Hi,

September is probably a good time to visit northern China, mild and sunny and ideal for sightseeing. However, the further south you go the hotter and more humid it will get at that time of year and you could find Hong Kong very unpleasant and downright stormy because you run the risk of hitting the typhoon season.

When I was there in September (at the end of a tour round China) everyday started bright and sunny and got progressively hotter, more humid and more overcast as the day wore on to the extent that by late afternoon the sky would have turned black followed by torrential rain for around an hour. The sky would then clear, the sun would come out and the steam would visibly rise as the streests dried out and there would be a pleasant interlude before it turned dark in the early evening. We got into the habit of getting up early to do any sightseeing then around lunchtime headed for a ferry to one of the quiet outlying islands to spend a couple of hours on a quiet beach sitting out the worst heat of the day and definitely making sure that we identified somewhere to retreat to when the monsoon-like downpour started. If there was nowhere suitable we just made out way back to the hotel early and then ventured out again after the streets had aired.

If you are planning to do much shopping then I would suggest that doing it in mid/late afternoon is one of the ways of escaping the worst of the heat and the wet since the big department stores and shoppping malls are all air conditioned!

SM

Thanks SM, that info about the weather is helpful.

Can anyone help me with the tour ops?
Thanks.

Hi Dawn, just spotted this with being away.

My brother did a tour of China and Tibet with Travelsphere a couple of years ago and thought they were very good. However they were the only ones out of a group of about 26 who didn't have their original travel date changed. I think this was to tie in with the Tibet bit.

He's offshore at the moment, but if you have any specific questions I could ask him when he gets back.

Hi Luci, nice to see you back!

Yes someone has mentioned Travelsphere and I have their brochure. There are lots of interesting tours in there.
I've now got a rough idea of a cost from an independant china operator who can tailor make a tour for us, with connecting flights to London from our local airport. As I suspected we will have to do without a holiday next year to save up, but it'll be worth it.

Thanks.

I went to China with Travelsphere about 6 years ago. It really was well worth the money and was a trip of a life time. Tiennamen Square and especially the Terracotta Army are absolutely fantastic and give you that goosepimpley prickly feeling that you never forget.

The trip I went on was Beijng, Xian and Shanghai. We had wanted to have the Hong Kong add-on but for some unexplained reason didn't do it - both regret it. It was the on the verge of the rainy season in Hong Kong and we would have been there when it was handed over to the Chinese. It was actually torrential rain at that time (was it Chris Pattern who got soaked?)

We found we spent very little money whilst we were there, virtually all meals were included (apparently resturants were chosen so as we wouldn't be eating undesirable animals !!!!) I found the food okay but quiet bland and repetative if compared to Chinese food here, to be honest I didn't eat any chinese food for months after it!!! The only things we really spent on were drinks and shopping (some wonderful bargins that you would pay a fortune for here)

The trips are literally all day every day some from 5am not getting back until evening, they are fabulous but you're not fit for socialising afterwards, most of the time you are completely exhausted and want to be fit for the next one! When you go to Shanghai make sure you get up early , about 5.30amish if I rememeber rightly, and go to one of the parks for the Tai Chi, it is unbelievable.

Have a wonderful time it will be worth missing the next years holiday for

Thanks Clairssa, I have looked at Travelsphre and their prices are good but they aren't as flexible as we'll have to be in Shanghai at a certain time. We'll be going through an independant company I think.
Mind you, I think we will end up using them at some point as they've loads of interesting trips - I do like the look of their safaris!

Know what you mean about travelling - we had a tour of the Yucatan pennisula in Mexico. Tiring but throughly enjoyable.

Dawn

We are hoping to stop in China during a far east tour and want to see teh Great Wall, Terracota Army and Beijing.

Has anyone done thsi n teh past?
How easy is it to organise my own sightseeing trips with a local company when I get there?

thanks
Robert

Hello.

Well after a fantastic holiday in Thailand last summer (Bangkok&Pattaya-feel free to ask any questions), we really want another far east holiday for this july/august. We will be going for 14 nights. As Bangkok was primarily for shopping, we fancy more culture. So we thought Beijing would be great.However we don't want to spend all the time in Beijing and fancy going to a beach resort place for the second week.

