@claeregutmann

good writeup, saving this. one thing i'd flag on day 3 is the timing. Shijing to Tongde on Line 6 looks quick on paper but you're changing at Yantang and that transfer is a solid 10 min walk undergrou...

been living here 4 years and this is more accurate than most stuff i see online. couple things tho. day 1 evening, minzu road night market is fine but the real sour fish soup is at the little places...

one thing the guide doesnt mention is the weather timing. i went in late march and the river was foggy til almost 10am, which actually made the old town look amazing but killed my morning photos since...

solid breakdown, the guild hall stuff especially. one thing i'd add is timing, dont go during the first week of May unless you love crowds, thats when the big temple fair hits and the whole old town g...

honestly the stuff your friend is hinting at is prob just the 课题组 culture, like if you join a prof's research group early you basically disappear into 实验楼 for a year and come out speaking a diff...