Hi everyone! My partner and I are going to be in China in September for a friend's wedding and figured I'd take the opportunity to check out a few other places. We'll be in Beijing for a week for wedding festivities, and then spend 2 days in Xi'an and 3 days in Chengdu. I'm a huge foodie so I'm especially looking for food recs, and maybe also hotel recs if there was anywhere that really stood out to you!

Here's what's currently on my list:

• Great wall, I'm hoping to check out 2 sections since I'll be in Beijing for so long.
• Won't be going to the Forbidden City since I've been there before.
• I think Beijing has quite a few Michelin guide restaurants -- I don't really trust Michelin for Asian food but if there's anything that stood out to you, would love to hear about it!
• Terracotta warriors in Xi'an. Originally wasn't planning to do this, but my dad said it's a must-see haha.
• Chengdu Panda Research Base. I heard there are baby pandas in September!
• LOTS OF HOTPOT, hotpot recs greatly appreciated. I've done some studying on XHS but it looks like a lot of the super popular chains require hours of line up, so would love some hole-in-the-wall hotpot recs or nightmarket/restaurant areas that you think have a lot of good places!
• Also if you know where to get a bomb Mapo Tofu I'd love that too :)
• I was thinking about checking out The Temple House for my last night in Chengdu, but not sure if it's worth the money?

Would love to hear any suggestions! Especially for food in Xi'an or Chengdu -- I love spicy food!

I'm planning on visiting Shangri La in Yunan province. How expensive is it? I'm a backpacker travelling on a budget

I'm looking at plans from airalo and nomad. I'll be in HK, Macau and China for 2 weeks. Rather than buying esims for each location, I'm considering one regional esim. Is there a performance difference between country esims versus a regional one?

Nomad has 20gb for their APAC esim at 29usd currently. 20gb may be too little but nomad allows topping off.

Airalo is much pricier at 10gb for $37 or 50gb for $100.

Hi guys! I’m joining a short weekend trip in Beijing in the third week of May. The organizer just told me that it takes at least 6 people to make it happen. They usually promote on their wechat page so I thought I can share the itinerary here and see if anyone might be interested or spread it around if you knows anyone mentioned this before:

25 May , Sat

Day 1 12:30 Meet at the exit of Beijing South station with our guide

13:00 Go to the local village

16:00 Arrive at the vilage and have a quick lunch

17:00 Start to hike to the camping site with tents

17:15 Arrive and set up the tents

19:00 See the sunset from the Great Wall

20:00 Chat with new friends and sleep. Good night!

26 May, Sun

Day 2 5:00-5:30 Watch sunrise

07:00 Keep hiking Great Wall or just relax

08:30 Finish the hike and go down with tents

11:00 Drive to the train station and have lunch nearby( Beijing Duck Lunch)

14:30 Transfer to Beijing South Railway Station.

Not sure if this would be counted as ad (which is not since I’m just joining them as a tourist), I don’t share the Tour name and price but just the plan.

Let me know if this isn’t okay here. I can take it down immediately.

Thank you!

Hey there! I'm a university student and I'm planning an a budget friendly trip to China. Since Malaysians can stay visa-free for 14 days, I'm thinking of exploring some water towns. Can anyone suggest some that are near a big city or not too far? I'm pretty flexible with my plans. I'm really keen on renting hanfus, snapping some photos, and immersing myself in the traditional vibe. Even though I'm Chinese (Malaysian), I can only speak cantonese but not mandarin :(

Buying entry tickets for my parents and they are above 60..

I am spending 1 day there, should I get the 8.30am ticket in the morning and 9.55pm return ticket? Will I walk so long lol??

I am planning to go to china in august for a month. I really enjoy walking in nature, less tourists and easy to reach by train (can't drive no license). The plan so far is: Guangzhou is a must visit because my relatives live there, would love to see them. The really want desire places for nature:

• Zhangjiajie national park
• Taishan

The really want desire places for culture

• Xi'an for terracotta warriors
• Shaolin temple (Dengfeng)

if possible: Lots of temples, monasteries. Ancient towns (古镇) like Pingyao, Shaxi, Fenghuang or Wuyuan.

What do you guys think with only by train and within a month?

