I am in Shanghai for 4 days in May. My flights are somewhat flexible, at least on the inbound and was curious if it is worth the extra cost and time to head to PEK for 3 or 4 days as well?

As a student I don't have a lot of budget so would have to do this the hostel or other low cost route. Is it worth it going there? Never been, and honestly China has never been high on my list of must see places... but I am thinking well if I am in the neighbourhood...

How much would 4 days in PEK cost (keeping in mind I would have to get plane tickets from PVG to get there)?

i would take the train up (y500) and fly back (between y300 and y500, in most cases).

i would budget y300 per night for a hotel times 3 (yeah, there are cheaper options, but just to be safe) and plan on spending y300 per day once there (a bit cheaper than sh)

y300 is only $45 CDN, are hotels really that cheap? As for flights, they were coming in at a lot more money (travelocity etc.). What is the secret to finding a lower priced fare?

I do like the train idea. Great way to see the countryside.

Merci.

90% of the hotels frequented by fters cost more than y300 (y450 is the lowest i'd usually go in beijing), but there is still lots on offer in that price range (remember, average incomes in beijing are still less than $2k per year). just do a search on ctrip and you shall find. (i can assist as well because i know the city well enough to rule out certain locations and opine favorably on others)

as for air fares, the only secret is to buy locally. i suggested you take the train up and fly back because pek-sha is almost always cheap whereas sha-pek often costs close to full fare (i.e. what you saw on travelocity). train prices never fluctuate (y499 for bottom birth; y478 for top; hard sleeper y306-y329)

Thank you. Never heard of ctrip before - now bookmarked.

I have been checking out the rail schedules, seems like a good way to travel. One site mentioned they never run on time, is that accurate? or was it a case of someone got delayed and decided to b!tch.

Absolutely go to Beijing -- my favorite city in China. Beijing offers everything -- stunning examples of ancient China, modern world-class museums, fantastic restaurants, great shopping, and a cosmopolitan atmosphere that is very different from Shanghai.

Our plane tickets usually run under $200 and we didn't purchase based on price. I don't know about hostels or really cheap hotels, but Beijing prices tend to be very reasonable. We stay in 4- and 5-star western chains for around $160 for the 5-stars and under $100 for the 4-stars. Locals places should be substantially below that.

Beijing taxis are pretty cheap and you can get a sumptuous feast in a very nice restaurant for under $40. If you're willing to eat from street vendors (no reason not to as long as the food is well-cooked and you have clean utensils to eat with), you can pay $2 for a satsifying meal.

China is undergoing great changes and, sadly, that means a great deal of old China is disappearing, to be replaced with imaginative, but new and modern, architecture. Beijing still has the houtong area, which features the old courtyard houses, a number of well-preserved ancient temples and, of course, the Forbidden City and Summer Palace. In the past year, China has opened the National Museum, an impressive and huge building housing a truly stunning collection of Chinese art and historical artifacts. We visited it for the first time last month and didn't come close to completing it -- we'll have to wait for our next return visit.

Because Beijing is a tourist draw for the Chinese, as well as foreign visitors, you'll have an opportunity to see people from all over China -- the PRC has, recently, relaxed internal travel restrictions and Chinese from all over the country and all walks of like are taking advantage by travelling to Beijing and other historic and cultural centers to see their heritage first hand.

Go to Beijing! It's definitely worth the trip.

My wife is from China and absolutely refuses to take the train when we visit. Internal Chinese trains run two classes of service, hard and soft. Soft class is tolerable, but hard class may test your ability to adapt to other cultures. I don't recall how long the train is between the two cities, but I'm going to guess that it's at least 12 hours and, quite likely, more -- by plane, it's just under 2. These days, airfares within China are very reasonable (provided you purchase them once you get there). The planes are clean and well-maintained (at least if you stick to China's "majors," e.g. Air China, China Southern and China Eastern, and the on-board service is far better than what we receive here in the U.S. and Canada. Since your time in Beijing is limited, I'd strongly recommend splurging on a round-trip air ticket, both because it will be far more comfortable for you, and it will let you maximize your time in Beijing.

it's actually much more complex than that. there are at least 4 classes of trains (regular, fast (k), especially fast (t), nonstop especially fast (z)) and 5 classes of tickets (hard seat, soft seat, hard sleeper (bunks stacked 3 high), soft sleeper (bunks stacked 2 high), and deluxe soft sleeper (only 2 beds per cabin; sometimes stacked, sometimes not)).

there are at least 5 z trains between beijing and shanghai (each direction) leaving between 7p and 730p. ime, they are never more than 2 or 3 minutes late because they all run together (in addition several other z trains between hangzhou/nanjing and beijing and tianjin and shanghai).

some of my friends think my odd preference for train travel is crazy given the fact that taking the train entails missing out on: 1) a night out; and 2) the chance to ride on an airplane, which they know i love. well, let's just say that i continue to perplex them. in fact, i think i took the train at least 10 times last year (lost count after around 6). if you do a search for {"z train" beijing shanghai}, you can read the trip report i wrote after my first nonstop.

back to the subject of hotels, pm me if you need help picking a place and don't be frightened by ptravel's $100 quotes; i promise you can find comfortable digs for much less.

Since the "Z" trains between Shanghai and Beijing are overnight, you don't really get to see much in the winter, and only a little in the summer. But you do save a night of hotel each way.

The soft sleepers are clean and comfortable, but you do have to share the cabin with other travelers (each cabin sleeps 4).

There are pluses and minuses for the train, and they are not for everybody. But they are in generally well run.

As for train travel in general, because the costs are pretty cheap in western standard, one should always get a soft sleeper/seat if available.

I'm traveling to Beijing in March and I want to take a side trip over a weekend to Shanghai.

I see people recommend buying the flight tickets locally in Beijing; where should I do it? At the airport upon arival, or somewhere in the city?

Also, I see some people say that tickets from Shanghai - Beijing are expensive; will we be able to get cheap roundtrip tickets out of Beijing, or are they going to be cheap one-ways to Shanghai and expensive returns to Beijing?

Thanks!

in short:

-i've never once encountered a rt ticket that wasn't the sum of two one ways
-it's best to buy one leg at a time because of: 1) flexibility; 2) some discount fares can only be ticketed in the city of origin
-don't be too scared of sha-pek pricing; the worst case scenario is still only y1120 and, with a little flexibility, y500 is often attainable.
-if your hotel in beijing has a ta, i would ticket there; otherwise ctrip

I was just on elong.net the other day and saw plane tickets from pek to sha for Y280. but Y900 from sha to pek! I think I like the train up and flight down idea.

If elong and ctrip only have relatively expensive tickets available (~ Y900), is there an chance that we could do better when we arrived, or are their prices going to be the same as what travel agents are offering?

The chance of doing better is high enough to justify waiting. To provide one example of discounts that elude ctrip, occasionally, Hainan Airlines sells 50% discounts through certain travel agents even when other flights are full fare across the board.

I am betting that there is a sponsor or a person at the other end.

It would not be uncommon to ask them for assistance. They understand the situation, they can book the ticket for you.

Definately worth the trip.