5 DAYS and 4 NIGHTS – BEIJING and SHANGHAI ITINERARY AND EXPENSES

ITINERARY

Day 0:

5:15 PM: Arrival at NAIA 3. Pay Travel Tax. Check-in.  Clear Immigration. Proceed to designated Boarding Gate.

• We paid travel tax upon arrival at the airport since there was an 80 php service charge if paid online.
• Baggage Bagdrop and Check-in counters opens 3 hours before flight and closed 50 minutes before departure for Shanghai bound flights.

8:15 PM:  Departure from NAIA 3 via Cebu Pacific flight 5J 678.

Day 1:

12:05 AM: Arrival at Shanghai Pudong International Airport Terminal 2. Immigration Inspection. Baggage claim. Find a place to spend the night around the airport until train opens.

• I got quite nervous during Immigration inspection as the officer can’t believe that I am the person on the passport since my current face is thinner compared to that on the passport. She had to ask for supporting documents. Good thing I brought along all my government ID’s.
• We didn’t book accommodation on Day 0 since there were limited information on the internet how to travel to city center down to our hostel during midnight. Also, we were on a budget so it’s a win-win situation. We chose to spend the night at Burger King which is located at 3^rd Floor of Terminal 2 since there is a long sofa and it’s quite comfy inside than on the benches around the terminal. We weren’t feel ashamed since there were other tourist sleeping inside.

5:50 AM:  Departure to Hotel. Walk for 10 minutes to Pudong Airport Terminal Station of Metro line 2. There were signs going to the train so you won’t get lost. Buy Metro One-day pass on train station counters. Ride the train and alight at Guanglan Road Station. Transfer to the opposite platform and alight at Century Ave. Station. Transfer to metro line 4 and alight at Caoyang Road. Walk for 5 minutes to hostel via exit 6 or 7.

• There were 2 types of trains going to City Center, the Maglev and Metro Line 2. Maglev is the world’s fastest commercial train to-date and would take you to Longyang Road Station for 8 minutes. On the other hand, Metro Line 2 is a regular train that would take you to the Guanglan Road Station for 30 minutes. We choose the latter for 2 reasons. First reason is the cost, single Maglev ride cost at least 50 RMB while Metro Line 2 cost around 7 RMB only. Another reason is the opening hours, Maglev’s first train departs from Shanghai Pudong Airport at 7:00 am while Metro line 2 departs at 6:00 am.
• We bought Shanghai Metro One-day pass since we stayed for only 2 full days in Shanghai. A 3-day pass which is the next option isn’t practical for us. One-Day Pass is available at all stations in Shanghai Metro and it cost 18 RMB. The ticket holder is entitled to unlimited transportation in all metro lines (except Maglev) within 24 hours after the first use.

7:20 AM: Arrival at the hostel. Eat breakfast at the restaurant inside. Early check-in. Rest for 3 hours.

• We booked Shanghai City Central Youth Hostel via Agoda. We were allowed to check-in early for free at around 8:30 AM since the previous booked in our assigned room left early. This hostel is highly recommended. I’ll create a separate post here.

11:00 AM: Departure to Yuyuan Garden. Take Metro Line 10 and alight at Yuyuan Garden Station Exit 1. Walk for 5 minutes to entrance.

• Yuyuan Garden is a famous classical garden which was built during Ming Dynasty. It has 6 scenic areas namely; Sansui Hall, Wanhua Chamber, Dianchun Hall, Huijing Hall, Yuhua Hall, and the Inner Garden.

10:45 AM: Arrival at Yuyuan Garden. We spent 2 hours touring the whole garden.

Chinese Name: 豫园

Address: Located at the northeast of the old city in South Shanghai, No.137 Anren Street, Huangpu District, Shanghai

Opening Hours: 8:30 – 17:30 from March to October, 8:30 – 17:00 from November to February

Price: 40 RMB during high season (April 1-June 30 and September 1- November 30)

30 RMB during low season (December 1- March 31 and July 1 – August 31)

Free for children under 1.3 meter (4.3 ft)

01:00 PM: Lunch and stroll around the area.

• We had our lunch at the nearby McDonalds since were freaking hungry and we don’t have enough energy to discuss where to eat.
• Souvenirs shops are everywhere. Don’t forget to haggle.

