My Big China Trip 2013 (南京，蘇州，杭州，香港，台灣)

[xuexiansheng]

I've finalized my dates for my (hoping to be) annual trip to China. Last year I took a cruise down the Yangtze, went to Shenzhen, Ji'nan and Shanghai. This year I've got another four weeks off and am planning to hit a few cities I've been to before and see a few new ones, as well as travel to Taiwan for the first time. (Glad I've been studying Classical Chinese, so my 繁體字 should be up to snuff!) Here is my rough travel outline:

Week 1: Arrive in Shanghai, stay 1-2 days see a few things then head off to Nanjing to visit two friends there. Planning to head down to Suzhou for a day trip and see the Ming tombs in Nanjing.

Week 2: Maybe Hangzhou and start heading south to Shenzhen to meet a friend.

Week 3: Stay in Shenzhen and go to Hongkong, maybe some day trips around southern Guangdong.

Week 4: Fly to Taiwan with my friend. Start in the south and work our way up the coast. Ending in Taipei. See the National Palace Museum and the sights of Taipei, part ways with my friend and fly home to The States.

I would love any suggestions you might have for any of the cities I'm going to visit. (Favorite sites, great museums, tours, food suggestions.) My plan is most flexible weeks 2 and 3, on the way down to Shenzhen. I've always heard about Hangzhou and figured I'd have to visit it at some point! I was planning on taking the train down the coast, so I could stop somewhere like Xiamen. Suggestions are welcome!

A little about myself: I'm a male traveler in my mid-30's and have lived and traveled in China before. My language skills are decent (enough to get myself into and out of most trouble! ) and my interests focus mainly on culture and history. Thanks all!

[大肚男]

I just want to say "awesome" and I'm jealous. like most Americans, I only get 2 weeks of vacation. Enjoy it

[Meng Lelan]

How will you get from mainland to Taiwan? Be sure to go to Suzhou for the gardens. If the kids and I were to go back we would almost have your same itinerary, though more like Suzhou, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Hong Kong then Taiwan. Be sure to follow up with a write up.

[skylee]

I suggest you compress weeks 1-3 a bit and spend more time in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

PS - I don't know when you will be travelling but if the time is right I suggest the exhibition of Putlizer winning photos. You can see it in Taipei or Tainan, depending on your schedule. (Forget this if you have already seen it elsewhere.) Check out http://express.culture.gov.tw/home.php for more info.

Also, the HK Arts Festival is held in Feb-Mar and the HK International Film Festival in Mar-Apr. A large part of HK is countryside, which is excellent for hiking.

[xuexiansheng]

@大肚男-Thanks for the envy! My job may not be terribly interesting, but being able to cobble together a month off once a year with no negative repercussions has it's benefits.

@Meng Lelan- I plan to fly from HK to Kaohsiung(高雄). My friend in Shenzhen isn't sure when/if she'll be able to come, so I'm leaving that date open. But, with or without her, I'm going to Taiwan at some point! The plan is to hit a nice sandy beach and experience 'natural' Taiwan in the south, hit a city on the midpoint that a friend recommended that has some nice colonial architecture and then end up in 'urban' Taiwan in Taipei for a few days.

@skylee- Thanks for the recommendation. Looks like that photo exhibit is right up my alley and will be in Kaohsiung from April 28th to July 7th! What do you think about my plan to stay in Shenzhen (I have a free bed there for as long as I want) and explore HK via day trips? Will I be wasting too much time commuting?

[Meng Lelan]

What airline from HK to 高雄？

[OneEye]

If you're in Kaohsiung for a while, I recommend spending a few days in Kenting (墾丁), at the very southern tip of the island. I went there for a few days last year when family came to visit, and again for CNY this year. Nice beaches, decent surfing (sometimes), hiking (Sheding Park 社頂自然公園, Eluanbi 鵝鑾鼻 and other areas), a really outstanding aquarium, good food (Taiwanese, Japanese, Thai, American, French, Mexican, street food, etc.), historic Hengchun 恆春 township, all kinds of good stuff. It's about a two hour bus ride from Kaohsiung if you take the Kenting Express Bus (墾丁列車) from Zuoying 左營 station.