Please let me know if this is not allowed~

If you or someone you know has awesome video skills, wants to live in and explore rural China and learn Kung Fu, and not pay a dime for food, accommodation, utilities, or training, pass this along! Our school is looking for an on-site videographer! See details below. Also, feel free to ask me any questions :)

https://shaolin-kungfu.com/seeking-social-media-videographer-kungfu-school/

Hi, anyone knows how safe is it to hike in Yading nature reserve as a solo female traveler? Im chinese, as relatives in china, in my 20s. I'm going in May end, also want to visit Jiuzhaigou! Any general advice are also welcome!

I'm planning on visiting Chengde as a day trip from Beijing. Once I alight at Chengdu station, are taxis readily available? Does it make sense to hire a taxi for the day to visit the top 3-4 temples and the Mountain Resort, how do day visitors from Beijing get around the area to visit these sites normally?

Group of 4 or 5 booked for June--all I have is my flights in and out. My uncle is convinced we can book train travel btw HK, Guangzhou, Chonqqing and Chengdu as we go along. But I keep reading about bullet train tickets being sold out. Are we screwed?

If we can't book bullet trains, what about booking flights or long distance buses? Are those options fairly open to booking within a short period of time.

Hello all. I will be heading to Chongqing and Chengdu respectively from next week onwards and it’s my first time going free and easy so I would like to know some answers before heading there…

1. What app should I use to search for nice food nearby? Should I use Baidu maps/Gaode and look at the reviews given?

2. Is the cab in both cities affordable from going to a place to another. And I’m meant just 15-30mins cab ride and not more than that. Is it possible to pay cab fare by cash?

3. I bought bullet train tickets from Trip.com and was wondering if I can really use the e-ticket instead of collecting the actual ticket at the counter? I need to double confirm as I do not want to miss my train. Do I really have to be there 30minutes in advance or will the gate close on me if I arrived a few minutes before the departure time?

4. Is Xipu station to Liduigongyuan station a high speed rail or just a normal railway train? - sorry just curious.

5. As a person who doesn’t eat spicy food, should I still go for their famous hotpot places and eat non spicy food? What are the non spicy food to recommend in these 2 cities?

6. Chengdu Panda base VS Dujiangyan Panda base, should I go for both or just the bigger one at Chengdu?

7. Toilets in China..is it all still squatting ones? Asking regarding female toilet.

Thank you all in advance your replies is much appreciated.

Planning a 2 month trip to China from August to October. I can imagine eateries and transport is affordable and comparable to South East Asian Countries, but I guess I’m more interested in accommodation. Me and my partner would be sharing any room, but generally avoid hostels as they tend to be more expensive compared to sharing a room in most countries we’ve travelled to. What would be some good sources to book cheaper types of accommodation like home-stays and guesthouses, and roughly how much do they tend to cost? It would be great to get both an average for inside and outside the cities. I know it’s unhelpful to not specify exactly where we plan on going but we are roughly inclined on starting in Guangzhou and making our way to Sichuan passing Guanxi and Guizhou on the way. Would also appreciate any recommendations for ‘offbeat’ places, I hate using such words but it’s the only way I can think to describe places less ravaged by commercial mass tourism, which I can imagine is somewhat something to avoid in a country of 1.5 billion people with a very big domestic tourist industry. Lastly, would it be foolish to avoid other favourite places in China such as Beijing / Shanghai? Thank you in advance.

Hi guys, they say we have to reserve tickets for the jinshanling section now but I tried and can't do it with my foreign passport on WeChat... Does anyone know how?

Hi everyone. They say we have to book our tickets for jinshanling great wall in advance on wechat or other websites but the problem is that they don't accept foreign passports? How do we get tickets and reserve in advance then? Thanks!

Hi, i'm planning a 10 days trip in China, i will land in Shanghai and maybe move to Beijing in the second half of the vacation. Considered they are both huge and crowded cities i'm also looking for the best natural places to visit nearby (no longer than 2-3 hours by train). Which are the places that i can't miss?

I am gonna be travelling for work in China, and after work I am planning to start 3 to 4 extra days there. What are the the most recommended places for foreigner to visit around Shenzhen, Macao and Hong Kong?
Taking a train within China to somewhere else is also an option, though it doesn't make sense if it is too far away. Any advice, tips and tricks, things to avoid or even hotel recommendations are highly welcome especially because I only know English and Portuguese!
I've already been there, but just know some factory places around shenzhen and Huaqiangbei. I am gonna get into mainline through Hong Kong.

