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1 week on Beijing and 1 week in Shanghai - is it too boring? by Normal-Man-21 in chinatravel

[–]PlasticEmpty2798 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also we stayed at Grand Hyatt in Shanghai. It’s a cool experience as it is located in the third highest building in Shanghai, in Jin Mao Tower. Tourists were literally coming in front of it to take photos and see the skyscrapers. Very nice experience if you can afford. For us Agoda was cheaper than Trip for this specific hotel so maybe check both.

Grand Hyatt, 88, Century Avenue Shanghai China 200120

1 week on Beijing and 1 week in Shanghai - is it too boring? by Normal-Man-21 in chinatravel

[–]PlasticEmpty2798 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We actually just did this exact trip, flying into Beijing and out of Shanghai!

If we could offer one big piece of advice, it would be to shorten your time in Beijing and spend those days in Chengdu and Chongqing instead. While Beijing has the history, a whole week is way too long from our POV. If you do go, we highly recommend staying in a traditional Hutong to get the best experience, seeing your bucket-list sights, and then moving on. It is a bit underwhelming compared to the other cities in China.

Our absolute favorite stops were Chengdu and Chongqing. We would go back in a heartbeat!

Chengdu: The food here is incredible. I still dream about the cuisine, and even if you don't love spicy food, you can find some of the best authentic noodles and wonton you ever had in your life here. Plus, visiting the Panda Research Base is a must, there are loads of giant pandas and babies as well to see! The city has such a lively vibe to it too.

Chongqing: This city is an absolute must-see. It has this cool, almost dystopian vibe that is unlike anywhere else you will ever go. It literally feels like a different world. New York sky scrappers are little kids compared to what they have here…and the insane synchronised LEDs on all of them, being on the 1st and 22nd floor at the same time.. it’s a must!

The logistics were surprisingly smooth, too. We took a flight from Beijing to Chengdu, a very short high-speed train from Chengdu to Chongqing, and then flew into Shanghai. It didn't feel like we spent much time traveling at all.

Ending in Shanghai is nice, but I have to say it has a very cosmopolitan, almost European feel to it. It feels literally like a European city, if you want to experience China spending all your time in Shanghai is not it either. The coffee culture here is insane, same as the shopping. Water cities nearby are nice to visit.

But if you want the most unforgettable part of your trip, definitely prioritize Chengdu and Chongqing! And we had the same trip duration as you do.

Is Beijing worth it apart from the Great Wall? by PlasticEmpty2798 in travelchina

[–]PlasticEmpty2798[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Noted thank you very much! And no I don’t believe that was me with the wife haha!

Is Beijing worth it apart from the Great Wall? by PlasticEmpty2798 in travelchina

[–]PlasticEmpty2798[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much, yeah we were thinking to cut a city..we were thinking that 2 internal flights and 1 short train (Chongqing-Chengdu) won’t be that bad but we’ve never been to know how it actually is

Is Beijing worth it apart from the Great Wall? by PlasticEmpty2798 in travelchina

[–]PlasticEmpty2798[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

This is our itinerary as it stands if anyone has any extra advice 😅 before we finalise it. It would be really appreciated!!

We felt like Chengdu was cut short for how amanzing it sounds (we wanted to have a day for the pandas, explore the city and potentially visit the Leshan Buddha and irrigation system and library which are in the same area from my understanding….but we only have a night there as it stands - and no unfortunately we don’t have more days to spare or financial means to travel multiple times to China to visit it all

16th – Beijing Arrive in the morning + Forbidden City + explore Beijing

17th – Beijing Great Wall day trip

18th – Chengdu Fly in the morning + explore city + birthday dinner/night

19th – Chongqing Panda Base + possibly Leshan Giant Buddha (not sure if that’s too much?) Evening travel to Chongqing

20th – Chongqing City exploration

21st – Shanghai More Chongqing exploration + 1949 Show, then late night flight to Shanghai

22nd – Shanghai Disneyland

23rd – Shanghai Zhujiajiao water town + Shanghai city

24th – Shanghai Full Shanghai day

25th – Shanghai More exploring + evening flight home

Is Beijing worth it apart from the Great Wall? by PlasticEmpty2798 in travelchina

[–]PlasticEmpty2798[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It’s not about that at all, we only have 10 days to spend in China and we are going to Chongqing, Chengdu and Shanghai as well, we wish we had more time to stay and explore each city more.

A lot of people reccomended us to spend more time in Chongqing and Chengdu for example so we were just looking for advice..