[skylee]

About your planned multiple day trips between Shenzhen and HK, will you be able to enter Shenzhen again once you have left China (visa issue)?

[xuexiansheng]

@OneEye- Nice recommendation! I'll definitely look into Kenting (墾丁), that sounds exactly like what I was looking for. Thanks!

@Skylee- I plan to have a multi-entry visa. Last year I asked for a single and they gave me multi-entry. This year I'll plan on specifically asking for multi-entry, can't see why I would get denied. (crossfinger) So, reentry shouldn't be a problem.

[jkduck]

The weather in Guangzhou is hot and humid, very uncomfortable. And i eat rice everyday,i really hate it. I am studying in Guangzhou, i want to make friends with you because i am attracted by your travelling and you must have many interesting stories. I am a Chinese, but i just have been no more than 3 cities of China. I am so jealous of you. Do you have a QQ number?

[ZhangKaiRong]

My 寒假 trip has some similarities with your plans. I went to Nanjing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Sanya.

Nanjing: Nanjing Massacre Hall is an absolute must-see, it's quite depressing, but it definitely worth the visit. Also go to Qin Huai River and the Confucius Temple nearby, the scenery is really beautiful. I didn't have time to go to Purple Mountains, but I heard it's also very fascinating. Don't forget to tasta tangbao (汤包), it's delicious, it's also quite cheap in smaller restaurants.

Shanghai: you have been there, so you don't really need any recommendations I guess My favourite place was the Shanghai Urban Planning Museum, be sure to visit it if you haven't been there before (and take not that museums in China are also closed on Monday).

Hangzhou: definitely my favourite city on the mainland... Do not miss the tea fields in Longjing Village, it was a breath-taking experience even in January... Dreaming of the Tiger Spring is also a famous tourist spot, I only walked around the first section of the mountain, but the whole trip can take up to 6-7 hours. Lingyin Temple also worth a visit, though the adult ticket is too expensive. Alternative for the Lingyin Temple could be the 天竺三寺 because it's cheaper and not that crowded. Be sure to walk around the West Lake, start it in the afternoon, and end it in the dark, it's really beautiful. Eating near the West Lake is quite expensive, so if you want to eat cheaper, go to the city centre, or be a frequent visitor to the 兰州拉面 near the lake.

Guangzhou: soooooo much to do, I first have my doubts about Canton, but this 7 days were awesome. Visit Chen Clan's Academy, the Sun-Yat Sen Memorial Hall, Guangxiao Temple, Liurong Temple, Sanyuan Temple, Guangdong Museum. If you like nature spots (of course you like them), go to Baiyun Mountain. One day is not enough to visit all corners of the Mountain Park area, it has so many beautiful flowers and trees. If you like Chinese tea, go to the Fangcun Tea market, you can buy high quality tea leaves for a reasonable price, so don't miss it! Eating can't be a problem in Guangzhou, it has the highest rate of restaurants per capita in China. I personally recommend you the Pantang Street, it's in Liwan District, next to Zhongshanba Street. There are tons of restaurants here, food is cheap and delicious, don't forget to taste the different 肠, which is a kind of rice pasta with different fillings (don't have anything to do with intestins ).

Shenzhen: I hated this city... I just used it as a transport station to Hong Kong, but I totally regretted it, because taking the metro to Hong Kong and crossing the border every day took a lot of time and money. This was the first city in China where I felt that Chinese people really unhelpful with foreigners, though my Chinese is okay, so I speak Chinese with them.

