u/Mariagrazia89

Hi all!

I need some help figuring out what to pack for my upcoming trip and what to expect weather-wise.
I’ll be travelling on these dates:

Sept 13–18: Beijing
Sept 18–22: Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou
Sept 22–23: Guilin
Sept 23–24: Yangshuo
Sept 24–27: Chongqing

I’ll be doing quite a lot of walking and sightseeing, including the Great Wall, temples, palaces, gardens, city walks and the Li River cruise.

I usually wear a lot of dresses in summer, but I’m not sure if the weather will still be suitable for them in mid-to-late September.

What are the must-have items I should bring?
Is it advisable to bring sandals?

Should I expect mostly hot weather, or should I also pack some warmer layers and a light jacket?

Any advice on shoes, rain gear, humidity or anything else that would be particularly useful for this itinerary would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

Hi everyone! I’m planning my first trip to China from September 13–27 and would really appreciate some advice.

🇨**🇳Beijing | Sep**t 14–18
Hotel: HanTing Hotel (Beijing Wangfujing Xiehe Hospital), Wangfujing area.
I arrive at around 5:40 AM on Sept 14, so after getting to the hotel and resting a little, I should still have the afternoon.
Sept 14:
Temple of Heaven in the afternoon → Wangfujing in the evening.
Sept 15:
Mutianyu Great Wall (already booked).
Back in Beijing in the afternoon/evening, with the possibility of exploring Wudaoying Hutong / Guozijian Street or the Lama Temple area.
Sept 16:
Tiananmen Square → Forbidden City → Jingshan Park.
Afterwards possibly Nanluoguxiang, other hutongs or Beihai Park.
Sept 17:
Summer Palace. Possibly Old Summer Palace afterwards, otherwise some free time for hutongs, shopping or anything else worth seeing.
Question: Is this a good way to structure the four days, and is Wangfujing a good base?

🇨**🇳Shanghai | Sept 18-2**2
Hotel: JI Hotel (Shanghai The Bund Jiujiang Road), East Nanjing Road / Bund.
Sept 18:
High-speed train Beijing → Shanghai, arriving around 14:35. Check-in and explore Nanjing Road / Bund in the evening.
Sept 19:
Yu Garden → possibly Tianzifang → Pudong / Lujiazui / Shanghai Tower in the afternoon/evening.
Sept 20:
Day trip to Suzhou: Humble Administrator’s Garden → Pingjiang Road → canals → Shantang Street in the evening. Possibly Lingering Garden or Tiger Hill if there’s enough time.
Sept 21:
Day trip to Hangzhou: West Lake → Three Pools Mirroring the Moon → Leifeng Pagoda → Yue Fei Temple → possibly Longjing Tea Cultural Village.
Sept 22:
Morning flight Shanghai → Guilin.
Is the East Nanjing Road/Bund area a good base for this plan?
And I have some free time in Shanghai, so I’d also love suggestions for things that aren’t just sightseeing, for example a good massage, spa, tea house, hair salon/barber, shopping, nightlife or some interesting local experience. What would you recommend?

🇨**🇳Guilin | Sep**t 22–23
Hotel: Venus Royal Hotel (Guilin Elephant Trunk Hill Sun and Moon Twin Towers), central/Shanhu Lake area.
Arrive around 13:40. The idea is to explore Shanhu Lake, Sun & Moon Pagodas, Zhengyang Road, Elephant Trunk Hill and possibly Jingjiang Princes’ Palace in the afternoon/evening.
Sept 23:
Li River cruise to Yangshuo, around 4 hours.
Does this make sense for just one night in Guilin, and is the hotel location convenient for the cruise?

🇨**🇳Yangshuo | Sep**t 23–24
Hotel: Guilin Yangshuo West Street Drum Tower Tour Hotel, West Street area.
After the cruise, the plan is to explore Yangshuo and possibly do Yulong River bamboo rafting, visit Silver Cave / Gold Water Cave, cycle around the countryside, and/or see the Impression Sanjie Liu show.
Sept 24:
Morning in Yangshuo → train to Chongqing at 14:30.
Would you use the time differently? Is there anything I absolutely shouldn’t miss in Yangshuo?

🇨**🇳Chongqing | Sep**t 24–27
Hotel: Chongqing HongyaCave ChaotianmenGate Atour Light Hotel, Hongyadong / Chaotianmen area.
Sept 24:
Arrive around 19:00 → Hongyadong / Qiansimen Bridge / Chaotianmen at night.
Sept 25:
Yangtze River cable car → Longmenhao → Luohan Temple → Raffles City / Chaotianmen → Hongyadong. Possibly an evening river cruise.
Sept 26:
Ciqikou → Testbed 2 → Eling Park.
Alternative options: Three Gorges Museum, Danzishi Old Street or Jiefangbei.
Sept 27:
Early morning flight home.

