My wife and I are doing a 3-week tour of the country and will be in: Beijing (June 30-July 3) Xian (July 4) Chengdu (July 5, 6) Yangshuo (July 6, 7) Yangtze river cruise (July 8-11, includes a morning in Fengdu) Shanghai (July 12, 13) Hong Kong (July 15-17) In Hong Kong we have the most free time available to us. Most other places, it's just the nights that are free. Between any forum members that have visited and any native Chinese on the boards, I was hoping to get any advice for my trip. Sticking more to little things that can make or break the trip versus the big things like "see the Great Wall and the Terra Cotta Warriors." For example, we've already been pushed to bring along antibiotics in the event we get sick since it would be difficult to get them while there. Are there any big sporting or entertainment events going on in any of these locations during those dates? Thanks in advance to anyone posting! Evan
In chengdu - make a day trip to either Leshan or Emei Shan. The city itself doesn't have a lot of attractions aside from the food. Oh, and pack a lot of sunscreen, it is going to be hot!
since you will travel with traveling agencies, I can't give you much tips about which place is worth to visit. LOOK OUT for the thefts, they are everywhere in big cities,do NOT carry too much cash. don't leave your passport, wallet anything valuable in the hotel room. from your list.. shanghai is a boring place, big modern city and that's all i am glad you will visit yangshuo, I used to live in there for almost a year. You will be shock how beautiful is the landscape
i had fun in shanghai last nov. i had a friend from there who took me the clubs. no lines, small cover charge and all you can drink alcohol. there's surprisingly a lot of Europeans there also. i was also on a tour 2 years ago. if your tour's anything like mine, be ready for infomercials breaks. you'll know what i mean.
funny, my future inlaws did a trip that was almost identical except they went to guilin instead of chengdu. If it is a chinese run tour group, you're going to be exhausted, they pack in as much activities as possible. Don't worry too much about not being able to find necessities, you'll be able to find them in most of those cities and they will cost less. Shanghai, you need to go to the bund, preferably at night. its amazing. the art museum is also very well done, and I don't even like art. nanjing road is probably good for the woman and lots of cheap stuff to buy, but its crowded and huge. xian, nothing really to do except for the TCS and the museums, been there twice. Get a massage or something, those are always worth it. everywhere else, i would just recommend following your book or tour guide. don't get pressured to buy crap when they bring you to a "authentic chinese goods" factory. The stuff is overpriced and they have a deal with the tour groups.
oh, and when you buy bottled water make sure the cap is attached to the ring. I made quite a lot of money selling water to tourists by just refilling the bottles with pond water and I think a lot of people took my idea. If its in a store it should be fine, but check when its a cart or a guy selling out of his backpack (should be 95% safe). also, if there isn't a big obvious price tag, everything can be bargained for.
Sounds fun, i wwent to Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Beijing last summer. Make sure and have some Peeking Duck. It was great in Beijing. Its pretty easy to get around there. Almost everyone speaks English and Taxis are really cheap.
May I ask where you booked this tour and how much it cost? I have a couple friends are interested going to China this summer as well.
The electricity is 220 volts in China. Beware of thieves, they look for electronics and cash. Keep valuables in a bag that's in the front. Some hotels have English TV channels and/or internet access. Some don't. There's a lot of internet cafes. Ask your guide if there's one near your hotel if there's a need. Walking on the main streets at night is usually safe.
Don't buy electronics there because they are more expensive than the US. When you go to open markets in Beijing and Shanghai, don't be hestitant to start at one eighth their starting offering price when you start negotiating. You can also have custom tailored shirts for 13 dollars and cashmere wool suits for 120 dollars, but sure you have at least 4 days to wait for it because there are bound to be some alterations that need to be made.
their electronics are way cheaper there, I dont know where you had a different experience. EVERYTHING there is cheap. Everything starts off cheap and you can always bargain down much further even in real stores and stuff. I got good a custon suit and two shirts made in hong Kong and they were finished and made alterations within 24 hours. Charms tailors in Hong Kong, you should check it out. Pirated dvds are only $.50, and legit ones are only like $2.50. I bought a few xbox 360 games for only $25. Some $2 polo shirts, and $40 basketball shoes. They had tmacs, iversons, Duncans, etc (but not many size 12's which took forever to find). Great shopping there, so cheap
Rhino17, are you sure you purchased authentic shoes? They have Nike, Adidas, Puma, etc shoe stores here but I found the price to be the same as purchasing them from USA. They do have cheap electronics, but the quality is vastly inferior as well. You can haggle with the locals to purchase things cheaper, but since they know your an foreigner, they will still rip you off. It's best to find a local who is familiar with the shops in that city and good at negotiating to help you purchase goods. Make sure you bring an umbrella. It seems to be the fashionable thing to do when your shopping out in this heat.
Yeah, they were real addidas. They've lasted almost a year Almost everyone there speaks English. Moreso than anyother foreign speaking country I've been to
