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| Must See Places In China? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Mikey M Mike Meggiato Post Count: 325 Msg: #1 732 days ago, December 1st 2007 | Hi everyone as part of my round the world trip i will be traveling through China for about a month - month and a half and i want to see the Great Wall and The Terracotta army and a few other gems, but are the any must see places that i must add to my list and try and see within the time i have there? | Thx Mike ;0)  Beth and Craig Elizabeth Christie Post Count: 37 Msg: #2 730 days ago, December 4th 2007 | I really enjoyed Chengde, its 4 hours north of Beijing in the mountains. If you do a little reading on good old Emperor Qianlong before heading out, its a really nice compliment to the Forbidden City and other historic sites in Beijing. It was his summer resort and there are eight temples outside the resort. Its a lot cleaner up there and there is a great mountain to climb (you can take a cable car but save that fun for the way down) Mt. Banshui, and a UNESCO certified Master Paper cutter who has created art for the heads of state of around the world. You can get a stamped piece of her work for 50 rmb or up and its phenominal, not machine cut like most tourist trap stores. Chengde isn't nearly as busy as your other sites, where I've had my feet lifted right off the ground by the ground and pretty much body surfed the sites. So its just a great change of pace. Other big recommend is a few lessons before leaving on how to read pinyin. I live in Tianjin, so if you need any help along the way, just pop me a message. | Cheers! Beth Mikey M Mike Meggiato Post Count: 325 Msg: #3 730 days ago, December 4th 2007 | Hi Beth thanks for the advice, is it easy to get local transit to Chengde?, also i would really appreciate any other tips you might have regarding places to go or cultural or whatever as it all helps with me being a China newbie. | Thx Mike:) bjhiker Richard Chang Post Count: 3 Msg: #4 723 days ago, December 11th 2007 | Mike, I suggest you stop by Leshan, where a giant buddha is carved onto a mountain cliff. This city is close to Chengdu, a big metropolis famous for its deliciously hot Sichuan cuisine. If you are after historic stuff, Sichuan is a treasure trove. Tibet is worth seeing too if you have a week or so. My favorite is Lijiang (a thousand year old town) in Yunnan province. A lot about it can be found on the web. Usually you fly to Kunming (capital of Yunnan) and change plane for a 40-minute flight to Lijiang. But there are direct flights between Chengdu and Lijiang. | Beth and Craig Elizabeth Christie Post Count: 37 Msg: #5 723 days ago, December 11th 2007 | Local transit to Chengde is easy enough...I know you can get there by train or bus. If you hire a car, you can hit the Great Wall twice on the way there, and have the freedom to pull over at Pear Orchards and little villages. I'm sure other China travellors will tell you the coolest experiences are when you are out of the big cities, in little towns with people just doing their thing. Yunnan and Lijiang are on my todo list, maybe Spring Festival will afford the chance. There is a park called Zhangjiajie that I am dying to explore...you can find it online. It blows my mind. Anyway, whatever you do will be interesting and very different from what you know, so just embrace it and you'll have a great time. |  HomerJS Neil T. Post Count: 15 Msg: #6 723 days ago, December 11th 2007 | How about... | - Wolong Panda Reserve in Chengdu - Forest of Stone Tablets in Xi'an (large stone blocks containing Confucius writing... in Chinese) These ones have few foreign tourists... - Old Summer Palace in Beijing (it's somewhat a sad place for Chinese to visit... lots of bad memories) - Hukou Waterfall near Xi'an (only recently became popular after a stuntman rode his bike across it.) - Waterfalls at Simian Mountain near Jiangjin, Chonqqing * * When we there in September, we practically had the place to ourselves. There were the workers, but we were the only tourists. In the same area, you can enjoy a slow 3+ hour boat ride which will take you to a small monkey reserve. If you are up to it, you can even help row the boat. Modern activities... - Take the 10-minute high speed magnetic rail in Shanghai. Top speed for a few seconds is around 431 km/h. - If in Shanghai, visit the harbor at night. - National Military Museum in Beijing (war stuff from BC to modern warfare) I can go on... there are too many things to see and do.  trax2 China Bill Post Count: 14 Msg: #7 722 days ago, December 12th 2007 | For a month you will not be able to cover too much - China is a huge place - if you want to cover more places then you should fly the longer