Is this something that China offers? and if so, are the resorts any good?

and how would we get to them from Beijing?

Mny thanks for any advice,

Limelolly.

Please tell me that you did more than shopping in Bangkok?!! You could have had culture galore there! Still - it gives you an excuse to go back again.
Most companies will offer a beach extension to Bali, Penang or Thailand. I think I would avoid Penang in August as it has a high rainfall then. In Thailand the place to be in August for beaches is Koh Samui. Bali would also be good. ( well I hope so- I'm going this August!) I have also been to Koh Samui in August. A trail through the brochures shows that China does not appear to be an option if you want a beach.

Is Beijing a definite for you by the way?

I was in Beijing at the end of July a couple of years ago, the weather was extremely hot and sticky. Of course most places in SE Asia will be hot and probably wet at this time of year. My first visit to China many years ago was the end of April which was much cooler. There is lots to see in Beijing also a day trip to the Great Wall is a must. Be prepared for crowds everywhere, the shopping isn't bad either. As posted previously many Tour Operators offer two or three center holidays which include Thai or Malaysia Beaches.
The Hotels I stayed in in Beijing were excellent, very high standards of service and accommodation

Thankyou both for your replies.

I booked our plane tickets to Beijing this afternoon. Got a great deal through AirFrance.

Not quite sure where exactly we will go. We thought Beijing and then Shanghai and maybe somewhere else. I have been looking online and there seem to be some sort of beach resorts so we might try there.

Can anyone recommend anywhere that we must visit?

Many thanks,

LimeLolly.

The first time I visited China I went to Xian to see the Terracotta Warriors
which turned out to be one of the highlights of the whole trip. It's a long way from Beijing so you would have to fly from there or from Shanghai. There is a good extensive rail network in China but because of the huge distances covered journeys can take days. There are lots of places to visit but if you are wanting to stay at the beach as well as sightsee I think your plan of just a couple of cities is probably the best one. You might want to take the train to Wuxi, Suzhou or Hangzhou from Shangai as these towns are not too far away.
In Beijing the main sites are the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace and Tiananmen Square. There is a famous Peking Duck restaurant on the square, I can't remember the name,your hotel staff would be able to tell you. Last time I was there I took a rickshaw ride through the old city, which is fast disappearing to make way for new flats.
Travel in China is not always easy as not too many people speak english and infact the first time I went foreigners were only allowed to travel alone if they had an official guide with them.Though I have noticed a lot more people are speaking English now and lots of them want to practice their language skills on you.
I have heard that beach resorts are being developed which would make sense because of the vast amount of coastline but where and what standard I don't know.
I hope you enjoy your trip. I would like to go back again there is still a lot I would like to see.

Only just noticed your posting. I went to Beijing last September with my wife. It was one of the best trips we have ever had(New Zealand was the best so far). The Great Wall is amazing. Our hotel arranged a tour guide for a couple of days, it was helpful as he could take us around but often we wanted to stay longer and we had to move on to the next location.Food, shopping etc. was excellent and cheap. When you take a taxi make sure you have your hotel name/destination written down in mandarin as taxi drivers don,t understand any english. I would go back again. We only had 8 days there I would love to see more of China.

Thanks for all the info everyone.

I think I have now narrowed it down to this company as they can tailor make a departure for us, which is what we'll need if we are to base it around being in Shanghai for the grand prix - http://www.chinaholidays.co.uk/
Anyone used them?

Dawn

Hi all
We have just read all of your posts and it has made us want to visit China even more. Has anyone heard of or even travelled with 'Travelscope' before?? The brochure is 'Far & Away' and they are worldwide escorted tours. The tour we are looking at is 9 days and visits 'Peking, Shanghai and the Terracotta Warriors and you also visit the Great Wall of China. The price in the brochure to what's included seems too good to be true (from £799) and the hotels that we stay in are 4* (I have looked up on the names and they all look to be decent hotels). If anyone has any info or advise please post back-any comments will be welcome. Thanks for reading.

just do your research ahead of time, and you should be ok.

once you get here, the day to day expenses are minimal.

Rick in China