One week in China (first time): how would you spend the time? Where would you visit? Looking for a mix of big city, smaller more charming cities, and nature

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Which city will you be in? I prefer shanghai over Beijing. Tbh, not much outside to see given you’re only there for a week. China’s a culture shock enough that one week in shanghai will barely feel like it’s enough. Also, define nature. I explored southern china last year along the Yangtze and although beautiful, the natural habitats were so polluted

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Agreed Shanghai was my favorite by far. The scale is breathtaking. If you can get to Chengdu to see the panda conservatory, it's also fantastic, and definitely natural! I really thought Beijing and HK are fascinating too as a study in how those cities work and both how different and similar they are to American cities (obviously way more contrasts for Beijing but more similarities than you may think). But only a week and wanting to get in some nature, my vote is Shanghai+Chengdu (only need a day in latter to see pandas, the city itself is a snooze)

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Yea I know one week is short, but unfortunately it's the only time I could get off work. But thanks for these suggestions all - I will do some googling to understand them a bit more, but this is a great start to for my trip planning :)

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My vote goes to Beijing. Shanghai is a modern city, yes, but there's not much to see in Shanghai. Unless you want to spend a week eating, shopping, and clubbing. Whereas with Beijing, there's the Great Wall and no shortage of palaces.

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B1, there was an earthquake a few months ago, Jiuzhaigou was impacted, with a lake that disappeared and a few hotels down (and people died). Not sure it'll be ready for tourists anytime soon, unfortunately... That said, China is a very large country, so doing a lot of things in one week is just impossible. Pick a main city, Shanghai or Beijing, and visit around. Shanghai has Suzhou, Hangzhou, along with smaller villages (Tongli for example), and you can get to Huangshan which is a mountain fairly easily by plane. Zhangjiajie which is close-ish is feasible as well. Beijing has more cultural attractions within the city (imperial palace, various parks like Beihai, Yuanminyuan, etc.), as well as the Great Wall close by; you'll be able to take the plane to Xian for the terra-cotta warriors as well. Southern China definitely has more sights, but is a bit harder to manage; Chengdu with pandas would be great, but the best side trip was Jiuzhaigou and that's not feasible now. Other option is to find something in Yunnan, beautiful scenery (rock forest anyone), but harder for a first trip. One single advice though, you'll likely enjoy yourself regardless of where you go, but get out of the cities at least once. Otherwise a large city is a large city, and it'll just look like a dirty Tokyo or something. Explore the smaller towns and the national parks or the various UNESCO heritage sites, that's where the cool sights are,

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Beijing is off the charts better than Shanghai if you only have 1 week to go to China. Shanghai is nearly indistinguishable from Manhattan, or Hong Kong, etc.

Beijing is unbelievable for history and culture - you can walk around Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, and others for 10-15 miles every day and never get bored. Plus a day outside of the city (further you go the better) to hike along the Great Wall.

Shanghai you'd easily sink into a consultant's vacation - speaking English everywhere and eating/drinking at nice restaurants and bars the entire time. It sounds like that isn't what you want, so Beijing > Shanghai all day

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Thanks for the replies! By nature I meant some kind of hiking, national parks, etc. I'm also big into landscape photography, so nice natural landscapes would be great :)

Hmm you might want to put Beijing on the list too after all. Obviously you can hike and photograph the Great Wall, which is pretty stunning, and actually a pretty decent workout for the day. But Beijing has a bunch of palaces that have nice gardens, plus conservatories, but honestly I'm blanking on which ones are worthwhile. Checking TripAdvisor's photos now I think it might be Gong Wang Fu that has these crazy rock formations, but better do a bit more research on that, I could totally be wrong!

Of course then there's Tibet.... Talk about gorgeous hikes and nature photography!! Pretty long haul and I think tricky to deal with the visa but if that's an option I'd make it Shanghai and Tibet. The altitude is serious though so may need more than a week total. Better research that a bit too if interested.

Man now I want to go!

Landscapes: Wulingyuan National Park, Huangshan National Park, or Tibet (last one being difficult to get in if a foreigner).

Also make sure to avoid Chinas national holidays, otherwise, all you'll see will be people and not landscape lol.

And I agree, one week is def way too short.

Also, on the cities, I second Shanghai. Beijing is great with the cultural/historical sights, but the air pollution is quite bad and it's rare to get a blue sky. Shanghai is a very modern city and honestly more modernized than any western city that I've been to, and your mind kinda blows. Also maybe you can check out Suzhou (right next to Shanghai) for a small but beautiful city.

Consider staying in Chengdu and making the trek to Jiuzhaigou. It's really remote so be prepared for some unhygienic conditions, but literally I couldn't believe my eyes once we got there. The park was so damn beautiful.

While China is low on my lost of countries I have been (explored all of Asia), the Great Wall was up there in things I have seen. I would spend a week just walking/hiking/biking it.

Thanks again for the continued inputs - some very useful thoughts here.

@M1, any particular reason you place China low vs. other parts of Asia? I've spent a bunch of time in South East Asia. How would you compare it?

I love Beijing. If you are only going to visit one city in China, that's where you should go. It's the cultural, political, and artistic capital of China, and in no other city can you clearly see both the past and future of China. For stuff to see there's Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, dozens of museums, hutongs, and great food.

There is also the Great Wall and other good hiking near the city. I have done guided day trips with beijinghikers.com. They do excursions to parts of the "wild wall" that has never been restored.

Beijing is definitely more different from Western cities than Shanghai but I totally disagree that it's just like an American city. That is pretty close to true in the Bund but if you're willing to walk around and explore other parts of the city you will find it a fascinating hybrid of old culture and new. The Urban Planning Exhibition Hall was when I realized just how seriously China was going to crush the US economically one day. Now Hong Kong I would agree is most like any Western city.

Beijing - great for the historical experience, but beware of extreme culture shock and pollution! Amazing though would highly recommend! If you go no where else.
Hong Kong - Amazing city, but great way to ease yourself in. Less culture shock, more westernized! For the more adventurous outdoorsy types...
Yunnan Province/Dali- Really beautiful landscapes, lots of opportunities for hikes. Dali, is a hub for western travelers some passing through some who have never left, overall a really beautiful travel destination!
No matter where you go you will have the trip of a lifetime! I know I have never forgotten mine! Enjoy!

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