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Advice please if you've been to China on holiday and either Love it or Hated it

(9 Posts)

Wills Thu 09-May-19 14:14:04

So DH are wanting to go on a second honeymoon next year. DH would like to go to China next year because we celebrated 20 years of marriage (i.e. china) last year. Between us we have a wish list of places to go probably over a metre long but because we have 4 wonderful children and elderly relatives, along with the fact that my DH spends 8 months of the year abroad working, time to ourselves is rare. At first I'd thought China would be awesome but in starting to research it have come across quite a few people who didn't have good experiences. I'm not talking about the type of people who really shouldn't be given passports and allowed to leave British shores, more people that are well travelled and open and eager to learn about new cultures. Its worried me because a) this will cost a lot of money b) leaving my children is a big deal c) my mother, who has wonderfully offered to look after them night and day, is getting ever more frail. The option of taking them with us is impossible because a) one of them will be just starting A'Level and another doing GCSEs b) we'd be going from the cost for 2 people to the cost for 6 but more importantly c) 3 of them are on the autism spectrum and I've not forgotten the episode recently of trying to get one of them on a plane to Rome and having to literally prize their fingers off the doorway into the plane - they then spent the rest of the trip informing the poor air hostesses that they were mad to fly on planes and would be bound to die soon!

So can you recommend China or should I change our plans to say Costa Rica or Macchu piccu (sp!).

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Allhailthesun Thu 09-May-19 19:30:42

I hear you Op. I think China is an “experience” more than a holiday.

Could you do a China Town somewhere? New York is a shorter trip and very fun.

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PencilsInSpace Thu 09-May-19 19:40:32

The Chinese government have imprisoned 1 million plus minority ethnic muslims in 're-education' camps and are rapidly building more capacity.

Are you sure you want to give them any of your money just now?

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JaneEyreAgain Thu 09-May-19 19:44:24

I've been to China. I loved it!! I was only there for a few days as I had miscalculated the distance between Beijing and HongKong. I hold special memories of it. It was 20 years ago and I was travelling on my own.

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AlexaShutUp Thu 09-May-19 19:48:25

I found it absolutely fascinating and would love to go back, but that was over 20 years ago, so my experience is not very up to date!

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EvelynShaw Thu 09-May-19 20:03:43

I’ve spent time on and off there, but between 1996 and 2010, so probably totally different now. FWIW, I loved it, not necessarily easy, but fascinating and exciting. I don’t think there was anywhere that I wouldn’t recommend, but the south east around Guangzhou was my least favourite part (although love Hong Kong). Favourite part probably Suzhou / Hangzhou / Nanjing and Shanghai. Yellow mountains are beautiful as well, and probably fewer (western) tourists. You could quite easily do a run down the East coast and hit a lot of the major sites. I’d love to go back, although I am more mindful of the Uyghur situation now, so perhaps not.

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Xiaoxiong Thu 09-May-19 20:04:38

Yes you should go! China is amazing but definitely book through a travel agent to make sure everything is taken care of for you. Go for the food alone - it has some of the greatest gastronomic traditions in the world. But the scenery and the history are also stunning.

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ShanghaiDiva Tue 14-May-19 14:26:36

I have lived in China for over 10 years - what do you want to know? I agree with pp that Suzhou, Hangzhou, yellow mountains and Nanjing are all beautiful. West of China is more challenging and completely different in terms of scenery and has a different ethnic makeup. I visited Xinjiang province about 8 years ago and had a great experience, but having transited through Urumqi two years ago I would not go back to the area.

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Veterinari Tue 14-May-19 14:31:12

It’s a tricky place to travel independently and I know people who have had awful experiences in package tours (my idea of hell) so choose carefully.

Given the option i’d Pick somewhere amazing from your bucket list (Costa Rica!) rather than going to China because of a tenuous link to your anniversary gift.