Hong Kong to Beijing on a shoestring January 07

Hi

I'm still planning my trip which starts me off in Hong Kong and finishes in Beijing 15 days later.

My points of interest that I look to stop off at are as follows.

Yangshuo
Shanghai
Xian
Pingya
Beijing

After checking out the map, its a shame that Shanghai is out the way though I feel if it's a place that I must visit while in China.... Could anyone tell me different???

Is Yangshuo (via Guilin) easy to get to by train from Hong Kong?

Is it true that if I decide to travel Guilin to Shanghai, then onto Xian that it's two 25 hour train journies?

Is Xian worth seeing?

What is the transport like from Xian to Beijing, via Pingya?

Thanks for all your help as I plan my trip which I don't have long left as I set off in 8 weeks......

John

Hi, I'm Sophie from China. You can from Hongkong to Guangzhou, Guilin, Yangshuo, Xian, Beijing, Shanghai. But what is Pingya? Do you mean Pingxiang(which is near Vietnam), or other places?

Hello:

I need someone to help me. Im looking for a hotel close to Lan Kwai Fong!!!!

Hi there,

It would be easier if you just flew to Guilin instead of taking the train from HK all the way there. If you're on a tight budget, perhaps you can bus to Shenzhen, then take a flight from there to Guilin.

Domestic flights are cheap there.

You might consider flying from Shanghai to Xian. Shanghai is worth visiting but not a place that you'd regret not going to. You can skip it if you're tight for time. I'd rather spend more time in Beijing than to go to Shanghai.

Feel free to ask any questions.

This itinerary should be ok for you, with some leeway for transport time: Hong Kong (2 days) -- Yangshuo (via Guangzhou, 3 days) -- Shanghai (via Guilin, 2.5 days) -- Xi'an (1.5 days) -- Pingyao (1 day) -- Beijing (3 days)
Yes, it's easy to go overland to Yangshuo from Hong Kong. Take a train/bus to Guangzhou and change to a bus to get to Yangshuo directly.
Guilin -- Shanghai is about 29 hours by train, whereas Shanghai -- Xi'an is only about 16+ hours by train. So no, it's not 2x 25-hour train journeys.
Yes, Xi'an is worth seeing.
You can take overnight train from Xi'an to Pingyao, then again from Pingyao to Beijing. If you decide to drop Pingyao, you can also go by overnight train from Xi'an to Beijing. You'll need a guesthouse in Pingyao to arrange your onward train ticket for you, can't get it yourself.