China master thread

[JDB]

Aston100 wrote:

Any of you been to mainland China in summer? Late July / early August?
If so, just how bad was it outdoors?

@Aston100 – we went to Beijing and Shanghai in July/August a few years ago, but only because our son was doing work experience there in holiday time. It was horrible frankly with Shanghai being worse than Beijing. Just far too hot, incredibly humid and not improving much in the evenings. These are cities where walking around is usually a pleasure. In Shanghai it can also rain in these months. We did go to Yunnan for ten days where the weather is far cooler, even in Kunming. The weather is also cooler in the northeast – eg Heilongjiang province.

Chongqing, Wuhan and Nanjing are known as the furnace cities in these months and Xian is close behind.

[Aston100]

JDB wrote:

We did go to Yunnan for ten days where the weather is far cooler, even in Kunming.

Interesting.
Had a quick google and it looks like mid 20s in August, but with some rain.
That must mean I can probably go there next summer for 10 days, combined with time somewhere else in that part of the world (largely to fulfil the TWOV conditions).
Looks a bit challenging getting there without landing elsewhere in China first (which needs to be avoided due to TWOV rules). I guess coming in via Bangkok and going out via Siem Reap or something might work, but not straight forward at all.

Thanks and also thanks to Michael C.

[Hanfan]

We were going to use TWOV to travel to Chengdu last June, but decided to apply for a tourist visa to avoid falling foul of the TWOV rules. We had applied for a visa over 20 years ago and found the current process a much improved and easier one. We booked our air tickets and hotels and completed the forms online. Armed with the printed bookings, we were seen immediately once we got to the Manchester Visa Centre and our visit lasted less than half an hour. I think we paid around £260 for the two of us for a 2 year visa which meant we were able to travel in and out of China as many times as we want, for up to 30 days each time in the next 24 months. Since then we have been to China twice, and will be back again in June. It was great to be able to travel freely in different regions, without worrying about getting into areas you are not supposed to with TWOV. I would avoid travelling to China during school/national holidays as all tourist sites will be overwhelmed with hundreds and thousands of people and traffic jams everywhere. August will be humid and hot in Beijing and Shanghai.