Help planning a trip in China
September 12, 2023 7:39 PM Subscribe
I'm living in Guilin this fall taking Chinese classes, and I have two week-long trips to plan - I'll have a week sometime in late October or early November to travel, and then a week mid-December, and I'm having trouble deciding where to go - there's so much to see and I'm having major FOMO.
I like chill cities, history, parks and gardens, and eating delicious things. I try to minimize spending too much time in transit, so I'm trying to group together my destinations in some logical way. Also, it will be winter in December so I'm trying to figure out what's ideal taking weather into account.
I'm pretty sure I want one of the week-long trips to be Shanghai/Hangzhou/Nanjing, probably in October. It sounds like the weather will be nice but there isn't really fall foliage until late Nov, is it worth waiting?
The other trip is really tricky! I've never been to the north, would it be bad to miss out on Xi'an/Beijing? I could do Kunming/Chengdu, or Xi'an/Beijing... or somewhere else? I really can't decide. Anyway, any thoughts or suggestions? Tips on where to go in these places would also be welcome.
I like chill cities, history, parks and gardens, and eating delicious things. I try to minimize spending too much time in transit, so I'm trying to group together my destinations in some logical way. Also, it will be winter in December so I'm trying to figure out what's ideal taking weather into account.
I'm pretty sure I want one of the week-long trips to be Shanghai/Hangzhou/Nanjing, probably in October. It sounds like the weather will be nice but there isn't really fall foliage until late Nov, is it worth waiting?
The other trip is really tricky! I've never been to the north, would it be bad to miss out on Xi'an/Beijing? I could do Kunming/Chengdu, or Xi'an/Beijing... or somewhere else? I really can't decide. Anyway, any thoughts or suggestions? Tips on where to go in these places would also be welcome.
Oh, forgot to mention, from my experience last month in Beijing, it's becoming more likely that you need to book tickets for particularly the more popular places online and in advance, rather than being able to buy a ticket at the gate. (Definitely for the Forbidden City, for example, but not for the Summer Palace or Temple of Heaven as of last month.) So double-check recent sources, as not all the travel advice sites are fully up to date.
posted by scorbet at 3:25 AM on September 13, 2023
posted by scorbet at 3:25 AM on September 13, 2023
Best answer: Hah, never thought I'd see that city's name here! I've lived in Guilin for the last 6 years (though we're moving to Tokyo in November). I assume you're going to CLI (though I guess there is Omeida in Yangshuo)...I know a number of the teachers there and am going to offer two pieces of unsolicited advice lol. 1. demand to take classes with 婧婧 if at all possible, she is without compare the best chinese teacher I've ever met 2. if you don't like a teacher, be proactive about switching. they will likely push back on both of these lol
I imagine just by nature of being at a language school here local trips will happen, but Yangshuo is sort of an extremely common trip. Take a boat, see the scene on the 20RMB note, hang out in Yangshuo, etc etc.
I haven't been to Xi'an, but I really liked Kunming/Chengdu. Cool cities. Chengdu has really great food, if you're down with 麻辣. Kunming has a super nice, chill vibe...I'd say Kunming sort of reminds me of Hangzhou, vibe wise.
Beijing has some pretty cool cultural stuff (honestly a lot of people say you only need like an hour or two for the forbidden city but this 古装 addict could have spent an entire day there), I sort of hate Beijing...I dislike super sprawling cities. But some people like that sort of thing!
> Some of this will depend on whether you want to see *the* things in China, or whether you want to see things that are interesting for you, but not necessarily the ones that everyone is familiar with?
I think this comment from scorbet is really wise! You mentioned FOMO, and I mean I totally get it, but I would try very very hard not to let FOMO define what you do. The world is filled with more amazing things than any of us will ever get to experience...China is filled with more amazing things than any of us will ever get to experience. I'd really try hard to think about what you find meaningful, and then try to prioritize stuff that focuses on that. A lot of my favorite trips here were not necessarily to places I had to go, but just places that fit...me. Like, I visited Beijing with some friends that I love dearly but were definitely just interested in sort of cross Beijing off of a list, you know? So they went to the forbidden city for an hour, whereas I was there for 4 hours and still wanted to be there longer, but couldn't.
Shanghai is a very nice city, though IMO I'd rather prioritize Guangzhou. I like Shanghai a lot but Guangzhou feels a lot more distinct to me. But I kind of hate Shenzhen. Guangzhou just feels like a nice balance of a lot of different influences. Hard to explain. But honestly you'll have a great time in Shanghai too! It's a really great city. Hangzhou is nice enough but IMO not really worth it. Haven't been to Nanjing.
posted by wooh at 7:22 AM on September 13, 2023
I imagine just by nature of being at a language school here local trips will happen, but Yangshuo is sort of an extremely common trip. Take a boat, see the scene on the 20RMB note, hang out in Yangshuo, etc etc.
I haven't been to Xi'an, but I really liked Kunming/Chengdu. Cool cities. Chengdu has really great food, if you're down with 麻辣. Kunming has a super nice, chill vibe...I'd say Kunming sort of reminds me of Hangzhou, vibe wise.
Beijing has some pretty cool cultural stuff (honestly a lot of people say you only need like an hour or two for the forbidden city but this 古装 addict could have spent an entire day there), I sort of hate Beijing...I dislike super sprawling cities. But some people like that sort of thing!
> Some of this will depend on whether you want to see *the* things in China, or whether you want to see things that are interesting for you, but not necessarily the ones that everyone is familiar with?
