What do you recommend I do in China?

If you are going to China for the very first time, Beijing and Shanghai shall be exciting enough to spend three weeks. Xi'An is a good place, but there are many other good places in China, you can't possibly scan all of them in one trip. Some people like to hop from city to city, but if you want to relax a little bit and want some in-dept experiences, staying just in these two cities shall be a good plan.

Shanghai is a highly commercial city. It's like New York City in some sense. There are a lot of sky scrapers, shopping malls, and so on. So your stay can certainly focus on these. Things you may want to do:

- Visiting some of the tallest buildings in the world, like the Shanghai World Financial Center. Have a 360 degree view of the city.

- Going to some of the best restaurants. To start, go to http://www.dianping.com/shanghai/food

- Shopping: way too many places. You can start with the East Nan Jing Road, which is in the heart of the city.

- Night view of Pudoing. Go to The Bund in the evening, and enjoy the view of night lights from the opposite side of the Huang Pu river. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bund

- Souvenir shopping: go to http://www.yuyuantm.com.cn/yuyuan/cn/index/ This is the old town full of small shops.

- Night life: I don't know much about this but someone has commented on it.

Things to do in Beijing:

- Visiting the Olympic Park, including the Bird Nest and the Water Cube, where the 2008 Olympics was held.

- Forbidden city: this is a must-see.

- Rowing on the lake of the Summer Palace or the Bei Hai park (http://www.beihaipark.com.cn/), and feel like an emperor.

- Visiting the Great Wall, of course. It's 40 miles or so away from the city though, so book a full day.

- Shopping: the must-go place is Wang Fu Jing (http://baike.baidu.com/view/23235.htm). Of course, there are many others.

- Dinning: many wonderful places. Again, go to (http://www.dianping.com/beijing/food)

Beijing has a lot of shopping and commercial places too, but I would rather focus on the old palaces and temples from hundreds of years ago. IMHO, these are what makes Beijing unique.

If you speak Mandarin, don't forget to talk to the people on the street or in the local market. That way you get to know the true city.

In Shanghai, you must visit the Pudong district which is home to many shopping malls and supertall skyscrapers. Go up the Oriental Pearl TV Tower to see spectacular views and check out the Bund and the shopping street of Nanjing Road. How about Shanghai Zoo and make sure you try all the different Shanghai cuisine,

For Beijing, there are numerous historical sites to see - the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Beihai Park, Temple of Heaven. Wangfujing district is great if you're into shopping and there are also the Birds Nest stadium and The Water Cube.

Xian was an Ancient Capital of China and is home to the Terracotta Army. It is mainly a historic city containing many emperor tombs, pagodas and temples. There is also much natural scenery to see.

On the train

Shanghai to Beijing is 10hrs

Shanghai to Xian is 15hrs

Xian to Beijing is 11 hrs

All journeys are around 100$ depending on class.

Shanghai is a well-known international metropolis pulling more and more attention from throughout the world; so see what that city is offering with hotelbye . Shanghai is a well known journey location for visitors. In Shanghai you will see the striking Yu Garden (Yù Yuán), also known as the Garden of Happiness. This Garden covers a place of more than 20,000 square meters and includes an outer and an inner garden. The oldest area could be the Outer Garden with more changes being produced in the 18th century when Sansui Tang, the park's main corridor, was added. The newer and much smaller Inner Garden appointments from 1709 and contains characteristics common of a conventional Chinese writer's Garden: beautiful small pavilions, decorative rocks, and little hill ranges, dividing surfaces and little wetlands, and a good richly designed theatrical stage.

@ Beijing: Great Wall, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Tinamen Square, Forbiden City, Olympics Venue (Water Cube, Bird Nest), Beijing Opera theatre, Beijing Acrobatics performance (must go, so cool to watch), zoo

@Shanghai: Pearl Tower, Old Shanghai, New Shanghai, CBD shopping mall (better then beijing), dunno what its called but its a market that sells clothing, bags, glasses, shoes etc.... ask the taxi drivers they'll know.

@xian: havent been going this year.

