Wutai Shan temples

Which temple between these two to choose for a visit: Foguang Temple or Nanchan near Wutai Shan? Are they both easily accessed by public transport?

Travel from Maglev to Hotel

Hi,

I am staying at the Old House (www.oldhouse.cn) and am arriving next Monday morning (flight lands about 9am). I am keen to take the Maglev for the experience. Also, up for getting the subway from the Maglev station to my hotel. However, I am having difficulty working out the route. Any help please?

Thanks

James

Travel from Maglev to Hotel

maglev + metro line 2 ( the station just right opposite) to Jing%26#39;an Temple station. if you choose walk around 10-15 min, or take a cab of 11RMB fare.

Travel from Maglev to Hotel

Simple just as min had said.n its really worth trying the maglev.From Jingan temple station it shouldnt be difficult to take a cab to the old house.

Thanks to both of you. That%26#39;s exactly what I wanted to hear. Want to try the Maglev and jump straight into using the metro, but wanted to ensure it wasn%26#39;t going to be a foolish journey for a first timer in Shanghai/China with no language abilities (ignoring English of course!).

jian yuan hotel and public transport to terra cotta museum

Im impressed with the destination experts in xian and wondering what their thoughts are of the Jian Yuan hotel and its location. Also, arriving by train from Beijing I understand that a bus to the Terra Cotta Warrior Museum starts there? What are the details and how long does it take by this bus. THank you ahead of time.

jian yuan hotel and public transport to terra cotta museum

There is no bus from Jianyuan Hotel directlly to Warriors.The bus takes 1 hour way from train station to warriors.

jian yuan hotel and public transport to terra cotta museum

Thanks wildbee, do you know how nice the hotel is and how convenient the hotel is to the old downtown sights?

anti wrinkle cream

connecting database

Central 4* Hotel in Shanghai - please suggest

Hello,

I am looking for 4* hotels, in central Shanghai, for my 4 days stay. Would like to find a comfortable, good looking hotel in a central position, good for shopping and restaurants nearby.

Allocated budget will be max 120 USD/room/night.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Matteo

Italy

Central 4* Hotel in Shanghai - please suggest

4 star located centrally r Central Hotel,Charms Hotel,Park Hotel,Salvo hotel,Bund Hotel,Bund river side hotel,Ramda Plaza Nanxingya hotel which ha been upgraded recently to 5 star status.

Central 4* Hotel in Shanghai - please suggest

Charms is only 3* AFAIK. The rest would be Chinese 4*, but probably not international 4*, probably with the exception of the Ramada.

You might also want to consider Donghu Hotel in the French Concession.

I have a biz partner from France who always stays at the Salvo and is always happy about the value for money. Perfect location.

Thank you for your suggestions.

I%26#39;m considering the Salvo or the Donghu Hotel.

Especially the Conghu Hotel seems interesting to me because of the quiet %26amp; green area surrounding it (at least this is what I understand from the website).

About the Donghu: I read it is in the French Concession area of Shanghai. Is it far away from the Bund, Nanjing Road and all the rest of city attractions ?

Thanks !

Not far nor inconvenient. Donghu Hotel is 5 mins walk from Changshu Lu or Shaanxi Nanlu metro stops on line 1. Takes under 10 mins to get to People%26#39;s Square (interchange for lines 1, 2 %26amp; 8) which%26#39;s the start of Nanjing Lu pedestrian street. You can then change to line 2 and alight 1 stop further at Nanjing Donglu stop then walk about 5-10 mins to the Bund, or just walk all the way along the pedestrian street.

If you%26#39;re ok with less stars but a more apartment-like living space, Citadines Jinqiao is a good choice. You can get a studio or 1 bedroom apartment through Ctrip.com. Located near People%26#39;s Square right behind the New World department store and 5 min to the metro.

鈥trip.com/Domestic/ShowHotelInfo.aspx鈥?/a>

Disclaimer: I am a Ctrip shareholder, but I%26#39;ve also made more than 30 bookings through them as well and never had problems.

Thanks to you all for your suggestions.

I am still trying to find more hotels in Shanghai, but I have a problem: I don%26#39;t know where is the center of the city. I need this info to evaluate the position of the hotel. Could you please tell me a couple of streets, intersections or something similar which represents the city center ?

Thanks again

Hello, still here...

I%26#39;ve found another interesting hotel:

The Bund Riverside.

Prices are good, location seems okay.

