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Has anyone travelled to China before? Which places in China are worth visiting aside from Beijing and Shanghai?

WC2011INDIA

By WC2011INDIA
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Mariyam Grand Master

Mariyam

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Lots of places actually. You can skip Shanghai. We did that, and we were told that Shanghai is just a commercial capital with good infrastructure. Staying in Mumbai, I see the JJ flyover everyday and don't have to go to Shanghai for that. Places to see: (that we covered) Beijing: Tianamenn square, Forbidden city, Temple of Heaven, Summer palace, Peking Opera, Great Wall, Ming Tombs, Bell Tower. You'll need 3-4 days to do these things properly. Louyang: Shaolin temple, Longmen grottoes Xian: City wall, goose pagoda, some tang dynasty show, Terracotta soldiers Chong: visit the zoo which has the famous Pandas. Begin Yangtze cruise. Fengdu: stop along the cruise. Ghost city. Cruise covers 3 Gorges dam and ends at Wuhan. Shenzen : shopping haven Hong Kong: Too many Brits here. Traveling: Trains are really comfortable and punctual. And at times, they are more expensive than air travel. Be very careful in the trains. All announcements and markings on stations and on your tickets will be in Chinese. You wouldn't even realize when your station is gone. :(( Double check with your tour operator when you board the train when/where you have to get down. The train stops at the station for very short durations, and if you can't match the characters on your ticket with those on the station board, you've had it :D Hope someone speaking English is on your train. Clothes: I made a big mistake of carrying short cotton clothes in October expecting pleasant weather. Those months are very cold there. I learned that the hard way. Carry good woolens. The Chinese sweaters are not that good. Money: Always carry enough Yuan. You can't get exchange for dollars everywhere ( much less so for the Rupee) and if you do, the rates will be bad. Communication: MostChinese do not know English. Even in Beijing.That will severely limit your interaction with the locals, and you'll end up interacting only with other tourists or with the tour guides. Carry a phrase book for common words like Indian, water, food, etc. The Chinese, from what I've seen are not out to cheat foreign tourists. They are pretty cheerful and happy to help. Eating: Very difficult to eat outside in China when you have a day or two to explore on your own, in the smaller towns. Most places serve both beef and pork and you wouldn't even know which dish contains what. Furthermore, it is very difficult to make them understand your view point. We wanted to know if the meat we were served was halal, but the Chinese guys didn't even understand what we were saying. They didn't know such a concept exists. My dad, who likes to try out different stuff didn't let it bother him. My mom on the other hand, who is strict on these matters, stuck to eating fruits and veg food. You'll also have to learn up the words for 'cook without beef/pork' if you are religiously inclined. Though I like Chinese food in India, in China its quite a different ball game. Most of their dishes are not palatable. All in all, its a good place to go as a tourist. Not very expensive and a refreshing experience. PS: Woh shirr yinturun. Thats Chinese for I'm an Indian. Keep saying that if someone speaks to you in Chinese. Repeat it a few times and people will understand that you don't know any Chinese.

zen Grand Master

zen

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What a coincidence! I could be going to china, along with thailand and taiwan, too on a biz trip if my company schedules the trip PS what about veggie food *nervous*

Mariyam Grand Master

Mariyam

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Posted
What a coincidence! I could be going to china, along with thailand and taiwan, too on a biz trip if my company schedules the trip PS what about veggie food *nervous*
Very difficult to get, unless its in Indian theme restaurants. You have to specify that you want veg food well in advance. If you end up in a local restaurant, you'll have a tough time explaining the concept of veg food. :cantstop:
zen Grand Master

zen

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Posted
Very difficult to get, unless its in Indian theme restaurants. You have to specify that you want veg food well in advance. If you end up in a local restaurant, you'll have a tough time explaining the concept of veg food. :cantstop:
In Europe, I would depend upon Italian cuisine but was nervous about China as I kind of imagined it would be difficult .... May be a good breakfast at the hotel will keep me going for the day
Cricketics Rising Star

Cricketics

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Posted

Wherever I have traveled, I have noticed that it's hard to NOT find anything vegetarian. Almost every place, restaurant does have something. Yes, if you are a Vegan, you are in for some trouble. Also if you are pure pure pure Veg who can't tolerate Fries being made in same thing where some other non veg item is being made, than you really shouldn't enter most of the restaurant overseas.

