Beijing vs. Shanghai
 

Headed to SE Asia via Europe in late October/early November. Trying to take advantage of a LH J fare to make my UA status again for 2025. US passport and use the TWOV program. Intent would be to arrive, spend 1-2 days in the city, and then depart (I do have a time constraint, otherwise it would be a multiday trip). The fare is about the same to PEK and PVG. And never been to China.

Any assistance, please? (And I know that everyone varies a bit - so seeing the skyline, eating a good meal or two, I'm a walker, maybe a key sight or two, would be enough for me.)

-General question - which city is better for a quick visit?
-Thinking I'd stay at an airport hotel, so ease of transportation into the city?
-Any particular airport hotels? Marriott LTP and Hilton Diamond here. So, more than a 3* hotel. OTOH, the Marriott status isn't going away and I'll lose my Hilton status this year, so I don't need the nights; other suggestions welcome.
-Reading through the TWOV thread, it all seems very straight forward from that aspect. Am I missing anything?

TIA!
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Even though I prefer Shanghai from a quality of life standpoint, Beijing wins hands down if you are forced to choose one or the other for a quick sampling.
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There are okay airport hotels in Beijing (not really the case in Shanghai), but you owe it to yourself to stay inside 4th ring, at the very least.

Thanks very much! I knew I'd hear from moondog . I report back as this comes together.

I’ll be in Beijing later this week and will be able to make a comparison. I loved Shanghai during my TWOV last year - it inspired me to get that visa - now, I’ve been to Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Chongqing, and am sitting in Chengdu right now.

If you’re staying more than 24 hours, definitely stay in the city.

All of the panda art work everywhere is making me like Chengdu the best ;-)

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b0960a4c5.jpeg

I asked some work colleagues who are from Shanghai, and they all told me to visit Beijing first :p

BJ is more Chinese and SH is more international - both are good options.

I’ll provide an updated perspective - Shanghai all the way. If you want to visit Tian’anmen Square (like even walk to it), you have to make a reservation before the day you go (same-day reservations won’t work) via a WeChat mini-app that is only in Chinese and flat-out wouldn’t work for me on all of my attempts yesterday. Of course, it worked today, the only day I have left to visit. I also tried the website linked on the Chinese government page, but that also wouldn’t load.

The tech is fine when it works, but when it doesn’t, it’s an exercise in frustration and aggravating when you can’t even visit a city’s most famous public space.

There is A LOT more to experience in Beijing than its most famous place.

I spent 5 days on my own during the dead of winter exploring Beijing and felt I barely scratched the surface. One attraction can take half to an entire day alone because everything is so big in China......

When the appli doesn't work, just ask for help. Someone was always willing to help me when I couldn't get a résa or payment working properly.

Perhaps, dead of winter is the key - it’s so hot and humid right now that I can barely walk a block without having to throw away my clothes from the sweat. I might be more of a winter traveler as I love being cold.

As for help, it’s hard as the language barrier has really come up quite considerably, even among hotel staff.

Oh, well, I’ll try again some day…

Still, to OP, from my Western perspective, I found Shanghai to be much more digestible on a short trip with an interesting mix of modern Chinese and European architecture that was easily walkable (and honestly a bit less crowded).

I completely disagree! Summer in Beijing is amazing, as long as you are strategic about your mid day time. The parks (e.g. Beihai, Chaoyang, Summer Palace), in particular, are wonderful places. There are numerous cool neighborhoods to explore. The mountains/hills to the north and west (Xiangshan if you want to knock of another "famous" site) offer good hiking opportunities and funky resorts. And, nights can be quite adventurous (it's normal to stay out very late during the summer months).

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Beijing
 

Visiting The Great Wall? An easy day trip from Beijing (45 miles).

Yes, the Great Wall passes through the Beijing Municipality north of the city (Huairou, Miyun, etc). There are many ways to play it (e.g. solo, groups, public transit, rustic/restored) and there are even some kind of cool places to stay overnight up there. If you search this subforum for "great wall", you'll stumble upon a number of relevant threads (some of them are oldish, so maybe not up to date on transportation options, but the wall itself hasn't changed much).

I find Shanghai nicer for a short visit. Can't put my finger on it, but for a short holiday, I think I'd suggest Shanghai over Beijing. Maybe it's the river? maybe it's because I've lived in Beijing for too long, and just like the change-of-scenery?
Although, unless it's for a VERY short duration, I'd not recommend an airport hotel in either case.

I did a trip through Beijing Hikers a few years ago (I think someone in this forum recommended them):
https://www.beijinghikers.com/

Can't recommend them enough. Yes, you do have an insanely early start, but you need it to get out of the city and close to the wall. It was on a Saturday in November, and I think we only saw 2-3 other people (outside of security checking for permits). The dinner after was also great. Then after getting back into town, a bunch of us went out to the night market. Most of us slept on the bus both to/fr the wall. There were sections of the wall that were in pristine condition, and others that weren't (we actually had to hike off of it a few times, then back on). They keep the groups small (I think 15 or less), and have 2 guides (a lead and a chase).