Itinerary for two weeks. Couple in their thirties.

My husband and I are in our thirties and would like to travel to China in October for 15 days. Is this a good time to visit China? We are really into photography, exploring the cities and rural areas, we love beautiful scenery and we are really looking forward to seeing the Great Wall. My husband is only able to get two weeks vacation so unfortunately we cannot visit China longer than the 15 days. Right now I%26#39;m looking at flying into Beijing and then flying from Shanghai back to Canada. We could alternatively fly into Beijing and then fly from Hong Kong back to Canada, but from reading these posts most people seem to prefer Shanghai over Hong Kong - what do you think?

Thanks everyone for your help/feedback

1 Arrive Beijing late afternoon

2 Beijing

3 Beijing

4 Beijing

5 Beijing - leave that night on overnight train to Xian

6 Xian

7 Xian

8 Leave for Yangshou (Can you fly directly into Yangshou?)

9 Yangshou

10 Yangshou

11 ?? ( Suggestions)

12 ?? (Suggestions)

13 Shanghai

14 Shanghai

15 Fly out of Shanghai to Canada

Itinerary for two weeks. Couple in their thirties.

1 Arrive Beijing late afternoon

2 Tianmen Squre,Forbidden City,Hutong tour,Lama temple

3 Great Wall,Summer Palace

4 Temple of Heaven leave at night train to Xian

5Xian

6 Xian

7 Leave for Yangshuo锛坒rom Xian to Guilin by flight)

8yangshuo

9 Yunan

10 Yunan

11 Chengdu

12 Chengdu

13 Shanghai

14 Shanghai

15 Fly out of Shanghai to Canada

Itinerary for two weeks. Couple in their thirties.

The weather in October should be fine. However avoid the 1st week of October by all means.

So far I think the most stunning scenery I%26#39;ve seen in mainland China is Jiuzhaigou. Here%26#39;s my itinerary suggestion:

Beijing (4 days) -- overnight Z train -- Xi%26#39;an (2 days) -- flight -- Jiuzhaigou (2 days) -- flight -- Chengdu (1 day) -- flight (via Guilin) -- Yangshuo (2.5 days) -- flight (via Guilin) -- Shanghai/Hong Kong (2.5 days)

Doing Yunnan province for 2 days is nonsense. Save it for another time when you can afford at least another 2 weeks.

No, there%26#39;s no airport at Yangshuo itself, the nearest airport is Guilin. You don%26#39;t need to go to Guilin though, get a direct taxi to Yangshuo upon arrival at Guilin airport.

Thanks Ellyse for the help. Am I correct in picking Shanghai over Hong Kong? Why should I avoid the first week of October?

I would pick Shanghai over Hong Kong as well, but then I haven%26#39;t been to Hong Kong yet!

1st week of October is National Day holiday week, lots of Chinese take this rare chance to travel and it%26#39;s chaos everywhere. You%26#39;ll regret it travelling in that week.

Hi ellyse,

Our flight would be coming in on October 6th early evening so we would be getting in at the end of the holiday week ( if the holiday week is October 1 to October 7th?).

probit

Sounds like you should be fine then.

probit

I think that any preference between Hong Kong and Shanghai would only be a personal thing as both are essentially big cities and once inside a large shopping Mall you could be anywhere in the world as most are pretty much the same.

What I think it comes down to is which is the most appropiate for you as they both are large cities with a lot to see. If this is the basis for a choice you will make I suggest you research both and select the city that has sites that appeal to you. If you are a first time tourist to China I would elect to exit HK simply because after 12 days of facing language problems it is generally a relief to be able to commnicate again relatively easily.

Because you mentioned that you you both are into scenery contact me on pwintle00@hotmail.com and I will send you a slide show of the Langsheng Dragons Backbone Rice Terraces in early Autumn which can be reached as a day trip out of Yangshuo, simply breathtaking. If you enjoy this then I suggest you increase your stay in Yangshuo to 3 or 4 days as the surrounding area is really rural China and I know you will enjoy West St

Lucky Aussie

Thanks Lucky Aussie - I%26#39;ll send you an email this morning - would love to see the shots!

Has anyone else been to HK and Shanghai - have any preferences?