Expert: Nilesh Korgaokar - 11/23/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hi
A friend and myself are traveling to Scandinavia in January 09, with just under
a week stopover in China. We must fly into Hong Kong late on the 6th, and fly
out of Beijing early on the 12th. I have been to Thailand and Vietnam, but
never to China before. I would like to know what you recommend seeing,
what to eat, where to go, and where to sleep, and primarily the cheapest/best
option to travel between the two cities. I have looked at flights and trains, and
it seems to be a trade off between paying a lot of money, or losing a full day
to travel. What would you recommend?
Thank you!

ANSWER: Hi Jackson,

Your best bet is to get yourself a good travel book on China. I recommend LONELY PLANET but you could also try ROUGH GUIDE, LETS GO, FROMMORS or FODDORS. They should be available in any good book shop in your country...if not buy them on-line (www.lonelyplanet.com). This book will have the answers to all your questions and you will need the book to refer to from time to time during your travel.

For travel between Hong Kong and Beijing, your best bet is to take the train from Shenzhen to Beijing. Shenzhen is just across the border from Hong Kong on the mainland. However, I suspect that you're giving yourself too little time for a huge country like China. I'm not sure you'll be able to achieve much unless you just want to go by train to Beijing, have a couple of days there and see the Great Wall. You probably won't be able to see anything in between. That would be a shame and perhaps a waste of money. You should spend at least a month in China - once you read the travel book, this will probably become obvious to you.

Hope this helps and have a safe and marvellous trip.
Nilesh.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your advice!
So you know my primary reason for going to China for such a short time is because it makes my overall flights cheaper, and because I wanted to go somewhere new to check out for a few days. I will travel back there in the future for a longer trip when I have time.
However at the moment I just wanted to know what the best thing to do or see would be for simply a 'taste' of such a diverse country.
Would the train travel waste too much time as opposed to flying? I would like to see the Great Wall in Beijing, and do a little sightseeing around Hong Kong.
Also I am from Australia.
Thanks alot!


ANSWER: Hello once again Jakson,

If that is your plan and thinking then I think that its a good plan to travel from Hong Kong to Bejing by train. If you enjoy train travel as much as I do, I wouldn't call it a 'waste of time' as it would allow you to see the countryside of China - something that most tourists don't see as they restrict themselves to the glitzy urban life of Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing and the other bigger Chinese cities. 80% of China is in the countryside still and a train ride is ideal for you to get a taste of it. Besides train travel in China is extremely comfortable and very very affordable. Remember to travel by "hard sleeper" class and not by "soft sleeper". The latter is only 4 or 6 travelers enclosed in a compartment. The Chinese are notorious smokers and even if one of them is a smoker, your journey can be hell (assuming your a non-smoker). I'm not sure what is the law on smoking in public spaces in China and if one exists how strictly it is enforced. The latter "hard sleeper" consists of about 70 bunks spread throughout the carriage and even if someone smokes you are a bit protected because of the larger space. The bunks are very comfortable to sleep for overnight journeys and have a slight cushion. Needless to say it is also less expensive. DON'T travel by "hard seater" as you will end up sitting throughout the journey!!

Here are some images of accommodation classes in Chinese trains
http://images.google.co.in/images?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:officia

This plan will also allow you to spend some time before your train journey in Hong Kong and Shenzhen and then at the end of the journey in Beijing before your board your flight. Now for this to happen you have to time your train journey accordingly and for this you can look up the train schedules at these websites and see if they offer some insight regarding how long a journey will take from Shenzhen to Beijing.

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/china-trains/
http://www.chinahighlights.com/china-trains/
http://www.cnvol.com/

More internet searches using "china train schedules" using different search engines will probably get you more information and you can make an informed choice.

Also enjoy Chinese cuisine onboard the train. Most of them have a nice elaborate DINING CAR with food being cooked fresh in the attached kitchen. The menu is quite elaborate and you can enjoy all kinds of Chinese stuff as you whizz past the country-side.

Hope this helps and have a fantastic time in China.
Nilesh.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much. I will look into it today. Just one last question, in the first paragraph of your last reply, it says 'Remember to travel by hard sleeper', then it says 'Dont travel by hard sleeper'..
Which is it? Thanks again!

Answer
Hi Jackson,

I think if you read carefully you will notice that I have said "DON'T travel by hard-SEATER" not sleeper. This is SEATING accommodation only and does not have any bunks for the passenger to lie down.

The difference between flying coach and FIRSTclass with full-flat beds if you want to put it that way!!

ENJOY your travels.
Nilesh.