Beijing

[jdoggUT]

I will be headed to Beijing for a week in April... I am in an MBA program that requires a week long international trip as part of the curriculum..

Anyhow, I will be tied up with an agenda for Mon- Friday of my first week but am wanting to tag on an addiitonal week for personal travels... Anyone have any suggestions?

I have heard that I should try and add on Xi'An and Shanghai. Just checking if anyone has any advice for getting around from city to city and how much time would need to be spent in each place...

 

[snow leopard27]

Yunnan is supposed to be interesting; I've always wanted to go there, particularly Lijiang and Dali.

It is far from Beijing; you would have to fly to Kunmng.

 

[Aspen1]

Great Wall is a must see.

 

[lostman]

Great Wall at Mutianyu! Not quite as crowded as Badaling and they have these bobsleds you get to ride going down the mountain when you are ready to leave. Supposedly the way workers got down from there long ago.

Houhai is a nice little day trip as well.

I still have my pics up - if you are interested: Walking Slow

You will have to take a taxi everywhere or public transportation. We hired private drivers, but they were constantly watching for police, as they would get in trouble if they go caught driving us around without giving the gov't it's proper kickbacks!

 

[The Bloak]

I was there for two weeks over Christmas. You could very easily spend 3-4 days in Beijing (Forbidden City, Birds Nest, shopping, etc) and then hit up Shanghai for a few days. We didn't make it to Shanghai but, by all accounts it is much more "Western".

And when I say shopping, I had three custom suits made for around $60/ea. Pull an image of a suit you like off the internet, they make it. Same goes with pants, dress shirts, jackets, etc. Easily saved myself a couple grand by doing my "business" shopping in Beijing. Also bought the wife a string of pearls at the Pearl Market for around $10. Word.

 

[jdoggUT]

Anyone have any recommendations on private guides? From my research it seems that having a guide is very helpful while in Beijing due to the language barrier...

We typically try to avoid the group "Factory style" tours and were thinking that a private guide would be worth the additional cost.

 

[Tailgate]

Private guides are best. Your hotel can point you in the right direction. Great Wall is a must. Shanghai has more "energy" if you can make it there. South of Shanghai is Hangzhou. Marco Polo called it "Heaven on Earth." Really cool town with beautiful lake in the middle.

Make sure you always try and have a guide or interpreter with you when shopping or sightseeing. It really helps when negotiating etc. You are going to get asked to buy a watch or bag (knock-off designer purse) every 20 feet.

 

[lostman]

Do you have a contact in Beijing that might know a college student? While we were there we hooked up with a couple college kids, paid them $30 a day to stay with us and interpret, etc. They also set up our day for us as far as where to eat, what to see etc. We also had private drivers (illegal as all hell) but way cheaper than taxis. Again, hooked up with them through our contact.

Having someone who can speak the language did make a huge difference in shopping. In one store, as we left after a very intense bartering session, the shopkeeper started talking to a friend there in an angry tone. Our guide started laughing, saying the shopkeeper was complaining that she would have gotten more money if I did not have my "Chinese friend" with me!

And our Chinese friends became very important when my nephew lost his passport and we had to negotiate the police, the embassy, and the consulate. Most useful especially at the police station!