China Visa

[Blackwidow47]

Having been truly inspired by a previous thread here I am thinking of celebrating my 50th with a trip to Shanghai and Beijing.

I shall be travelling alone and thought a week in each with a bullet train from one city to another and just explore and day trip each city over a period of 2.5 weeks.

Please can anyone tell me how long your visa application took? did you apply directly or through an agent?

Also, I am happy for recommended trips you feel can't be missed in either city. I am so excited.

Thanks in advance

We always get our visa direct from the consulate.
https://www.visaforchina.cn/globle/

oh how lovely you will have an amazing time.
my visa came really quickly when i went pre covid.
I only went to beijing but it was a great place to visit and feels really safe.
we got a private guide who was very young and more interested in taking photos so i couldn't recommend her but it did mean we saw a lot including the great wall of china - a must see.

Day trip to Suzhou is really easy from Shanghai and I also recommend Nanjing which was the former capital of China. It’s under 2 hours by train from Shanghai or you could travel from Beijing to Nanjing then Shanghai.
Nanjing: sun Yat Sen mausoleum, purple mountain, decent museums, Japanese massacre museum
Shanghai- bund, pearl tower, French concession are my favourites.
Metro is really straightforward and very cheap.

Suzhou is gorgeous.
Its only an hour or so, out of Shanghai.
Beautiful waterways in this ancient villxge.