Inspiration: China Trip

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tazy7

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Alex Sloat
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Hi All

Off to China at the start of April for around 7 nights, spending 3 nights in Hong Kong, 2 Nights in Chengdu and 2 nights in Beijing. As you can see a lot of travelling in not a lot of time :cuckoo:

I am after some recommended sights to go to while in each place so I can make sure I spend two months when I come back of trawelling through my pictures :D

We are defiantly going to the Chengdu panda reserve as this is the main reason behind the trip.

Any recommendations will be massively appreciated, the recommendations I had from TP when I went Prague helped massively :clap:
 
I spent 6 weeks in China in aug/sept 09.

HK is amazing, if you are going there first its a nice easy slip into the cultures and habits, going from there into China itself is a very weird experience, you notice how everyhting chages as soon as you walk over the border. if on the other hand you are goin from China in to HK its a get away from the weirdness and manic mayhem on mainland China.

Hk -

Victoria peak is a must, try to get up early or late as its high and the mid day sun is blindingly hot and will scortch the images too, afternoon can get very hazy also.

HSBC (i think, may be ICBC, International China Banking Corp)),building is the huge one with jagged edges and big antenas on top. when we were there it was closed but usually you can access a viewing gallery on the 40+ floor. worth checking out, jsut walk in the main entrance and ask the guards, they all speak Eng.

Some great views over to Kawloon from the victoria boat club can be had, night time pano was great for me.

Botanical gardens are cool, free, with lots of animals.

Chengdu -

Well this place was a strange town, we stayed in the 'tibetan' district adn eating anyhting that resembled actual meat was hard, we had trouble, and we are not fussy at all. as for sights in chendgu there sint much really the wenshu temple is kinda col, but nothing compared to anything you will see in Beijing.

as for the panda centre, its amazing. one of the best things on our so far 6 month trip. we got in for 1RMB/CNY which is 10p. we did this by getting a 'Panda card' from a local super market, that costs 1RMB/CNY and gets you in to 12 free attractions, bonus hey. the supermarket is called - sorry jsut cheked my blog and i didnt put it down in there, try google.

Beijing is crazy, its really assaults the senses head on, smells, sounds and sights. its an amazing place and where we started our journey 6 months ago.

there are so many places to go, i wont list them all instead ill link you o our blog and you can read about them all there, lots of info on buses etc and how to get about such a huge city.

here is the link http://travelpod.com/members/brad.leah

here are some images to show what you might expect, shot with a G10, which i lost in a taxi on Hainan, so no HK pics. :(

No processing at all, i only have a small net book. im going to have a huge amount to sort through when i get back, already have over 20,000 images. and now have a G11.


temple-of-good-harvest-prayers
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road side puncture repair (puck bikes are in there billions)
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needs no introduction
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hope this is some help, and the blog is usefull. feel free to PM anytime with questions, but i dont always check here that often, so mabe email (its in my profile)

Enjoy your trip
 
amazing pics manc.

i really need to try harder, so wish i had my full kit bag with me, not jsut the G11.
 
summer palace is another good place to visit,very large like forbidden city(nice to see out of season,went last july it was packed)temple of heaven is supposed to be good too,got there after summer palace,and got caught in a massive thunderstorm & torrential rain,just after buying tickets, so didn't get to see it
 
Thanks for the replies guys, knew TP would come up trumps again :D

Thanks for the links to the blogs. I can't wait to get out there and start snapping away.

How did you find the communication barrier, worried about taxis more than anything from the airports?

keep the suggestions coming :D
 
most taxi drivers i encountered in beijing understood english,make sure they use the meter, as metered fares are generally cheaper,as some see you as a dumb tourist and try to charge a more expensive agreed rate in advance,the exception was when me and my mates wanted to go to the wall at badaling and the ming tombs,when we were there you had to have been in beijing a week before the tour office in tiannmen sq would take you because of the swine flu scare,at beijing airport there is a handler who will sort the taxi for you,take a piece of paper with you with the names of places written in chinese just in case,also consider using the subways and buses where possible they're dirt cheap(even to & from the airport)
 
tazy7 said:
Thanks for the replies guys, knew TP would come up trumps again :D

Thanks for the links to the blogs. I can't wait to get out there and start snapping away.

How did you find the communication barrier, worried about taxis more than anything from the airports?

keep the suggestions coming :D
Click to expand...

I was quite lucky as my wife is Chinese so wasn't a problem for me, however in all of china I think it was 4-5pm you want be able to get a taxi due to shift changing no matter if you chinese or a tourist. The underground system there is fine, easy to get around.

Hong Kong is just amazing! you will love it.
 
For HK I would recommend Ned Kellys Bar in Kowloon... Its a Jazz bar owned by an English guy. Great atmosphere and certainly worth stopping for a pint or 2 :)
Been there a few times now, amazing place.. :)
I remember the night I got hammered with group of guys from the Gurkhas in that bar.. oh the pain.....
 
In HK, Hollywood Road on the mainland is agood spot, loads of old fashioned streets and steps and vibrant colours, last time I was there it was one fo the few temples you were allowed to take photo's in as well...

A trip on the star ferry at dusk is worht it to take photo's of HK Island with all the illuminations although be very, very aware of the rikshaw drivers around the ferry who will charge you a fortune if they catch you taking a photo of them (it's a fun challenge to try and sneak the photo)...

There'sloads to do over there :)
 
I've been to HK 3 times and also Shanghai and Beijing.

You will have an amazing time wherever you go. Just keep in mind that it's not a relaxing/easy place to travel sometimes. That does add to the excitement but things can annoy you at the end of a long day sometimes.

A good tip we got when we went is pick up business cards for places that are in the general area where you might want to visit and also one for you hotel. Then just show these to the taxi drivers and they will take you there. Be warned that we didn't find any taxi drivers that spoke English but things may have chanced as it was 5 years ago when I went. They do sometimes take you on a longer route as they think you don't know what's going on. However it's all pretty cheap so I wouldn't woory about it too much.

In Beijing all the usual stuff is worth doing, Forbidden City, Winter Palace etc but also just walking around is good. We got well off the beaten track just by walking around the suberbs and found some amazing sights!

If you want to go to the wall I certainly recommend NOT going to the usual touristy areas. We went to a place called Si Ma Tai which is about 120km from Beijing but the coach trip there was interesting and that part of the wall is original whereas the other parts are tarted up to look nice I think.

If you have any more questions feel free to PM me and I'll try and help.

Andy S
 
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