Is Hongyadong/Chaotianmen a good area to stay, or would Jiefangbei be better?
What would you change?
I’d really appreciate advice on:
Anything I’m missing in any of these cities
Things you’d remove because they’re overrated
How you’d use the free time in each city
Whether the hotel locations make sense
Any neighborhoods worth simply wandering around
Good food, tea, massage/spa, hair salon or other local experiences
Anything that would make the trip feel more like experiencing China rather than just visiting tourist attractions.

Thanks! :)

Hi everyone!

I’ll be flying Air China from Italy in Economy, with two ~11h flights: an A350-900 outbound and an A330-200 on the way back.

Which seats would you recommend? Is it worth paying extra for an emergency exit seat for the additional legroom, or are they too close to the bathrooms/busy areas?

Also, for such a long flight, would you choose aisle or window?

Any specific seats/rows you’d recommend or avoid on these two aircraft?

Hi everyone!

I'm planning a 2-week trip to China from September 13th to September 27th and would love some feedback on my itinerary, transit logistics, and planned activities. 

Context on my travel style:

To give you some background, I am used to fast-paced travel. On my first trip to Turkiye, I did a massive "tour de force" covering 5 cities in 2 weeks, so I am very comfortable with high-energy, packed itineraries! Since my flights are already booked, the overall timeframe cannot be changed. 
Here is my daily breakdown with my current transit and activity plans:

Sept 13: Fly from Milan Malpensa to Beijing Capital (Air China). 

Sept 14: Arrive in Beijing (05:00 AM). Plan to take the Airport Express to Beixinqiao station. Afternoon: visit Temple of Heaven. 

Sept 15: Great Wall (Mutianyu): Planning to use the Zanbus day-tour from Trip.com (includes bus and entrance, 5 hours of free time). 

Sept 16: Beijing: Morning: Forbidden City + Jingshan Park (booking tickets 7 days in advance). Afternoon: Nanluoguxiang hutong or Beihai Park. 

Sept 17: Beijing: Morning: Summer Palace (Kunming Lake) + Old Summer Palace via boat. 

Sept 18: Beijing to Shanghai: Taking a high-speed G-train from Beijing South to Shanghai Hongqiao. 

Sept 19: Morning: Yu Garden and Tianzifang. Evening: Pudong skyline and Shanghai Tower observatory. 

Sept 20: Suzhou Day Trip. Bullet train from Shanghai Hongqiao to Suzhou Central. Plan to use DiDi for city transit. Visiting Humble Administrator’s Garden, Pingjiang Road (canal boat ride), and Shantang Street at night. 

Sept 21: Day Trip (Wuzhen or Hangzhou). Wuzhen via bus from Shanghai South Long-Distance Bus Station, or Hangzhou via bullet train to Hangzhou East (West Lake, Leifeng Pagoda, Longjing Tea Village). 

Sept 22: Shanghai to Guilin. Flight from Pudong (PVG) or Hongqiao (SHA) to Guilin. Evening: Shanhu Lake (Sun and Moon Pagodas). 

Sept 23: Guilin to Yangshuo. 4-hour Li River Cruise (with luggage transport service to Yangshuo). Afternoon/Evening: Yulong River bamboo raft or Silver/Gold Water Cave, and the *Impression Sanjie Liu* night show. 

Sept 24: Yangshuo to Chongqing. 14:30 high-speed train from Yangshuo station to Chongqing West. 

Sept 25: Chongqing. Yangtze River Cableway to Longmenhao, Luohan Temple, Chaotianmen Square/Raffles City, and Hongyadong at night (plus a river cruise). 

Sept 26: Chongqing. Ciqikou Ancient Town (Metro Line 1), Testbed 2 / Eling Park, Three Gorges Museum. 

Sept 27: Early morning DiDi to Chongqing Jiangbei Airport, flight back to Venice via Beijing. 

What I need help with:

1. Hotel Neighborhoods & Recommendations:
2. I don’t need the hotels to be fancy; just clean, comfortable, and well-located near metro stations. However,

I

1. am looking to splurge on ONE hotel with a spectacular, jaw-dropping view (the kind Instagram influencers love to post about! 😂). Where would that be best? Shanghai facing the Bund/Pudong skyline, or maybe Chongqing's cyberpunk night view?

Here is what I'm currently looking at, please let me know if these are good areas or if you have specific hotel recommendations:

Beijing:Looking around the Beixinqiao station area (convenient for the Airport Express and Metro Line 5). Good choice?

Shanghai: Looking at the People’s Park/Square area for convenience (Line 2/10 connection to airports and train stations).

