China Travel

solarz said:

In that case, I would highly recommend going by yourself. Tours are way too rushed and you waste a lot of time going from one site to another.

In addition to the Great Wall and the Forbidden Palace, I recommend 天坛、颐和园、圆明园、景山公园. In the latter, you can get a great view of the Forbidden Palace in its entirely.

Click to expand...

If you visit 景山, 北海公园 is worth a tour, too.

Adding to what others have been saying, the national museum (国家博物馆) is also worth visiting. Some of these places (like Forbidden City and the national museum) are very difficult to book tickets for because of high demand, so I would recommend planning ahead and getting the tickets at least a week you before you plan to visit.

You can do that just by searching the name of the location in WeChat, there's typically a WeChat mini program (like for the Forbidden City) that you can book admittance with, usually you just need to provide your passport info and they'll scan your passport at the entrance for admittance so no physical tickets needed.

@SteelBird I suggest to spend some time in Guangzhou. The food there is for sure much better than in Beijing.

SteelBird said:

My grandfather is Hakha (客家人). According to my father, he and my great grandmother moved to Cambodia in early 20th century due to war in China. My great grandmother went back to China, but my grandfather chose to stay. I know nothing about the hometown and expect there to be some 客家土楼 to see. My family name is 蕭. I don't know what remains or everything has been modernized. I think I would seek to local authority for the hometown's history when I get there.

Click to expand...

Kyle Anderson the NBA/Chinese national team player is 1/8 Hakka or something like that
He (actually his mother's endeavor) could still find his hometown and clanspeople, surely you will have success

SteelBird said:

To my plan, I would need to take the train from Guangzhou to Huizhou on the early morning of April 13 and back to Guangzhou in the evening of the same day. April should not be high season in China, right?

Click to expand...

Include Chengdu in your plan if you can. Fabulous food, wonderful culture, countless historical and scenic attractions, pandas... And with some luck, you can witness J-20 or even J-36 flying overhead in person.

If you get a chance, do make a trip to Shanxi, we have the best 面食 in all of China, in fact, the best in the world!
We also have the best vinegar in the world.
I also recommend Shanxi's halal beef and mutton.

We also have a lot of ancient buildings on the ground, known as “Shanxi‘s on the ground, Shaanxi's under the ground”(地上山西，地下陕西）. In fact, many of the sculptures and architectures of the Black Myth: Wukong are from Shanxi. There are also tips on the Internet about this. Tell you how to go to visit all over.

Welcome to play!

Heading to Xinjiang in April. Urumqi, Turpan, Kashgar. Please share your tips, specially where to eat