China Travel Guide II

[aranses]

shenzhen is possible to insert in between xiamen and hongkong (mas malapit shenzhen sa hongkong). regarding beijing trip, it's up to you pero baka mahirapan parents mo but it's possible naman. unahin mo na lang beijing before shanghai. 

[speedbytes]

hi mga sis! my aprents and i are planning to go to China..ano po bang magandang itinerary: hkg-macau-shanghai-xiamen-Phils or Mla-Xiamen-Shanghai-Hkg-Macau-Hkg-Phils...pwede ba yun? Please enlighten.

February po ba very cold pa sa china? San banda merong snow? How about on March?

How many days/weeks do you have?

Hong Kong needs at least 3-4 days if it's your 1st time. Macau needs at least 1 day. Shanghai needs at least 2. Beijing at the very least, 3. Xiamen at most 2. Why go to Xiamen? There's nothing much to see there. Go to Beijing and Shanghai instead.

Enter through HKG
HK
HK
Macau
HK
Shenzhen - Fly to Beijing or fly/train to Beijing from HKG
Beijing
Beijing
Beijing
Fly or train to Shanghai
Shanghai
Flight back to Manila

[aranses]

@ zhanne8, I agree with speedbytes - wala masyado mapupuntahan sa xiamen. better concentrate with beijing, shanghai, shenzhen, hkg & macau

[Chili1113]

is the chinese embassy strict? going to beijing in march but i only have 2 and a half days...

worth it ba to book the tours? pero parang sobrang mabilis ata pag group tour

[mama squeak!]

^sis walang pakialam ang Chinese embassy sa personal life mo. As long as you fulfill the visa requirement, you're good to go. I think I posted the Chinese embassy website link for the visa requirement. Backread mo na lang, sis.

 

[zhanne8]

sis, we have relatives kasi in rpovince xiamen kaya we have to go there. purpose talaga namin is to go to the sister of my papa, sidetrips nalang yung shanghai and beijing if possible. But my papa wants it to go to hk and macau. Kaya lang I'm thinking if kaya naman [textspeak!] also shanghai and beijing, why not.

We've been to Hk several times na mga sis. My papa lang wants to go to Macau since 1st time namin dun.

How many days/weeks do you have?

Hong Kong needs at least 3-4 days if it's your 1st time. Macau needs at least 1 day. Shanghai needs at least 2. Beijing at the very least, 3. Xiamen at most 2. Why go to Xiamen? There's nothing much to see there. Go to Beijing and Shanghai instead.

Enter through HKG
HK
HK
Macau
HK
Shenzhen - Fly to Beijing or fly/train to Beijing from HKG
Beijing
Beijing
Beijing
Fly or train to Shanghai
Shanghai
Flight back to Manila

Beijing/Shanghai info can be found here:
http://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=91

[Chili1113]

thanks a ;pt mama squeak!!! =)

[Chili1113]

BTW... theres a new promo in cebu pac... less than 5k for round trip wither shanghai or beijing

Im going in March, lalabas 2 and a half days lang... what do u think of this itinerary?

Day 1 - Half Day
Summer Palace
Olympic Village
"The Egg"

Day 2 - Booked Tour
Badaling Great Wall
Forbidden City
Tiananmen Square
Wangfujing - dinner

Day 3
Temple of Heavens
Wangfujing (pasalubong shopping)

OK na ba yon? feeling ko kulang eh but time is soooo limited! Pls make some suggestions thans

[mama squeak!]

^sis, here's my suggestion:

Day 1  - Badaling Great Wall - pwede ito DIY. Hubby and I hired a cab to take us there and back to the hotel for RMB500. We just asked the hotel staff to negotiate for us. Depends where your hotel is located a total of 4 hours including travel time is enough. Pay the driver when you get back to the hotel na.
             Olympic Village at night. It's better to visit at night as the lights are switched on at the "Bird's Nest" and the "Watercube". Madali lang to get there kasi easy lang yung subway system nila.

Day 2 - Forbidden City/Tiananmen Square - sis, DIY mo na lang. It's cheaper and no one will be hurrying you up. Sa Forbidden City pa lang ubos na araw mo kasi it's so big!
          - Wanfujing/Donghuamen for shopping and dinner

Day 3 - Summer Palace - this is outside Central Beijing but can be easily reached by subway line 4 exit Xiyuan or Beigongmen. Do this in the morning, pwede ito half day. Pero lots of walking.
         - Temple of Heavens, in the afternoon. You can take subway line 5 exit at Tiantian East Gate.
         - Wanfujing or you can try Xidan (same subway line as Wanfujing) for your shopping pasalubong.
   
