Hey there.. I have been studying in Harbin since February and it is time to wrap my trip up and return home. Fortunately, I get July 1-15 to travel a bit before heading back to the states.

I am on a tight budget and would like to find a nice, affordable route probably starting from Harbin or Beijing by train mostly.

Where would you guys recommend going.. consider the earthquake too.. I don't know how all the damage will affect my choices. But yes, two weeks.. possible routes? and I plan on staying and eating cheaply.. hostels preferable.
So if you have favorite place to stay in a city pass that on too.
I don't really care to see the big tourist stuff. I just want to walk around China for a while.

Oh yes, I have to at least finish in Beijing. I head out the morning of the 15th..
Any advice would be great. Thanks.

I did two weeks in Beijing at the beginning of last month and started and ended in Beijing with a weekend spent with friends in Changchun. With a cold, jet lag, and never being in China before I found plenty to do in the time I was there in just Beijing, but I was hoping to make it to Xi'an for a few days, but tickets had sold out by the time I drug my procrastinating butt to the ticket window. Places like the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, and the Summer Palace are fine if you want to see fancy touristy places. Beihai park is much more Chinese, still gorgeous, and full of interesting people on the weekend (and not 50 RMB or more). And you of course have to see the Great Wall, a trip to which any hostel can arrange for you. Beijing might not be the most Chinese city in China, but it is very exciting to see how much it is changing and how excited they are about the Olympics.

I can personally recommend the Beijing Templeside Youth Hostel - clean, nice people, and in a less-traveled part of the city. Others I know didn't have enough good things to say about the Beijing Downtown Backpackers hostel in Dongcheng, which is a very trendy bar district in the north part of the center of the city.

Eating cheaply will mean enjoying the vast amounts of street food available. Probably similar to what you've seen in Haerbin, but more. Try the congealed blood on a stick. It's tasty.

For an idea on trains, the Changchun-Beijing train was 300 RMB each way for a first-class seat on the fast trains and obviously slower and less-cushy seats are cheaper. Buy tickets early if you can to avoid the problems that I had getting to where I wanted to go.

Where ever you go I hope you have fun.

Thanks for the advice and the well-wishing.. I have done most of beijing, except the wall and probably will do a day tour from my hostel the day before I leave.

This is the research I have done so far and want some more advice from whoever has it..

Harbin to Beijing to Qingdao (Only stopping in beijing for some walking and to store my six months worth of luggage..)
Qingdao- Two days.. (what hostel for one night? Add another day?)
Overnight to Nanjing - 3 days +-
Nanjing to Suzhou? (Should I just head to Shanghai and take a day trip to Suzhou and Hangzhou??)
Shanghai 3 days then to Beijing..

The Nanjing/Suzhou is what I am wondering about, should I stay and how long? I kind of want to relax and just hang out somewhere cool. Is there any "small china town" hidden beauty in Jiangsu that I shouldn't miss?
I am thinking something similar to Goa, India, loved that place.

So, you can see my basic route.. Beijing to Shanghai and Back up.. I am not wanting to spend lots of money, in fact I wouldn't mind just some good walking, and nice people to practice my chinese with.
Less tourist is better.