3:00 PM: Departure to the Bund. Take Metro Line 2 or Line 10 and get off at East Nanjing Road. Walk towards the Huangpu River. It’s about 10 minutes walk.

Chinese Name: 外滩

Address: West Bank of Huangpu River (黄浦江)

Price: Free

3:30 PM:  Arrival at the Bund. We spent the whole time walking around the area while admiring the scenery. We also waited until the sunset for the Huangpu River Cruise.

• The Bund is a famous 1.3 km-long stretch waterfront which is regarded as the symbol of Shanghai. It is a fusion of Western and Chinese Culture.

7:00 PM: Proceed to Huangpu River cruise. We bought our ticket via Klook. Redemption of the ticket was a hassle since we hard time finding the ticketing station

 

 

 

Nanjing Road for Shopping

Day 2:

08:30 AM: Check-out and leave baggage. Breakfast

09:00 AM: Departure to Zhujiaojiao Water Town.

10:30 AM: Arrival in Zhujiaojiao Water Town. Please see this link for detailed directions.

2:00 PM: Departure back to Hostel.

3:30 PM: Arrival at the hostel. Claim luggage and proceed to Shanghai Railway Station.

7:53 PM: Departure to Beijing.

 

Day 3:

07:54 AM: Arrival in Beijing Railway Station. Buy transportation card outside the train station. Proceed to hostel for early check-in.

• We bought a Yikatong Card ????

09:00 AM: Arrival at accommodation. Check-in and rest. Eat Breakfast.

• We booked our accommodation via Airbnb. We had a hard time finding the place since there were no clear instructions on how to get to the place. Good thing that the host was very attentive in answering our queries. We communicated via WeChat.

11:30 AM: Departure to Tiananmen Square. Take Subway Line 1 and alight at Tiananmen East Exit B. You may also alight Tiananmen East Station.

• Tiananmen Square is the world’s largest public square and also the home the Great General Zedong’s Memorial Hall.

01:00 PM: Arrival at the Tiananmen Square.

Chinese Name: 天安门广场

Address: Dongcheng, China

Opening Hours: 8:30 – 17:00

Entrance Fee: Free

Names:	Admission Fee:	Opening Hours:
Tiananmen Tower	CNY 15	08:30-17:00
Great Hall of the People	CNY 30	09:00-14:00 (December 1-March 31)
		08:15-15:00 (April 1-June 30)
		07:30-16:00 (July 1-August 31)
		08:30-15:00 (September 1-December 30)
Mao Zedong Memorial Hall	Free	08:30-11:30, 14:00-16:00 (Tuesday & Thursday)
		08:30-11:30 (Tuesday-Sunday)

 

 

02:00 PM: Departure to Forbidden City (Palace Museum). Location of Forbidden City???

Chinese Name: 故宫

Address: No. 4 Jingshan Qianjie, Doncheng District, Beijing City

Opening Hours: High Season: 8:30 – 17:00 from April to October (no ticket collection from 4:00pm, and last  admission at 4:10pm)

Low Season: 8:30 – 16:30 from November to March (no ticket collection from 3:30 pm, and last admission at 3:40pm)

Morning entry starts at 8:30am while afternoon entry begins at 12:00pm

Entrance Fee:    40 RMB during Low Season

60 RMB during High Season

10 RMB for the Treasure Gallery; 10 RMB for the Clock and Watch Gallery

05:00 PM: Early Dinner. Bought grocery for breakfast the next day. Departure back to apartment.

7:30 PM: Arrival at the apartment. Lights-off.

Day 4:

8:00AM: Departure to Great Wall of China: Mutianyu Section. Please see this on how to travel to Great Wall – Mutianyu Section.

11:30 AM: Arrival at Mutianyu Section.

• Unfortunately, the hike to the Great Wall was cancelled due to bad weather so we had no choice but to get back to the city

12:00 PM: Lunch at Burger King.

1:00 PM: Departure back to the City for Beijing Olympic Park.

4:00 PM: Arrival at Beijing Olympic Park

Day 5:

9:00 AM: Early check-out. Proceed to Beijing Railway Station for luggage deposit. Take subway line 2 and alight at Beijing Railway Station.

• We brought our luggage with us since the Airbnb Apartment that we booked was quite far from the City Center. We left our things at Luggage deposit counter just outside Beijing Railway Station for 30 RMB.