Beijing is more sight seeing and just strolling around looking at how china was back then. and shanghai is shopping madness.

food varies significantly between beijing and shanghai. so your taste buds will go mad with variety. and beijing food is extremlly hot (chilli hot)

Being could be the capital of China and also its political, economic, and national middle and you have the opportunity to view it now, look with hotelbye . Beijing is one of the very most visited cities in the world. Annually, millions of readers come to Beijing to see the great blend of old and new. Beijing is really a town for several seasons. You can always discover anything for you personally no matter what time you're in Beijing and whatsoever your pursuits are. It takes some time to enjoy exactly what Beijing City provides but positively you can't lose the chance to see Tiananmen Square. Situated in one's heart of Beijing, Tiananmen Square is the website for massive parades and rallies and the largest square of this type in the world.

it makes sense to make a trip Shanghai--Xi-an, Xi-an--Beijing and fly away from Beijing.... or a domestic flight Beijing--Shanghai...

it's best if before going to China you will learn to calculate prices in local currency RMB... USD attitude isn't very helpful here...

as for prices, well domestic flights are about 700-1000 yuan per ticket, that makes about 100 USD... train rides are fine too, they are cheaper but longer... as for "how long", that's for you to decide... a couple of days for each city may be fine... or a week in each... your choice...

Shikumen

Renovated shikumen lanes in Xintiandi,

this tribute to old Shanghai

is now a high end restaurant and shopping center.

One uniquely Shanghainese cultural element is the shikumen (石库门) residences, which are two or three-story townhouses, with the front yard protected by a high brick wall. Each residence is connected and arranged in straight alleys, known as a lòngtang (弄堂), pronounced longdang in Shanghainese. The entrance to each alley is usually surmounted by a stylistic stone arch. The whole resembles terrace houses or townhouses commonly seen in Anglo-American countries, but distinguished by the tall, heavy brick wall in front of each house. The name "shikumen" literally means "stone storage door", referring to the strong gateway to each house.

The shikumen is a cultural blend of elements found in Western architecture with traditional Lower Yangtze (Jiangnan) Chinese architecture and social behavior. All traditional Chinese dwellings had a courtyard, and the shikumen was no exception. Yet, to compromise with its urban nature, it was much smaller and provided an "interior haven" to the commotions in the streets, allowing for raindrops to fall and vegetation to grow freely within a residence. The courtyard also allowed sunlight and adequate ventilation into the rooms.

This style of housing originally developed when local developers adapted terrace houses to Chinese conditions. The wall was added to protect against fighting and looting during the Taiping rebellion, and later burglars and vandals during the social upheavals of the early twentieth century. By World War II, more than 80% of the population in the city lived in these kinds of dwellings. Many of these were hastily built and were akin to slums, while others were of sturdier construction and featured all modern amenities such as the flush toilet.

During and after World War II, massive population increases in Shanghai led many shikumen houses to be heavily subdivided. For example, the spacious living room is often divided into three or four rooms, each lent out to a family. These cramped conditions continue to exist in many of the shikumen districts that have survived recent development.

The landlords who leased (subletted) the shikumen out to other families were called "erfangdong"(二房东), or "second landlord" as many of them acquired the shikumen buildings from its original owner ("dafangdong"大房东). These landlords families usually share the same shikumen building with the tenants.

It relies upon from the position to AUS? once you've selections, Qantas is very danger-free, or any US provider. Air China is the flag provider of PR of China, and their safe practices list has been very solid. notwithstanding there is many new "interior sight" airways interior mainland China that has questionable safe practices list. in case you stick with the important agencies, you'd be advantageous.

let me offer some info of night club and girls in china. you know shanghai is a place full of sex and fashion. When the night coms, start another life in shanghai.you may met pretty girls at night clubs, they will love you and your money.

there are so many pubs over the shanghai, some chained stores famous like baidu,babyface,yinghuang.... the normal cost for one person is about 100USD. and high grade clubs,like jin bi hui huang (golden glories), tian shang ren jian( Heaven on earth ),wan zi qian hong (colourful world),158 club, jin se da di (golden emperor) and so on...

the high grade night clubs are expensive, including the room fees, girl fees,wine fees, you need to pay 1000USD,it is do not so worth for individual consume but for talking business there with china guys.

indoor bathing spot, it is another interesting place to kill time in shanghai. some big bathing spot has eating place,swimming pool,indoor basketball room, theatre, kara ok room, body massage and foots massage place, whore place.all in one building. if you consume for sex, other service will be half free. the cost for 1 day stay there may 150USD.

single foot massage with no porn content is good for sharing with frined, enjoy the service and chatting with friend. it is much more cheap than in Euro. around 7 USD per 70mins.

good luck to have a sling there!

if you are a Puritan or real gentalman,pls ingore me.LOL

any demand for help, just email me raymondpy35@hotmail. local chinese fimilar with shanghai,me

I agree with all of the above, but would add that Hangzhou or Suzhou (or both) are absolutely worth visiting for their Chinese gardens. They are both an easy daytrip from Shanghai.