| |
 China travel tales
Our customers share their travelling experiences in China.
Read about first hand stories on travel tips and guides, events, entertainment,shopping, food, business and transportation.
Also, you might want to read our
Beijing city guide,
Guangzhou city guide,
Kunming city guide,
Shanghai city guide,
and Xian city guide.
Pages (1 of 155):
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 More »
| D Adams |
27 September 2005 |
Stayed at Novotel Peace Hotel Beijing - Beijing, China.
|
We visited the wall twice first, visit was at Mutianyu which I would recommend, there were very few people on the wall and it was nice and peaceful, whereas when we visited Badaling, it was the exact opposite, you could not get moving for the amount of people there.
We were dissapointed when we visisted the Forbidden City parts of it were closed off, the same when we visited the Temple of Heaven,
the Summer Palace is a must to see. I recommend the Outback Steakhouse in the Beijing Hotel at the bottom of Wangfujing Street for a meal.
|
| T Vasse |
24 August 2005 |
Stayed at Paradise Yangshuo Resort - Guilin, China.
|
The hotel is located in the town centre which you do not notice when you are in the hotel or at the swimming pool. Close to the main shopping street and where you can rent bicycles. We went to Li River, Moon hill, and made a boat trip. You can hire a guide or make your own tour. Just turn right and left whenever you want, it is hard to get lost because you will always stay between two mountain ridges. Bring a map for global orientation.
|
| D Hammond |
20 August 2005 |
Stayed at Kunlun Hotel - Beijing, China.
|
While in Beijing I went to the Forbidden city (60Y), Temple of Heaven (35Y) & the wall at Badaling (300Y for a 9 hr tour, which included lunch and a trip a Jade and cloisonné factories which were interesting and no real pressure to but). The former two were being restored at present (August 2005) so there was scaffolding up but they were still both very impressive. The Wall at Badaling was also wonderful but very very busy and lots of tourist traps on the walk up to the wall! As it says in all the guide books if you can get a tour it might be quieter and better to go to another area unless you like crowds then choose Badaling!
|
| Guest has requested to remain anonymous |
20 August 2005 |
Stayed at Novotel Peace Hotel Beijing - Beijing, China.
|
For first timers, I found Beijing very manageable - and easy to get around. The Novotel has a postcard with top Beijing attractions in their stationary folder. Just take this with you, and use it to show the taxi drivers where you want to go. I found the taxis mostly reasonable . . . except one who rushed up and solicited my business at the Summer Palace. I should have known better . . . his meter was set on fast. The ride back cost 2x what the ride out had cost . . . and even then it was only $12. But, beware. Best day was Prince Gong Palace and the Lonely Planet recommended walk back along the lakes . . . a real delight. Don't miss Mao. The line moves fast . . . and the bag checking across the street seems to be safe and quickly returns your possessions to you. Have fun.
|
| S Sin hock |
15 August 2005 |
Stayed at Bell Tower Hotel - Xian, China.
|
Never take up the local day tour with many places to go. You will be exhausted! Select trip with just Terracotta, Ching-Hwa Lake and Da-Yan Temple!
|
| D Hammond |
13 August 2005 |
Stayed at Hyatt Regency Xian - Xian, China.
|
You can not visit Xi'an with out going to the Terracotta Warriors. I took a local taxi there with an English speaking guide. For little over half a day it cost 400 RMB (ca £30). This included a trip to the Tomb of Qin Shihuang & the hot springs Huaquing Pool.
The next day I used the same taxi to do the Western tour to Zhao & Qian Tombs both very impressive & the Famen Si temple. Its a long day 9.30 till about 5.00.
|
| W Leung |
04 August 2005 |
Stayed at Shangri-La Golden Flower Hotel Xian - Xian, China.
|
There is no taxi stand at the airport, instead, there are drivers at the arrival hall approaching the arriving passangers. They asked for RMB220 and that's a high price, almost doubled. A taxi going from Shangri-La to the Airport would be about 100. Most of the taxis offer day tour service. You may check against the price of different drivers. I hired a taxi to Hwa Shan, only RMB550 a day. The hotel can also arrange transportation but the price is...1200! There are also public transportation at the train station. That's a good time to experience the reality, no queue! People are squeezing in. That's the fun part of this trip.
|
| P Chong |
31 July 2005 |
Stayed at Shangri-la Hotel Shenzhen - Shenzhen, China.
|
Seaport Restaurant at "JiaLingNa" shopping mall which is just behind the hotel (10min walk) is a must. Better food than any of those highly acclaimed restaurants in Hong Kong. Ambiance in Seaport is very good, staff is polite and helpful, price is very reasonable too.
|
| E Tabor |
12 July 2005 |
Stayed at Jinjiang Hotel - Chengdu, China.
|
Chengdu. Never heard of it? Well, it has two important attractions: Pandas and the Big Stone Buddha in Leshan, about 2 hours away. It's a large but nondescript city, seemingly more under construction than even Beijing. The spicy Sechuan cooking delighted me, although my 11-year-old was a little overwhelmed by the heat. The pandas in the Panda Center (NOT the zoo, which at least one guidebook says) is worth the effort to visit. We did not go to Wolong, home of the Panda Research Center, but about 100 km away. Nevertheless, we saw pandas in action, and were utterly bewitched. Also, the Big Stone Buddha is all of those, and a wonder to behold. The climb is steep (and what goes down, on the narrow metal staircase, just go up again, on another narrow metal staircase). It's also worth the trip. The heat in July in Chengdu was not quite as oppressive as it was everywhere else in China, but the pandas and the Buddha merit a (short) visit. We also saw a lovely bamboo park dedicated to a female poet and Du Fu's home.
|
| E Tabor |
10 July 2005 |
Stayed at Bell Tower Hotel - Xian, China.
|
Xi'an is another large Chinese city (around 6 million, I think) but it's a polluted, rather beat place. The air was translucent and very irritating. We saw more beggars there than anywhere else we visited. So why bother? Two words: Terra-Cotta Warriors. Yes, this is the place. The Terra-Cotta Warriors stand about an hour away, and make a visit to Xi'an absolutely necessary when visiting China. When you visit the T-C Warriors, you get a "tour," which includes Emperor Qinlong's Mausoleum, the Huaping Hot Springs and site of the 1936 Incident (involving Chiang Kai-Shek and Mao Tse-Tung) and a very skippable gondola ride up a mountain with yet another temple on top. There are some interesting pagodas much closer as well. I hear the Shaanxi Museum is excellent, but my 11-year-old wouldn't hear of it.
|
|
Pages (1 of 155):
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 More »
Book a hotel in China
|