10:00 AM: Arrival at Beijing Railway Station. Deposit luggage. Departure to Great Wall of China: Badaling Section. Ride the MRT Line 2 and alight at Jishuitan station Exit A. Once outside the station, turn left and follow directions towards Deshengmen Arrow Tower. It is about 10 minutes walk.

• Choose the luggage deposit counter on the right side since its cheaper than on the left side. The right side luggage counter quoted us 50 RMB for 1 small luggage and 1 backpack while the right side quoted us 30 RMB for the same item. Just show this: “行李寄存” (translated as Luggage Deposit) to a Police Officer to locate the Luggage Counter.
• We tried the DIY style but unfortunately we did not succeed since the bus going to The Great Wall was cancelled due to bad weather conditions. Instead, we were forced to hire a taxi just to get to all the way to Badaling. At first taxi driver was asking for 150 RMB each for Round Trip transfer but we were able to haggle down to 100 RMB each.

11:30 AM: Arrival at the Great Wall of China.

• Cable ride was not available during the time we visited due to bad weather conditions. We only spent 2 hours walking around the Great Wall since the place was really foggy and we can’t see the wall from afar.

2:00 PM: Departure to Summer Palace. Take Metro Line 4 and alight to Beigongmen exit D. After that, walk west for 4 minutes to the North Palace Gate.

• Our taxi driver drop-us off at Suzhoujie Station which is one transfer away Beigongmen We just arrived on time before the last admission. We spent 2 hours touring the whole area.

4:00 PM: Arrival at Beijing Summer Palace (Yiheyuan). It is recommended to spend half-day to enjoy the whole area.

Chinese Name: 颐和园

Address: 19 Xinjian Gongmen, Haidian District, Beijing

Opening Hours: 6:30 – 18:00 from April to October, 7:00 – 17:00 from November to March. Last admission before 16:00.

Entrance Fee:    30 RMB (April-October)

20 RMB (November-March)

Free for children under 1.2 meters (3.9 feet)

06:30 PM – Departure to Beijing Railway Station to claim luggage. Take subway line 2 and alight at Beijing Railway Station.

07:30 PM – Arrival at Beijing Railway Station. Claim luggage. Eat dinner at the restaurant outside the station.

09:00 PM: Departure to Beijing Capital International Airport Terminal 2. Fare is 30 RMB.

10:30 PM: Arrival at the airport. Check-in and baggage bag drop. Immigration inspection. Hand carry baggage inspection. Proceed to designated Boarding Gate for departure.

• They required us to check-in our small luggage for free. During luggage inspection, they asked us to remove all the gadgets from the bag and put it on the tray. All passengers had to get through a thorough body search. They will use metal scanner all over body from head to foot and even in between legs.

DAY 6:

01:00 AM: Departure from Beijing Capital International Airport Terminal 2 via 5J 673.

5:45 AM: Arrival at NAIA Terminal 3.

 

 

EXPENSES:

1 RMB ~ 7.86 PHP
Travel Expenses	Details:	Chinese Yuan (RMB)	Philippine Peso (Php)	Total
Pre- Travel Expenses
Chinese Visa	Application directly to the embassy		1400
Airplane	MNL-PVG and PEK – MNL flight via CebuPacific		1725
Train	Shanghai to Beijing overnight Train		3917
Accomodation	1 night in Shanghai and 2 nights in Beijing		2480
Philippine Travel Tax	Paid at the airport to avoid service charge when paying online		1620
Sub-Total			11142	11142
Travel Expenses
Transportation	Including Bus, Train and Taxi transportation	180	1420
Attractions Entrance Fee	Yuyuan Garden – 40 RMB, Hangpu River Cruise- 120 RMB,  Zhujiaojiao Boat Ride- 40 RMB, Forbidden City- 60 RMB, Great Wall of China – 45 RMB, Beijing Summer Palace- 30 RMB	335	2633
Luggage Deposit		15	118
Food		500	3930
Sub-Total		1030	8101	8101
Grand Total				19243

We spent less than 20, 00 ALL-IN each. It includes Airfare, Chinese Visa, Travel tax, accommodation, transportation and attractions entrance fee and foods.

We booked our airfare from last November 2017 piso fare of Cebu Pacific. The budget above does not include the miscellaneous expenses such as pasalubong. We spent 2 full days in Shanghai and 3 full days in Beijing.