Trip planning – Choose my own adventure!

I am trying to choose among 4 possible trips for the one week I have free in China between jobs. I definitely want to go someplace that is rural and less Western than the big coastal cities. But China is so big and still so unknown to me that I am having a hard time deciding. There is also probably some tradeoff between remoteness of the area and my ability to get around with only 7 words of Mandarin.

Here are the four choices, in no particular order.

Trip A: Tibet

Rough Itinerary: Take the newly opened train (highest train in the world) 50 hours direct from Shanghai to Lhasa. Spend 4 days in and around Lhasa exploring Tibet. See monasteries, yaks, and hike in the mountains.

Pros: Two days on the train means less chance of getting lost. Will get to see a lot of China out the window or could maybe make a stop for a day along the way, not clear. Tibet seems cool and unique, good culture and scenery. Lhasa seems easy to navigate.

Cons: Hard to get a travel visa for Tibet, may be some logistics challenges. Two days trapped on a train may not mean that fun. I’m going to northern India (right across the border from Tibet) later this summer so Lhasa may not be that different.

Trip B: Central China, Gansu province

Rough Itinerary: Three days in Xiahe, a small town in Gansu province. Two days in Jiayuguan, the edge of the desert at the western outpost of the Great Wall.

Pros: Major highlight of Xiahe is Labrang Monastary, largest Buddhist monastery outside Tibet. Good hikes around town, beautiful scenery, very remote location. Town seems very cool. Seeing desert / “end of the world” in Jiayuguan would be cool. Probably the most “off-the-beaten-path” of any trip choices. Probably the best weather of any choice.

Cons: Toughest travel of any option - Xiahe is 6 hour bus ride from the nearest airport. Jiayuguan is easier to get to but not extremely convenient either.

Trip C: Eastern China, Anhui province

Rough Itinerary: Day in Hefei, city trying to become new Silicon Valley of China. Three days of “Village hopping” in small towns in south of province. Two days at Huang Shan, one of most famous and beautiful mountains in China.

Pros: Mountain is supposed to be very pretty. Can stay in little hostels at the summit and hike around. Villages look cool. Could try to meet with the science and technology minister in Hefei which might be interesting. Travel is in fairly compact area, would not need a flight or two many long trips.

Cons: While no long trips, would require fairly frequent arranging of travel (which carries significant language risk). Some rules about where Westerners cannot spend the night which seem confusing. Most touristy of the trips, not positive I would get to see “real” China (or maybe I would?).

Trip D: Yunnan province

Rough Itinerary: Fly to Kunming and spend a day or two there. Do Tiger Leaping Gorge hike and /or see Shangri-La.

Pros: Many people have recommended the beautiful scenery and remote villages, Kunming is supposed a cool 2.5M person city. Mountains and hiking opportunities seem good. Travelers frequently come here and it would be relatively easy to get around.

Cons: I think the weather risk is the biggest here. I heard it rains most of July which makes travel difficult.

What do you think I should do? Please post comments or email me.