3/4 weeks in South/Western China

[u/Terrible_Vermicelli1]

Hi guys!

I'm slowly planning a trip to China for May and I'd appreciate any help with the very rough itinerary I have so far.

About me: I was in China 5 years ago and did all the standard things for first-timer, Xian, Shanghai, Beijing, Yangshuo, Zhangjiajie, Hong Kong. I'm mostly food motivated and like to discover new cultures via food, getting lost in the cities, hiking in nature. Do not really care about museums or hundreds of Buddha statues, unless they are really extremely impressive or require interesting hikes to get to them. Dislike planes, like trains and buses.

Plan so far (needs to start and end in HK):

- land in Hong Kong, take train to Shenzhen (1 day for city sightseeing and trying out food),

- two days in Guangzhou (more or less the same activities as in Shenzhen),

- train to Kunming, 2-3 days here, street markets, sightseeing, cuisine, stone forest

- train to Dali, 1-2 days, renting a bike, riding a bike through countryside

- bus/taxi to Shaxi, visiting old town, sightseeing, 1 night

- bus/train to Yibin, 1-2 nights, sightseeing, walks, food, maybe taking a bus to Shunan Bamboo Forest

- train to Chengdu, 3-4 days, pandas, food, hiking Mt Emei

- train to Chongqing, 2-3 days in a city

- train to Changsha, mainly to try Hunan food and hit some street markets

- back to HK

Would you add anything along this route, or think some parts are not worth it? I'm planning on spending about 25-30 days in China, so it's all very flexible at the moment. I was wondering if skipping Dali/Shaxi in favor of visiting some sea resorts in the South might be worth it as it will be getting quite hot at this point, on the other hand both towns sound quite relaxing and different from all the other big city vibes I have on my list.

[u/curioustreez]

If in Yunnan must visit Lijiang and Shangri La

[u/sassyfashfact]

I will recommend a week each in Yunnan and Chengdu/Sichuan. There are way too many attractions in both these places. Especially since you mentioned you like nature and culture.