Post deleted by Mat Sklansky

[hanster]

Imitation,
Maybe. But HK not only have canto food, but as well as Chaochou food, which according to the old HK, is what HK cuisine is all about. I love HK cuisine just because I love dimsum and haven't had it in a month. Maybe I'll grab some tomorrow. hm

Degen,
Actually, Taipei might not be a place you should visit if you only have a month. There would be too much similarity between Taipei and Shanghai. A cheap place to go from is HK since there is no direct flight from China and JAL is too expensive. I dont know the price but it wouldn't be that bad of a deal if you get it early (say now).
Some good places to go in Taiwan
-Taipei 101. Only because it used to be the tallest building in the world. Other than that nothing about it is "cool"
-Yangming Shan (yangming mountain). My favorite place. It's a great place to relax and eat the wild vegetables that restaurants grow themselves in the mountain. A cup of tea afterward is a must while sightseeing.
Hm. Upon further inspection, I really dont think you should go to Taiwan now. Taiwan would score very high among the Asian countries mentioned. But like i said, if you're only going to spend a week in China (a tad short), Taiwan is a place you should save for next time

Now as for China, I've been there almost every other summer in the past 10 years.

If you had never been to China and only had a week to 'see China', what would your itinerary be? (priorities...25% partying, 25% sites, 25% ladies, 25% authentic culture...and the avoidance of any real danger)
I lived in Shanghai everytime I went to China and just went from there, so I would recommend you do the same.
Shanghai has a lot of nice clubs and a lot of options whether you want a place to meet local girls or "foreigners". If you do go there I recommend you to check out Waitang #3 (3 on the Bund). It's right next to the river and you can see the famous tv station from there at night. A lounge I like is Cloud 9. It's on the top of Grand Hyatt Shanghai and it has the prettiest view in the whole Shanghai. But if you want to get high with the local Chinese people you should go to a club called Armanni. When I and four of my white friends went there people were staring at us like some sort of aliens (most of them were highschool/college kids that were high on ecstacy). Now if you really want you could do all of these in a day or two. Next stop: Hungzhou: About an hour and 45 minutes away from Shanghai by car. Supposedly the food heaven of China. It has the prettiest lake in the whole China (The West Lake) and one of the most famous restaurant in China. (IMHO it wasnt the best Chinese food i've eaten but it's up there) This is also a one day trip back and forth but you'd be pretty tired after it. Maybe go to one of the lounges and relax with your friend and some girls afterward.
Next up: Yangtze River. Last time I went was about 9 years ago. I went on a ship (wouldn't exactly call it a cruise") and rode across the whole Yangtze River before they had to build a dam. I dont know if you still can do that but if you can this is one thing that you MUST do. I forgot how I got there, probably by plane. If you do decide to go there I suggest you start from SiChuan or ChongChing. Their food is the spiciest of all China. A must try if you're a spicy-fanatic like me.
The other major city in Beijing: Now you probably have spent 3 days in Shanghai or HongZhou now it's time to go to Beijing, another must. There are two must-sees in Beijing that everyone knows about: The Forbidden City and The Great Wall. But there are also some places that you should also go see: Tiananmen Square (A lot of history), Museum of China, HuTongs (little alleys) and numerous clubs. You must try a restaurant called "dong lai shuen". It has the most famous peking duck in the whole world (if you havent had peking duck you are definitely missing out on life) This makes me drool just by typing it. I'm not very familiar with beijing nightlife (havent been there in 5 years i heard it has changed a lot).

Cliffnotes: Shanghai -> Hongzhou -> Shanghai -> Yangtze River -> Beijing. All these places are very safe in terms of violence and the crowd. The only thing you need to worry about is your wallet. Chances are you will be gyped because the Chinese is pretty cunning. In terms of women, there are a lot of pretty ones in Shanghai but they are also the trickiest kind in the world. (Will elaborate upon request). If you're a foreigner theyll just throw themselves at you, but beware of your monies.(I hate to be down on my own people like this but i feel i should warn you)

Wow i cant believe how much i've written. Hopefully this will help you in deciding where to go in China.

[admiralfluff]

I've been in Shanghai for a couple of weeks and will be in China for another month or so. I have aq trip planned over chinese new year to go do some hiking and biking in Guangxi , which looks amazing. Shanghain is a really fun city (and cheap).

[kidcolin]

Degen,

I've got no asian experience, but a good friend of mine has lived in Japan and South Korea, as well as travelled through a lot of other parts, and he liked South Korea the most too. Sorry don't have much else besides that.

[imitation]

Degen,

In considering this I think you will not beat finding someone who lives in one of these countries who is willing to travel around with you for 1-2 weeks what ever you want, nothing will beat a guided tour.

I could tell you everything I know about Guangzhou but nothing would beat the experience of going around with me and having the flexibility that a local who can speak the langauge will add. I will not be here though as I leave back for Australia in less than 2 weeks.

I think you should keep that in mind because you probably have a great network of overseas friends from poker to call up and it would definitely be worth it.