distances - local airfares are good value too |  j500sut Chris Sutcliffe Post Count: 19 Msg: #8 722 days ago, December 12th 2007 | thanks for these replies guys, I'm doing the same as Mike, probably spending about a month in China! | By the way Mike, when are you planning on visiting China if you dont mind me asking? Broccoli YanieCHi Post Count: 8 Msg: #9 719 days ago, December 14th 2007 | How about this trip? | Home Stay Confucius’ Hometown, More than a tourist does… Bold Text15 days in China: 8 nights with local families + 5 nights 4 star hotels! Ø Be a pioneer of an innovated travel concept. Ø Live with local families, and experience real Chinese life. Ø Visit Confucius’ hometown Confucius’ Temple, Ceremony and Kong’s Residence (770B.C. - 1368).Visit the Yellow River — Mother river of China. Ø Mt. Tai Hiking —when an emperor ascends the throne, he must climb the mountain and pray to the gods.See the country scenery of countryside on the train. Ø Shop on the local night markets with home stay family. Ø Go to see a Chinese traditional doctor, enjoy a real massage. Ø 2-hour preparation presentation before departure. Ø Photographers will take pictures of your unforgettable moments. Ø Special services are offered before and throughout the trip. Day 1 -- Vancouver / Pacific Ocean You will fly across the Pacific Ocean today. The whole journey will take about 9 hours. Day 2 -- Beijing / Yantai Arrive in Beijing and change airplane to Yantai. Check in to your home stay family, and traditional Chinese evening dim sum will be ready for you there. Day 3 -- Yantai After a typical Chinese breakfast, the tour will start with a visit a 100-year-old high school and the first winery in China (1892). An on-site wine museum demonstrates the wine history and wine cultures in Chinese winery industry. Enjoy a happy time with your home stay family after dinner and have a good sleep. Day 4 -- Fairland discovery 7:00 am take a bus to the Fairland in Chinese folk: Penglai. Ever child knows about the eight immortals that got drunk in Penglai Pavilion and flow over the ocean to the heaven from here because of the beauty and meaningful historical settings. You will be one of the immortals today and find your own Fairland here. Day 5 -- Mu’s Family Manor China is not a rich country but there is never lack of rich people. This family manor we will visit today is an example of the lifestyle of the feudalism landlord class. It is a miniature forbidden city. Day 6 -- The unsinkable battle ship (National Civilized Scenic Spot) Liugong Island is a historic site where the first formal battle between the Chinese people and Japanese invaders was fought during the Qing Dynasty. This island is one of the most honorable battlefields in China. Weihai is titled as “one of the most comfortable place for living”. You will also visit Korean Town in the city to experience a different concept of living abroad. Day 7 -- Be a fisherman! Go to an island beside Yantai, where there used to be a very important military site. The island is developed into a popular tourist attraction, which specializes in letting tourists join the fisherman’s life. You will be satisfied and proud by fishing for your own meal. Day 8 -- Be a farmer! Cattle are still used for farming. Not because they can not afford the machines, but… (It’s your job to find out why). Enjoy the happiness of working and harvest! Day 9 -- Southern Mt. The greatest collection of Buddhism and Taoism attraction…Goodbye party with all guests and home stay families together. Day 10 & 11 - Qingdao Take a train to Qingdao, the world famous beer city. Enjoy a Tea Demonstration at the top of Lao Mt., which is the mountain of Taoism. Lute Island, music square, historical culture and Euro-Asian culture area show you places that meet the requirements of hosting 2008 Olympics Sailing Regatta. Day 12 -- Jinan:Thousand Buddha Mt. This is the capital city of Shandong Province, the city of Spring. Here is where the Yellow River empties into the ocean. After looking for the Buddhas, which are carved on the rocks around the mountain, we head to the Yellow River and get a souvenir bottle of Yellow River Water. We won’t miss the springs around the city that reminded poets and romantic kings or princes of beautiful girls sitting by the bank of spring lakes… Day 13 -- Qufu:Confucius’ Hometown The temple and cemetery of Confucius and the Kong family mansion are one of the largest architectural complexes in China. It contains the temple for offering prayers to Confucius, the mansion where direct descendants of the sage live and the cemetery containing the remains of Confucius and his off spring. Confucius’ culture festival… a huge event lasts 20 days to celebrate Confucius’ birthday (for trips in