Guilin & Yangshuo: Looking around Shanhu Lake for Guilin, but open to suggestions for Yangshuo.

Chongqing: Which area is best to avoid crazy hill-climbing with luggage but still close to the action?

2. Wuzhen vs. Hangzhou:
   Since I am already doing Suzhou on Sept 20, which one balances the trip better? I'm worried Wuzhen might feel too repetitive ("water town fatigue") after Suzhou, but Hangzhou seems massive for a day trip. 

3. Logistics & DiDi: I plan to rely heavily on DiDi for shorter city transits (like in Suzhou, Guilin, and Chongqing). Is it reliable for tourists using international credit cards on Alipay/WeChat?

4. Activity Pacing: Given that I am a fast traveler, do you think this layout is doable, or is it *too* much? Also, I have allocated about 3–4 hours each for the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace (on separate days). Is that generally enough time to see the main highlights, or will I be sprinting through them?

Thank you!

Preface: I asked ChatGPT to help me organize my thoughts and improve the grammar of this post, since I tend to write the way I think and it can get a bit scattered; plus English is not my first language.
Everything below reflects my own experience and questions.

I was diagnosed with keratoconus in 2021 at age 33 (I’m 37 now).
Left eye: Stage 3
Right eye: Stage 2

I had CXL in March 2022 for my left eye and December 2023 for my right eye.
I live in a relatively small city in Italy. After my surgeries, my surgeon recommended two specialists for contact lenses. I tried one of them for scleral lenses, but it wasn’t a good experience.

Part of the issue is that I’ve had several medical conditions diagnosed very late because my concerns were dismissed. For years, specialists told me my worsening vision was due to reading too much or using electronics, and my keratoconus wasn’t diagnosed until I was 33.

I also had gallstones that weren’t diagnosed until they became a serious emergency. Because of those experiences, I’m very sensitive to feeling like I’m not being listened to.

With the scleral lens specialist, I repeatedly said the trial lenses didn’t feel right. The last trial lens actually pinched my right eye and left me with migraines for a couple of days afterward. At that point, I decided not to continue.

In May, I went to a highly regarded optician in my area, and the experience was completely different. They listened to me, were very understanding, and after evaluating my case, we decided to try RGP lenses. (I even got them in different colors so I wouldn’t mix them up!)

My problem is that I can only seem to tolerate them for 1–2 hours at most. They also get dirty very quickly. Sometimes I put them in, have to take them out almost immediately to clean them, and then try again.
A lot of people tell me that RGP lenses are something you gradually adapt to and that you should be able to wear them a little longer each day. That doesn’t seem to be happening for me, although I admit I started the process during allergy season and wasn’t wearing them consistently because my eyes were often irritated. Now that the worst of the allergies has passed, I’m trying to wear them every day.
A few things I’ve noticed:
I wear makeup, although I’ve stopped using mascara for now.

It’s harder to insert and tolerate the lenses shortly after waking up than later in the day.

The lenses seem to collect debris surprisingly quickly.
So I was wondering:
How long did it take you to adapt to RGP lenses?
Is it normal to still struggle if wear has been inconsistent?
Do allergies significantly affect RGP lens tolerance?
Has anyone dealt with lenses getting dirty very quickly?

If RGPs don’t work out, what alternatives should I discuss with my specialist?
I would still like to keep them for a year, as the cost was nothing to sneeze at 🤣.

I’d really appreciate hearing about other people’s experiences. Thanks!

Hi!

I will be travelling on the N95 (Berlin-Munich-Milano) in September to go to Malpensa from Trento.

I travelled in the past with flixbus with no problems.

The travel should be around 4hours, with two stops before reaching Malpensa.

One of the stops is, unfortunately, the infamous LAMPUGNANO, where apparently in the last years baggage theft has become very common.

I am travelling with two suitcases that I cannot avoid bringing.

Apart from going down during the 10 minute stop there, what other precautions can I take?

The bus is a double decker, should I reserve a seat downstairs? Aisle (for better access) or window for better view? Which side? driver’s or the other?

Thank you.

Hey!

I just yesterday purchased my flights for China. 13th to 27th of Sept. I googled when not to travel to avoid crowds, but this festival slipped my radar, as I was focused on the October Holiday.

I have an idea of itinerary - will post here later when it is more concrete for feedback - but I realised that my last leg will be during the Mid- autumn festival. 😱😱

And I will be in Chongqin from the 24 until the 26th, departing from there on the 27th; that is why I cannot change days or itinerary.

So after I find out, I was super miffed, how could I be so careless? I really hate crowds.

But then I thought it might be nice to experience the Festival and eat mooncakes.

But realistically how 🪛🔩 am I? Will Chongqin be super packed? Any suggesstions?