| |
 Traveller's Tales: Advise for travellers in China
Heed our handy tips on safe travel in China. You may read about travel warnings, health, what to wear, travel with kids, travel with pets, local weather, local government, medical information and traffic information in the area.Also, you might want to read our
Beijing city guide,
Guangzhou city guide,
Kunming city guide,
Shanghai city guide,
and Xian city guide.
Pages (4 of 11):
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 More »
| P Green |
21 September 2002 |
Stayed at Bell Tower Hotel - Xian, China.
|
Xian is a city that can be visited with time to spare in 2/3 days. There is not so much to see or do.
I took a tour to the Warriors which I booked in the hotel. It was easy and good.
There are many restaurants that are just a short walk away. They are very inexpensive and have excellent food. Although language can be a problem, the wait staff is helpful and somehow, it all works.
It was never too difficult to find a taxi but, the ones at the hotel are only interested in the long trips to the warriors and the airport and will not accomodate any thing else. The drivers can be arrogant and will be happy to take you if they think they can get a "good" fee.
|
| R Pattison |
20 September 2002 |
Stayed at Portman Ritz-Carlton - Shanghai, China.
|
Shanghai feels like it is trying to be Singapore and in some areas it is succeeding. Take a city tour, you will see more. This is a huge city. Watch out for traffic, cars don't yeild to pedestrians. The subway is a great way to get around, very clean and well run.
|
| J Tsueng |
14 September 2002 |
Stayed at Best Western Shenzhen Felicity Hotel - Shenzhen, China.
|
great location if you want to be close to the railway station. otherwise, it's somewhat far from all the great shopping malls in shenzhen. the hotel is nice but is also surrounded by shady characters.
|
| J Saukko |
08 September 2002 |
Stayed at Shangri-La Golden Flower Hotel Xian - Xian, China.
|
Beware the pickpockets there in the city centrum!!! That was the end of our sightseeing of Xian this time :-(
|
| M Gustavo fortmann |
31 August 2002 |
Stayed at Harmony Hotel - Beijing, China.
|
The hotel is very nicely located for visits to the main sites. Take bus 808 westwards from the Beijing railway station (if you can't tell east from west, west is your right when you are facing the railway station) to the last stop: The Summer Palace, I loved it. Look out the window on your way there, you will pass a very nice shopping area called Xidan, even if you do not see the name you will notice the lines of shops to left and right as the bus drives by. Think of getting off there on the way back from The Summer Palace. Also, closer to the palace itself you will find the electronics shopping area, if you are interested in buying electronics take a taxi there from the Summer palace on your way back, it should cost you just 10 RMB (about a Dollar fifty) but you must be there by 5pm because the electronics stores close by 5:30. Then you could continue to Xidan by bus from there (same 808), just look out the window until you see a lot of stores, starting from DVDs and ending with clothing (literally, once you start seeing clothing you are reaching a the end of the street).
There is a shopping alley pretty close to Tiananmen square also, which is where the hotel staff will tell you to go if you ask about shopping. It is nice for a stroll or to buy cheap souvenirs, but it is not for shopping, prices are high, especially for China (you will think prices are cheap if you live in Europe, USA or Japan, but trust me, they are not).
Harmony Hotel is at walking distance from Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden city if you like walking, on the way there you could have a look at the alley I mention above, the hint will be the Beijing Hotel, on your right, the alley starts at the Hotel's right (facing it) and goes up northward for about 400 mts. Again, good for a look, but probably not for shopping.
If you don't like walking, there are several ways to get to the Forbidden city, one of them is Bus. You could take Bus 120 westwards(reconfirm the bus number at the hotel desk please) at Jianquo road (the big avenue just 50 mts north from the Hotel), this bus is the same one that takes you to The Temple of Heaven, a MUST see place. But if you are two or more persons then I would definitely recommend a Taxi, it is faster, more comfortable and costs almost the same as subway for three; which is another way to get to the City.
Talking of taxis... they are gas driven, which means the trunk always holds a large gas tank and that really makes it difficult for people traveling with large suitcases, they simply won't fit in the cab. I recommend traveling with two smaller cases rather than one large one if you intend to use taxis and carry your luggage along.
So Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven... plus shopping in Xidan, that about completes it I think, all very comfortable from the hotel, 4 days should do. Some will recommend you go to the acrobat show also.. I wouldn't, it is a waste of money for a very low quality show. You might be impressed with some of the acts, but you will be happier spending those $15 on something else I think. The big hint on the rip-off is that the public is almost 80% Japanese from paid tours and the rest are other silly tourist that wound up there somehow, no Chinese people (except on stage of course!).
