A week in China - Where/What?

[Flashback]

Have some points that are due to expire (hard expiry) and thinking of a 1-1.5'ish week trip late July. Into PVG and out of PEK/PXK (or vice versa) or just in and out of one of them and do the areas surrounding (train within 1-2 hours of the destination)? Open to recommendations but need to book in the next day or 2.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Have some points that are due to expire (hard expiry) and thinking of a 1-1.5'ish week trip late July. Into PVG and out of PEK/PXK (or vice versa) or just in and out of one of them and do the areas surrounding (train within 1-2 hours of the destination)? Open to recommendations but need to book in the next day or 2.

Shanghai you can easily fill up a week. Do a free walking tour to get your orientation. Even with only one or two museums over the whole week, your time fills up pretty quickly with food and other sightseeing. You can do a day trip out to Suzhou by train,

Extending beyond that, i think people go to the great wall on the way to or from beijing. And spend a couple days in beijing. Or do a day trip to the wall from beijing.

I wouldn’t go out of my way to go to beijing, but YMMV

 

[Flashback]

Shanghai you can easily fill up a week. Do a free walking tour to get your orientation. Even with only one or two museums over the whole week, your time fills up pretty quickly with food and other sightseeing. You can do a day trip out to Suzhou by train,

Extending beyond that, i think people go to the great wall on the way to or from beijing. And spend a couple days in beijing. Or do a day trip to the wall from beijing.

I wouldn’t go out of my way to go to beijing, but YMMV

Thanks, I'm pretty anti big city and only plan to spend a night at the relevant one for the first night and last night. I'll keep PEK for when Mrs FB comes with then so we can visit the great wall together, so looks like PVG then and need to find a circular route to head out on from there....?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Thanks, I'm pretty anti big city and only plan to spend a night at the relevant one for the first night and last night. I'll keep PEK for when Mrs FB comes with then so we can visit the great wall together, so looks like PVG then and need to find a circular route to head out on from there....?

errr lol… I think a small city in china is around 20 million?

 

[elanshin]

Thanks, I'm pretty anti big city and only plan to spend a night at the relevant one for the first night and last night. I'll keep PEK for when Mrs FB comes with then so we can visit the great wall together, so looks like PVG then and need to find a circular route to head out on from there....?

I think you would then need to readjust your concept of big city. Even tier 2 cities can have populations that are up with Sydney. Shanghai and Beijing have the population of Australia living in the city.

Also the problem to consider is that any touristy place is full of people as well (domestic tourists) and countryside places will be almost 0 English. They'll be friendly enough and curious why you're there but will need language translation apps.

Oh and July weather wise is absolutely terrible. Hot and humid that makes the South East Asians feel uncomfortable as well. I make a point of never visiting China in July August unless i absolutely have to and even then I hesitate.

 

[BjJames]

destinations available from AustraliaHave some points that are due to expire (hard expiry) and thinking of a 1-1.5'ish week trip late July. Into PVG and out of PEK/PXK (or vice versa) or just in and out of one of them and do the areas surrounding (train within 1-2 hours of the destination)? Open to recommendations but need to book in the next day or 2.

Having done business in China for 25 years, and lived there for 13, I would say that it is quite easy to fill ten days from landing in either Beijing or Shanghai and an easy seven days in/from any of the other direct Chinese destinations available from Australia. They all have differences and some people like/dislike them according to their own tastes. I would suggest you just Google the "(city) tours" and you will find lots of attractions to suit yourself.

Even with my long experience, there are still places I want to visit in China.

Load the "Alipay" app on your smart phone and link it to a credit card or two, and you will find the system great, once you figure it out (easy).

Despite the nay-sayers, China is safe, clean, and efficient, and the locals are friendly - with excellent food variety -- go with an open mind and you will find that it is an amazing place.

 

[elanshin]

Having done business in China for 25 years, and lived there for 13, I would say that it is quite easy to fill ten days from landing in either Beijing or Shanghai and an easy seven days in/from any of the other direct Chinese destinations available from Australia. They all have differences and some people like/dislike them according to their own tastes. I would suggest you just Google the "(city) tours" and you will find lots of attractions to suit yourself.

Even with my long experience, there are still places I want to visit in China.

Load the "Alipay" app on your smart phone and link it to a credit card or two, and you will find the system great, once you figure it out (easy).

Despite the nay-sayers, China is safe, clean, and efficient, and the locals are friendly - with excellent food variety -- go with an open mind and you will find that it is an amazing place.

But would you want to really go be a tourist in mid July instead of sheltering in aircon places.

 

[Flashback]

But would you want to really go be a tourist in mid July instead of sheltering in aircon places.

Beijing seems better in this regard?

Thanks for all the suggestions, time to look at flights now and that may end up dictating accordingly!

Doing a routing similar to #4 on China 1-Week Itineraries: 5 Travel Ideas for Incredible Trips seems like a good taster.

I don't have much leeway on time to visit as I can't book travel too far out as I'm never sure if some work might drop in.

Off the beaten track is more my vibe and using translation apps is fine, have done in many other places before. By small cities, I refer to those less trafficed by tourists.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Beijing seems better in this regard?

