Travelling to China

  • Thread starter underwater pearl
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underwater pearl

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Hi everyone,

Just wondering if anyone has been to China? Planning to go there next summer for a month, any recommendations? Also wondering what the current visa situation is for Tibet, apparantly at times you are only permitted to enter the country as part of a tour group, but this seems to change regularly. Is it possible to "see" Tibet in only a few days - my time is pretty limited.

Thanks in advance!
 
Hi Pearl,

Welcome to AAM. Hope we can be of help with your intended travels.

This key post on from might be worth a read.

Sorry I can't provide any info on your visa for Tibet but hopefully others here will do so in time. :)
 
Hi

I went to China for 3 weeks a couple of years ago. We travelled independantly.

We flew into Beijing & stayed there for a few days to see the sights. We made our own way out the the Great Wall away from the "tourist" area.

We took an overnight train to Xian. We stayed there for 3 days. Except for the Terracota Warriors theres not much else to see in Xian, but they are amazing. Pictures or t.v programmes don't give you the full effect, so don't miss them.

Then we flew to Chongqing where we took a "cruise" on the Yangtze river. We were on a boat with about 500 chinese people and not one other "westerner". An unforgettable experiance.

Then we went to Yangshuo which is a small town thats very popular with backpackers. Here you can get your fill of western food. Everyone speaks english and its fairly picturesque too.

From there we flew to Hong Kong. And then home

A few pointers...
- Outside of Beijing hardly anyone speaks english
- McDonalds & KFC are everywhere, handy when you get fed up of chinese food
- The Chinese are very friendly but they will stare at you, even in Beijing. It did get on my nerves for the first few days but you get used to it. I was even asked to get into a few photographs with people?
- They spit constantly
- Are you familiar with Asian toilets? I wasn't & got a bit of a shock
- Buy a copy of The Lonely Planet...worth its weight in gold. Whatever happens don't loose it (unless you speak on of the Chinese dialects fluently)
- You do get a bit of hassle from people trying to sell you stuff,get you accomodation etc.

I don't know anything about Tibet.

HTH
 
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