Beijing and Shanghai for 11 days

[freeman5js]

Hi all just an update :


thanks for the great tips given on the forbidden palace.

i managed to book n pay my tickets online using the following link:

https://intl.dpm.org.cn/ticket_details.html

it works. on 21st dec i book the tickets for coming 26th dec. pay using TRUST card. cause its in CNY . better rate.
no need china contact number. just ur email will do. n there put to enter the palace by showing ur passport details. so hope all gd when i go on the actual day.

much easier than buying from wechat. same price as well. thanks !

 

[highsulphur]

Hi all just an update :


thanks for the great tips given on the forbidden palace.

i managed to book n pay my tickets online using the following link:

https://intl.dpm.org.cn/ticket_details.html

it works. on 21st dec i book the tickets for coming 26th dec. pay using TRUST card. cause its in CNY . better rate.
no need china contact number. just ur email will do. n there put to enter the palace by showing ur passport details. so hope all gd when i go on the actual day.

much easier than buying from wechat. same price as well. thanks !

Yeah just have to make sure passport number is correct. Have to carry along passport with you all the time in Beijing

 

[beanstalk6]

Visited the Beijing Zoo yesterday. One is required to visit the ticketing booth with a passport in order to gain entrance, if one does not have a local number to register online for entry. Same situation when I visited museums in another city. Locals get to scan their ICs for the free entry directly at the door while I had to walk a distance to the ticketing counter and register with my passport.

 

[klavier]

hi all,

Assuming I can allocate upto 12 nights for Beijing - Shanghai, would it make sense to go to Xi'an?
I am just not sure if the trip to Xi'an is worth it as I am only interested to see the Terracotta Army Museum..
If not, would it be easy to spend like 5 nights in Shanghai? I usually allocate a couple of days for shopping at major cities but somehow i feel shopping at Shanghai is not worth. Hence not sure if 5 nights is too many..

P.S. Apart from Beijing - Shanghai which I plan to visit, I have also been to Yunnan - Lijiang region..
Which region would you recommend to visit next? Guangzhou? I usually allocate 10-14 days for each trip i take.

 

[beanstalk6]

hi all,

Assuming I can allocate upto 12 nights for Beijing - Shanghai, would it make sense to go to Xi'an?
I am just not sure if the trip to Xi'an is worth it as I am only interested to see the Terracotta Army Museum..
If not, would it be easy to spend like 5 nights in Shanghai? I usually allocate a couple of days for shopping at major cities but somehow i feel shopping at Shanghai is not worth. Hence not sure if 5 nights is too many..

P.S. Apart from Beijing - Shanghai which I plan to visit, I have also been to Yunnan - Lijiang region..
Which region would you recommend to visit next? Guangzhou? I usually allocate 10-14 days for each trip i take.

My 2 cents' worth.

I suggest that you visit other places on the same Shanghai axis- Hangzhou, Suzhou and Nanjing, over Xi'an for this 10-day trip. In fact, you can visit Beijing and Xi'an on another trip. Consider:

High speed rail travel duration
Beijing-Xi'an 4-6 hours
Shanghai-Beijing 4.5-6.5 hours
Shanghai-Nanjing 1.5-2 hours
Shanghai-Hangzhou 45min-1 hour
Nanjing-Suzhou 1-2 hours

I don't find shopping in China essential unless it is for artwork, handicrafts and home decor. I shop on Taobao for many Chinese products and most of the time, I do not find it essential to shop there physically. If you are into clothing and prefer to shop at fashion stores, perhaps Chinese brands will interest you.

Guangzhou is a great choice for your next trip. Convenient and easy transportation to visit other destinations in the province- Kaiping, Macau, Zhuhai, Shenzhen, Foshan, Zhaoqing... the list goes on.

 

[klavier]

My 2 cents' worth.

I suggest that you visit other places on the same Shanghai axis- Hangzhou, Suzhou and Nanjing, over Xi'an for this 10-day trip. In fact, you can visit Beijing and Xi'an on another trip. Consider:

High speed rail travel duration
Beijing-Xi'an 4-6 hours
Shanghai-Beijing 4.5-6.6 hours
Shanghai-Nanjing 1.5-2 hours
Shanghai-Hangzhou 45min-1 hour
Nanjing-Suzhou 1-2 hours

Thank you. For this trip, Beijing is really the priority for us (likely traveling with seniors).. I have thought about the Shanghai axis as you pointed out but this has to be done together with Beijing.. Perhaps just one of the cities you mentioned for about 2 nights? I dont think i want to spend more than 3 nights in Shanghai given that shopping is not necessary. Well if not, the other alternative is just to somehow stretch my time in Beijing and do 4 nights Shanghai..

Noted on your suggestion for Guangzhou. Seems to be a interesting yet simple to plan region..

 

[dilphinus]

Thank you. For this trip, Beijing is really the priority for us (likely traveling with seniors).. I have thought about the Shanghai axis as you pointed out but this has to be done together with Beijing.. Perhaps just one of the cities you mentioned for about 2 nights? I dont think i want to spend more than 3 nights in Shanghai given that shopping is not necessary. Well if not, the other alternative is just to somehow stretch my time in Beijing and do 4 nights Shanghai..

