China Tips

[Sheilbh]

I don't really fancy Taiwan/Japan/Korea to be honest. Maybe one day.

And as I say Hong Kong's a cheap flight. It's £100 cheaper than Shanghai, from what I've seen, so if I go to Southern China/Yangzi area it'll be through Hong Kong

How's this for a trip:
Hong Kong - Xiamen - Wuyi Shan - Shanghai - Shaoxing - Hangzhou - Suzhou - Hong Kong.

Is that plausible for 2-3 weeks?

[Admiral Yi]

I never recommend Korea as a tourist destination.

[Jacob]

I never recommend Korea as a tourist destination.

It's not bad as a business destination, though.

[Jacob]

I don't really fancy Taiwan/Japan/Korea to be honest. Maybe one day.

I never fancied Taiwan either, but I fell in love with Taipei when I was there.

Japan is its own thing.

And as I say Hong Kong's a cheap flight. It's £100 cheaper than Shanghai, from what I've seen, so if I go to Southern China/Yangzi area it'll be through Hong Kong

How's this for a trip:
Hong Kong - Xiamen - Wuyi Shan - Shanghai - Shaoxing - Hangzhou - Suzhou - Hong Kong.

Is that plausible for 2-3 weeks?

... don't know.

But Hong Kong as a jumping off point is good.

[Sheilbh]

I never fancied Taiwan either, but I fell in love with Taipei when I was there.

Yeah. As I say, one day.

I've never really fancied most of South-East Asia either. Indonesia and the Philippines appeal but not so much. Though I've no doubt I'd love it if I ever go.

Japan is its own thing.

Yeah. I've got a friend who's a Japanese translator and will, inevitably, end up back there for extended periods. So I imagine I'll visit then - also when I'm earning a bit more.

[Monoriu]

I don't really fancy Taiwan/Japan/Korea to be honest. Maybe one day.

And as I say Hong Kong's a cheap flight. It's £100 cheaper than Shanghai, from what I've seen, so if I go to Southern China/Yangzi area it'll be through Hong Kong

How's this for a trip:
Hong Kong - Xiamen - Wuyi Shan - Shanghai - Shaoxing - Hangzhou - Suzhou - Hong Kong.

Is that plausible for 2-3 weeks?

This is good for 3 weeks, but too rushed for 2 weeks. 

I've been to Xiamen and I was a bit disappointed.  Beijing is a lot better.  If I were you, I'd not worry too much about geographic proximity.  Beijing is a must-see if you are not familiar with China. 

The flight from HK to Xiamen is about an hour.  From HK to Beijing is 3 hours without delays.  It is only an additional 2 hours, but Beijing is light years ahead in terms of tourist attractions and food. 

[Monoriu]

I never recommend Korea as a tourist destination.

I agree 

[Sheilbh]

Cheers again, guys. Also any local delicacies for these places Mono?

Xiamen is really a stop-off to go to Wuyi Shan because (I think) there's flights between the two. Though I kind of fancy visiting the island.

I get what you're saying about Beijing but I'll already be rushing. I want to spend 3-4 days in Shanghai and Hong Kong, if I throw in Beijing too it makes any other trips even shorter.

As I say I think I'll go back. The way I look at it is that China's as big as Europe and there's lots that's unmissable that I will miss. For example if I'm heading from, say, Shanghai to Beijing surely it'd be crap to miss Xi'an too?

I'd rather try and do numerous concentrated trips than a real whirlwind.

[Monoriu]

I never fancied Taiwan either, but I fell in love with Taipei when I was there.

Yeah. As I say, one day.

I've never really fancied most of South-East Asia either. Indonesia and the Philippines appeal but not so much. Though I've no doubt I'd love it if I ever go.

Japan is its own thing.

Yeah. I've got a friend who's a Japanese translator and will, inevitably, end up back there for extended periods. So I imagine I'll visit then - also when I'm earning a bit more.

If I have to rank the tourist destinations in East Asia, it'll be -

Japan - China - Thailand - Taiwan - Singapore - Korea - Vietnam - Malaysia - the rest.  I am biased about HK, so it is not in the rankings. 

[Monoriu]

Cheers again, guys. Also any local delicacies for these places Mono?

Xiamen is really a stop-off to go to Wuyi Shan because (I think) there's flights between the two. Though I kind of fancy visiting the island.

I get what you're saying about Beijing but I'll already be rushing. I want to spend 3-4 days in Shanghai and Hong Kong, if I throw in Beijing too it makes any other trips even shorter.

As I say I think I'll go back. The way I look at it is that China's as big as Europe and there's lots that's unmissable that I will miss. For example if I'm heading from, say, Shanghai to Beijing surely it'd be crap to miss Xi'an too?

I'd rather try and do numerous concentrated trips than a real whirlwind.

In terms of attractiveness, Beijing is either #1 or #2 in China.  Xiamen is outside the top ten.  I understand your point about not being possible to visit all the places.  But my point is, Beijing is much better than Xiamen or Shaoxing.  If I were you, I'd skip Xiamen and Shaoxing, and put Beijing there.  I've been to Beijing 4 or 5 times, and there are so many things to see that there are still major tourist destinations that we haven't been to due to lack of time. 

I don't understand Xiamen being a necessary stop-over.  There are direct flights to both Xiamen and Wuyi Shan from HK.  My mother-in-law go to Wuyi Shan all the time, and she doesn't need a transfer.  You don't need to stop at Xiamen to go to Wuyi Shan.

Food:

For Hangzhou I've named the top 3 restaurants already.  Don't worry about the prices too much.  The hotel restaurants aren't necessarily much more expensive than the street ones.  It all depends on what you order.  If you stick to dim sum and the less expensive dishes, the price is reasonable.  Hotels are also better for you because they have English speaking staff and English menus. 

HK - Luk Yu Tea House is a must-see for traditional dim sum, and the decor if you are into that kind of thing.  It is like going back in time half a century ago.  Lung King Heen is *the* best Cantonese restaurant, but you need to book a place months beforehand.  If not, Cuisine Cuisine in IFC is a good alternative.  For cheap places, I strongly recommend the Australia Dairy Company that I talked about in my thread.  Make sure you order scrambled eggs.  I can go on for 20 pages about food in HK, but is there anything specific you have in mind?

Shanghai - Shanghainese food is all about being oily and heavy.  I like these -

http://www.dianping.com/shop/587030
(make sure you order their fried rice cakes.  I broke a chair there, so be careful when you get up.  If you use your legs to get up, it'll probably be better.  I think they replaced all the chairs the second time I went there)

http://www.dianping.com/shop/2079619

http://www.dianping.com/shop/500702

None of the places that we went to in Xiamen are worth recommending.  I need to ask the wife about Suzhou. 

[Admiral Yi]

Yeah Shelf, you'll kick yourself afterwards if you don't have the scrambled eggs. 

Make sure you try the "toast" as well.

[Eddie Teach]

Yeah Shelf, you'll kick yourself afterwards if you don't have the scrambled eggs. 

Make sure you try the "toast" as well.

You know, there really is an untapped market for Chinese/brunch fusion restaurants. 

[jimmy olsen]

I never recommend Korea as a tourist destination.

Plenty of nice things to see.

[Tonitrus]

I never recommend Korea as a tourist destination.

Plenty of nice things to see.

I doubt that is the issue.

Almost all countries have plenty of nice things to see...but how tourist-friendly are they?

[Monoriu]

I never recommend Korea as a tourist destination.

Plenty of nice things to see.

I am sure there are plenty of nice things to see everywhere.  The problem is my time and money are very limited, and some countries have nicer things to see.  Korea is not bad, but Japan is usually better