If you had two weeks in China...

[Ruben von Zwack]

Hello all!

I may be able to get away for a two week holiday this autumn, and I really really!!! itch to finally go to China. I just got myself the latest Lonely Planet, and am browsing the pages all the time, but damn, it all sounds too interesting...

Where would you go and what would you do? I know the obvious answer is "it depends on what you like, and what you want to do/see".

I like smaller towns, say Ayutthaya over Bangkok, Leeds over London, Bergen over Oslo. Or when I'm in a large town like London, I like to walk around and take pictures in some small alley and to visit museums, rather than shop on Oxford Street.

I've done some pretty rough backpacking in India, so I won't be afraid to take an overnight train or such. Maybe I should mention that I'm a woman, but I have it from many and good sources that this is no reason for concern in China.

Oh and I am kind of food-fixated , so when I can have a decent meal at the end of the day, I'm happy. I love night markets, naturally!

So, if you had two weeks in China, what would you do? Where would you go? Do you have fond memories of one particular place or journey or sight?

[skylee]

I would spend the time in Hong Kong. Second choice is Taiwan (for the people and culture). In Mainland China, I like Xi'an as it is easy to travel in Xi'an. Sichuan is another good choice. People in Chengdu are nice, as I remember it.

PS - Jiuzhaigou is beautiful. Zhangjiajie is also beautiful (I have only seen photos).

[roddy]

It kind of depends if you want to see the big sights - Great Wall, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Terracotta Warriors - or if you're willing to skip them. If they're on the agenda then a chunk of time in the north is unavoidable.

[Ruben von Zwack]

I was thinking I may skip the big sights, even if it makes me feel a bit guilty (or weird). May be budget friendly to do so, too (I hope )

To come back to Lonely Planet, it's suggestions like doing a boat trip on the river Lí, or cycling in Yángshùo, or visiting the walled town of Píngyào that I find exciting.

@Skylee - actually I may likely go to Taiwan next spring! A trip Hongkong, and also to Singapore, is also on my wish list. Right now this autumn though my budget is kind of limited, so it may be easier for me to travel in mainland China.

[skylee]

Pingyao is ok, if you don't mind the dust. If you could read about it before you go (like something written by Yu Qiuyu) you might like it even better.

I think places like Yangshuo or Lijiang are ok too, if you don't mind how touristy they are.

[Ruben von Zwack]

Thank you for the tip, I will see if I can find something by Yu Qiuyu

Oh my, "touristy"? Why is it that those most touristy spots always look so idyllic in the travel guides?! Unfair.

[Lu]

The nice places are often touristy because there are many people who think they're nice. 没办法. Just make sure not to go during any Golden Week.

Lijiang is touristy in places, but it's still easy to escape the crowds even in the old town by simply turning a few corners. Beautiful scenery nearby, hiking and biking, small towns, you name it. It's a nice place. I've also heard good things about Dali, but I only ever spent two nights or so there, it seemed nice. If you go to Erhai hu, keep in mind that it is too large to bike around it even if you like a bike ride.

Chengdu is very nice, with history and culture and museums, pandas, parks, everything. Quite friendly and laid-back, I liked it a lot. Make sure to check out Sanxingdui, it's really interesting.

If you can, go see the Terracotta Army in Xi'an. It lives up to the hype imo. It's not really 顺路 if you're in the south, but worth it. It has some other nice sights as well, and you can bike all around the old city wall.

Near Yangshuo is some amazing scenery, and picturesque rice paddies, quite nice.

[roddy]

Lijiang and Yangshuo are touristy. Go by local buses between them, however...

[Guest realmayo]

Personally I'd love to go to Taiwan.

As for two weeks on the mainland:

I'd choose a biggish area and stick to it.

For me, probably fly in and out of Shanghai. The city doesn't appeal to me but nearby there is:

Suzhou (I really really liked some of those gardens, and the city in general seemed nice and friendly and approachable), I'd go back in a flash.

Hangzhou (touristy like Suzhou but the big lake is nice)

Then Anhui province: if my Lonely Planet said there were nice quiet chilled out places here I'd be interested.

Unesco likes the old villages of Xidi and Hongcun.

And there are mountains: Huangshan in Anhui, perhaps it'd be feasible to then get out west to Lushan?

All these will presumably be touristy, I'd only go if I was in no rush and was flexible enough to spend a few extra days somewhere if I thought it was really nice and laid back.

[abcdefg]

Will this be your first China trip? My advice might differ a bit if it were.

I like your idea, in #4 above, about not trying to just hit the "big name" places which get the lion's share of glossy magazine coverage. Since you speak the language, you will be able to get off the main tourist trail and visit some secondary locations. As often as not, the five-star spots are disappointing, though they do give you "bragging rights" once you get back home.

For example, in Yunnan I'd forgo Dali, Lijiang and Xishuangbanna entirely. I know that's heresy, but those places are jam packed with bus tourists most of the year and are, to a large extent, coasting on the reputation they made 5 or 10 years ago. (Not 100% true; but to get to the good parts of those places today requires a great deal of skill, determination and luck.)

Instead, in Yunnan I'd go to Jianshui in the south or Tengchong/Heshun in the west. Both Jianshui and Heshun give a less popular taste of Old China. Plus you will have access, via short side trips, to some beautiful scenery. For example, Yuanyang is near Jianshui, and the rice terraces will be pretty in the Fall. Tengchong is near some volcanoes and rugged geothermal springs.