Noted on your suggestion for Guangzhou. Seems to be a interesting yet simple to plan region..

don't know how able is your seniors. there is a lot of walking in Beijing. A lot!

Shanghai is easier for seniors in my opinion.

I live in Beijing now. I used to frequent Shanghai as my cousin was working there.

You can do Pingyao, Taiyuan, Datong, Tianjin, Qinhuangdao, etc with Beijing.

 

[klavier]

don't know how able is your seniors. there is a lot of walking in Beijing. A lot!

Shanghai is easier for seniors in my opinion.

I live in Beijing now. I used to frequent Shanghai as my cousin was working there.

You can do Pingyao, Taiyuan, Datong, Tianjin, Qinhuangdao, etc with Beijing.

Sadly not that able but we have actually factored in this.. Hence my initial thinking was I do not want to spend too many days in Beijing and I would also skip some 'must go' attractions like summer palace as I read that the palace ground is very large.. Main aim is really Great Wall (Muntianyu) and a short visit to Forbidden city for to see the main historical sites..

Hence my thinking is to travel to a third city (besides Beijing and Shanghai) since I would prefer to make it a 12-13 days trip..

 

[beanstalk6]

Thank you. For this trip, Beijing is really the priority for us (likely traveling with seniors).. I have thought about the Shanghai axis as you pointed out but this has to be done together with Beijing.. Perhaps just one of the cities you mentioned for about 2 nights? I dont think i want to spend more than 3 nights in Shanghai given that shopping is not necessary. Well if not, the other alternative is just to somehow stretch my time in Beijing and do 4 nights Shanghai..

Noted on your suggestion for Guangzhou. Seems to be a interesting yet simple to plan region..

Since Beijing is a must, perhaps you should allocate 3 nights to Shanghai for your group to visit the checklist sites ie. The Bund, Yuyuan etc. Personally I dislike Shanghai after having visited thrice. And since Beijing is a must, you can devote another trip for the other Yangtze Delta cities, so as to give more time to Beijing. For Beijing alone, you can plan a day each for the main city sights, such that you might never have to visit Beijing again. A trip to the Great Wall, for instance, takes up the major part of a day. Perhaps Chengde, the summer retreat as well. Another full day.

 

[dilphinus]

Sadly not that able but we have actually factored in this.. Hence my initial thinking was I do not want to spend too many days in Beijing and I would also skip some 'must go' attractions like summer palace as I read that the palace ground is very large.. Main aim is really Great Wall (Muntianyu) and a short visit to Forbidden city for to see the main historical sites..

Hence my thinking is to travel to a third city (besides Beijing and Shanghai) since I would prefer to make it a 12-13 days trip..

If your seniors are into history, can take the rickshaw tour in Houhai. Can drop by Prince Gong's Mansion for the guided tour.

Do the temple of Heaven. Forbidden Palace is huge too.

Mutianyu might be a challenge. If you can make a trip to Qinghuangdao, the Laolongtou Great Wall is much easier and more interesting.

I like Qianmen as well.

 

[3xp3rti3]

Be heading to shanghai in march with family.

anyone here have a rough itinerary for arnd 8days?

 

[beanstalk6]

Be heading to shanghai in march with family.

anyone here have a rough itinerary for arnd 8days?

You can Google or even ChatGPT for a family itinerary.
https://www.chinaculturetour.com/shanghai/travel-itinerary/7-days.htm

 

[turtle2018]

Sadly not that able but we have actually factored in this.. Hence my initial thinking was I do not want to spend too many days in Beijing and I would also skip some 'must go' attractions like summer palace as I read that the palace ground is very large.. Main aim is really Great Wall (Muntianyu) and a short visit to Forbidden city for to see the main historical sites..

Hence my thinking is to travel to a third city (besides Beijing and Shanghai) since I would prefer to make it a 12-13 days trip..

If BJ & SHA are mandatory for you & elderly, & u want to add another city, then can consider either Tianjin or Suzhou. As for the attractions in Tianjin/ Suzhou, I'm sure you can do your research via various You-tube videos.

 

[dilphinus]

If BJ & SHA are mandatory for you & elderly, & u want to add another city, then can consider either Tianjin or Suzhou. As for the attractions in Tianjin/ Suzhou, I'm sure you can do your research via various You-tube videos.

I think the elderly will prefer Suzhou. There isn't really much of tourist interest in Tianjin. Suzhou has the gardens. Nice for a day trip.

We recently did a weekend stay in Tianjin. Our 'previous previous' trip was 10 years ago. We are less than 2 hours drive to Tianjin but won't really consider going to Tianjin even if we are bored.

 

[Shalom_555]

Am going on a 5 day Beijing trip in Apr to revisit my favorite eateries and try new 'hot' ones. Problem is queues are long. I can't make adv booking in SG via Dianping cos no China mobile no. Any advice on how I could make adv reservations in places like Da Dong, Haidilao AI @chaoyang, Yaoji chaogan etc. Thanks for help

 

[beanstalk6]

Not sure if it will be effective or realistic, have you called the eateries to reserve?

