China Advice?
 

We’re visiting China for a couple of weeks in April and would be interested in hearing your experiences and advice on where to focus our visit. The first few days are planned for Bejing – the remainder is a blank page. We’re currently reading the travel guides (e.g. Lonely Planet) but are always interested in others real-world experiences and advice.

Thanks, LS

I went in March on a very tightly scheduled tour. It was for travel agents and their families and was very well run so I did not regret not having any real free time.

We started in Shangai and then went to Yaching to catch a cruise up the Yangtze before flying from Chongching to Beijing. They finished the second stage of the dam so the river trip would be a lot different now than it was before the water level rose about 60 meters in June. I thing the river trip was the highlight, but that was influenced by the knowledge that what we were seeing would soon be flooded. I think the the trip would still be worthwhile.

You can not go to Beijing and skip a trip to the wall and the Ming tombs. They are certainly worth seeing. The summer palace and the Forbidden city are also must sees. The Temple of Heaven is one of the most recognizable sites in the capital.

Shanghai was interesting. I enjoyed it. The Bund is a interesting at night.

I understand that Xian is worth a side trip. That is where the terra cotta army was burried and it was the capital during the Han Dynasty if my memory is correct.

Before you do any travel of this type you should check out updated health advice at cdc.gov.

The terracotta warriors are worth the side trip - Ithey are fascinating. I liked Xian itself - it is a much more human sized city compare to Beijing and Shanghai. I'd have to say that Shanghai was my favorite city though.

Thanks for the information and the advice re: cdc.gov. We're still in the planning phases and are strongly considering a side trip to Xian.

When in Beijing go to the Silk Alley. You'll be able to find a lot of knock-offs, pirated cds/dvds, and near-perfect clothing.

My teacher is from Xian. She keeps telling me how fascinating the terra cotta find is. To be honest, I hadn't heard anything about it, and was just getting ready to perform a search on the subject...

My biggest advice to anyone travelling abroad, and especially to Asia, would be to really learn as much as you can about the customs and attitudes of the locals. When I lived in Taipei, I was lucky to have friends who were from there, and who helped me stumble around in a completely different place.

1. Learn the key phrases... even though chinese is tonal and your pronunciation might not be haoting, it is very respectful to show that you care about their lang.

2. Be careful of your actions... What is totally normal in the US or western culture, may not come across the same way there.

3. Unless you're going on a western style tour, prepare for the squatter toilets.

4. Know in advance how strong or weak your stomach is. I loved everything I ate there, but I had another friend who couldn't handle most things. It's definately not Panda Express. (thankfully ; )

I gather you probably know all of this and more... you probably even speak better mandarin than I do, but having lived there, you feel a certain responsibility to the waigouren to prepare them for their visits.

I loved everyting about living in Taiwan, and knowing that China is a different beast, I think I would love that as well. I'm sure you will have a wonderful time!

If you have any questions (wenti), let me know.

Josh

im thinking about taking a trip to china in several years, check out the place.

squatter toilets... yes. and carry toilet paper with you otherwise you should have some change as most public toilets will charge you for entry and you get ONE piece of toilet paper.