Itinerary help

A group of us, 4 ladies (23 yrs to 65 yrs) will be in Shanghai from 17/05/08 to 24/05/08 for sightseeing, shopping (tailor) and food. We will arrive in the evening of 17/05 and leave on the morning of 24/05. Out of the 6 full days in Shanghai, we would like to spend two and a half days visiting Hangzhou and one of the water villages, either Xitang or Tongli. We intend to do it on our own - take the train to Hangzhou and then hire a private cab for sightseeing.

Please advise on how we can maximize our 2.5 days,

e.g. whether to stay 1 night in Hangzhou,

which village should we visit, Xitang or Tongli,

Mode of transport back to Shanghai, etc

Our tentative plan is:-

18/05 -Shanghai, sightseeing, visiting the tailor

19/05 to 21/05 (2.5 days) -Hangzhou %26amp; 1 water village

21/05 to 24/05 -Shanghai

We have not decided on our hotel yet and have narrowed our choices to either Jin Jiang East Asia Hotel or Nanjing hotel

Thanks

Itinerary help

Would recommend either Tongli (pretty little water town typical of the region. Houses open to network of canals-dozens of stone bridges-Tuisi Yuan-classical gaden dating from late Qing period. Sightseeing boats go down Tongli%26#39;s canals sort of like Venice but not as grand) or Suzhou ( history back to 6th century B.C. Grand Canal, larger city, plenty of sights-large garden Zhouzheng Yuan est. 1500%26#39;s, pagoda Beisi Ta, Pan Men scenic area) You will love Shanghai and Hangzhou. In Hangzhou don%26#39;t miss a boat ride on West Lake and Lingyin Si. We also visited the Dragon Well tea plantation. Also Chinese Herb Museum. Have a great trip.

Itinerary help

Xitang, definitely. Tongli would be in the wrong direction.

To get to Xitang, you should take a Hangzhou -- Jiashan bus, then a taxi ride (around 20 mins) to Xitang. Getting back to Shanghai, take taxi to Jiashan then a bus to Shanghai.

No need to hire a private taxi for sightseeing, there%26#39;re plenty of taxis to flag down around Hangzhou.

Yes, you should stay a night in Hangzhou and another one in Xitang.

Hi All,

Thank you for the reply.

As suggested, we will stay 1 night in Hangzhou and 1 night in Xitang. Now, I have a few questions regarding transportation:-

From Shanghai to Hangzhou

1) I read somewhere in this forum that the fast train starts at 0630 in the morning. May I know what is the next time slot for the fast train?

2) Do you think we will be able to purchase the train tickets on 18/05/08, that is 1 day before we leave for Hangzhou. We would like to travel on the %26#39;fast%26#39; train and %26#39;soft/designated%26#39; seats. Is there any on-line bookings for train tickets?

Bus from Jiashan to Shanghai

1) How long is the bus ride?

2) Is it a %26#39;sit-in%26#39; coach?

Thanks

Beeslim

I don%26#39;t know where you got your information from, but it%26#39;s not correct. The earliest D train for Shanghai (South) -- Hangzhou (main) is D685 (0725--0843). It%26#39;s then followed by D653 (0740--0908).

No official online ticketing system for train tickets in China, unless you use the online agencies which charge an arm and a leg -- I don%26#39;t recommend those. There%26#39;re usually seats allocated to D train tickets (unless you%26#39;re silly or unfortunate enough to buy last-minute no-seat tickets), and there%26#39;re no ';soft'; seats; there%26#39;re 2nd-class and 1st-class, both of which are very ';soft';!

Jiashan -- Shanghai takes about 1.5 hours by bus, buses go to the ';main'; long-distance bus station north of Shanghai main train station; or to Shanghai South long-distance bus station which%26#39;s south of Shanghai South train station.

What do you mean by ';sit-in'; coach?!?

Hi Ellyse,

What I am trying to ask is:

whether it is the type that follows a time-table and leaves regardless of the number of passengers onboard or

the type of bus that will not move unless it is at least 90% full.

Thanks

Beeslim

Jiashan -- Shanghai buses depart quite punctually, going by the schedule.

Ellyse

Thanks so much for your help, really appreciate it.

Beeslim

No problem, you%26#39;re welcome.

If you%26#39;ve any more questions, you could email me directly at ellyse99@yahoo.com -- please put ';TripAdvisor'; and your own username (eg Beeslim) in the subject line, thanks.