I still need to see which are the most popular places, put the comments and thoroughly plan the route. I’ve got the feeling that this trip is going to be really exciting. Especially Wuhan region, where I will observe the Total Solar Eclipse.
Table of Contents
Apply for visa
So making a visa takes 7 working days as a regular process (you can do it faster for a higher price too) for 290Lt (~£70). I applied via tourist agency “Švitė” as recommended by a close friend, so it was quiet easy. All I needed was to book the flight tickets!
What do you require in order to apply for Chinese visa:
- Passport (original)
- Recent Photo of you(same format as in passport)
- Airplane ticket reservation (proof of travel and return ticket)
- Permanent address
- Employer name/responsibilities and etc. (to determine what you do as it might be more difficult for journalists and etc)
Medications and vaccines
Always travelling outside of Europe check if you require any vaccines. Even though some are recommended, but it is good idea to consult with health professional who specialises in trip vaccinations.
Also check malaria zones and take preventative medication or vaccines (available as of 2023). Anti-malarian medication may have quite adverse effects also you need to take a week before, during the stay and few days after. It is a lot of pills! So it is up to you which one you prefer.
Checklist before leaving
- Buy Baader AstroSolar A4 Solar Film for Total Solar Eclipse observation and photography – 80Lt (~£20) for one sheet. You can get from ebay almost half price though if you have time to wait.
- Make 3 passport copies. They say it is good to have a copy of the passport while travelling in China.
- Buy US dollars to bring as it is easier to exchange
- Buy china map, as google maps might be not available. 30Lt(~£8) for a map. I found a very good map shop, which is full of different kinds of maps. Address of the shop: Sėlių g. 66, Vilnius. It was a little bit hard to find, but it literally next to Sėliai street and Narbuto street crossroad. It is called “Gis centras”.
- Buy/pack mobile phone chargers (in my case iPod touch charger – 113Lt (~£28), somehow it feels that Apple ripped me off for the charger!)
- Buy Toothbrush, toothpaste
- Buy Notepad where I can write my notes and ideas for the future
- Buy Malerone – drugs against malaria. 13 tablets – 201Lt (~£50)
- Buy portable pharmacy kit ~100Lt (~£25)
- Find South Train Station in Shanghai and other cities and how to get to the stations I need and print it (this is before mobile phone era).
- Write down the names of cities in Chinese.
- Write down the names of the stations.
- Write down the numbers from 0 to 10 in Chinese
- Write down the directions how to get to the hostel from train stations/metro/airport.
- Finish the vaccination
China Itinerary
So my plan was like listed below. The map can be found here.
| Date&Time | Place |
| 5 Jul, 7:40 | Arriving to Shanghai International airport. Explore Shanghai. |
| 5 Jul 17:01 | Going to Guilin from Shanghai Railway Station From Shanghai South Railway Station (Soft seat 38$). The extreme train with the hard seat will try later… |
| 6 Jul 14:30 | Arriving to Guilin town |
| 6 Jul-7 Jul | Enjoying Guilin. 1.5km from Guilin there are parks where you can see Pandas! |
| 7 Jul | In early morning venturing to a small village – Yangshuo (64km from Guilin) |
| 7 Jul-9 Jul | Riding the horses, elephants, riding bikes, rice terrace. Raft trip on the river. |
| 9 Jul | After lunch coming back to Guilin. |
| 9 Jul, 22:24 | Catch a train to Zhanjiang |
| 10 Jul | In the morning (around 7:30am),arriving to Zhanjiang. Exploring Zhanjiang. Until evening need to get to Haikou (bus+ferry). Stay over there. |
| 11 Jul | From Haikou take a bus to Sanya. |
| 11 Jul-15 Jul | Staying in Sanya |
| 13 Jul | Take a bus 20km to buddhist temple and come back in the evening to Sanya. |
| 15 Jul | Take a train to Zhanjiang in the evening. |
| 16Jul | Spend a day in Zhanjiang. If I like it there to stay a night as well. Next evening take another train to Guangzhou. Leaving 01:02 |
| 17 Jul, 8:34 | Arriving to Guangzhou. Stay there 2 nights. |
| 19 Jul, 16:02 | Leaving Guangzhou to Huangzhou |
| 20 Jul, 06:31 | Arriving to Hangzhou. Check the weather forecast. Choose the site for the Eclipse. |
| 22 Jul, | Observing Total Solar Eclipse (Zhejiang) if everything is going according to the plan. Depending how much time it is to the mountains, I might as well go there earlier. |
| 22 Jul-24 Jul | Go up to the mountains and stay there (I have to make a reservation!!!) |
| 24 Jul | Leave the Yellow mountains and take a bus to Shanghai. |
| 26 Jul | From Shanghai heading to Wuzhen (town on a water) near Shanghai (10:15am, 12:35am, 2:15pm, price RMB 25-28) |
| 27 Jul, 7:00-28 Jul | Visit Hanchzhou by bus (RMB 71-81). Stay there overnight. |
| 28 Jul, 8:15 | Visit Suzhou village by bus near Shanghai (RMB 25-29). It seems logical to head to Suzhou, then Wuzhen and from there to Hanchzhou. No point to stay long in Shanghai… |
| 30 Jul-31 Jul | Shanghai famous places/shopping. If there is time to go to Sijao/Zhoushan. They are both in one island and as much as I can see on the map it is 10 km times 3 km in size. |
| 1 Aug, 7:30 | Arriving to Shanghai Pudong international Airport |
| 1 Aug, 9:40 | Shanghai – Vilnius. Arriving 1st August 7:30pm |
How to book Internal flights in China you can find here.