If I can only hit one city in China, which should it be?

In early stages of planning an Asia trip in late summer. Initially this was just a Japan trip, but I was thinking we really should hit China or S. Korea while we're out there because who knows when I'll be in Asia again. The bulk of our time will likely be spent in Japan, hitting Tokyo then exploring other parts of the country. We don't want to get fatigued from going to too many places, so we probably only have time for one city in China.

Thinking fly in to China, stay a few nights, then head to Tokyo and spend the rest of the trip there then fly home from Narita.

The group is leaning pretty heavily toward Hong Kong. I've heard great things. One downside is it's like a 5 hour flight from HKG to NRT. Not a dealbreaker but something to consider. China is further from Japan than a map would have you believe. Friends have also heavily recommended Beijing. Seems to have the most history and touristy stuff. Also proximity to the great wall. Shanghai is an option but I've heard better things about the other two.

Flying out of Dallas FWIW. I think there are nonstops to all of these cities from DFW.

Hong Kong is not likely to be the "China" you are looking for. If you are only making one stop in China, I would strongly suggest Beijing.

I acknowledge that Hong Kong is technically not China. How is HK for touristy stuff?

Would it be fair to say that if I want to see the best historical sites and experience Chinese culture, Beijing is the place to go?

That is exactly my point. Hong Kong is a really neat big modern city but if you want to see China... some of its more famous history... go to Beijing and visit the touristy/busy but must see sites (Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, etc.). Be sure to also get some Cao Ya (Beijing/Peking Duck) while you are there.

Just got back from China and HK last month. As has already been mentioned, if you really want to see and experience authentic Chinese culture, then HK is not the place to go. Don't get me wrong, HK is a fun, amazing city with tons to see and do as a tourist plus amazing food, but would hardly consider it to be an authentic Chinese experience. It's an extremely international city and former British colony, with it's own government, laws, etc. I love HK, and would definitely recommend, it just depends on what you are looking for. You won't stand out as foreigner in HK, but you will in mainland China.

Beijing has the famous sites like already mentioned. Haven't been to Shanghai so can't really comment on it. I'll throw out another (although further away from NRT) suggestion: Chengdu, capital of the Sichuan province and home of the giant panda. Though you don't have the Forbidden City or Great Wall, you can visit the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding (the size an entire zoo, but with only pandas), Xiling snow mountain, and eat the amazing spicy food that Sichuan is known for.

For a first timer though, I would probably recommend Beijing as well to see the historic sites and Great Wall. Don't forget to check out the Olympic park as well.

Agree with Beijing and especially the Forbidden City. If you have a really short time to spend there, Shanghai is also awesome. I loved the contrast of old versus new in Shanghai, as in this picture I took there. Enjoy

just as an opposing view point, why not stay in japan?

I doubt you will exhaust all that the entire country has to offer. and after spending all the time in one country, the adjustment to another language, culture, and way of doing things is likely to be fairly jarring after getting in to a nice groove for the bulk of your trip.

not to say that there is anything wrong with going to china, but I think sometimes people try to fit in "just one more thing" when they already have a full plate in front of them.

If you want authentic China, go with Beijing.

Honk Kong and Shanghai are both business hubs and very modern now. Not saying that Beijing isn't modern, just that it still holds more of the authentic qualities you would expect in China.

schmendeler said:

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just as an opposing view point, why not stay in japan?

I doubt you will exhaust all that the entire country has to offer. and after spending all the time in one country, the adjustment to another language, culture, and way of doing things is likely to be fairly jarring after getting in to a nice groove for the bulk of your trip.

not to say that there is anything wrong with going to china, but I think sometimes people try to fit in "just one more thing" when they already have a full plate in front of them.

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So the plan is to leave on Thursday (arrive Friday) and return on Monday. With a week in between, obviously.

I have been told by people who have been to Japan that we can stay there the whole time and not get bored. I believe them. The only reason is I've never been to Asia and I want to see as much as I can within reason. I want to at least see China while I'm there, because hopefully my next Asia trip will be to SE Asia which pretty much must be its own trip.

Don't go to Beijing in July. Weather is too friggin hot and the long walks will not be as fun.

And prepare to be a tourist attraction yourself. Chinese visit Beijing too and seeing a white person is a picture-worthy moment for them too.

AgFB said:

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Don't go to Beijing in July. Weather is too friggin hot and the long walks will not be as fun.

And prepare to be a tourist attraction yourself. Chinese visit Beijing too and seeing a white person is a picture-worthy moment for them too.

