I have a 30 day vac' from my teaching post here in Zhejiang, China. I'm based not far from Shanghai and Hangzhou. There's so much to see and do that every time I start planning my trip it changes. I'm not saying that I'm not flexible once I hit the road but I like to have at least a rough route/direction to go in. I am in dire need of advice. What do you think is a must see? What's worth skipping and what's worth the trip?
Help is seriously needed.
Cheers,
Connie
[Edited: 2011 Jun 14 10:47 - Mell:49612 - Moved to Asia Forum. 😊]
Reply to this Hi Connie, my personal experience after 6-7 trips to China of 3-4 weeks each, is that it is much better to concentrate on one region. For example I spent a whole month just traveling around the area you live in, from Nanjing down to Ningbo, going to Huang Shan and a number of cities and towns in between. It was a great trip, because we had time to experience each place.
Another trip was Guizhou and Yunnan, which I also liked a lot. I have the impression from what I read that at least Yunnan with Dali up to Shangri-La has become overrun by tourists, since my trip. But the scenery in these regions is amazing.
Yet another, was Xian (really liked that city), then down to Yichang and the Yangtse cruise, from there we traveled back to Guizhou for a second visit (obviously a favaourite). If you are going now in the summer check out the weather, in that respect Guizhou and Yunnan are good this time of year because it is much cooler than the coastal areas. But you should prepare for rain in any case (unless you go for the desert areas).
Personally I don't think there are any "must see" in China, because there are so many different areas with astounding scenery, interesting history and great food. You have to think of what you like to do/see/experience and then go from there.
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