Am going on a 5 day Beijing trip in Apr to revisit my favorite eateries and try new 'hot' ones. Problem is queues are long. I can't make adv booking in SG via Dianping cos no China mobile no. Any advice on how I could make adv reservations in places like Da Dong, Haidilao AI @chaoyang, Yaoji chaogan etc. Thanks for help

 

[klavier]

Since Beijing is a must, perhaps you should allocate 3 nights to Shanghai for your group to visit the checklist sites ie. The Bund, Yuyuan etc. Personally I dislike Shanghai after having visited thrice. And since Beijing is a must, you can devote another trip for the other Yangtze Delta cities, so as to give more time to Beijing. For Beijing alone, you can plan a day each for the main city sights, such that you might never have to visit Beijing again. A trip to the Great Wall, for instance, takes up the major part of a day. Perhaps Chengde, the summer retreat as well. Another full day.

Finally booked my trip..
However, I had taken out Shanghai totally and decided to go with Chengdu - Xi'an ' Beijing instead. Thought if I ever go to Shanghai in the future, I might as well visit Shanghai together with the neighbouring cities (Hangzhou etc)..

Now thinking of how to allocate the 11 nights between the 3 cities. Initial plan is 4 - 3 - 4 but might change it to 4 - 2 - 5 as I do not have many attractions planned for Xi'an.

If your seniors are into history, can take the rickshaw tour in Houhai. Can drop by Prince Gong's Mansion for the guided tour.

Do the temple of Heaven. Forbidden Palace is huge too.

Mutianyu might be a challenge. If you can make a trip to Qinghuangdao, the Laolongtou Great Wall is much easier and more interesting.

I like Qianmen as well.

Thank you for your suggestions. Will visit the places you mentioned but wont have time to make it to Qinghuangdao. Will just have to make do with Mutianyu.

Due to my traveling group, I intend to take it slow and am prepared to skip some popular attractions.

 

[Innocuous*]

Finally booked my trip..
However, I had taken out Shanghai totally and decided to go with Chengdu - Xi'an ' Beijing instead. Thought if I ever go to Shanghai in the future, I might as well visit Shanghai together with the neighbouring cities (Hangzhou etc)..

Now thinking of how to allocate the 11 nights between the 3 cities. Initial plan is 4 - 3 - 4 but might change it to 4 - 2 - 5 as I do not have many attractions planned for Xi'an.




Thank you for your suggestions. Will visit the places you mentioned but wont have time to make it to Qinghuangdao. Will just have to make do with Mutianyu.

Due to my traveling group, I intend to take it slow and am prepared to skip some popular attractions.

I am going Xi'an and Chengdu too in April this year, spending equal days on these 2 cities. I have more places to visit in Xi'an than Chengdu though. I guess your options are pretty limited due to accompanying elderly. For Xi'an, I planned to visit bell tower, muslim street, cycling at ancient city wall, shaanxi museum, changan twelve hours, big goose pagoda, da tang fu rong yuan, changan bu ye cheng, terracotta army museum and climb hua shan.
Maybe for elderly can bring them watch performances such as 驼铃传奇，长恨歌 and etc. This would be my first trip to Xi'an so not sure whether these performances are good or not.

 

[dilphinus]

I am going Xi'an and Chengdu too in April this year, spending equal days on these 2 cities. I have more places to visit in Xi'an than Chengdu though. I guess your options are pretty limited due to accompanying elderly. For Xi'an, I planned to visit bell tower, muslim street, cycling at ancient city wall, shaanxi museum, changan twelve hours, big goose pagoda, da tang fu rong yuan, changan bu ye cheng, terracotta army museum and climb hua shan.
Maybe for elderly can bring them watch performances such as 驼铃传奇，长恨歌 and etc. This would be my first trip to Xi'an so not sure whether these performances are good or not.

Do share with us your experience with the Bell Tower, Muslim Quarters, Big Goose Pagoda and cycling at the ancient wall.

Hope you won't be disappointed. It's a total waste of time imo.

Let us know how long you spent at each spot doing what activity.

 

[beanstalk6]

I am going Xi'an and Chengdu too in April this year, spending equal days on these 2 cities. I have more places to visit in Xi'an than Chengdu though. I guess your options are pretty limited due to accompanying elderly. For Xi'an, I planned to visit bell tower, muslim street, cycling at ancient city wall, shaanxi museum, changan twelve hours, big goose pagoda, da tang fu rong yuan, changan bu ye cheng, terracotta army museum and climb hua shan.
Maybe for elderly can bring them watch performances such as 驼铃传奇，长恨歌 and etc. This would be my first trip to Xi'an so not sure whether these performances are good or not.

I looked up "Chang'an 12 Hours" in your itinerary. I realise it was the location for the TV series. There are also packages that offer a visit to this location bundled with the performance you mentioned.