Thanks for all the suggestions, time to look at flights now and that may end up dictating accordingly!

Doing a routing similar to #4 on China 1-Week Itineraries: 5 Travel Ideas for Incredible Trips seems like a good taster.

I don't have much leeway on time to visit as I can't book travel too far out as I'm never sure if some work might drop in.

Off the beaten track is more my vibe and using translation apps is fine, have done in many other places before. By small cities, I refer to those less trafficed by tourists.

Yes… all of those tour suggestions are ok, they’re the general tourist trail, and referenced in my post.

If a town is off the tourist trail, there’s probably a reason for that

 

[elanshin]

Beijing seems better in this regard?

Thanks for all the suggestions, time to look at flights now and that may end up dictating accordingly!

Doing a routing similar to #4 on China 1-Week Itineraries: 5 Travel Ideas for Incredible Trips seems like a good taster.

I don't have much leeway on time to visit as I can't book travel too far out as I'm never sure if some work might drop in.

Off the beaten track is more my vibe and using translation apps is fine, have done in many other places before. By small cities, I refer to those less trafficed by tourists.

Done most of #4 personally.

Suzhou and Hangzhou are nice cities but they're just as populated as Sydney. Huangshan is also nice but not sure how busy it is in July. It's another one of the big domestic tourism locations so there may br a lot of people visiting as its school holidays. Try for at least weekdays over weekends.

By all means explore these parts of China. Just keep in mind that they're still likely to have lots of people around and it'll be hot. We did a a 35k steps walk day in Hangzhou all around XiHu (west lake) last year in 31 degree weather.

Prepare your Alipay and/or wechat pay apps beforehand (do the verifications and have your card linked). Book your high speed rail tickets 2 weeks before travel as well or as soon as you know - they can get full. Get to HSR stations at least 1.5 hr before train departure on your first time.

 

[Flashback]

Actually, BA doesn't fly to Beijing anymore - so looks like PVG it is. Plenty of availability.

I've done Japan in late July, which was hot and humid, so not averse to it. It's all part of the fun of travel, right?

 

[elanshin]

Actually, BA doesn't fly to Beijing anymore - so looks like PVG it is. Plenty of availability.

I've done Japan in late July, which was hot and humid, so not averse to it. It's all part of the fun of travel, right?

Yeh it'll be similar to Japan (potentially worse in some parts potentially better in others).

Huangshan i definitely think is under travelled by foreigners (but definitely loads of domestic travellers). Suzhou and Hangzhou are nice different cities that are day trippable fron Shanghai. If you like tea the Longjing (dragon well) in Hangzhou is very very good - just be careful with imitation ones.

I also quite liked going to Jiuzhaigou up a bit further past Chengdu but thats a multi day trip (i think i spent 3 days there last time and it wasn't anywhere near enough). Half a day was spent adjusting to elevation.

 

[Flashback]

Yeh it'll be similar to Japan (potentially worse in some parts potentially better in others).

Huangshan i definitely think is under travelled by foreigners (but definitely loads of domestic travellers). Suzhou and Hangzhou are nice different cities that are day trippable fron Shanghai. If you like tea the Longjing (dragon

I also quite liked going to Jiuzhaigou up a bit further past Chengdu but thats a multi day trip (i think i spent 3 days there last time and it wasn't anywhere near enough). Half a day was spent adjusting to elevation.

Booked for 7 full days on the ground (so +-/ the travel in and out). Need to firm up my itinerary now and get the trains booked. May as well use the easy visa free entry while I can (hence the post on this thread)!

Is it worth setting up WeChat too?

 

[BjJames]

Booked for 7 full days on the ground (so +-/ the travel in and out). Need to firm up my itinerary now and get the trains booked. May as well use the easy visa free entry while I can (hence the post on this thread)!

Is it worth setting up WeChat too?

Yes, install WeChat. Handy for many things, and if you meet any locals that you may want to stay in touch with (or vice versa) zapping of WeChat codes is de rigeur these days -- business cards - ("mingpian") are less used in a local environment. Unfortunately the "Pay" component of WeChat (which nearly everyone uses for small payments and gifts) is difficult to set up for a foreigner unless you have a local credit card or bank account. The now pervasive KYC ("Know Your Customer") requirements now apply also to financial institutions in China.
But Alipay allows you to connect a foreign credit card. (Set that up before you leave Australia).
Alipay also allows you to book and pay for DiDi cars (the Chinese equivalent of Uber) through the Alipay app, with an English interface.

 

[SYD]

Yes, install WeChat. Handy for many things, and if you meet any locals that you may want to stay in touch with (or vice versa) zapping of WeChat codes is de rigeur these days -- business cards - ("mingpian") are less used in a local environment. Unfortunately the "Pay" component of WeChat (which nearly everyone uses for small payments and gifts) is difficult to set up for a foreigner unless you have a local credit card or bank account. The now pervasive KYC ("Know Your Customer") requirements now apply also to financial institutions in China.
But Alipay allows you to connect a foreign credit card. (Set that up before you leave Australia).
Alipay also allows you to book and pay for DiDi cars (the Chinese equivalent of Uber equivalent) through the Alipay app, with an English interface.

