao’s Mausoleum, the Great Hall of the People, Tiananmen Square and the National Museum of China
· Temple of Heaven which can combine with the Pearl Market which is opposite the East Gate. (The Temple of Heaven is the largest religious enclosure in the world. It also features groups doing ballroom dancing, craft, mah-jong, cards, matchmaking, gymnastics, revolutionary dancing and singing.)
· Summer Palace
· Prince Gong’s Mansion and Hutong ride

The students had a free day built into the itinerary and most went shopping (at the Silk Market, now apparently closed).

This would easily fill up your days.

Some other options are:
· Military Museum on Chang An Dajie, which also features a few Terracotta Warriors plus chariots and horses.
· Houhai Lake
· Wangfujing and Snack Street
· Ming Tombs
· Coal Hill behind the Forbidden City

I hope you both have a fantastic time.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

The students had a free day built into the itinerary and most went shopping (at the Silk Market, now apparently closed).

Silk Market isn't closed it has just undergone total restructure - most 'fake' stalls gone and upper market Chinese glass fronted stores replaced the old open fronted fake stalls - fake bags / luggage / shoes still available in basement but most clothing gone.

 

[sinophile888]

I remember when the Silk Market was outdoors. It had a great atmosphere then.

 

[moa999]

I remember when the Silk Market was outdoors. It had a great atmosphere then.

Visited a number of times in 2000 lining the gates of the US embassy - mostly ripping off trademarks of US companies.

Went back and visited the mall in I think 2007 and it was a poor comparison

 

[Jacques Vert]

My +1 and have visited Beijing 5 times, three of which were leading groups of Year 12s from Perth. We had about 7 days each time and saw all the main attractions:
· Great Wall at Badeling, Mutianyu, JuYong Pass or Simitai. My +1 recommends JuYong Pass for ease of access and smaller crowds.
· Forbidden City which could be combined with Mao’s Mausoleum, the Great Hall of the People, Tiananmen Square and the National Museum of China
· Temple of Heaven which can combine with the Pearl Market which is opposite the East Gate. (The Temple of Heaven is the largest religious enclosure in the world. It also features groups doing ballroom dancing, craft, mah-jong, cards, matchmaking, gymnastics, revolutionary dancing and singing.)
· Summer Palace
· Prince Gong’s Mansion and Hutong ride

The students had a free day built into the itinerary and most went shopping (at the Silk Market, now apparently closed).

This would easily fill up your days.

Some other options are:
· Military Museum on Chang An Dajie, which also features a few Terracotta Warriors plus chariots and horses.
· Houhai Lake
· Wangfujing and Snack Street
· Ming Tombs
· Coal Hill behind the Forbidden City

I hope you both have a fantastic time.

Thanks sinophile888,

Some great ideas and details in there. This gives me a bit more research to do.

JV

 

[Jacques Vert]

Another consideration is the 6 day visa-free option. If we head anywhere outside of Beijing (including the Wall, presumably) we will need to get visas (around $263 for 2). Not a huge outlay but it all adds up.

Have those who have used the visa-free option got any thoughts? I am wondering if the process at the airport is complex or time-consuming making getting a visa more attractive than not?

JV

 

[seanpodge]

I haven't used the TWOV myself, although the signage is clear enough at Beijing airport. I'll let others give you first hand experience. You do need to be on transit to a third country though to qualify. For example, Australia-PEK-Australia won't qualify, while Aus-PEK-somewhere else will. Also, if you stop off at any other mainland Chinese airports, even if you don't go landside, then you don't qualify, I believe.

You could still easily do the Great Wall if you did use the TWOV option. You're restricted to the official boundaries of the municipality of Beijing, which is actually quite large and includes the hills and mountains to the north of the city where the wall is located. The popular Badaling section of the wall for example is well inside the Beijing city limits, as are the Ming Tombs. Tianjin would not be accessible under this visa, however.

 

[marki]

Have never been and on my bucket list so keen and interested on this thread !