Tips for travelling to China?

Hi, I'm traveling to China this year from March the 30 to the14 April with a tour guide.

We are going to Shanghai where we will see the Yu Garden, the famous 'Bund', Shanghai museum, and the Minshan Tower. We will also have a day at leisure.

Than we are going to Yichang where we will walk along former French concession area before being transferred on to the East King Cruise. We are than having a 3 day cruise along the Yangtze river from Yichang to Chongqing.

We are than flying to Chengdu where we will attend a Sichuan Opera performance. We are visiting the Panda Research institute there and than flying to Xian where we will see the terracotta warriors, a Tang Dynasty Show and Tiananmen Square.

We than go to Beijing to see the great wall of china, forbiden city, summer palace, a famous acrobatic troupes performance, Temple of heaven and then a day at leisure.

I was wondering if you have any advice about what is a good thing of these to see, what to bring, the water quality, e.t.c.

thank you for the info it's greatly appreciated

First of all, Tiananmen Square isn't in Xi'an. As for Yellow fever...I don't think you're really going south enough to be in any risk so this is optional. Hepatitis A is worth considering because you can get it through dodgy seafood. I also has Typhoid but that's because I'm going there for a year. As long as you have a card that enable you to withdraw money abroad, you shouldn't need to carry around huge amounts of cash. Traveler's cheques take a long time to cash in (I had to wait 40 minutes) and only one bank in China cashes them in anyway. Always drink bottled water and even use it for brushing your teeth. Drink lots of the free green tea you'll get everywhere because it's incredibly good for you and combats the pollution that you'll be exposed to. Seeing as though you've only got one day of leisure in each place, I recommend shopping because you'll have seen all the major sights. You won't have enough time to get clothes made for you because they usually require 2 days (but it's worth it). Beijing is great for cheap electronics and jewellery. Zhongguancun and Hongqiao markets respectively. Send me an e-mail and I can forward you the characters for the taxi. Hope that helps!

get Yellow Fever shot and others as recommended by doctor , water is not potable - drink only bottled water . Chengdu is not a foreigner friendly city ! Keep money ( wallet ) in front pocket , dont carry all your cash at any one time . Some places take Visa and Mastercard - Travelers checks are difficult to cash .
Suggest , if you have time to visit Dali .
Shangri La is not worth visiting

Well, i am an American and i have been here in China for a little over a year now!! Do not drink the water, whatever you do!! Bring any and all medicines that you will need, with you. The Chinese food is a lot different than American Chinese food, i would reccomend bringing your own snack foods with you. You are going to some large cities, and will be able to find some things there to eat, i am in a small city, and there is not a lot of American food here, i have to travel a few hours to buy my food. I also would try to learn some basic Chinese words, this will help you a lot. Have fun, and welcome to China!!

Overall, your itinerary sounds good. But your Beijing itinerary sounds packed, since the Great Wall takes about one day in and of itself, between travel and exploration time. The Forbidden City (which is directly opposite Tianamen Square) can also take an entire day, as can the Summer Palace. Try and get to a temple or two if you can. There are several in Beijing and one close to Shanghai center.Make sure you drink only bottled water, which is readily available everywhere.

Go to Shanghai!