[Lunar]

I'm on a sabbatical break for a month and plan to travel to China.

Where would you travel to in China (that's safe)? I'm not a fan of big cities or large crowds, so Shanghai and Beijing are out.

I love travelling and landscape, especially remote areas where I can rent an apartment or house for a few weeks, rather than travelling from a backpack.
If anyone has any suggestions, I'm very open to hearing.

PS - Tour buses are out.

[Mat]

Yunnan has great lansdacpe, laid back places, delicious food, minorities...
The same applies to Sichuan..great mountains, lakes, minorities, food.

Yangzhuo is nice too but probably too touristic and small.

[penguinsix]

Xiamen (old name Amoy) has an old colonial island called Gulangyu (Goo-long-yee is how I pronounce it). It's actually famous for architecture, if that is something you are interested in, as nearly every colonial power that was once in China built some houses on this island. I think they actually have some tours that just deal with the various styles of homes.

It's also kind of pretty, for being in a big city.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulangyu_Island
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attr...men/gulang.htm

[Mat]

if you like huge spaces, I would recommend (in addition to Yunnan and Sichuan) Xinjiang province (turpan, urumuqi) or Ganzu Province (Lanzhou..)....It is another kind of China but very off the "main" attractions.

[maddogmerrick]

Yunnan is a great place to go. I particularly liked Dali and Lijiang.

They are safe places to go to with lots to do. There are many bars and western restaurants. And open spaces as well.

[luckywoman298]

Hi!

Do u guys know the cheapest way to go to Dubai? And any recommendations for the "cheap and cheerful" place to stay and hot spots for visiting in Dubai?

Bunch of thanks!


vivian


Bonjour

Pouvez vous me renseigner concernant un voyage au dubai. Donnez moi des noms des endroits pour loger, visiter et shopping. Merci d'avance!

a+

Amicalement

[Connie]

Originally Posted by Mat

if you like huge spaces, I would recommend (in addition to Yunnan and Sichuan) Xinjiang province (turpan, urumuqi) or Ganzu Province (Lanzhou..)....It is another kind of China but very off the "main" attractions.

I think Pan Yu, Dong Guan and Zhong Shan are nice places. Shanghai is not that bad either

[Lunar]

Iit helps if I remember my password to log back in.

Thank you for your suggestions.

I took them up and hunted around the internet. Yunnan looks like a stunning place. I think I'll go there.

Mat - what was accommodation and travelling around like in Yunnan? Was it hard to get to those landscapes? My Mandarin is elementary (I manage).

Penguinsix - many thanks for the suggestion and website. I liked what I saw. Living in the city, I'll have to pass for the meantime - next time I'd like to consider it.


"I think Pan Yu, Dong Guan and Zhong Shan are nice places. Shanghai is not that bad either "

I don't know the first three places...do they have other names in English?

[Mat]

Originally Posted by Lunar

I took them up and hunted around the internet. Yunnan looks like a stunning place. I think I'll go there.

Mat - what was accommodation and travelling around like in Yunnan? Was it hard to get to those landscapes? My Mandarin is elementary (I manage).

Penguinsix - many thanks for the suggestion and website. I liked what I saw. Living in the city, I'll have to pass for the meantime - next time I'd like to consider it.

"I think Pan Yu, Dong Guan and Zhong Shan are nice places. Shanghai is not that bad either "

Hi !
yes the web site given by Penguinsix is quite useful. I used it several times for tips about different china trips.

Pan Yu, Dong Guan and Zhong Shan are cities not far from HK. they are nice for a week end or so but you do not want to stay there for a month or more. If you truly want to see and explore china you better visit other places.

As for Yunnan, travelling there was pretty easy. Elementary Mandarin will do, no problem. You will be surprise by the number of ppl speaking english. Accomodation is easy to find as well. Very decent guesthouses (lots of charm) for very cheap price. Around 100 RMD a night. For travelling around, buses and trains run throughout the province so no problem as well.

[Jayne]

I am living in Hangzhou. It is a great city. It is not a big city like Shanghai and Beijing. But it has everything you want to see: history - it is one the seven ancient capitals of china; natural beauty - the west lake is the most beautiful lake in china and it is indeed one of the most beautiful places in china; culture - green tea culture, yue opera, sealing, etc; safe - it is rated as the safest city by the national pulic security bureau; it is also the greenest city - rated as the inernational garden city by an international organisation. And the people are real friendly. I wonder which city in china offers all these in one?

i love the city. the lotus flowers in the summer, the cherry blossom in the spring, the plum in the winer, the osmanthus in the autumn - flower scent for all seaons.

it has a very laid-back atmosphere - the lake area is a wonderful place to wander and for cycling. the tea houses are everywhere, where you can have nice green tea while taking in nice atmosphere, or even taking in the lake view if the tea house overlooks the lake.

you have to be in the place for a few weeks to have a taste of the local culture and scenery. one way to do it is joining a language school. i did this in other countries and totally enjoyed the experience. you meet people and join some cultural activities organised by the school, while learing a language. the school can also arrange accommodation for you.

as far as i know, there is only one langauge school in hangzhou. you can check out http://www.mandacenter.com