Ok. Yes, you want to come to China, you have the money saved but you can only get 10 days off. No, of course this is not the best way to see the country, and yes, you will be rushed and most likely jetlagged. Ideally, you need at least a month to really culturally acclimate even a tiny bit but ten days is better than nothing.

China has 5,000 years of history and is the third largest country in the world; you need to plan carefully in order to get a decent idea of what China is today. In order to fully appreciate China, it’s best to get both an appreciation of the historical monuments as well as modern day architecture and culture.

Photo: Andrea Hunt

It’s hard to narrow it down and choose the right places to go. We have devised for you a 10-day plan so you can see the best of China in such a short span of time. Unfortunately, in 10 days, no matter what, you will feel rushed. You can spend a week in Beijing alone and still feel like you have missed out.

For this trip, you will need to budget for some extra plane rides and plan on flying out of different cities. You can do this two ways: buy your plane tickets before you go on an international site beforehand, which will ensure you tickets but will be more expensive. Or, you can also buy tickets on local sites online but it’s a bit more complicated. However, these tickets will usually end up being much cheaper. You can reserve online and buy an e-ticket with a company like www.Elong.com, a partner of Expedia, and pay with a credit card but you must fax them additional copies of your documents. At present, they require that you sign and fax a payment agreement, a copy of your passport, and a copy of your credit card. If you want to buy your tickets once you are in China, most places will deliver them and you can pay cash, or you buy with a credit card but you still need to fax the documents described above.

This route will give you some of China’s best sites in only 10 days; unfortunately, for this trip you will only be able to see China’s eastern side given the time restraints. For this trip, we will be covering in order the highlights of: Beijing, Xian, Yangshuo, Hangzhou, and Shanghai.

Photo: Andrea Hunt

Stop One:

Beijing 北京:
Beijing is a city of contrasts. The most amazing part about Beijing, in contrast to other cities in China, is how diverse the areas are. Beijing is huge, sprawling, and crawling with people. However, it is well divided. When you are in one section of the city, it’s easy to forget you are actually in a big city. It’s not like big Western cities that have skylines and one big downtown area. Each district is diverse. It is filled with the China of yesterday that you have always pictured, like hutong streets lined with vegetable carts, and old men perched atop little wooden stools playing cards around a low fold up table while a circle of bystanders keep track of every play. On the other hand, Jian Guo Men has ridiculously modern buildings with neon space age lined edges. For something totally different, take a walk around Bei Hai Park and you will forget completely that you are in a city surrounded by 18 million other people.

Day of Arrival:
The first day that you arrive you will probably be so jetlagged that I have not counted it as a sightseeing day. The initial arrival to Beijing can be a bit harsh. If you arrive in the afternoon, try to stay up at least until 11pm in order that you sleep that evening. In the morning, you will wake up early feeling almost normal. Resist the urge to nap or you will be awake all night long.

When you get into the airport, go to the ATM right outside the International Arrivals gate in Terminal 3 to get money and then follow the signs and take the airport shuttle to Dong zhi men. From there, you will be in the center of town and can get anywhere via taxi for a decent price. Remember to have PRINTED out the address in characters of your hostel. Do not write it in Pinyin because the taxi drivers cannot read it. If you want to take a taxi from the airport, it will cost you at least 90 Yuan, whereas, at the time of this writing, it is only 25 Yuan for the shuttle.

For more transport information.

Day One:
The first day after your arrival, you will be all over the city but get to see three extremely different areas of Beijing that will give you an impression of how distinctly different and amazing Beijing is. For starters, get up early and take a trip to the north of Beijing to the Summer Palace to see the China of old with beautiful green willow trees and impressive pagodas.

Empress Dowager Cixi’s Summer Palace is a good place to start in Beijing and not overwhelming despite its size. You can relax and wander around the lake getting good touristy pictures that you want to send home while seeing amazing and ornate old Chinese architecture. Go in the morning and plan on spending a few hours walking around the lake.

Photo: Andrea Hunt

Head over to 798 Art District in the afternoon for something completely different and see some exhibits. This area is not usually in tourist guide books and should not be missed as it represents exactly what China has become today, a meeting of Old and New China. This district was built out of an area of old factories called Dashanzi, constructed during the Socialist Unification plan between the Soviet Union and China. This area now holds exquisite art galleries from modern Chinese Artists.
The buildings are located inside alleys number 2 and 4 on Jiǔxiānqiáo Lù (酒仙桥路)

Photo: Andrea Hunt

In the evening, head over to Nanluoguxiang to stroll down an old hutong street now lined with bohemian little bars, small restaurants and little shops. In the summertime, expats and Chinese people stand around in the evenings drinking cold street beers and chatting. There is a French/Spanish bar where you can meet locals and foreigners called Salud, which brews its own rum:

66 Nanluoguxiang, Gulou
南鼓巷66号
6402-5086

Check our next listing for Day Two!
For Information on planning your trip to China, see our Routes Introduction.
For practical information, see our Practical Introduction to China Travel

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