International > China

Want to visit China, any ideas?

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justanotherwaygook:

--- Quote from: lotte world on June 14, 2012, 06:25:06 PM ---Don't forget, if you want to visit China you need a visa.  If you are American you have to buy the most expensive visa (the cheaper ones are not available to you).  Also, you can only get a visa from here if you have more than 6 months' validity remaining on your ARC.

--- End quote ---

Americans get the same visa.  The fee for Americans is just higher.

I thought the rule about the ARC was that, if you have less than 6 month's, you can't get a visa in Korea (though there are supposedly loopholes/exceptions that others may know more about).

@gtrain83, Chuseok is the Mid-Autumn Festival in China.  It might be difficult traveling on a holiday like that.  Good luck.

lotte world:
Yes, you're right.

Here's an eye-opener, it's the schedule of fees for getting a Chinese visa in the UK:

http://www.chinese-embassy.org.uk/eng/visa/fees/t649903.htm

bjinglee:

--- Quote from: popeye2u on June 13, 2012, 04:03:36 PM ---I spent 9 days in Beijing and didnt get to see it all.   And this was before they completed alll the olympic arenas.  China does everything big, so you pretty much spend one whole day at one site like the Forbidden City.   Where do you plan to go?  How much time are you spending in China.  Figure those out, then come back and ask some more questions.

--- End quote ---
I agree. I've been to Beijing a number of times and still want to go back to see more. There's just too much to see in even a week. Other things to see are the Bell Tower and Drum Tower, hutongs, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven and its surrounding park, more Buddhist temples than I can name here, Tiananmen Square, Great Hall of the People, Underground City, etc. 

As for the ARC requirement, last I checked the Chinese consulate in Busan doesn't enforce the 6 month rule. I know of a couple people who've used travel agents down there to get around that rule. 

The Great Wall at Mutianyu is pretty nice but if you want to go somewhere even more remote and less touristy skip that section and go to Simatai and Jinshanling (they're connected) about 3 1/2 hours north of Beijing by car. If you hike it early in the morning you can have the entire wall all to yourself. It's an amazing place to watch the sunrise. It's a long haul but WELL worth the effort and worth spending at least a night. The Jiankou section (which I haven't yet hiked) is also supposed to be spectacular. I would stay away from the sections of the wall closest to Beijing like Badaling like someone else mentioned.

tokidoki:

--- Quote from: bjinglee on June 14, 2012, 08:33:33 PM ---The Great Wall at Mutianyu is pretty nice but if you want to go somewhere even more remote and less touristy skip that section and go to Simatai and Jinshanling (they're connected) about 3 1/2 hours north of Beijing by car. If you hike it early in the morning you can have the entire wall all to yourself. It's an amazing place to watch the sunrise. It's a long haul but WELL worth the effort and worth spending at least a night. The Jiankou section (which I haven't yet hiked) is also supposed to be spectacular. I would stay away from the sections of the wall closest to Beijing like Badaling like someone else mentioned.

--- End quote ---

I didn't mention Simatai cuz it's currently closed for improvements, but Jinshanling is wonderful too and still open to tourists. I suggested Mutianyu first as it's not the furthest away (Simatai & Jinshanling are the furthest) and is not as crowded as Badaling. However,  if @gtrain83 is not rushed for time, then both places are great!

@gtrain83: If you only have 4-5 days, I'd suggest that you NOT go to a southern city in China and then travel to Beijing. There's so much to see/do/eat/explore in Beijing alone that even in 4-5 days you won't get to do everything that you want. Happy travels!

gtrain83:
Didnt know about mid autum festival. I have found reasonable airfare but will i be totally screwed with accomodations and getting around the city at this time? Like everything will be closed  or will it be an exciting time to be in China?

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