Hey guys! I'm going to China for 3.5 weeks. We'll be stay at Kunming, Beijing, and Shanghai throughout. It's a little overwhelming with the planning right now. Any recommendations on how to get around, things to see, places to eat, and how long at each place or any other cities we should go to? Thanks for the help everyone

Dont forget to get a visa!!

Yeah. Like 6 months in advance

great food every where but we never eat meat
go to the pearl market in Shanghai if you like pearls at a good price, and there city bus tour is good. of course the great wall, and all the normal city spots in Beijing-see if you can book a private tour to a not so buys spot at the wall it's worth it in my opinion. We stayed at airbnbs in China they were amazing. It was one of our favorite trips. Use the google translate on your phone - hardly anyone speaks english. and the high speed trains are great for travel! have fun

Dale D'Souza

Beijing try Peking duck it’s so good !
I really like Guilin -it’s really beautiful and lots of outdoor activities to do
You could look at their high speed trains but they didnt say the stops in English (only mandarin ) so flying may be easier !

When I went I did a tour and I really liked the group (dragon trip ) so much to see and took away a lot of stress for getting around /language barrier ! If you don’t want to do a tour though you could use where they go /what they see as an outline for what to do
https://thedragontrip.com/.../hong-kong-25-day-china.../

You may want to think twice about going to China. It is now a dictatorship, with an awful human rights record. It is becoming a bully in the South China Sea. With so many places to see in the world perhaps chose somewhere else.

That could be said about our neighbour to the south as well.

John The USA is a democracy and democracy is often messy ....

Charles ah the democracy card. Didn't Clinton get more votes? Thought so.

John that's the messy part .... Like Justin and Doug got less than 50% of the popular vote yet hold the majority of seats.

Ignore
Charles comment.I was in Beijing last November for 8 days ,love it.Felt safer than alot European countries.We did 3 days China highlight small group tours.

Ying Perhaps you can recommend a tour of the prisons for political prison or an interview with Ai Wei Wei ......you are safe in China as long as you do not question the authority .....I suggest you advise tourist to wear t-shirts that state 'Chinese Democracy' ...see how long they feel safe.

Charles The purpose of my trip was to check out the historical sites of China and their culture. No politic involved

Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-la are awesome towns/villages in Yunnan province not far from Kunming and well worth the bus or train. Even if you’re not that big into hiking, you won’t regret an overnight hike up the Tiger Leaping Gorge.

Gurjant Singh

Beihai Park is a MUST see in Beijing in my opinion! So clean and such lucious grounds. Ps if you go to the Great Wall, ask them to drop you off at Mutianyu. Not as touristy and they have an option for you to slide down the Great Wall - so cool! Drivers will usually take you to badaling but it is so over populated with tourists that you can hardly walk.

Hey, I'm in Beijing. Cabs are cheap, but download an app called DiDi. Also, their subways are amazing and very cheap as well. You can get a card, load it up, and ride around. It's very safe and efficient. See all the tourist places in the city like the Forbidden Palace, Summer Palace, Beihai park, 798 art zone, etc, but also, just take the time to roam the hutongs. You will discover so many great little restaurants and bars. It's really lovely. Also, be aware that one section of the Great Wall is easily accesible by train and it's connected to the subway (S2). It's very convenient and cheap. Do not waste your money on group turs on any such thing. If you want to visit other cities, the best way to travel is via bullet train. You can get your tickets on ctrip.com. Trains are SUPER COMFY WITH INCREDIBLE LEG ROOM. I'm 6' tall so trust me...it matters so much. You can go to Datong and see the hanging temple and Longman grottoes. Also visit Pingyao, an ancient town. Nearby there is another small town with the Wang family estate, also worth seeing. It's completely off the foreigners' radar. People will demand you take pics with them. If you're set on a group tour experience, download WeChat, and join CET. It's a student-run group that offers awesome excursions for a very decent price.

Had a stopover in Shnaghai on a trip to Japan. Stayed at the Pudong Qube. Great airport hotel, had airport shuttle. Breakfast was included in our package and was so awesome, we didn't need to eat anywhere else! We went to the Yunan Market, and took an evening cruise on the river. It was pretty, and we went right at sunset, so we got to say daylight and night time. The buildings all light up. Yunnan Market was a bit overwhelming and touristy, but was an interesting taste of China given we had such a short time. The subways were great, the stops are listed in English as well.

Beijing definitely do the Great wall - there was a recent post on recommendations - and doing it via public vs private - up to you, I did it 2x while living there and both with a small private tour . http://www.beijing-tours.cn/.../mutianyu-great-wall-tour.... We loved the day with the other stops and very safe. Forbidden city, Summer Palace , Tiennamen square. I lived in Shanghai for a year, definitely see tourist places like YuYuan gardens, Jing An temple. Shanghai is easy to get around there are 13 metro lines, get a card and travel - same card is good for taxi's but you need to tell taxi driver the cross streets of where you want to go or show translated in chinese characters. Pearl market is good too. If you are lost - you really just have to ask - young people speak english or show chinese on map/phone and point - (as no one could understand my mandarin). If you can do a side trip to Xian to see Terra Cotta warriors, i also recommend. There are tours/flights from Beijing- only need a couple 3 days I think. Day trips from Shanghai - Suzhou a water town. Another great place is Chengdu to see the pandas and giant buddha (sorry not a day trip). Tips for travelling in China - bring tissues as the bathrooms are squat toilets. Everyone will try to sell you things, don't pay full price, haggle, if you suggest price too low, they will walk away, then you can just shop at the next person.

See the Terracotta warriors, Great Wall, forbidden city, Shanghai day and night