Shanghai/Beijing bound

Hey lefty,

I just got back from that area of China myself. Two weeks total, with stops in Suzhou, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Xian and Beijing.

Any reason why you're spending so much time in Hangzhou? Beyond the West Lake and some other local sights, I think you would be better off spending your time elsewhere. You could probably do Hangzhou in a day or two.

i've spent only a day in hangzhou and that mainly at the west lake when i've been there...I was adviced that there's nothing else that would be special or worth more time in hangzhou itself. I would rather take a few more days for shanghai.

yes, you are right....

I think you've got plenty of time in Shanghai. In fact, I'd say maybe a smidge too much time. There is a lot to do there but if you're into hiking I think you may get bored by the fifth day or so. If you're into urban sights and restaurants, you'll be fine. We only stayed for two days, but it was a good time. We went to the Pearl Tower, the national museum and took a riverboat cruise down the river. Lots of restaurants and shopping if you're into that stuff as well. Watch out for the traffic, as congestion is very bad downtown (especially as they are doing construction for the World Expo in 2010).

I lucked out when I went to Shanghai because the 2009 Auto Show was in town. That basically took an entire afternoon but it was a lot of fun if you're a car enthusiast.

I'd say spend two days max in Hangzhou. The West Lake is the only "must see" place there. Hangzhou also features its share of temples and gardens, which are decent places to visit but you can find a lot of those in China in general.

The silk factory and tea factory tours in Hangzhou are nothing but thinly disguised excuses to get you to buy stuff so I'd say skip both of them. Then again, almost any factory tour (silk, pearls, tea) falls into that category so watch out. I would skip all factory tours unless you really like gift shops. Last, there is a traditional village type place (think Renaissance Faire on steriods) which isn't exactly a must-see either but it's not bad.

Basically, you can do a full-day tour and hit most of the above if you're willing to put in about 12 hours of touring. We did a full day tour from Suzhou, which meant we also had to take the bus 2 hours each way. It was a long day but it's possible. If you spend one night in Hangzhou then you can take a more leisurely pace.

I have not been to Moganshan so I can't say how that will be. Have you been to other areas in China, or is this your first trip there? I can recommend some sights in the other places depending on where you've been before. I haven't done much hiking in China except for along a non-tourist destination along the Great Wall (Beijing).

Since this is your 1st trip to China, I'd suggest to include Beijing where you can see the Great Wall and Forbidden City. You can fly into SH and out of BJ pretty easily from most major US/EU airports.

If you must have a country side trip on your plan, may I suggest http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhangji...al_Forest_Park

^^ I'm with him, go to Beijing and see the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven.

My buddy from Suzhou took us to a part of the Great Wall that is non-renovated. It's about a 4-5 hour hike from one end to the other, but it's far less crowded than the renovated part (which is where most of the tourists go). You have to make arrangements for a car to pick you up at the other end (it's not a loop) but IMO this is much more fun than the standard tourist route. At the end there is a zipline you can ride over the river if you like.

Caution: if you look like a furriner (like I did), be prepared to have people following you around hawking stuff. There was this group of ladies on the Great Wall that trailed us for two @#$@# hours trying to get us to buy stuff. I know people have to make a living but that sucked.

What's your budget?

Not familiar with the SH URBN hotel, location wise, my preference is near the Bund. I stayed at the Renaissance SH once which was not bad.

If the BJ Shangri-La Hotel is the one near Zi zhu yuan, location wise it is not so great. Personally I would stay along Chang An Ave / Jian Guo Men Ave between Tian an men square and the CBD. I have stayed at the Grand Hyatt BJ and Traders Hotel BJ. Both were good for me.

Dunno about the Hotel G but googled it's near San Li Tun which is a good location. Many embassies / western corp's are around there so you can meet internationally diverse people, not to mention, the bar street of BJ is there. Enjoy.

LK and I are in Beijing- he's on the East side and I'm Wessiiiide. When will you come to Beijing exactly? I'll be flying back to the US on the 7th of July for my Sister's wedding. Pssshh, that area is all foreigners, can't stand it. You can play a fun game there though called "Watch the Tajikistani slip the ruffie". To have fun in Beijing you have to hang out with shirtless guys chainsmoking and drinking 9 bottles of TsingTao in an alley next to rotting garbage.