But if just visiting as a tourist, WeChat isn’t essential.

AliPay with a CC and backup DC was all we needed recently.

I’d also recommend Trip.com for booking trains, airport transfers and tours/attractions.

 

[anat0l]

Timely thread, this is. Dad and I will be taking off this coming Monday to HKG, then next day fly to CKG. A full day in Chongqing followed by Yangtze cruise to Yichang (highlight 3 Gorges Dam), then fly up to Xian (highlight terracotta warriors), then train to Shenzhen. 2 weeks total.

Already prepped Alipay backed up by my ING Direct Orange Everyday debit card. Did a test paying for train tickets the other night and it works; after adding the mandatory 3% foreign card fee, works out to be about 3.5% against midmarket (cf. purchasing CNY cash or Travel Money Card debit foreign cash, which is 5%). Haven't set up Wechat Pay yet.

Was wondering - can one pay for things in China with Alipay without an active Internet connection? What about Wechat Pay? If no, then I guess I'll need to look into a local eSIM.

Main issues for Dad and I in China will be maps and language (especially, e.g. dining out). I've got Google offline maps for all our cities, plus I also got offline maps on Baidu Maps and OSM. So I should be covered there, even if I can't use them for navigation.

I look Chinese and I did take some classes when younger, but my Mandarin is terrible - accented, not tonally accurate and lost a lot of vocabulary due to lack of practice. Mainlanders will probably look at me either comically or with contempt because this Chinese idiot embarrassingly can't speak Chinese, and won't be helpful. Have downloaded the Chinese offline language pack for Google Translate; not sure if there's something else better to use.

 

[moa999]

Believe Alipay needs an internet connection.
Recommend the various trip.com esims over the mass marketed companies. They exit in HK so have good speeds to/from China.
Billion Connect/ BC Connect one of the main providers.

AMaps now works well with English..
Just favourite your key locations, and ignore any promote to login with a China number.

MetroMan is also a good English tool for the various Metros once you have a station name in English.

And Didi China if you want transport standalone, also has a mini app in Alipay

 

[Must...Fly!]

Use the Alipay mini app for Didi.

Make sure to verify Alipay before you go by scanning passport and a selfie etc. It'll make life much easier as you'll be able to download metro cards for cities very easily within the Alipay app

 

[SYD]

Timely thread, this is. Dad and I will be taking off this coming Monday to HKG, then next day fly to CKG. A full day in Chongqing followed by Yangtze cruise to Yichang (highlight 3 Gorges Dam), then fly up to Xian (highlight terracotta warriors), then train to Shenzhen. 2 weeks total.

Already prepped Alipay backed up by my ING Direct Orange Everyday debit card. Did a test paying for train tickets the other night and it works; after adding the mandatory 3% foreign card fee, works out to be about 3.5% against midmarket (cf. purchasing CNY cash or Travel Money Card debit foreign cash, which is 5%). Haven't set up Wechat Pay yet.

Was wondering - can one pay for things in China with Alipay without an active Internet connection? What about Wechat Pay? If no, then I guess I'll need to look into a local eSIM.

Main issues for Dad and I in China will be maps and language (especially, e.g. dining out). I've got Google offline maps for all our cities, plus I also got offline maps on Baidu Maps and OSM. So I should be covered there, even if I can't use them for navigation.

I look Chinese and I did take some classes when younger, but my Mandarin is terrible - accented, not tonally accurate and lost a lot of vocabulary due to lack of practice. Mainlanders will probably look at me either comically or with contempt because this Chinese idiot embarrassingly can't speak Chinese, and won't be helpful. Have downloaded the Chinese offline language pack for Google Translate; not sure if there's something else better to use.

Definitely get an eSIM for China - there’s some cheapies that work just fine.

AliPay has two ways of paying, the app produces your QR code for the vender to scan (a bit like tapping your phone or card). Not entirely sure, but I think that could work without data. The other method is you scan a venders code and you then enter the amount to pay manually. This requires data because you need to enter your pin to process the payment.

AliPay only charges 3% for amounts over ¥200 (not a huge amount but generally ok for a cheap and cheerful meal for two).

We initially linked our 28° MC but on several occasions when we scanned the venders code, the app went into an endless loop trying to get the authorisation. We later linked our UBank/ING VISA as a backup.

I’m yet to see a reason to get WeChat if not visiting for business.

For Xi’an, get to the warriors as early as possible. Even mid week, we were there fairly early but with thousands of our closest friends. Start with Hall 1 (the big one) and not as some guidebooks suggest doing them in reverse order. Downtown Xi’an is quite interesting and worth a half day/night.

 

[RooFlyer]

Off the beaten track is more my vibe and using translation apps is fine, have done in many other places before. By small cities, I refer to those less trafficed by tourists.

Not really off the beaten track, but maybe a flying day tip to Xian to see The Terracotta Warriors. Unique and amazing. EDIT - I see SYD already covered it

Maybe by train??