Reasonable itinerary?

Oct 23: Arrive %26lt;bold%26gt;Shanghai%26lt;/bold%26gt; evening Plane (from Lanzhou)

Oct 24: Shanghai Museum, The Bund, Bund-Sightseeing tunnel, Jinmao Tower

Oct 25: Shanghai-%26lt;bold%26gt;Hangzhou%26lt;/bold%26gt; Morning Train; Lingyin Temple, Monastary of Hidden Souls, Meijiawu Tea Plantation

Oct 26: Cruise on West Lake, Six Harmonies Pagoda

Oct 27: Hangzhou-%26lt;bold%26gt;Tongli%26lt;/bold%26gt;: Tuisi Yuan, Jiayin Tang, Sex Museum

Oct 28: Tongli-%26lt;bold%26gt;Suzhou%26lt;/bold%26gt;: Humble Administrator%26#39;s Garden, Master of Net%26#39;s Garden, Pan Men Gate

Oct 29: Suzhou-%26lt;bold%26gt;Nanjing%26lt;/bold%26gt;: Morning Train; Monument to Nanjing Massacre, Heavenly Kingdom Palace

Oct 30: Zhongjua Gate, Linggu Si, Zhongshan Ling, Ming Ziaoling Mausoleum

Oct 31: Morning flight Nanjing-%26lt;bold%26gt;Beijing; Late afernoon flight to USA.

Is this a do-able itinerary? are those the right gardens to go to? (Impossible question to answer :) Is there something you would skip and replace? Am I once more biting off more than I can chew?

Reasonable itinerary?

Sounds like a lot to me. You will need a vacation after this.

Reasonable itinerary?

You are not seeing much of Shanghai itself. I would recommend a walk in the French Concession area, shops, Xintiandi and Fuxing Park.

TripAdvisor doesn%26#39;t take formatting, so don%26#39;t bother typing HTML formatting when you post.

';Monastery of Hidden Souls'; is just another way to translate ';Lingyin Temple';. That%26#39;s one and the same place.

For the Nanjing sights, it should be spelt ';Zhonghua'; not ';Zhongjua';, and ';Ming Xiaoling'; not ';Ming Ziaoling';. Just minor corrections there.

I personally prefer Master-of-Nets and Lion Grove. Didn%26#39;t like Humble Administrator%26#39;s Garden and it%26#39;s relatively expensive.

I agree that you really don%26#39;t seem to be seeing much of Shanghai.

For Hangzhou I would suggest that you also go to Hefang Jie pedestrian street and Yue Fei Temple. I also enjoyed the Impressions West Lake performance (http://www.hzyxxh.com).

I also liked going to teahouses (not the scammer ones in Shanghai!) in Hangzhou and Suzhou.

JP - I know it%26#39;s a lot, but it%26#39;s probably my one shot at seeing China. I%26#39;m going to represent Bermuda in Bridge in the World Mind Games in Beijing (Oct 3-10) and I%26#39;ve wanted to see China for so long. Plus, my wife and have swindled my parents into taking our children (aged 1 and 3) for three weeks! Trust me, we%26#39;ll be getting more sleep on this trip than we do at home.

xt - My list of things I want to see in China is as follows*:

Forbidden Palace

Great Wall (near China and out west!)

Silk road

Taklamakan Desert

Big Buddha%26#39;s

First Emperor%26#39;s Tomb/Terra Cotta Warriors

Nanjing Massacre Memorial

Classic Chinese Gardens - Suzhou

Tiger Leaping Gorge

Unfortunately TLG isn%26#39;t going to make this trip, because I only have 3 weeks for travel. But my itinerary definitely covers the other eight ';must sees*'; on my list. Shanghai is on the itinerary because it%26#39;s a major transportation hub, but I%26#39;ve lived in cities a lot of my adult life (Boston, Chicago, DC, St. Petersburg, RU), so I%26#39;ve seen a lot of big city ';sights.'; And shopping isn%26#39;t very high on my agenda (just means stuff to carry for the rest of the week).

Ellyse -

Are there teashops in Hangzhou you would recommend? We%26#39;ll probably be staying at the HNA Huanglong (on your recommendation). The light show will depend on how tired we are (15-16 days into our grand China trek). It definitely sounds interesting.

Revised Itinerary

Oct 23: Arrive Shanghai evening Plane (from Lanzhou)

Oct 24: Shanghai Museum, The Bund, Late Lunch: Jean George {major splurge}, Bund-Sightseeing tunnel, Jinmao Tower at night

Oct 25: Shanghai-Hangzhou Morning Train; Chinese Medicine Museum; Lingyin Temple,

Oct 26: Cruise on West Lake, Xiao Ying Zhou, Six Harmonies Pagoda

Oct 27: Hangzhou-Tongli: Tuisi Yuan, Jiayin Tang, Sex Museum

Oct 28: Tongli-Suzhou: Lion Grove Garden, Master of Net%26#39;s Garden, Pan Men Gate

Oct 29: Suzhou-Nanjing: Morning Train; Monument to Nanjing Massacre, Heavenly Kingdom Palace

Oct 30: Zhonghua Gate, Linggu Si, Zhongshan Ling, Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum

Oct 31: Morning flight Nanjing-Beijing; Late afernoon flight to USA.

Other Questions:

Should we spend the night in Tongli or just push on to Suzhou to get an early start there?

If Tongli, where do you recommend (nothing upscale, just clean with good location)?

*Every time I make this list, I add something new to it! It%26#39;s like the Monty Python skit about Roman accomplishments: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaE3EaQte78

I don%26#39;t mean tea shops, I mean teahouses where you get a cup of tea leaves and unlimited hot water refills, plus buffet of snacks and fruits.

