Planning a trip...
 

So mrs m3red and I are planning a trip to China and would like some inputs from the experts on here please.

5 nights 4 days tour in Beijing - thinking of using these guys: http://catherinelutours.com/itinerar...-4-day-tour-2/

Fly to xian - 2 days - is two days enough? Is a guide needed?

Fly to chengdu 2 days for the panda sanctuary

Fly to Shanghai for 3 nights

I'm slightly worried about flight delays given some of the other threads - anyone out my mind at ease? The dates are 11-24 sept... Is ctrip the best place to book first/business class seats and how far out do you need to book?

Thanks for any help/guidance

M3red

Can only comment on a few of the items, but there will be others to fill in the gaps. To get this going:

Yes, if it is two full days. One day for the army, one for the city. I recommend getting a driver + guide to see the Terracotta army. They'll pick you up, have your tickets ready and the whole experience will be a lot better if you know what you're looking at. It's a bit like Angkor Wat - you can certainly do it on your own, but you'll get a lot more out of it you have a guide.

I can't, and I doubt anyone else can :D. It's been getting worse and worse, with no improvements in sight and Shanghai being the worst of the bunch. AFAIK, early morning flights will be the least affected, and SHA will be better than PVG. Do plan buffers into your itinerary, especially on separate tickets or for crucial connections. For my last transfer in PVG to LAX, I gave myself a 5 hour buffer. And I needed it.

I've had pretty good luck with flights in September during recent years. (Notice how the flight delay thread pretty much went dormant after last August, and didn't pick up again until last month.)

Regarding PVG v. SHA, I always choose the latter when possible because it is a lot more convenient -- apart from being closer to town, much less walking is required to get to your gate. Furthermore, it has much better dining options, which come in handy during those long delays. However, my personal experience is that SHA is no star on the delay front. :D

Your timing look fine. Remember that travel days are mostly a write off. As said above, Xi'An is good for 2 "full" days. If one of the 2 days is to travel to or from, then you only have a bit more than a day.The only way to avoid wasting precious daytime with moving around is to take overnight trains but that's bot everybody's cup of tea. It would only make sense for Beijing-Xi'An in any case.
I have never used Catherine Lu but she is highly recommended and gets tons of positive reviews.
Ctrip is ok but I prefer elong.net these days. Just make sure to use a Chinese agent not a foreign one. Tickets are generally sold up to 90 days ahead.

Yes, the pandas are lovely animals.Around Chengdu, there are five panda bases.chengdu panda base(number of panda 16)，dujiangyan panda base(number of panda 26),dujiangyan panda valley(number of panda 6),Ya'an panda base(number of pandas 45),wolong panda base(number of panda 32).You can be a Panda volunteer or hold a panda for photo.
Leshan giant Buddha, the world heritage, is worth a visit.

Thanks for all of your comments so far, much appreciated.

I'm wondering whether I will have time for the pandas and whether Guilin may be a better option before heading back to Shanghai.

Figured people had just given up complaining altogether :D

When is your trip? Wouldn't go to Guilin in the summer. Much of the fun is renting a bike and riding around the hills and rice fields. Both that and the obligatory boat ride down the Li River can be painful in the heat, IMHO. Pandas are easy to visit, just a cab ride in Chengdu. And downtown is lovely.

If you're asking whether to go to Guilin or Chengdu: Depending on the time of year, and whether or not you're up for some light exercise I'd pick Guilin.

Have done both, and found the Pandas rather boring. They sit around and if they ever do anything, it's eating. It's like watching myself in a mirror on a good Sunday :p

If you want some nature in your trip, then look to Huashan, just a short distance from Xi'an.

it is actually very well planned. regarding air ticket, it is always good to check with the airlines's website directly as well. HU offers J seat & onboard service with the price of a full Y seat (they call it A class seat). However you don't get lounge and extra lounge. It is very popular among HU frequent flyers.

Which are the best airlines?

Is there much difference between first and business on these short hops and is there anyway of buying a multi city trip for these flight ie a good deal?

Thank you!

HU is the only 5 star airline and the service is better, however, they are not as big as the big 3 (CA, CZ, MU), so there will be less frequency.

Business or First is the same product on most route. Most chinese domestic route they'd like to call the front cabin "first" class so it sounds better, it is not to the standard of any real F class nor J class. The same applies to lounges, all the domestic lounge are called First lounge with most of them serving fast noodle as the only hot food. Services and seats will be better between the big 4 cities (PEK, PVG, SZX, CAN), some times you'll even get full flat bed. other than those cities, normally you would expect a A320 or 737 with recline seat with no IFE at all.

Chinese airlines doesn't do multi cities, all domestic flights are purchased and price calculated individually.

They are only a 5-star airline according to Skytrax, and this rating has been called into question by many people, to the point where Skytrax got extremely defensive, but was still unable to defend its methodology in a remotely convincing manner.

I have no major beefs with HU myself any more (they clearly no longer suck), but I also wouldn't necessarily rank them above the Big 3. In short, I usually choose flights on the basis of price, schedule, and sometimes specific aircraft type (e.g. I do like HU's 787s); the operating carrier doesn't make a whole lot of difference to me.

Domestic flight is short, and none of the flights would really provide u with some experience you would remember, just pick the one with the best schedule and price is the way to go.

is it worth paying for business?

Seems that some fares are not too much more expensive....

I never fly business inside China except when connecting to/from a long haul, but my cousin-in-law always flies business. Personally I don't care as the flight is short, but my cousin-in-law actually feels it is worthwhile. So it really depends.