first trip to China
 

My husband and I are going to Shanghai in mid-June. It will be our first trip to China, though we have been to other parts of Asia.

We will have 5 - 10 days free after our business in Shanghai is completed.

What are some of the not-to-be-missed places to see or things to do? What can we realistically fit into a timeframe of 10 days or less? How is it traveling independently vs hiring a tour guide?

Thank you!

I'm not a Shanghai expert by any means, but the best thing to do if you have 10 days in Shanghai is to leave Shanghai!! Either explore the lake towns around those parts (e.g. Hangzhou, Suzhou etc) or even fly to Beijing and back.

I'll let others pipe in about what to do in Shanghai itself.

tb

Shanghai is a great modern city--with spectacular buildings---3 days is probably enough time to see and do most things---including having clothes made cheaply at the textile market. The Shanghai Museum and the nearby technical center which has a large model of the entire city---with every building.
There is a saying: "Shanghai is for shopping---Beijing is for culture"
Try the restaurant "M on the Bund".

A couple things.

There are several "water cities" around the Shanghai. I've been to three and found this one the most interesting.

http://www.chinatourguide.com/hangzh...ater_town.html

I you go there or take day trips outside any major cities,I'd suggest hiring a private car. I've taken day trips several times on tourist busses and never will again. They are built for Chinese sized people not Western sized people. One trip was especially painful as it was a 1/2 sized bus with seats about the size of a Frisbee.

Beijing (I hope that's not too obvious).

:)
Thanks! Anything in Beijing you especially recommend?

Thank you. Looks gorgeous. What is best way to hire a private car?

hopel -

I would suggest going to Bei Jing for the Great Wall and Forbidden City, then fly to Xi'an for the terracotta warriors and go to the water cities near Shang Hai. One tip - print out your hotel details in Chinese so you can give to the taxi driver upon arrival at the airport. Most can't speak or read English. I always arrange for a private car with the hotel concierge, as they know the English speaking operators/drivers. They can also arrange for a tour guide to accompany you if you want.

Hotel car might be pricey & can depend on the hotel concierge, C-trip has cars for a day

You can get to nearly all of the tourist destinations by Metro. I visited Shanghai & Beijing in April for the first time and was able to use the metro for 100% of my sight seeing :)

I posted a trip report if you want to see what the 2 cities are like!

what is best way to learn about the textile market? sounds like fun!

great trip report. Thank you. Our itinerary will be very similar. still working all the details out.

Thanks, too, for the beautiful photos!

Agreed. These days we never hire taxis in Shanghai, my wife is more comfortable with the buses for some reason and they always get us where we are going. We've taken the subway a few times but she's not comfortable navigating it yet. Admittedly we have the advantage that she's a native speaker.

It's pretty straight forward (South Bund Fabric Market). I haven't had very good luck with suits there, but I've gotten some really nice shirts.

I'm surprised. I find the Shanghai subway easy, assuming you can find a good map with the new routes included. I do not know any Chinese all and it's been no problem. OTOH, I generally avoid buses in foreign cities as they seem more complicated, including figuring out the routes and stops.