Darren

I agree in theory and that is certainly what I do, but my suggestion was for if you want to do a lot in one day. I agree that walking is the way to go, but if she attempted to do the ToH, TS, and FC in one day then walking is a bit out of the question. Two days, less so. More than two days and I would just walk.

As far as specifically the ToH to TS, I trust moondog that it's only a km but I honestly remembered it being much further. Maybe I was just tired when I was there the first time and in a hurry when I was there the second so it seemed longer than it was. If it's only a km, then walk it.

hauteboy

My wife is headed to Beijing for 6 days in early July and is having trouble deciding on a hotel and tour options. Looking at the Marco Polo, Grand Hyatt, and a few others. Wanting to keep it on the cheaper side though ($80-$120). She has a bad ankle so unfortunately can't walk too much, taxis are probably her best bet, but she's wondering the best way to get out to the Great Wall without it costing an arm and a leg or stopping at every other jade factory.

moondog

There is a cable car at Mutianyu iirc that can cut out a lot of walking, but it's worth pointing out that the touristy wall spots (Badaling, Mutianyu, Simatai) can be incredibly crowded during high season and she might need to do a fair amount of walking between the bus and the wall.

As far as hotels are concerned, the Marco Polo and GH are both subway oriented. The Swiss, Great Dragon, Hilton, and Kempenski are a little more taxi friendly. However, the GH is probably nicer than all these.

Rothsix

Thank you all for the great info on Beijing. We will be there for several days this October and I look forward to using some of your advice.

I have one question though. We will be going to Shanghai after our stay in Beijing and then on to HKG. Am I better off booking these tickets now at home, or in Beijing when we arrive? Our other flights are all rewards, but I have to book our in country flights myself.

Thank you.
Rothsix

moondog

wait till you get here. about 3 days before departure is usually optimal. also, be advised that it will almost certainly be cheaper to fly to shenzhen than hk. you just need to determine the extent of the savings at the time and, based on that, decide whether or not the fare difference justifies the additional hassle.

sabrina

This is what I'm planning on doing...then taking the train to HK. I already have my HK hotel nights booked, but I'm so used to having everything planned out that the lack of definite plane/train plans makes me a little nervous!

-Sabrina

travelinmanS

Its very easy to book airtickets once in China and the price will be much cheaper than if you booked them outside of the country. I think if you can find a travel agent in Shanghai who specializes in Hong Kong you will be able to find a ticket to Hong Kong for not that much more than a ticket to Shenzhen.

I have done the fly to Shenzhen then cross to H.K. before and it is not as convenient or easy as it might seem. For me the H.K. ticket would have to be 1000RMB more in order to make the Shenzhen route worth my time. The Shenzhen airport seems closer to Guangzhou than Shenzhen and a taxi to the H.K. border takes about an hour. Then you play roulette with the wait time at Lo Hu and once you make it thru you are rewarded with boarding a packed KCR train that takes 45 minutes to Tsim Tsa Shui or 50 minutes to central H.K. island.

Its much easier to fly directly into H.K. airport and take the airport express to your destination.

Enjoy China its a great place!

rkkwan

If you fly into Shenzhen, either take the Turbojet ferries - more expensive, but easier border control, free transport from terminal to pier (I believe) - or take a direct coach to Hong Kong. You still need to get off the coach at the China-HK border, but it's no worse than going through Lo Wu to catch the train; and save you time.

moondog

my personal threshold is closer to y500 than y1000 (as for whether or not to tolerate szx) and the fare difference is almost always > y500. going to szx will almost certainly burn an extra 1.5 hours of your time and you'll pay an extra y100 for the turbojet boat vs. the airport express; that means my effective threshold is closer to y400 or $50. i suppose it all depends on how much the extra hour is worth to you.

sabrina

Wow, I didn't realize that going through Shenzhen was so involved. Yet again, expert advice that I thank you for. I'm going to try to get in touch with my friend (who's in Maui right now, stopping over on her way to China) and let her know we might want to reconsider our original plans.

-Sabrina

moondog

szx to HK isn't that scary, especially since you're only going one way. However, PEK-SZX is a little on the pricey side these days (around y1000) and there's a air+hotel package to HK on ctrip now for y2000:

http://www.ctrip.com/supermarket/pac...35&startcity=1

Alinlondon

Great thread, has anyone every travelled on the train between Beijing and Hong kong or between Hong Kong and Shanghai?

moondog

i've done the former... an ok idea if you want to make a few stops, but i wouldn't entertain the idea of spending 24 hours + on the train.

sabrina

I haven't had a chance to properly thank all of you for the great tips on Beijing...so thank you!! I had a GREAT trip and am now trying to figure out how I can move to Asia...seriously...I loved it that much.

I think my favorite thing was spending several hours in the Temple of Heaven park taking pictures and people-watching...it was an awesome experience.

If you want to see some of the pics I took on my trip, I've got them online. (I still don't have my Maui pics up yet, so even though the album says it includes Maui, it's just Beijing, Hong Kong, and my Narita layover right now, and I still have to flesh out my captions and descriptions. But who knows how long that will take me?!)

http://www.pbase.com/sabton13/bigtrip2005

Thanks again...I love this site!! I'll be posting an official trip report to include hotel reviews, etc. when I've fully recovered.

-Sabrina

Darren

Fantastic photos, Sabrina. Thanks. Due to an unfortunate mishap, I have no photos from China so it brought back some good memories. Glad you had a nice trip. Your photo style is great, imo, and you will have to tell what kind of camera you use.

Thanks for sharing.