Any comment on this ?

Let%26#39;s say we have 3 finalists:

Salvo Hotel, Donghu Hotel, The Bund Riverside.

Which one would you suggest for a 4 night stay ?

Of course we are tourists, first time in Shanghai (and in China), we like to spend most of our time outside the hotel to see everything the city has to offer, but we also like to come back in hotel everyday to have a quick break between 4-6pm, just before going out again for diner.

Thanks !

The districts that make up ';downtown'; would be Huangpu, Luwan and Jing%26#39;an, with parts of Xuhui included as well. You don%26#39;t necessarily need to be stuck at People%26#39;s Square all the time, there%26#39;re other metro stops which are also in lively areas. On metro line 1, Huangpi Nanlu, Shaanxi Nanlu, Xujiahui; on metro line 2, Jing%26#39;an Temple, Nanjing Xilu and Nanjing Donglu; on metro line 8, Hongkou Stadium. People%26#39;s Square is an interchange for all 3 lines.

In order of personal preference: Donghu Hotel, Salvo Hotel and Bund Riverside Hotel.

Hi officially the center of the city is the People square.From here u can work it out.Bund riverside is not bad ,not too far from the metro n next strret to Nanjing dong lu located at Beijing east road.But i still prefer Charms if i were to stay at a cheaper hotel.The rate is about the same at these 2 hotels.Charms is a stone throw from Nanjing donglu n metro.Taxis r easier to get too n within 5 mins walk to People square.Though its a 3 to 4 star hotelwith a new refurbished lobby,the facilities r really not bad.I used to stay at the suite room with abig bedroom a ketchenette,n a separate hall for about 750Rmb.,amaybe the rate is slightly higher now.

Shuzou Trains...

Sorry... one more question.

I have an overnight trip to Tongli planned. My Shanghai hotel has booked the hotel for me (Zhengfu Caotang).

On another thread, Annieandhammish kindly mentioned the possible need to book the trains to and from Suzhou. Few questions:

a) I will be going on a Tuesday and coming back on a Wednesday (next Tuesday and Wednesday in fact!). Does this still apply?

b) Do I also have to book the buses that I understand are the necessary connections between Suzhou and Tongli?

If possible, I would like to avoid booking, to try to keep a bit of flexibility in the trip.

Thanks again.

Sofitel Ponte 16

I%26#39;ll be staying for 3 days and 2 nights in Sofitel Ponte 16 during mid May (16-18).

It%26#39;s gonna be my first time in Macau. Any suggested itinerary for me since it will be Sat and Sun? Thinking to go to St. Paul, Ama Temple, Kuan Yim Statue.

I also would like to try the authentic Portuguese and Macanese food, i can see in the forum that A Lorcha and Margaret are one of the famous ones, are they close to Sofitel?

Is Sofitel also in close proximity to Wynn and Venetian?

Sofitel Ponte 16

Even with the weekend crowds you%26#39;ll have time time to do lots more than you have mentioned - to get Macau to scale, the entire Macau Special Administrative Region would fit easily in the Sydney area surrounded by Rozelle, Sydney Uni, Circular Quay and Paddington, with room to spare. AND it has an excellent bus service.

Sofitel is about 10 minutes walk from Senado Square (generally taken to be the centre of downtown), Margaret%26#39;s is a few minutes beyond that, and Wynn about 5 minutes further on. A Lorcha is close to the A Ma temple, about 30 minutes walk to the south on the same road as Sofitel - or of course you can catch buses in either direction.

For the Venetian you could either catch a public bus from near your hotel, or backtrack to the ferry pier and catch one of their shuttle buses.

I would also use the day you go out there to explore Taipa and Coloane villages - apart from the scenery and history, there are a lot of good eats to be had in both places, much cheaper than at the Venetian.

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Need Favour

Hi... I am May, It%26#39;s been long time I dont visit HK, my last trip is 1986 then 2007 (but only stay for a night then leaving for BKK the next day). So I need a favour...

I Am going to Hong Kong this coming 22 March 2009 via Macau. Taking AirAsia to Macau and then ferry to Hong Kong. ETA to Macau is around 8 pm. I will leave for HK the next day, probably about 10am.

(a) How many hours trip with ferry from Macau to HK?

(b) How to go to Peterson St, Causeway Bay from Ferry harbour HK?

