Beijing. anybody been

[reinvented]

Howdy all

have had a small windfall so the wife and i have decided to take a short holiday, 4-5 days. now this has led to the opening of negotiations and with her indoors being a thai based tiddly-wink its looking like Beijing or Guilin. it was nearly tokyo but that was getting a bit pricey

so my question is anybody been?
any thoughts on worth going, what to do?
prices etc.

appreciate any help or experiences

[William]

I was in Beijing last year. I really enjoyed seeing the Forbidden City, T Square, Summer Palace and the Great Wall.

The food however I found horrid and have eaten much nicer Chinese food in HK and Bangkok

It's nice, but may not be a cheap as you think

[Curious George]

If you go to Beijing, the sights mentioned by William are definitely a must. I also was in Beijing last year (August), but was extremely disappointed. My first trip to China was in the late Fall of 1989, and I really enjoyed observing the culture and traditions, so very different from the West. Many things have changed since then, and I look at Beijing today as just another big city. You've got to get out into the country to experience the real interesting China.

While not cheap anymore, prices in Beijing are about on par with other large cities of the world. You can live extavagantly, or not do too badly on a limited budget by carefully choosing accomodations and transportation. I still find the Chinese food superior to that served in the US. We used to kid about any place with a gasoline station and a bar in the US, was considered to be a town. Now you need to include a Chinese restaurant in the description. Here, a Chinese menu has over a hundred items to pick from. What they all consist of is just a different combination of about twelve meats or vegetables in brown sauce.

[Silent Ninja]

I was in Beijing three years ago and found the food excellent (but it's more fat than Thai food, so watch your waistlines ).

Go early to the different attractions as there are thousands of tourists everywhere after 10AM.

[Blake7]

go to guilin instead - much better. take a ride up the lijiang to Yangshou. one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Beijing is just another chinese city with pollution and grimey traffic. Also has some of the worst food in china. Most beijing tourist sites are overrated imo.

[voracious]

I just returned from a trip & was in Beijing about 3 1/2 weeks ago. It's very nice and if you've never been there it's worth the stop. The food is pretty oily, though, especially compared to the rest of China. If you like spicy, maybe consider heading out to Szeschuan.

It really depends on what you want to see. For big cities, I liked Shanghai best, but it's quite crowded and things can be pricey.

For smaller areas and just relaxing and pampering there's many other places to go, especially if you're used to blending in in Asian towns. If you're in the south, Dongguan, Jongshan & Chi Hoi can be interesting. Chi Hoi is along the water and there's a nice foot massage place where you can have a nice view of the water. You can also cross over to Macau on foot from there, which makes for a nice day trip.

Ooops off the subject now.

If it's got to be Beijing or Guilin. Is there a possibility of breezing through Beijing in a day or two and hitting the main sites and then go relax in Guilin?

Note: China is changing by the month right now. Everything is gearing up for the olympics. The forbidden city is under rennovation and the main imperial chamber is under a tent. many things are under scaffold and tent (not the great wall :P) but there's alot going on. That and the building boom makes it a bit crazier than it used to be, but it's still worth the trip if you can go.

Have a great trip no matter what you decide.

[reinvented]

thanks all
thought about guilin also
appreciate the replies