 

[mama squeak!]

^sis, it's doable naman yun lang nakakapagod because of all the walking. She has 2 and a half days. Nung kami ni hubby the only place we weren't able to go to is the Summer Palace because we only had 2 whole days.

[mchristine519]

I agree that DIY is much more fun and practical for your tour sis. It took us half the day to tour Tianamen and Forbidden City.. lakad galore! Hehe.. Tianamen and Forbidden are near the Egg (katapat lang from where Mao's picture is displayed) so you can include that in your day tour. Take the subway to go to Olympic Village then head to Wangfujing for shopping and dinner.

I think you should include Badaling and Summer Palace instead of pairing it with Tianamen and Forbidden City. You'll have more time. There's a bus station in near the Jishuitan subway station which can take you to the Badaling Great Wall or you can take Mama Squeak's suggestion in hiring a cab to take you to and from the Great Wall.

Last day can be Temple of Heaven and Wangfujing to buy last minute pasalubongs..

[Chili1113]

thanks thanks for all your suggestions! I really appreciate them =)

Hassle bec as mamasqueak said, i only have 2.5 days. The last day pa... I have to check out already and have a flight that same day (although its around 11 pm).

Thing is i dont want to stray away too far from the hotel (Kapok hotel walking distance from forbidden city) on the last day bec we have to go back and check out at noon. then leave out luggage at the lobby, before going out again in the afternoon.

so this means I only have one whole day to really venture out...

OH YEAH... the reason why i chose to do a tour group for badaling-forbidden city-t.square is bec. im worried if i DIY forbidden city the lines might be too long and I dont want to waste time lining up. Mahaba ba talaga [textspeak!] pila?

[Chili1113]

Which is better?  PLAN A? or PLAN B? Hehhehe sorry Im being so OC na about the itinerary! ayaw ko may day na masayang

PLAN A
DAY 1 –    
12:05am        Arrival
02:00am      Check-In
09:00am      Wake Up, Late Breakfast
10:30am      Out
11:00pm – 3:00pm   Forbidden City      4 hrs         
04:00pm – 05:30pm   Tiananmen Square   1.5 hrs
6:00pm - 7:00pm       The Egg
After Dinner      Olympic Village            
         
DAY 2 –
06:00am               Wake Up, Breakfast
07:20am – 06:00pm   Bus Tour Group
                                Badaling
                                Summer Palace     
Dinner                       Wangfujing 
         
DAY 3 -
AM         Temple of Heaven
Noon                 Check Out
Early Dinner   Grand Hyatt Hotel – Made In China Restaurant
After Dinner    Wangfujing Shopping District


PLAN B
DAY 1 – HALF DAY
12:05am        Arrival
02:00am      Check-In
09:30am      Wake Up, Late Breakfast
10:30am      Out                        
12:00pm –05:00pm   Summer Palace (closes 5:00pm)      
After Dinner               Olympic Village                                                                                                              
DAY 2
06:00am       Wake Up, Breakfast
07:20am – 06:00pm   BUS TOUR   
                                Badaling
                                Tiananmen Square
                                Forbidden City
6:00pm - 7:00pm       The Egg
Dinner         Wangfujing
   

DAY 3 -  (Check Out)
AM         Temple of Heavens
NOON              Check Out
Dinner         Grand Hyatt Hotel – Made In China Restaurant
After Dinner      Wangfujing   
      

Actually our Hotel is walking distance from forbidden city. My only concern is...
1. Trip falls on a weekend and I am worried about too many people lining up and waste time waiting around
2. I am hoping that by booking a tour that we dont have to line up anymore? OR do tour groups need to line up also?

[mama squeak!]

OH YEAH... the reason why i chose to do a tour group for badaling-forbidden city-t.square is bec. im worried if i DIY forbidden city the lines might be too long and I dont want to waste time lining up. Mahaba ba talaga [textspeak!] pila?

sis, let me guess. You're taking CebPac, right? Ganyan-ganyan din kasi yung sa amin ni hubby last November. We arrived early morning Wednesday kaya half day agad yung naubos sa first day namin. Kaya we went to the MuTianyu section of the Wall that day.

