Friends,
Traveling to China (with family) for 15 days from May 19th. I am not doing back packing typically because I am a vegan and booking through an agent hence. Covering 3 cities - Beijing, Xi’an, Shanghai and a two day river cruise.
I would like to hear about your experiences around the place and things I must do (and must not). Thanks in advance.
I did this exact trip a few years ago but we just organised it ourselves.
I suppose Beijing is pretty obvious in terms of things to do with the Forbidden City, the wall etc. We went to 2 different parts of the wall. The really tacky touristy bit called Badaling and another less busy nicer bit called Jiankou and I actually really enjoyed both. The former was so busy it was almost comical.
The food in Xi’an was outstanding. The Beiyuanmen night market is really cool, it’s in the muslim quarter and the food is this incredible blend of chinese and middle eastern. Best food of the trip. I didn’t like the Terracotta warriers at all for some reason, all just came across like a bit fake which is pretty silly given that’ve been verified etc but the whole thing just seemed off.
Shanghai was my favourite and was definitely the most western city. Your best option if you want to sample the nightlife. We went to a recommended place for Xio bao long (Shanghai dumplings) that was hidden away somewhere, I’ve forgotten the name but I’ll try to remember.
If you have time, take a day-trip to Suzhou from Shanghai.
Even better, venture out to Hangzhou (my favorite city in China) – but that’s more than just a day-trip from Shanghai.
This reminds me of possibly my favorite restaurant chain in NY, Xian Famous Foods.
I LOVE that place!
Beijing-hit up Summer Palace, Tiannamen Square(near Tiannamen there is a shopping area called Qianmen), Forbidden Palace, and the Quanjude for Beijing Duck. Also check out Wangfujing Shopping District
Shanghai-two parts to Shanghai Puxi and Pudong. Most of the touristy places are in Puxi. It is considered the Old Shanghai and has alot to offer. You can visit Jing’an Temple, the Bund, French Concession, Nanjing Lu(busiest part, shopping area), and Yu Garden(that is where the famous soup dumplings are as well in that area, plenty to do)
with that said, it aint easy getting around in China unless you can speak Chinese or are accompanied by a Chinaman.
Love that place
^Eat some cumin lamb. Holy shit that stuff is mind-blowing.
If you are looking for good food you should at least visit SiChuan, specifically ChongQing and Chengdu. Much better food over there than any of the three places you mentioned.
Thanks everyone.
@Gringo - I can already see my disappointment on Warriors stuff at Xian. The images didnt seem to excite me. Will keep in mind about Shanghai dumplings, hopefully I get something vegan 
We are going to Mutianyu part of the great wall, hopefully good…
@marathon_runner - we are making a day trip to Suzhou which is part of our trip now. I will try to add Hangzhou to this list as well.
@Stallion - Thanks, we are taking a English/Chinese speaking guide with us. Yu Garden is not part of that trip, I will make sure to add that now you have told
@Klaudnine - We board the Ship for the cruise from Chongqing, but we hardly have time for much to do in Chongqing 
Appreciate all the pointers folks, I promise to share my experiences for the benefit of others.
I did 3 weeks around china a few yrs ago and stopped over at Xian and Beijing.
Beijing was brilliant culturally…make sure you do The Great Wall and Tianoman square. Try and get to the market and buys some chanel shoes for you gf or a couple of decent bags. I wouldn’t buy a tailored suit though.
X’ian is the place to see terracota army…get a guide from outside but try and speak to them a little bit before hand. They can say ‘hello, would you like a guide’ in perfect english but when you hear them speak other things it can be difficult to understand given their strong accent.
Chengdu was amazing!! If you get the chance then head to go see the Pandas’
Chengdu was amazing!! If you get the chance then head to go see the Pandas’
Chengdu was amazing!! If you get the chance then head to go see the Pandas’
If you have to pick between Suzhou and Hanzhou the obvious choice is Hangzhou. The West Lake is tight
Yu Garden’s the one indeed, muffin boy. Love that you keep it to 1 liners with the exception of anything involving your sex tourism trips to Asia
Sooraj, I didn’t notice you were vegan and recommended pork dumplings filled with aspic. my bad. I hope you have a good trip mate.
+1 for Xi’an’s Famous Foods. What do you guys get there? I always get the lamb curry noodles in soup and unfortunately don’t go there enough to try other things because by the time I get back there I’m craving that specific dish.
Try the cumin lamb burgers and the dry noodles.
Guangdong and Shaanxi have the best food imo if we talking best provinces to eat.
I like all the noodles at Xian famous foods. They are good at making noodles there.
Anyway, it has been more than a decade since I went to China. The most memorable things I did were 1) eating at a former palace in Beijing that is now a restaurant. They served pigs brain, crickets, and a soup dumpling the size of a bowl, and 2) those Chengdu Pandas; those mofos have a pretty good life.