Route suggestions for China

Looking for opinions on the best route of travel in China. At this point I am thinking of flying into Hong Kong and then flying onwards to Beijing. My final destination will be in a city in the Shandong province, so I plan to make my way down from Beijing. Which places are not to be missed? I will have weekends for excursions while I am in the Shandong province, and plan to see places such as Shanghai then.

Do you like trains? I found the Chinese overnight trains to be a very memorable experience. I know the one from Hong Kong to Beijing is long, but if you have time I suggest it.

I don't mind trains. My plane ticket will most likely include a stopover, so my thinking was I could count Hong Kong as the stopover and continue onto Beijing by way of plane.

Any recommendations for places not to be missed?

In Beijing I loved the 798 art district. It was an old industrial area converted into an art district. Nice place for food too. We went to an american style pizza place. It was nice because we were both missing home a bit, so this relaxing day of art and pizza was a perfect remedy.

In Shanghai we went to Zhou Zhuang water city. That was sweet. Took the pink buses from Shanghai. it was about an hour ride to the water city.

Besides that we did a lot of the normal tourist things. In Shanghai we stayed at a place called Blue Mountain Youth Hostel. I recommend that for accommodation. Great value, great location, clean and safe.

Have fun.