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Sweet, hopefully I'm single then. I hear they treat blondes like gods. Though I have brown hair.

Yeah I figured it's gonna be hot. But Hong Kong is hotter than Beijing, right? and coming from Texas how bad can it really be?

P.C. Principal said:

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AgFB said:

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Don't go to Beijing in July. Weather is too friggin hot and the long walks will not be as fun.

And prepare to be a tourist attraction yourself. Chinese visit Beijing too and seeing a white person is a picture-worthy moment for them too.

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Sweet, hopefully I'm single then. I hear they treat blondes like gods. Though I have brown hair.

Yeah I figured it's gonna be hot. But Hong Kong is hotter than Beijing, right? and coming from Texas how bad can it really be?

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Hong Kong is hotter sometimes, but the problem is being able to stay outside long enough in Beijing due to the air quality. Hong Kong and the surrounding areas are much much much more strict with industrial industry nearby. Beijing, not so much.

The idea that westerners (white people) are shocking to Chinese In big cities is outdated... maybe 10-15 yrs ago but not now. Deal with the warmer temps and go enjoy Beijing.

JJWAGGIE said:

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The idea that westerners (white people) are shocking to Chinese In big cities is outdated... maybe 10-15 yrs ago but not now. Deal with the warmer temps and go enjoy Beijing.

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Depends on the city. Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing not so much because they are business hubs. But there are huge cities that still don't have many westerners come through that are lesser known (though absolutely massive) like Nanjing and Chongqing.

Love that about China, the minor unheard-of cities are still bigger than NYC.

HK is worth a trip - nice east meets west feel to it. I was there a couple weeks ago on a last minute trip - plenty of unique things to do if you have never been. But if you really want more of that unique eastern China experience, then I'd go with the other recommendations. HK and mainland Chinese aren't the type of experience for sure. My wife is from HK and doesnt like it when people call her Chinese, but that's a topic for a different thread...

If you go to Hong Kong, take an hour or so to go to Ladies Market in Mongkok. Don't let the name fool you.

I lived in China for 4 years.

My advice is to see some "smaller" cities like Qingdao, Hangzhou, Chengdu etc.

Qingdao is a one hour flight from Seoul and has beaches, mountains, and breweries.

IrishTxAggie said:

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JJWAGGIE said:

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The idea that westerners (white people) are shocking to Chinese In big cities is outdated... maybe 10-15 yrs ago but not now. Deal with the warmer temps and go enjoy Beijing.

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Depends on the city. Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing not so much because they are business hubs. But there are huge cities that still don't have many westerners come through that are lesser known (though absolutely massive) like Nanjing and Chongqing.

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Agree with this. We went as a family to China for two weeks last year. Our 11-year-old son was constantly stopped and asked to pose for pictures. I would bet that, in those two weeks, he was stopped no fewer than 70 times. He always tried to oblige, but there were times when we had to just say no because our tour guide was pressing us on. If you walked behind him and observed people, you could see the amount of staring that people would give him before someone would be brave enough to come up and ask him if they could get a photo of or with him. He found it unnerving at first. Most people who travel from the West don't travel with children, so I guess a blue-eyed child was more of an oddity than the average Westerner. It was particularly prevalent in Wuhan City, where not a lot of tour groups visit. Oh, and by the way, it was brutally hot except in Beijing. Enjoy your travels.
From Beijing:

JJWAGGIE said:

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The idea that westerners (white people) are shocking to Chinese In big cities is outdated... maybe 10-15 yrs ago but not now. Deal with the warmer temps and go enjoy Beijing.

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it was not outdated in 2016. We had kids coming up behind us and taking selfies. We were about 100x more shocking in Guiyang but I don't think many of those people had ever seen a white guy or girl with blonde hair. Add in the fact we were toting around a Chinese little boy and we were quite an attraction.

The air quality makes the heat worse. Beijing was not our favorite place we visited. Think overcast with no clouds in the sky.

I should have stated that for the major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou etc. it isn't the case... these cities have Starbucks, KFC, McDonalds all over the place and the people are quite used to westerners. That being said, there are other less well traveled big Chinese cities (and certainly the smaller ones) that it is certainly still the case. It's entertaining.

We enjoyed sitting in the full length window bar area at the Mcdonalds and seeing people do a double take at the freaks in the window. I have a video of it somewhere where I recorded everyone walking by and taking pictures and staring.

Headed to China this week as part of my capstone project for my EMBA program. Won't really get a chance to get too touristy for business purposes, but we'll be visiting Forbidden City and the Great Wall of course. I am looking forward to experiencing this too.....