As to the lines, wala kaming na-experience na long lines going inside Forbidden City. To think mga 10AM na kami nakapunta on a Thursday. Mga 5 minutes lang pila namin buying tickets. Sabagay since it was winter time, wala masyadong tao. If it were summer it would be another story.

[mama squeak!]

^^By the way, mas okay yung itinerary mo na plan A. Tama na your tour will be reserved for the next day. Since out of the city center yung pupuntahan mo tama lang na you reserve a whole day for it.

Oh and don't forget to try their duck. Forgot the name of the restaurant where we had lunch. It's near Tiananmen square and magkakatabi silang mga restaurants all serving duck.

Have fun!

[Chili1113]

thanks ssoooo much mama squeak! and yup... cebu pac nga kami. Super mura lang 4800 round trip. Sayang nga bec sana I added one day pa bec mura lang pala hotels in beijing.. pero na book ko na and i dont want to stay away long from my son =( heheh

actually I also prefer plan a... sana lang wala pila sa forbidden city. If not, I guess ill go to summer palace instead. I really wish I added a day... but nagmamadali ako to book kasi naka promo yung tickets and baka maubusan ng seats! So I wasnt able to do my research yet re the sites. Oh well... thats why super OC ako mag plan ng itinerary now bec I want to maximize the trip!

btw are they strict it the embassy? no naman siguro diba if they see madami pervious travels right?

[stameygirl]

Which is better?  PLAN A? or PLAN B? Hehhehe sorry Im being so OC na about the itinerary! ayaw ko may day na masayang

PLAN A
DAY 1 –    
12:05am        Arrival
02:00am      Check-In
09:00am      Wake Up, Late Breakfast
10:30am      Out
11:00pm – 3:00pm   Forbidden City      4 hrs         
04:00pm – 05:30pm   Tiananmen Square   1.5 hrs
6:00pm - 7:00pm       The Egg
After Dinner      Olympic Village            
         
DAY 2 –
06:00am               Wake Up, Breakfast
07:20am – 06:00pm   Bus Tour Group
                                Badaling
                                Summer Palace     
Dinner                       Wangfujing 
         
DAY 3 -
AM         Temple of Heaven
Noon                 Check Out
Early Dinner   Grand Hyatt Hotel – Made In China Restaurant
After Dinner    Wangfujing Shopping District


PLAN B
DAY 1 – HALF DAY
12:05am        Arrival
02:00am      Check-In
09:30am      Wake Up, Late Breakfast
10:30am      Out                        
12:00pm –05:00pm   Summer Palace (closes 5:00pm)      
After Dinner               Olympic Village                                                                                                              
DAY 2
06:00am       Wake Up, Breakfast
07:20am – 06:00pm   BUS TOUR   
                                Badaling
                                Tiananmen Square
                                Forbidden City
6:00pm - 7:00pm       The Egg
Dinner         Wangfujing
   

DAY 3 -  (Check Out)
AM         Temple of Heavens
NOON              Check Out
Dinner         Grand Hyatt Hotel – Made In China Restaurant
After Dinner      Wangfujing   
      

Actually our Hotel is walking distance from forbidden city. My only concern is...
1. Trip falls on a weekend and I am worried about too many people lining up and waste time waiting around
2. I am hoping that by booking a tour that we dont have to line up anymore? OR do tour groups need to line up also?

I suggest you go for Mutianyu over Badaling. Badaling is too touristy and crowded.

[u8mypinkcookies]

mahirap ba to apply and get a visa for China? naghahanap kasi kami ng vacation for summer... consider namin China pero dapat ba visa muna or booking?

[ganda02]

hi girls! i will be going to China next week for work. is it really cold? is it still appropriate to wear tights, boots and coat? haha! i want to dress up sana for winter, but if it won't be too cold, di na lang the last time i went there was summer last year...kaya ang init naman!

TIA!

[ganda02]

mahirap ba to apply and get a visa for China? naghahanap kasi kami ng vacation for summer... consider namin China pero dapat ba visa muna or booking?

for VISA sis, alam ko lately they're strict na sabi ng HR namin compared before. one of my officemate was almost got decline last year. kaya tourist visa na lang binigay sa kanila which has a shorter period of stay. and normally, when we apply for VISA, we already have tickets. siguro if vacation lang kayo, like not more than 7days, madali lang naman. kami kasi since it's for work, normally 30days kami sa china.
hope this help