u/Chance_Spare_3801

Hey everyone,
Me and two friends (we are all 20 year old university students from Belgium) are visiting Chongqing soon for about 3 to 4 days.
We are wondering if it is worth hiring a local English speaking guide for just one full day to show us around the main cyberpunk and 8D architecture spots. We want to see the crazy infrastructure, but since we are students we are on a bit of a budget.
Is it easy to navigate and find these specific places by ourselves with public transport and Didi, or does a local guide really make a big difference?
Also, if you do recommend getting a guide, do you have any specific recommendations or WeChat contacts that are good and affordable for a group of 3?
Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone,
Me and two friends (we are all 20 year old university students from Belgium) are visiting Chongqing soon for about 3 to 4 days.
We are wondering if it is worth hiring a local English speaking guide for just one full day to show us around the main cyberpunk and 8D architecture spots. We want to see the crazy infrastructure, but since we are students we are on a bit of a budget.
Is it easy to navigate and find these specific places by ourselves with public transport and Didi, or does a local guide really make a big difference?
Also, if you do recommend getting a guide, do you have any specific recommendations or WeChat contacts that are good and affordable for a group of 3?
Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone!

In September, I’m heading to China with two friends for about two weeks. We are all 20 years old, and it’s the first time for two of us. The third friend is Chinese but his language skills are pretty basic. Since his family is from Shanghai, we will be starting and ending our trip there.

We want to go with the flow as much as possible, but we need to at least fix our route, otherwise we won't get anything done. This is what we have in mind:
Shanghai -> Hangzhou -> Zhangjiajie -> Chongqing -> Chengdu -> Shanghai

We’ll take the train for everything, except for the journey back from Chengdu to Shanghai (domestic flight). A few questions:

1 Is this route feasible for two weeks? It covers quite some distance. Is this doable for a group of 20-year-olds, or will we spend all our time traveling? What should we skip if it's too much?

2 Do we really need to buy train tickets far in advance? Can we book a few days ahead through Trip.com in September, or do they sell out instantly?

3 How smooth are domestic flights? Is flying from Chengdu to Shanghai pretty straightforward for foreigners regarding security and luggage?

4 Is Shanghai Disneyland worth it? We actually really like theme parks, so that's why we're considering spending a day there. Is this park unique enough to justify a day?

5 Practical tips? We don't need a list of temples, but rather tips on useful apps (besides Alipay/WeChat) and how to manage the language barrier.

Hey everyone!

In September, I’m heading to China with two friends for about two weeks. We are all 20 years old, and it’s the first time for two of us. The third friend is Chinese but his language skills are pretty basic. Since his family is from Shanghai, we will be starting and ending our trip there.

We want to go with the flow as much as possible, but we need to at least fix our route, otherwise we won't get anything done. This is what we have in mind:
Shanghai -> Hangzhou -> Zhangjiajie -> Chongqing -> Chengdu -> Shanghai

We’ll take the train for everything, except for the journey back from Chengdu to Shanghai (domestic flight). A few questions:

1 Is this route feasible for two weeks? It covers quite some distance. Is this doable for a group of 20-year-olds, or will we spend all our time traveling? What should we skip if it's too much?

2 Do we really need to buy train tickets far in advance? Can we book a few days ahead through Trip.com in September, or do they sell out instantly?

3 How smooth are domestic flights? Is flying from Chengdu to Shanghai pretty straightforward for foreigners regarding security and luggage?

4 Is Shanghai Disneyland worth it? We actually really like theme parks, so that's why we're considering spending a day there. Is this park unique enough to justify a day?

5 Practical tips? We don't need a list of temples, but rather tips on useful apps (besides Alipay/WeChat) and how to manage the language barrier.