I think this comment from scorbet is really wise! You mentioned FOMO, and I mean I totally get it, but I would try very very hard not to let FOMO define what you do. The world is filled with more amazing things than any of us will ever get to experience...China is filled with more amazing things than any of us will ever get to experience. I'd really try hard to think about what you find meaningful, and then try to prioritize stuff that focuses on that. A lot of my favorite trips here were not necessarily to places I had to go, but just places that fit...me. Like, I visited Beijing with some friends that I love dearly but were definitely just interested in sort of cross Beijing off of a list, you know? So they went to the forbidden city for an hour, whereas I was there for 4 hours and still wanted to be there longer, but couldn't.
Shanghai is a very nice city, though IMO I'd rather prioritize Guangzhou. I like Shanghai a lot but Guangzhou feels a lot more distinct to me. But I kind of hate Shenzhen. Guangzhou just feels like a nice balance of a lot of different influences. Hard to explain. But honestly you'll have a great time in Shanghai too! It's a really great city. Hangzhou is nice enough but IMO not really worth it. Haven't been to Nanjing.
posted by wooh at 7:22 AM on September 13, 2023
Oh and I should have said...if you want recommendations for Guilin, well, I've lived here for a while though I am a very boring person. But feel free to ping me with the sorts of things you like and I can try and come up with some recommendations, though I imagine the language school will hook you up to some degree. You definitely have to try 油茶 ("chinese coffee" ugh hate that translation haha) and 米粉, but there's plenty of food that I like in the area.
posted by wooh at 7:28 AM on September 13, 2023
posted by wooh at 7:28 AM on September 13, 2023
Best answer: Nthing taking the time (not the big trip) to check out Yangshuo, but with the caveat that I haven't been there in 24 years, but I spent a week there in 2000, and enjoyed the much smaller feel and slower pace. Guilin has the scenery all around it, but is still a full sized city.
December to February in northern China is (was? Is usually) cold. Beijing, Xian, and other points north might be something to save for a slightly warmer time (but not summer. Beijing in summer is unbearable).
Kunming was really nice, but I really only used it as a jumping off point for Dali (beautiful walled city on a plain, next to a line of mountains, above a large lake, was very much a backpacker place when I was there) and Lijiang (old city, home to one of China's many minority groups, lots to see and do). Some people I met there were continuing north from there into Sichuan, which could be a pretty great trip, if a little whirlwindy for a single week.
You could do two different trips, Dali/Lijiang for the kind of chill, hey, there's some cool history here, and maybe see if there's a river trip between, say, Wuhan (I lived there for a year, there isn't a ton to see) and Chongqing? There are river boats around the Three Gorges Dam, not sure if they go all the way to Chongqing or not.
I get the desire not to spend too much time in transit, but one of my favorite parts of living there and traveling around was seeing the country pass by out the window of the bus, train, or boat I was on. The high speed rail adoption has probably changed a lot of it, but I loved the 44 hour train trip from Wuhan to Kunming. On my way back, I hopped on the 36 hour train from Kunming to Guilin, and loved every minute of it. Looking at it now, it seems like there are high speed services that cut that to 7 hours, but man, there was something wonderful about taking the sleeper cars. Never slept better in my life.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:26 PM on September 13, 2023
December to February in northern China is (was? Is usually) cold. Beijing, Xian, and other points north might be something to save for a slightly warmer time (but not summer. Beijing in summer is unbearable).
Kunming was really nice, but I really only used it as a jumping off point for Dali (beautiful walled city on a plain, next to a line of mountains, above a large lake, was very much a backpacker place when I was there) and Lijiang (old city, home to one of China's many minority groups, lots to see and do). Some people I met there were continuing north from there into Sichuan, which could be a pretty great trip, if a little whirlwindy for a single week.
You could do two different trips, Dali/Lijiang for the kind of chill, hey, there's some cool history here, and maybe see if there's a river trip between, say, Wuhan (I lived there for a year, there isn't a ton to see) and Chongqing? There are river boats around the Three Gorges Dam, not sure if they go all the way to Chongqing or not.
I get the desire not to spend too much time in transit, but one of my favorite parts of living there and traveling around was seeing the country pass by out the window of the bus, train, or boat I was on. The high speed rail adoption has probably changed a lot of it, but I loved the 44 hour train trip from Wuhan to Kunming. On my way back, I hopped on the 36 hour train from Kunming to Guilin, and loved every minute of it. Looking at it now, it seems like there are high speed services that cut that to 7 hours, but man, there was something wonderful about taking the sleeper cars. Never slept better in my life.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:26 PM on September 13, 2023
Response by poster: Thanks all, these are such great answers, I have a lot to think about!
And wooh, you guessed it, hah! I'll definitely hit you up for some Guilin recs, didn't expect to have a fellow Mefite in the city. It's good to know Guangzhou is worth visiting, as it's a pretty easy weekend trip via high speed rail.
posted by catcafe at 8:20 PM on September 13, 2023
And wooh, you guessed it, hah! I'll definitely hit you up for some Guilin recs, didn't expect to have a fellow Mefite in the city. It's good to know Guangzhou is worth visiting, as it's a pretty easy weekend trip via high speed rail.
posted by catcafe at 8:20 PM on September 13, 2023
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Beijing in winter is definitely cold, (even late October/November will be cold). You can also have the problem of there being bad air pollution which is pretty unpleasant. My experience in Beijing in December/January was either cold and air pollution, or cold, a strong wind and blue skies.
Shanghai is worth a visit, but it doesn't really fit any of your chill city, history or parks/gardens categories. (There are parks and gardens and historical stuff, but not to the same extent as you would get in Hangzhou, Beijing or Nanjing.) Shanghaiand Hangzhou do get cold-ish in winter too. It's not going to be the cold that you get in Beijing, but it's a damp cold, which can feel worse. Plus, the heating systems and so on don't always work all that efficiently.
posted by scorbet at 3:17 AM on September 13, 2023