Hong Kong: Avenue of Stars, Victoria Peak, the Tsim Sha Tsui neighbourhood, Hong Kong Museum of History, Lantau Islands... But seriously, just passing some days in Hong Kong and feel the city's lifestyle also okay. These 4 days were really awesome, I definitely want to go back, it's not like mainland China... I ate in Haufook Street, be sure to taste the Hong Kong 点心, it's tastier than in Guangzhou. You can try to eat in Southeastern-Asian restaurants, there are a lot of them near Tsim Sha Tsui.

Have a nice trip, take a lot of pictures!

[xuexiansheng]

@Meng Lelan- Looks like there is a flight from HK to Kaohsiung by China Airlines and Dragon Air. The price seems reasonable. 1100-1400元 for a round trip.

@jkduck- Sorry, no QQ number. I'll PM you on the forums.

[xuexiansheng]

@ZhangKaiRong- Thanks for all the recommendations!

Nanjing- I'll definitely try the 湯包 and I'm sure I'll hit a few of those sites, I've seen the Massacre Museum, but it was when I first started learning Chinese. It would be nice to get back there and understand more of it.

Shanghai- I loved the Urban Planning Museum, I saw it last year and wrote a little in my last post here. A friend recommended the Propaganda Museum, I'm definitely not missing that one this year!

Hangzhou-Thanks, that should give me a good idea of where to start planning my stop there. Sounds like 2-3 days should be enough.

Guangzhou- I've been here before, not to all of those sites, I'll check some of them out. I had the best meal while I was here last time, those tiger prawns still haunt my dreams to this day.... yum!

Shenzhen- My friend I'm staying with has been living working here for the last year. Shenzhen is what it is, what more can you say?

HK- I'm really looking forward to this stop. I just finished listening to Lazlo Montgomery's 10 part podcast on HK history. After listening to it's long and interesting history, now I just want to see the real thing! How long did it take to travel back and forth between HK and Shenzhen each day? If you did it again, would you bite the bullet and pay for expensive HK hotels? I plan on making a 'scientific study' of 點心 while I'm in the south (aka eat a lot of it!). Hopefully I can finally put an end to the bitter debate of who has the best! (or die with a full happy belly trying!)

[ZhangKaiRong]

@xuexiansheng

In Shenzhen, I stayed in Baoan District, in the suburbans. Getting to Lok Ma Chau was about 40 minutes. Crossing the border depends on the time. On the weekdays, it shouldn't be a big problem, maximum 30-35 minutes. But on the weekends, it's chaotic as hell. I was unlucky enough to cross the border on the weekends, and I waited for 1,5-2 hours on those two days. From the border, it takes another 30-40 minutes to ge to Tsim Sha Tsui. Take note that metro tickets are relatively expensive, in Shenzhen we paid 6 kuai for a ride, in Hong Kong it was 58 HKD if I remember correctly. So yeah, if I have the chance to reorganize my plans, I would definitely miss Shenzhen and stay in Hong Kong. In Shenzhen, I paid 85 kuai for accomodation for a night, in Hong Kong, it was about 145 kuai, so alltogether Shenzhen is not that cheap. Commuting 4-5 hours every day is really tiring.

[ZhangKaiRong]

Sorry for the duplication

[xuexiansheng]

In less than two weeks I'll be in Shanghai to start my month long trip!

Updates: My visa came through without any problems. I requested a multiple entry visa for 6 months and they gave me a multiple entry good for 1 year. The Chinese visa office is full of mysteries... They had a new requirement from last year. I had to attach information of where I was staying and my flights to and from China. I just attached a printed out email confirmation of my flight and the first hotel I'll be staying at in Shanghai. I was a little worried, because I was planning on staying with friends and booking hotels as I go, so I didn't have a full itinerary, but it didn't seem to affect my visa.

I'm going to be in Shanghai for a little longer than I was planning. I'm arriving just before 勞動節 and I've heard that travelling that 1st weekend (May 3,4,5) might be a bit of a hassle. So, I'll hang out in Shanghai and recover from jetlag and ease my way into travelling. Anyone know of a good bathhouse in Shanghai?