Sep. & Oct). Day 14 — Mt. Tai Hiking Chairman Mao said: leading a life should be as great as the Mt. Tai. Mt. Tai is the most sacred mountain in China. There are 6,366 stairs from the bottom to the top temple. In ancient times, when an emperor ascends the throne, he must climb the mountain to prey to the gods. Climbing to the top, you will be as great as the mountain and the emperor! Day 15 -- Fly to Beijing and Change plane to Vancouver. Mikey M Mike Meggiato Post Count: 325 Msg: #10 719 days ago, December 14th 2007 | Hey chris i get to china on the 15.07.08 and you? | j500sut Chris Sutcliffe Post Count: 19 Msg: #11 716 days ago, December 18th 2007 | Oh no! I'll miss you by about 3 months! I should be getting there April time, havent got anything booked as yet though. |  calvinlee calvinlee Post Count: 26 Msg: #12 710 days ago, December 24th 2007 | Sichuan province to watch the pandas and tibet to climb the Mt. Everest. I believe the two are must see places. | Mikey M Mike Meggiato Post Count: 325 Msg: #13 710 days ago, December 24th 2007 | Chris i have nothing booked, just my arrival and then i was going to the must see kinda places and winging the rest of it. | Hope you have a good time;) Mike:) vagamundo J. Post Count: 2 Msg: #14 707 days ago, December 26th 2007 | I also want to travel China for a month in 2008, starting from Beijing, but approx. first week of September (after the Olympics). | Great ideas mentioned in this thread, as I am at the very beginning of finding out what there is to see and of the fight to make a selection then, later. - Would be fun to find travel companions for all the different locations to visit, how easy is that once you are there? - And how easy is it to drive to all the spots with a rented car? Or is taking trains easier and ok? - And how easy can you just decide on the spot to stay near a place and get a decent accommodation. I am starting to learn mandarin, but not sure whether I will follow it or leave it :). Seems like I wont get far away from Beijing, if there is already that much to see around there. Shanghai is a must though, same as the wall, but I prefer less main attractions, as for me everything will be stunning and completely new. And I prefer nature to million-cities (and will be in Beijing for a month already, working). BapaJali Azhali Edwin Post Count: 2 Msg: #15 707 days ago, December 27th 2007 | hi Mikey... | I was in China last year for about 5 months. I was in YanJiao (small city outside east of BeiJing)and also BeiJing. Actually, there are a lot of places in BeiJing that, IMO, you must visit: 1. Forbidden City 2. Tiananmen Square 3. Temple of Heaven 4. Wang Fujing Area 5. Great Wall (my suggestion: try Simatai and Shanhaiguan (the eastern end of the Great Wall) instead of Badaling) 6. Summer Palace 7. Ming Tomb 8. Tea House, near Tiananmen 9. must try: Peking Duck 10. Silk store at Qianmen, near Tiananmen 11. HouHai Lake 12. BeiJing Botanical Garden 13. BeiJing Zoo (maybe...) 14. SanLitun Area 15. NiuJie Masjid 16. BeiJing Summer Olympic Complex 17. Culture Park 18. CCTV Tower 19. Yong Hegong 20. Tibet...! [Edited: 02:29 - BapaJali ] calvinlee calvinlee Post Count: 26 Msg: #16 706 days ago, December 28th 2007 | hi,vagamundo, I am planing to go to tibet in 2008,as many of my friends had went to there, they told me that it is easy to rent a car, but it is also easy to be cheated for a shit high cost. so , they suggested that it's better to find a travel agency to help us get the car rented, though there must be some commission, but it is relatively reasonable. And it's a little difficult to get a ticket of potala palace since it's the peak and best season to tibet, and during this period there is the famous festival of tibet，sholton festival, thousands of pilgrims will get there for worship, so please do make your reservation in advance, otherwise you may get troubled.Anyhow, wish u a good luck ! | cheers calvin vagamundo J. Post Count: 2 Msg: #17 706 days ago, December 28th 2007 | Hi Calvin, thanks for the info on the car rental. And also the Festival in Tibet, will search for it in the web now, sounds very interesting and special. Normally one misses out on the local big events always as they are in other times of the year than when one is travelling. | Best from Jessica  Kez180 Kerri Dobson Post Count: 6 Msg: #18 699 days ago, January 3rd 2008 | I loved China and have many wonderful memories from my visit. My favourite place was Yangshou, a small town near Guilin....we sailed down the River Li first and stopped at a cave with stalactites and stalagmites on the way which was cool. I definitely recomend this! Let me know how it goes! Have fun. | xxx Number of Users: 11 | Number of Posts: 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