Correct name is HNA Huagang Resort, not HNA Huanglong.

Personally, I%26#39;d rather splurge on a dinner in Super Brand Mall with a view of the Bund. Much better and cheaper than paying for some overpriced brand-name dining on the Bund itself.

Skip the Bund sightseeing tunnel unless you%26#39;re as tacky as it is.

Lingyin Temple is usually done in the morning.

If you want to see gardens, I really like the one (Tuisi Garden) in Tongli, so I wouldn%26#39;t mind skipping Suzhou.

There%26#39;s also a good garden in Nanjing, in the Presidential Palace. And yes, I was wondering why you missed out the Presidential Palace in Nanjing.

Also don%26#39;t forget to check out the Fuzimiao area in the evening.

What%26#39;s the part that you didn%26#39;t mention, in western China?

Oh and I definitely recommend staying overnight in Tongli. Zhengfu Caotang has been outstanding: http://www.zfct.net/jnsx/index.html

First of all, your recommendation for a hotel in Tong li looks stunningly good. It%26#39;s EXACTLY the kind of thing I%26#39;m looking for on our trip. (The Suzhou hotel I have picked is The Pingjiang Lodge) Here%26#39;s another link I found: www.bb-china.com/main.htm鈥?/a>

I had several reasons for choosing Jean George -

1) I thought a western restaurant might be a good change of pace for us after 2+ weeks of Chinese food.

2) I thought the view over the Pudong would be interesting

3) We love French food

4) The Shanghai Museum is to the west - it seems like a natural progression: Shanghai Museum, Bund, Pudong

Is the view of the Bund across the River good at night? I didn%26#39;t see any Western style restaurants in Super Brand Mall. But was South Beauty the kind of restaurant you were thinking of? Would Danielli%26#39;s (On top of St. Regis) be a good Pudong restaurant to get the view you%26#39;re thinking of? Is Jin Mao Tower open at night to get a good view of the city?

I definitely meant a Tea House. For some reason, I picture being able to buy tea to go as well (Maybe too much Starbucks in my past? :) Do you have some tea houses that you would recommend in Hangzhou? Maybe something near the Chinese Medicine Museum?

Is another name for HNA Huagang Resort - the Dragon Hotel - or is that another hotel entirely?

I guess the only Hotel I didn%26#39;t mention that I have planned was the Mandarin Garden in Nanjing - it%26#39;s located in Fuzimiao.

Would the Presidential Palace be too much to add to Monument to the Nanjing Massacre, Heavenly Kingdom Palace all in one day?

Here is the rest of my itinerary

Oct 10 Arrival (I%26#39;ll be here already, but my wife will arrive)- Hotel: Hao Yuan

Oct 11 Tian%26#39;anmen Square; Forbidden City (Mao%26#39;s if it%26#39;s not too long a wait) Wangfujing Night Market - Hotel: Hao Yuan

Oct 12 Panjiayuan Market, Temple of Heaven, Lama Temple , Acrobat Show - Hotel: Hao Yuan

Oct 13 Mutanyu Great Wall, Ming Tombs (Duck dinner night) - Hotel: Hao Yuan

Oct 14 Summer Palace w/Boat Cruise, Hutong tour - Hotel: Hao Yuan

Oct 15 Early Plane to Datong - Yungang Grottoes, Hanging Temple, Overnight Train to Pingyao - Hotel: Train

Oct 16 Pingyao - Old Town, City Wall, Rishingchang Bank - Hotel: Tian Yuan Kui

Oct 17 Bike to Shaolin Temple, Visit Qiao Family Compound on drive to Taiyuan (evening flight to Xian) - Hotel: Bell Tower

Oct 18 Xian Terra Cotta Warriors Shanxi History museum, Wild Goose Pagoda - Hotel: Bell Tower

Oct 19 Xian City Wall, Muslim Quarter Afternoon flight to Dunhuang - Hotel: Silk Road Dunhuang

Oct 20 Crescent Lake and Echo-Sand Mountain Camel Trip and Dune Sledding - Hotel: Silk Road Dunhuang

Oct 21 Dunhuang to Jiayuguan Magoa caves en route - Hotel: Jiayuguan

Oct 22 Jiayuguan Fort, First Beacon Tower Overnight train to Lanzhou - Hotel: Train

Oct 23 Bingling Si Late afternoon plane to Shanghai - Hotel: The Bund Hotel

Thank you all so much for your input.

I love the tackiness of the Sight seeing Tunnel for 10 minutes worth of laughs, why not? I suppose if you are a local you would be cheesed off but where else can you experience such a wonder. Watch out if you suffer from epilepsy though.

Anyway as a meagre tourist of the place and not an expert, I can vouch for the food at South Beauty. I would describe it as an Asian fusion restaurant. Upmarket presentation, elegant decor, floor to ceiling windows and terrific service and great views, great prices, why would you lunch anywhere else? You may even get a goldfish for your table - we did so that was worthwhile in itself.

I think you should check out Fuxing Park in your itinerary and take a walk along Huai Hai Lu. Nicer than Nanjing Rd. The other great museum, in the basement of the Oriental Pearl Tower (which by the way is pretty much on your doorstep once you get out of the Tourist Tunnel - not sure why Jinmao tunnel instead, that%26#39;s not very Asian)is the unbelievable Shanghai Municipal History Museum. The diaramas and street scenes are amazingly good. That to me is more unique than the offerings you may find in the Shanghai Museum - you will see many similar items in Beijing and Xian for example.

Jinmao building, sorry

You must taxi down to the Bund at night. That would be unforgiveable if you missed out on the night view.