We have some list which is we want to visit such as:

1. Lantau Island

2. Madame Tussauds

3. Jumbo Restaurant

4. Ladies Market

5. Tsim Sha Tsui (Avenue of Stars)

Would you like to tell me where should I go first and how to go? (we just have 3days and 3 nights at HK).

And How to get to the airport by airport express train (from Peterson St, Causeway Bay)? and how long it takes from Peterson St to airport ? I need to arrange it well so I wont miss the flight :) and also have enough time to sight seing at HK Airport :)

I am leaving for Singapore at 26 March, 13.30 flight by Singpapore Airlines (which terminal?)

Thanks before

May

Need Favour

a) ferry is one hour, but you have immigration at both ends.

b) If you go to the Macau ferry terminal in Sheung Wan, catch the MTR 4 stops to Causeway Bay.

c) What do you want to do on Lantau? See the Big Buddha? visit Tai O village? Big Buudha takes half a day, as does Tai O. try to avoid weekends and holidays.

Jumbo%26#39;s food isn%26#39;t that good, and it is over priced. Maybe just go for a look.

Try to avoid Md Tussauds and the peak on weekends and holidays.

You can also catch airport bus A11 from causeway bay to the airport. takes one hour. See www.nwstbus.com.hk/routes/routeinfo.aspx鈥?/a>

If you go by airport train, you need to catch the MTR to Central station, then transfer to Hong Kong station, and then catch the airport express to the airport. Total journey time around 45 minutes.

Need Favour

a. The ferry trip takes about one hour.

b. Follow the signs from the pier to MTR Sheung Wan Station, where you can access the Island Line of the MTR. Causeway Bay is just a 4-stop ride. Buy you Octopus card at the Sheung Wan MTR Station%26#39;s Customer Service Center. Octopus is a stored value card that is valid on most transports. Refer to other links in the forum for more details.

c. From Causeway Bay, the free shuttle bus H2 that goes to Hong Kong Station for the Airport Express stops at several hotels. The closest one to Peterson St should be Park Lane Hotel. Alternatively, you can always catch a taxi direct to HK Station for about $40 plus $5 per piece of luggage. Another option is to take Airport Bus A11 ($40 per person) direct to the airport (ask the hotel for where the bus stop is).

You should leave wherever you are staying by 10:30am to get to the airport on time. There isn%26#39;t much worth seeing at the airport so I wouldn%26#39;t bother with spending additional time there.

Sightseeing: Three days are plenty to see the list you mentioned and you could see quite a bit more. Lantau may take up to one day if you decide to see Giant Buddha, Po Lin Monastery, Citygate Outlet Mall, and Tai O village. Ladies Market could be as little as one hour to 1/2 day depending on your shopping habits. Jumbo Restaurant is not recommended. The Peak (with Madame Tussaud%26#39;s) is a 1/2 day max. Avenue of Stars, TST promenade, Symphony of Lights Show (8pm daily) and Star Ferry take mabye 2 hours. For other things to do and see:

http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/

Thanks a lot. Will you recommend me some nice and specific food at HK? How about Yung Kee Restaurang which is famous of their roast Duck? (32 - 40 Wellington Street, Central, HK)

Thanks before

May

ooppss..forgor, my staff said she wants to visit Lantau which has one big tree, where we hang our wishes and they believe it will come true. Do you know where is it?

Thanks again

May

Thanks Sammy, You explain it so clear and it helps a lot...

Yung Kee is famous for roast goose, not roast duck. However, the quality of the roast goose varies. It can be very good one day and relatively unimpressive the next. Either way, the goose is very expensive. The rest of the item on the food menu, including dim sum, are actually above average. Just don%26#39;t expect it to be cheap. Reservations are essential unless you go at off-peak hours.

For other restaurant recommendations, please see the Sticky Dining thread started by Katetam at the top of the forum page.

The wishing tree is not at Lantau but it%26#39;s at Tai Po at New Territories. See link below for a previous discussion:

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g294217-i1496-k261鈥?/a>

Thanks a lot :)

Btw, I dont see the page that you were trying to tell me (For other restaurant recommendations, please see the Sticky Dining thread started by Katetam at the top of the forum page.).

One more question, my staff wanna go to clubbing. Can you recommend a good place, safe, nice atmosphere and more elite...and how far is it from Peterson st? Is it safe to go home at late of night by taxi?

Dining thread

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g294217-i1496-k399鈥?/a>

Clubbing - how elite do you want? Try Lan Kwai Fong area.

Hong Kong is safe.