• First-timers: which city are you starting with?

      • Beijing — the obvious one, and obviously worth it
      • Shanghai — easiest landing, most familiar
      • Chengdu — pandas and food
      • Somewhere else entirely — tell me below

      I will go first: Shanghai, because it is the gentlest introduction to the country. Ten days, land in Shanghai, train to Beijing, fly home.

      Where are you starting?