A final word on Beijing: it is HUGE, from the Harmony Hotel to the Summer Palace it takes more than 45 minutes by bus if traffic is flowing. You look at the Map and you see just two or three blocks from the hotel to the Forbidden City and think "this city is tiny", but each of those blocks will take you about 10 to 15 minutes to walk! Don't even consider walking to the Temple of Heaven.. don't. And take the bus, it is the last stop so you won't have to worry about missing it. Also learn to say "No!" or else you will always be surrounded by street vendors and you will buy a lot of cr*p that you don't need, be rude if you have to but if you prefer, lie, say that you already have 5 of whatever they are trying to sell you.
Also remember, The first price you are given in China is probably more than twice as much as the salesperson is willing to sell the item for, this might be an exception in brand name stores but when you buy something always state a price of BELOW half, always, and then pretend you will walk away (send me the money you save).
|
| S Carr |
29 August 2002 |
Stayed at Lu Song Yuan Hotel - Beijing, China.
|
We visited Beijing and Xi'an.
Restaurant recommended in Beijing: Quan Ju De Peking Duck restaurant located in Qian Men, south to the Tian'an Men Square. This is the origin of the well-known Peking Duck. Make sure you are in the traditional style room in the back of the banquet hall.
In Xi'an, we liked Jian Guo hotel a lot. The room is very big and well-appointed. Nice environment. It's a 4-star hotel. $50 a night also includes a buffet breakfast.
Unlike Beijing, Xi'an is a place where you'd better travel with a tourist group. Otherwise, you'd better get prepared for lots of tourist scams.
If you want to rent a car with a driver for a whole day, the cost is between 200-300 RMB.
|
| S Reeve |
25 August 2002 |
Stayed at Grand Hyatt Beijing - Beijing, China.
|
Beijing is an exhausting place to visit quickly - there is a lot to see, and particularly in the heat of August / September it's worth planning your time in way that gives you plenty of recovery opportunity and water stops. As the number 1 attraction I have to say that I was somewhat disappointed by the Great Wall where I saw it at Mutianyu - a spot I picked to ty to avoid the crowds at Budaling. Here the wall is well restored with modern looking bricks and mortar, and you are hassled by locals selling you all manner of souvenirs at each and every fortress. This was a far cry from the experience I was expecting and found myself hanckering for a piece of old crumbling ming dynasty wall with some atmosphere about it, not this 'trashed by commericialism' over touristed, over priced attraction.
You can find the proper crumbly bits of wall - you either have to make a point of taking private tours to find them, or be prepared to walk a long way to reach them from Badaling or Mutianyu. It really is exhausting, so allow plenty of time, and find out as much as you can about the bit you're on to make it interesting.
Do the audio tour at the Forbidden City (there is minimal other detailed information given) and allow a good couple of hours. People watching at Tiananmen square is great fun - your Western face may be an oddity though so expect to be asked to have your photo taken with someone's mother.
Generally get history'd up at Beijing to bring things alive - the things to see are amazing and slightly surreal, they only make sense when you know a bit about how they came about.
The pandas at Beijing zoo are depressed and it depresses you seeing their living environment. No wonder they can't be bothered to reproduce poor things. There are only 5 to see at the moment.
Try to see some other cities - Shanghai is quite different from Beijing, and Xi'an different again, although it struggles to make the 'non-terracota warrior' attractions it has very compelling. One day is ample for the lot at Xi'an.
Finally, haggle haggle and haggle some more. Unless it's government controlled very few prices are fixed, and you'll be amazed at how low you can go so don't be afraid to tell them you live there and start the negotiations at a silly price.
|
| S Carr |
22 August 2002 |
Stayed at Harmony Hotel - Beijing, China.
|
Found Beijing to be an extremely friendly city both to move around and in and get to know. People are friendly and felt no hostility towards the traveller. Did find a popular new "scam" you will be approached by 1 or 2 "students" who will speak good english and ask you along to a art exhibition. Be warned, you will be pressured to make a purchase ! Bargain hard if you do, this is private venture.
|
| P Sexton |
17 August 2002 |
Stayed at Marco Polo Xiamen - Xiamen, China.
|
Xiamen is a city on the up with construction going on everywhere. The island in the harbour is definitely worth a visit (Sunset Rock at sunset is a worthwhile walk if you have time). Unfortunately, like much of China, air quality is not great.
|
| M Ng |
12 August 2002 |
Stayed at Xiamen Plaza - Xiamen, China.
|
Xiamen is an ever-growing city that will eventually fully developed within the next 5-10 years. It has great historical places to visit like Gulang Yu. Only complaint I have is China's personal hygene. Out of the all the asian countries I have visited, China is the worst so be very careful when you go out to eat in restaurants.
|
|
Pages (4 of 11):
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 More »
Book a hotel in China
|
