Beijing in 2 or 3 days?

Hi, we will be in Beijing for 7 days total (excluding traveling days) and wanted to split our time between Beijing and Shanghai. Can anyone recommend how many days we need to see the Beijing highlights?

Also, can we book flights to Shanghai once we get to China or should we book ahead of time.

Beijing in 2 or 3 days?

Generally 5:2 or 4:3 for Beijing:Shanghai.

I usually suggest overnight Z train soft sleeper instead of flight for Beijing -- Shanghai. That saves you money as well as travel time.

Beijing in 2 or 3 days?

I suggest 5：2 for beijing ：shanghai。

many historical scenic in beijing。

for example：Tian’anmen Square，The Palace Museum，

The Temple of Heaven，The Summer Palace，Badaling

Great Wall，The Thirteen Ming Tombs。

I agree “overnight Z train soft sleeper instead of flight for Beijing -- Shanghai. That saves you money as well as travel time.”

i agree with choclate saide

while how many days spent just up to yourself

if want to stay more ,you can

as long as you can enjoy yourself is ok

hi, you%26#39;re a travel bug ?

i%26#39;m the chinese fly, would you fly with me ?

oh, according to me , you will need to see badaling great wall, the wheel in chaoyang park, summer palace, and then some.

A little more time in Beijing than Shanghai for sure. I should specify that our firends here that say that you save travelling time by train mean that you travel at night, it is actually much longer.

Book your flight once you are here. Check www.elong.net but you can buy from your hotel concierge or travel desk for the same (discounted) price.

I totally agree with JPDeM.

1. Money saving

There is not a big difference between the air ticket fare and the Z train sleeper.

At Beijing international airport, there is a so called air express which allow you to go directly to the airport without previous reservation.

If you buy from elong or your hotel the discounted ticket, you get cheap air ticket.

Chinese air tickets are much cheaper than in your country.

2. Time saving

Without saying, plane is faster than train. I would like to take train for scenery seeing rather than for sleeping. Not a good sleeper.

In Beijing, you can try Chinese train for sightseeing. For example, you take train to Shidu, a picturesque scenery spot at the southwest of Beijing, you can see the cliff and rivers when your train run on the bridge or cross the cave.

Ok, look at flights vs trains another way.

Overnight sleeper train takes 11.5 hours for Beijing -- Shanghai. Train stations are located downtown and accessible by metro as well. You save on transport costs and time to/from train stations, and you get ';free'; accommodation for the night on the train.

Flight takes 2 hours. You need to be at airport 1 hour before, for check-in. You need to spend about 1 hour getting to the airport, and then another hour getting from the airport to downtown. Assuming everything goes like clockwork, that%26#39;s already 5 hours ie half a day of potential sightseeing time wasted.