Please help plan an itinerary!

I will be in Wuhan, China for work this July. Afterwards I have about 10 free days to travel around China. I have no idea where to go or what to see. What are the ';must see'; stops for a 10 day trip? The Great Wall is the only one I have on my list so far.

Also, I%26#39;m not sure whether to travel alone or with a tour group. I am up for an adventure, but is it relatively safe for a Western woman to travel alone in China? Or does anyone have a recommendation for a budget-oriented tour group?

THANKS SO MUCH for any suggestions!! :)

~Bridget

Please help plan an itinerary!

What are your own sightseeing interests/preferences?

Where are you leaving China from?

Tours from the Western countries usually do a standard itinerary of Beijing, Xi%26#39;an, Shanghai, Guilin, Hong Kong (or some combination of those). But there%26#39;s no reason to be limited to those.

Your 2nd question is oft asked and answered. Yes, safe for you to travel alone in China, no need for a tour. Just be on your usual alert for pickpockets and scammers, the same as you would anywhere else in the world.

Please help plan an itinerary!

Thank you for the info!

I am interested in seeing some of the major tourist attractions but would also like to go a little off the beaten path. I don%26#39;t want to spend the whole time in lines for sights with a bunch of other tourists.

If I went with a tour, I%26#39;d be more up for an ';adventurous'; type of group -- not a huge herd of people on a bus, eating at the touristy places, etc.

Any other tips or suggestions (where to go or what to see) would be greatly appreciated!

You might want to re-answer my 1st question about interests/preferences. Eg history, scenery, mountain-climbing, photography etc?

Also, neither have you answered the 2nd question. Where do you have to leave China from?

Thanks for being willing to help me! :)

I will fly into Wuhan... but I haven%26#39;t purchased my ticket yet so I may choose to return home from another city, if that works out better for my itinerary. I suspect that it will.

I guess my main interests would be in scenery and history. I%26#39;m not so into shopping or seeing things like a pearl factory, etc... My only ';must see'; so far has been the Great Wall, but now I%26#39;m thinking that it would be really cool do to a Yangtze River Cruise too...

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

First off, I%26#39;ll say that I%26#39;ve done quite a bit of travelling in China, have been here almost 5 years.

Thanks for answering the questions so that I can have an idea of what to recommend to you.

I guess you%26#39;ll most likely have to leave from a major airport eg Beijing, Shanghai or Hong Kong, if you%26#39;re returning to the US.

Scenery-wise the best I%26#39;ve seen yet has been Jiuzhaigou (Sichuan province) and Huangshan (Anhui province). Yangshuo (http://www.yangers.com) is also very popular with a lot of travellers.

For history, Beijing and Xi%26#39;an are the most well-known. However I would also like to recommend Shanghai, Shenyang and Nanjing if you%26#39;re interested in history. Shenyang was the capital of the Qing dynasty till its 3rd emperor moved the capital to Beijing. Nanjing had been the capital of the Ming dynasty and Republic of China, and also where the Nanjing Massacre (more commonly known as Rape of Nanking to Westerners) occurred.

If you have only 11 days, I would probably suggest Wuhan -- Huangshan (2 days) -- Nanjing (2 days) -- Shanghai (2 days) -- Xi%26#39;an (1 day) -- Beijing (4 days).

Sorry, 10 days. Hmmm you might have to pick and choose then.

Don%26#39;t bother going on the 3 Gorges cruise. Most overrated cruise in this country IMHO. I found it a royal waste of my money and time. Went in January 2007 on a Chinese ferry, email me at ellyse99@yahoo.com if you want the full review and candid photos -- please put ';TripAdvisor'; and your own username (eg Bridget_CA) in the subject line, thanks.