China for the Long weekend: Suggestions Please

Two of my friends and I are planning a trip to China for the long weekend 13 - 15 August.  Since we will only have three days in the country we'll have to stick to no more than two cities. Any suggestions of the best places togoand things to do/see when time is an issue?

I'd go to Beijing.  The Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Hutongs, the Llama Temple...all great places with lots of history and culture.

Something a little less crowded?  Try Hangzhou. Only about 3 hours train ride from Shanghai and on the west side there is a beautiful lake and the mountains are filled with temples, pagodas and hundreds of carvings.

Seeing more than one city in three days is very ambitious in China. It's not Korea. I've only been to three cities in Mainland China, Shanghai, Beijing and Hangzhou, and while you could fit Shanghai and Hangzhou together in that time you'd really be rushing it. If you choose Beijing forget about going anywhere else in that timeframe, I had three days there earlier in the year, and with the mandatory one day lost to the Great Wall I simply couldn't fit all of Beijing's sights into the two remaining days. Ended up missing out on the Temple of Heaven, which I was severely disappointed about (I had to give it up for a visit to the Summer Palace, I was overridden by the other members of my group - although the Summer Palace was pretty fantastic anyway so I don't really regret it. I didn't expect much and it still tops anything you can see in Korea).

Shanghai isn't as big on sights, but it's a lot easier to explore on foot, and soak up all the unique regions (French Quarter, Renmin Square, Nanjing Road, the Bund, Pudong). It's probably the better place to go if you just want time to soak up the atmosphere and chill out. In Beijing you'll just be rushing from sight to sight, but if that's what you're going to see then choose that instead.

I just did Beijing for the Lunar New Year.  Went to Beijing and totally recommend it.  Forbidden City, Great Wall (Mutianyu), Tianmian Square, Duck restaurants and the markets.  With limited time just stick to Beijing.  Their's loads of great hostels there too. 

Has anyone taken the boat from Incheon to mainland China? I know it's a long journey, so i'm interested to hear what kind of levels of 'comfort' to expect.

I would suggest Taiwan, I know it's not technically China but it's an amazing place. Taipei is really cool with a mix of modern and old. The night markets and the food are unbelievable. There are also plenty of lovely beaches and small towns to visit. It's very green and theres alot of dense jungle which really suprised me I expected it to be industrial and ugly. It's also cheap and quick to get to and you don't have to worry about the stress and bother of getting a visa.

We went to Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai - but we had a longer vacation period...

http://www.theyeogiyo.com/Travel/outside-korea.php

GUILIN!!! or yangshou to be precise. its a beutiful, chilled city. slightly touristy but its where the Chinese go on holiday and for good reason! and if you have the money, you have to go see the light show!
just google Yangshuo, Guilin, Guangxi, China - you'll see!

I would have to say Shanghai is the best place. It's an amazing city and you can do anything you want there. There are really beautiful and chill little water towns all around, and there are some of the biggest buildings in the world. It has amazing scenery for the daytime, and a nightlife that is hard to top anywhere in the world. That is one city I have been to that I can honestly say ANYTHING is possible. Also if you want it can be extremely cheap, but if money is not an issue you can also do it up big.

I'd been Hangzhou in China for about 2years.
I worked there as a teacher in university.
During summer and winter vacation I traveled all around China except tibet.
In summer, Don't go to shanghai and hangzhou. They are  really nice and beautiful places.
BUT
It is more than 40 degree and so~~~humide. It is hard to endure without airconditioner.

I recommmand to visit yunnan province.It is high mountain. The weather is nice and cool.
You can see the life of many minorities.
Accommodation was soooo cheap compare to the other area. 

If I were you I would only go to Beijing.  I spent 6 days there and I didn't have enough time to see everything I wanted to see.

Agree with most of what has been written here, two cities in 3 days is pushing it but if you take the overnight trains to travel between the cities you will get the most from it. It's the cheapest way to travel, and once you get your tickets it's quite easy to find your trains in the stations.

yeah definitely go to beijing. thats where i went on my long weekend. make sure to do the great wall and forbidden city. so awesome!

I went to both Shanghai and Beijing during the 3day break in May. I flew from Seoul to Shanghai then Shanghai to Beijing and flew back to Seoul from Beijing. The flight was actually cheaper to do a multicity then to book round trip and take the overnight trains between the cities. It was around 350,000w with tax on China Southern Air. I booked it through the Kangstan website.
BTW: I actually liked Beijing better than Shanghai. There really isn't much to do in Shanghai besides the night markets and seeing the skyline at night.

Does anyone know how much a transit visa costs for an American citizen going to Hong Kong but having to transfer planes in Mainland China? I want to know if it's worth it or should I just take a direct from Seoul. thanks.

We went to Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai - but we had a longer vacation period...

http://www.theyeogiyo.com/Travel/outside-korea.php

Read your blog on china, good post.

How long were you in China for? I'm going for 15 nights and pretty much wanna see the 3 cities you went to. Any suggestions / advice besides what you wrote on your blog?