Don't get me wrong. These places aren't devoid of tourists. In particular, newly middle class Chinese with disposable income are now everywhere, like ants at a picnic. If you can shake off most of the international tourists, that's still a plus.

Here are a couple snapshots of the airport in Tengchong that I took with my phone in February. You can readily tell that it's not Shanghai Pudong.

Here's a busy street in Jianshui from May of this year.

This will probably be a controversial and popular topic. You will get lots of good advice.

[liuzhou]

I live very near Yangshuo. It is hell. Every bad tourist nightmare rolled into one. Yeah, the mountains and the river are beautiful, but they have utterly destroyed everything else about the place.

Lijiang is the same. The old town was built about 15 years ago. Utterly fake. The original city was destroyed in an earthquake in 1998, I was there. Everything you see now is reconstruction under the guidance of the Communist Party Committee for Making Up History.

Favourites now are places like Fenghuang and Pingyao which are overcrowded nightmares. I used to live near Fenghuang. No one charged entry to the town. Now it's ¥50 just to enter and the river bank (the point of visiting) is wall to wall hotels and crap restaurants.)

On a two week visit, I'd stick to the clichéd Great Walls and Xi'an. They are not so bad. Actually Xi'an is my favourite Chinese city.

[Ruben von Zwack]

I'm off to work right now, so gotta hurry, but yes, it will be my first trip to China. Thank you a million for your thoughts, abcdefg and liuzhou and realmayo!!! It's interesting to hear Lu and everyone speak highly about Xi'an. That is the one "big name" I find most fascinating.

[skylee]

Sanxingdui mentioned by Lu is very interesting. I liked it a lot.

PS - Suzhou is also OK. I don't know why but I have been to Suzhou more times than necessary.

[Steingletscher]

Since you are going in the fall, go to 九寨沟, as that is when all of the leaves turn their colors. Just avoid Golden week when it becomes so crowded that you can't even enter into the park. The only problem is that it takes a 10 hour bus ride to and from Chengdu, so if you go there I would just spend your entire two weeks in Sichuan.

[ChTTay]

Yangshuo town centre isn't too nice but the Yu River (not the Li river, the other one...) is still really worth seeing. Walking up to Moon Hill, going to Longji Rice terraces... All good. My friend recently came to visit me in China and we went from Beijing down to Guilin/Yangshuo by plane, then up to Shanghai (inc. Suzhou etc), back to Beijing then he went to Japan. He only has about 11 days and didn't want to rush around too much.

If he had had longer we probably would have ventured over to Yunnan and then back to Beijing by way of Xi'an.

[liuzhou]

Walking up to Moon Hill

That is probably the worst experience I have ever had in China. Followed every step of the way by some woman (and her very young daughter) wittering on in my ear about how I had to buy her water, Despite the fact that I was already carrying a bottle of water. When we got to the top, she demanded 10元 for her service as a guide.

She was a bit surprised when I informed her, in the local dialect, that she had not only guided nothing but had totally ruined my entire visit, and if she asked me for 10元, or to once more buy her warm water which she was selling in a used bottled refilled in the local toilet, she would be going down the 'mountain' a hell of a lot faster then she came up.

The problem she had was that she didn't speak the local dialect. Like most of the rip-off merchants in Yangshuo and the vast majority of hotel owners or crap souvenir shops selling fake shit which has no real connection to the local area, she was an outsider. But she got the gist.

Anyway, the hill is only really interesting looking up at it.

As to the souvenirs, all that 'genuine Guangxi' blue cloth which they tout in Yangshuo is made in a couple of factories in Guizhou, for example.Nothing is real.

The hotels are mostly Taiwanese. In 2003, with SARS, the foreigners disappeared, so the locals turned to Chinese tourists - particularly overseas Chinese. Taiwan moved in.

Did I mention I don't like the place?

[Angelina]

A Beijing-Xian trip sounds great. Truly underground places won't be mentioned on Lonely Planet, once they are mentioned they turn into Yangshuo. I'm not an expert on China either.

Explore the hutongs, the Great Wall, etc. in Beijing then get a train to Xian. Completely safe.

I've never been to Jiuzhaigou, everybody says it's incredible and the photos look so. You might want to see that part of China, but prepare to spend more time on getting there. Check the local climate anyway, maybe you don't want to miss this opportunity, because autumn might probably be the best time to visit the area.

[gato]

In case you don't know what Golden Week is (since you haven't been China before), it is the one week or so around the October 1 National Day holiday when all the tourist spots are packed and you'd be well advised to stay home. October is also generally a popular time for company-organized trips (公款旅游). Late October or the month of November would be best for avoiding the crowd.

[abcdefg]

Since this is your first trip, I'd modify the advice I gave earlier and suggest one "major place," such as Xi'an, and then one minor, less well-known, less-popular place, perhaps Jianshui.

Also important not to rush around too much and plan too many stops or else you will see way too much of the inside of bus and train stations or airports.

[ChTTay]

A women followed me up Moon Hill too... I found them amusing. Also the women at the bottom of the hill in the car park and at the top of the hill

You need to take a small dirt path at the top where a sign says "Passengers don't go" or something for the good view. When I first went there was no sign but this time there was... although as I was considering whether or not to try the path I saw a Chinese couple come out of there. Probably not good for the conservation of Moon Hill though, taking that path...

Yangshuo would be a good choice if you've not been before. Just get a bike and head out by yourself. I was about to type it might depend how old you are too ... but then again I saw quite a few older tourists there as well. It probably more depends on what your previous China experience has been.