WC2011INDIA Proficient

WC2011INDIA

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Lots of places actually. You can skip Shanghai. We did that, and we were told that Shanghai is just a commercial capital with good infrastructure. Staying in Mumbai, I see the JJ flyover everyday and don't have to go to Shanghai for that. Places to see: (that we covered) Beijing: Tianamenn square, Forbidden city, Temple of Heaven, Summer palace, Peking Opera, Great Wall, Ming Tombs, Bell Tower. You'll need 3-4 days to do these things properly. Louyang: Shaolin temple, Longmen grottoes Xian: City wall, goose pagoda, some tang dynasty show, Terracotta soldiers Chong: visit the zoo which has the famous Pandas. Begin Yangtze cruise. Fengdu: stop along the cruise. Ghost city. Cruise covers 3 Gorges dam and ends at Wuhan. Shenzen : shopping haven Hong Kong: Too many Brits here. Traveling: Trains are really comfortable and punctual. And at times, they are more expensive than air travel. Be very careful in the trains. All announcements and markings on stations and on your tickets will be in Chinese. You wouldn't even realize when your station is gone. :(( Double check with your tour operator when you board the train when/where you have to get down. The train stops at the station for very short durations, and if you can't match the characters on your ticket with those on the station board, you've had it :D Hope someone speaking English is on your train. Clothes: I made a big mistake of carrying short cotton clothes in October expecting pleasant weather. Those months are very cold there. I learned that the hard way. Carry good woolens. The Chinese sweaters are not that good. Money: Always carry enough Yuan. You can't get exchange for dollars everywhere ( much less so for the Rupee) and if you do, the rates will be bad. Communication: MostChinese do not know English. Even in Beijing.That will severely limit your interaction with the locals, and you'll end up interacting only with other tourists or with the tour guides. Carry a phrase book for common words like Indian, water, food, etc. The Chinese, from what I've seen are not out to cheat foreign tourists. They are pretty cheerful and happy to help. Eating: Very difficult to eat outside in China when you have a day or two to explore on your own, in the smaller towns. Most places serve both beef and pork and you wouldn't even know which dish contains what. Furthermore, it is very difficult to make them understand your view point. We wanted to know if the meat we were served was halal, but the Chinese guys didn't even understand what we were saying. They didn't know such a concept exists. My dad, who likes to try out different stuff didn't let it bother him. My mom on the other hand, who is strict on these matters, stuck to eating fruits and veg food. You'll also have to learn up the words for 'cook without beef/pork' if you are religiously inclined. Though I like Chinese food in India, in China its quite a different ball game. Most of their dishes are not palatable. All in all, its a good place to go as a tourist. Not very expensive and a refreshing experience. PS: Woh shirr yinturun. Thats Chinese for I'm an Indian. Keep saying that if someone speaks to you in Chinese. Repeat it a few times and people will understand that you don't know any Chinese.
Wow, thanks a lot for all the info. The visit isn't guaranteed yet. A couple of my friends and me are still planning the trip. Yes, I have been told that Shanghai isn't worth visiting unless you want to see the buildings. I am more interested in shopping and visiting a few key tourist locations in China. As for food, a friend that visited last year suggested to eat heavy breakfast in whichever hotel I stay so that I am not hungry at lunch time and eat dinner at pizza hut. Apparently, pizza huts in China have crispy cheesy chicken or crispy veggie fried rice on their menu!!!!!! He also suggested buying cookies, bread, chicken salamis, and few veggies from local walmart or carre four. Language won’t be a problem I think…..because one of the friends who is planning to visit is Chinese!! Now u must be thinking, why didn’t I just ask him that which cities are worth visiting. Well, he is Canadian born Chinese and has never been to China. However, he knows mandarinl, so we are going to rely heavily on him to do all the translation and reading of tickets and stuff.
EnterTheVoid Mentor

EnterTheVoid

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Posted

Yep, been there before and am going there again this year (4.5 month round the world trip you see :yay:) Skip mainland China and head to the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau instead. You don't need a visa for these places.

achilles Newbie

achilles

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Posted
What a coincidence! I could be going to china, along with thailand and taiwan, too on a biz trip if my company schedules the trip PS what about veggie food *nervous*
Look for a Chineeej phoood thela
WC2011INDIA Proficient

WC2011INDIA

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Flying to China come November first week :rock:
You have got to tell me what places you visited and which are the ones worth visiting or touring. I need to plan my trip for china next year properly.
Cricket Tragic Newbie

Cricket Tragic

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Posted
Yep, been there before and am going there again this year (4.5 month round the world trip you see :yay:) Skip mainland China and head to the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau instead. You don't need a visa for these places.
HK is alright but I highly recommend going to Macau. I loved the place!
Rahul Dravid Newbie

Rahul Dravid

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Posted

theres also a nice Sports-bar near my crib in the Jing.. its called Franks.. awesome food and they show cricket and u can meet mostly aussies and brits there... if theres a game during ur time here... u shud hit Franks ! :)

EnterTheVoid Mentor

EnterTheVoid

Posted
Posted
You have got to tell me what places you visited and which are the ones worth visiting or touring. I need to plan my trip for china next year properly.
HK is alright but I highly recommend going to Macau. I loved the place!
I am spending a week in the two sister SAR's of Hong Kong and Macau.
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