Thank you in advance!

Hi I'm not able to decide between these two:

Shufeng Yayun (蜀风雅韵)

Furongguocui (芙蓉国粹)

The first theatre room seems smaller (which might help seeing closer and better the actors and the face-changing tricks), but I've read reviews of the show being less structured and less formal; they offer option of a small meal too. The second theatre looks bigger and the show looks more professional, but I'm afraid to be too far from the stage to see the tricks.

Anyone that saw both, any advices? My priority is to see an authentic show and to see well the stage, but that's mostly depending on seats (that I can't choose, I'll put the VIP option for both).

Thanks

I reserved a ticket from Chonging to Chengdu from Trip.com and it shows that they are still trying to secure the booking. May I know whether I will be getting my tickets or not as I have checked 12306 website and the particular timing was kind of sold out. My railway 12306 account needs my verification which may takes 3-5 workings days to get it verified which I’m afraid the tickets will be gone by then.

May I know what are my options now? I am trying to get a bullet train ticket on a Saturday by the way.

Edit: thanks all for the replies I managed to secure a ticket by reselecting another timeslot!

Can someone give me feedback regarding my phone/e-sim plan below? It has been a couple years since I've been back to China and though I have been reading up on e-sims and other people's experiences on reddit, I am still not 100% sure if this is the way to go. Would love your suggestions!

I plan on having:

1. an old iphone that has physical sim so I can purchase a local sim to get the Chinese phone number. I hear it's better to just have a Chinese number because some apps need a # to identify you? Will have no data on this phone.

AND

2. iphone 14 - This is the primary device I'll be using to navigate U.S. based apps. I plan on purchasing an e-sim. Since others have said that e-sim is sufficient, I'm thinking of NOT purchasing Lets VPN. Or do you think it's better to have both just in case?

I do have some two-factor authentication when I try logging onto my bank apps. I should still be able to receive those texts, regardless of if I have e-sim or VPN, right? I have a T mobile plan that has unlimited data/texting in China.

Thank you so much!

Is there a way I can change my phone number on the DiDi app from my US number to my Chinese number? When I try to click to do it, it will only let me enter another US number instead of being able to change the region and my US sim card isn't in my phone anymore since my Chinese sim is in.

Arriving at 9am into Shanghai Hongqiao airport from a domestic flight, how long should I allow when transferring to the bullet train out of the Hongqiao station? Would at 10:30am train be ok?

Fellow travellers, my girlfriend and I will be arriving at Hong Kong airport (landing at approx. 4:30pm) with luggage and need to travel to Yantian District, Shenzhen.

Could you suggest the best route for this journey?

P.S. I’m aware that the Shatoujiao Checkpoint used to be an option for crossing the border from Hong Kong, but according to recent posts, it hasn’t reopened post-Covid.

I am planning on spending 20days in China. I wanna visit some cool natural parks in china around that's close to Guanzhou or Shanghai. What would you suggest?

Hey guys - currently in Beijing and although most Chinese apps are working perfectly (I was far too pessimistic about AliPay/WeChat Pay earlier this year in the sub, lol) the one app I can’t crack is dianping, which is a real shame because I find Apple Maps awful when looking for places to eat (usually doesn’t look for a place close to me)

Firstly, I can’t seem to find the Dianping app on the App Store - when I try and download it online it redirects to my iTunes app and prompts an error message that my phone “cannot connect to the iTunes app”.

While I can search for places on browser, it sadly won’t let me select the restaurant (and thereby copy the address into Apple Maps) without having an account, which requires a Chinese number.

Is there a way to work around this? Or do I simply need to capitulate and get this damn Chinese SIM?

Thanks!

Flying into Hong Kong, will spend 3 days there and Macau. From there we will spend 4 or 5 days in Guangdong.

I'm flying out of chongqing on day 18. I expect we will be there and nearby for about 4 days. That leaves us 5 or 6 days in between Guangdong and chongqing. Recommendations for places we should check out inbetween those two locations? Don't really want to go out of the way between the two sites.

Everyone has been to Beijing and Shanghai.

Any recommendation for a bar or tour in Ningbo?

I am planning to go end of May to Xi’an and would love to do a tour to Huashan Mountain. Unfortunately, I am alone and the price for a solo tour is too expensive. Is someone going as well so that costs could be shared? Would like to do a 1 day tour on Saturday, 25.5.24