14 days in China without kids at the beginning of September.
China – is a different planet, although the country is developing very dynamically, everything will be new and amazing for you.
The megacities, the beauty of nature, architecture, food, customs and culture of people all that will shock and blow your mind.
A couple of tips:
- Never plan a trip to China for local holidays and vacations, since a billion people at one time go on vacation and travel around the country.
- Almost no one speaks English, even in the travel services. And you do not even try to learn words in Chinese, no one will understand you anyway. It’s better to download an offline translator for your smartphone.
- Google services and applications like Facebook are not working in China, so download offline applications for navigation and translation.
- It is better to book trips to attractions at local tourist offices, including transportation in small groups, rather than to book an all included tour from your country, and rather than to rent a car and travel by yourself to any attraction.
- Not all hotels have permission to accommodate foreigners, so check it when booking a hotel through Booking.com.
- The bargaining culture in China is crazy. The starting price that they demand from you in the markets and stores can be even 100 times the final price at which you buy the goods after a short negotiation.
So welcome to most capitalist communist empire!
Two weeks, 7 cities, 8 hotels, 7 flights and endless experiences.
Brief route:
Here you can see all the waypoints on the Google Maps and also use Google navigation to the place:
You can also download KML file and open it in other offline application for navigation and editing:
Day 1:
Beijing airport
Temple of Heaven (Tiantan Park)
Tiananmen Square
Wangfujing street walk
Day 2:
The Great Wall at Badaling or (Great Wall at Mutianyu – quieter place)
Ming Tombs
Day 3:
Flight to Xian
City Wall
Dayan Tower and fountains at night
Day 4:
Terracotta Army
Huaqing Palace
Day 5:
Flight to Hangzhou
Lingyin Temple
Hefang street food market
West Lake water show at night
Day 6:
West Lake on boat
Pagoda of Six Harmonies
Longjing tea fields
By bus to Suzhou – “The Venice of China”
Day 7:
Canal cruise in Suzhou
The Lingering Garden
Lion Forest Garden
Suzhou Silk Museum
By bus to Shanghai
Jade Buddha Temple
Nanjing Lu (Nanjing Road) at night
The Bund and the night cruise
Day 8:
Yu Garden
Observation deck on Jin Mao Tower (the tallest at that moment)
Nanjing Road
The Bund
Day 9:
Flight to Guilin
Reed Flute Cave (Ludi Yan)
Elephant Trunk Hill (Xiangbishan)
Cormorant night fishing on the Li River
Day 10:
4-hour Li River cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo
Riyue Shuangta Cultural Park
Day 11:
Full day tour to Longji Rice Terraces, an ethnic long-hair swaying dance show and one of three mountain villages: Ping An Zhuang, Ancient Zhuang Village or Dazhai Village.
Flight to Hong Kong
Day 12:
Victoria Peak
Repulse Bay
Pink Flamingo’s Park
The fishing boat tour at Aberdeen Harbour
Hong Kong Harbor Night Cruise
Peak Tram
Day 13:
Ocean Park
Flight to Beijing
Day 14:
Forbidden City
Summer Palace (Yiheyuan)
Liyuan Opera Theatre
Photos and description:
Day 1:
Beijing airport
Temple of Heaven (Tiantan Park)
Tiananmen Square is huge, maybe ten kilometers long
Wangfujing street is one of the main shopping streets of Beijing
Day 2:
The Great Wall at Badaling or Great Wall at Mutianyu, if you are looking for quieter place
Ming dynasty emperors Tombs
Day 3:
Flight to Xian, once it was Chinese capital
Booking.com
City Wall
Dayan Tower and fountains at night
Day 4:
Terracotta Army. Thousands of full-scale warriors and horses, and what is amazing that each one of them has unique face.
Huaqing Palace
Day 5:
Flight to Hangzhou
Booking.com
Lingyin Temple
Hall of the Five Hundred Arhats
Hefang street food market
There are even more terrifying dishes, and the smell near some stands is so horrible
West Lake water show at night
Day 6:
West Lake on boat
Pagoda of Six Harmonies
If you like Bonsai trees you have to visit this place
Longjing tea fields
By bus to Suzhou – “The Venice of China”. You have to visit these canals also at night and during a day.
Day 7:
Canal cruise in Suzhou
The Lingering Garden/
Lion Forest Garden
Suzhou Silk Museum and manufacture
By bus to Shanghai
Booking.com
Jade Buddha Temple
Nanjing Lu (Nanjing Road) at night. The main pedestrian road of the city.
The Bund and the night cruise
Day 8:
Yu Garden
Observation deck on Jin Mao Tower, the tallest building in the city at that moment. Every year they build higher and higher towers to compete with the sheikhs of Dubai and Saudi Arabia.
Nanjing Road
The Bund
Day 9:
Flight to Guilin
Booking.com
Reed Flute Cave (Ludi Yan) with underground lake
Elephant Trunk Hill (Xiangbishan)
Cormorant night fishing on the Li River
Day 10:
4-hour Li River cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo. The view is amazing like you entered the Avatar movie
On board restaurant you can taste the Cobra wine
Riyue Shuangta Cultural Park. There is a boat tour at night and everything is illuminated
Day 11:
Full day tour to Longji Rice Terraces, an ethnic long-hair swaying dance show and one of three mountain villages: Ping An Zhuang, Ancient Zhuang Village or Dazhai Village.
Flight to Hong Kong
Booking.com
Day 12:
Victoria Peak
Repulse Bay
Pink Flamingo’s Park
The fishing boat tour at Aberdeen Harbour
Hong Kong Harbor Night Cruise
Peak Tram where I met Bruce Lee
Day 13:
Ocean Park
Only in China you can see Giant Panda
Flight to Beijing
Day 14:
Forbidden City. There is a strange feeling, that suddenly the Emperor of China will show out if the palace with his hundreds of servants
Summer Palace (Yiheyuan)
Liyuan Opera Theatre. In traditional Chinese opera, only men play all the roles
