China Travel FAQs
General Information
How do I get a Chinese Visa?
All non-Chinese passport holders are required to have a valid Chinese Visa unless you’re travelling Hongkong. Visas could be issued through Chinese embassies and consulates overseas in your residence country and applied by your own. The China visa should be obtained in advance before you enter china that generally granted for a one month stay.
What type of visa do I need?
Single -entry visa and tourist visa specified as ‘L’ is the most applied visa that is usually valid for 3 months since the issuing date and allows you to stay in China for a maximum of 30 days. However, for those who will travel to Hong Kong or Macau and then back to mainland China, the Double-entry visa is required.
When is the best time to visit China?
Due to the complex topography, the weather in China is diverse that makes the different travel seasons to different areas. China could be visited throughout the year. Generally, the suitable time to visit most of places in China is from March to November, especially in the fall season, it is often the most beautiful time throughout the year. Please check with us with the exactly travel time for your planned areas.
What to bring if I travel to China?
China is a huge country, with very large differences areas and climate, we will provide a list of appropriate travel stuffs depending on your travel types, itineraries and travel areas.
Are credit cards accepted in China?
Most major hotels in China’s larger cities will accept major credit cards, and most star rating hotels also can change money for you and ATMs are easy to find. But if you are travelling for lessor-visited, smaller, less-developed or mountainous areas, remember to bring sufficient cash incase there is no bank to withdraw money.
During Travel
Where are your tours going in China?
Our tours offered mainly in western or southwest China where we truly love and live region. But we have adventure tours may span China and some sightseeing tours connect western China and mainland of Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an in order to convenient our client to build a complete trip in China.
What are your China tours features?
All of our offerings are built around a passion to create original itinerary and splendid experience, to present you sites with unique insights and hidden traces. Our tours are not fixed on the popular sights, but also demonstrate both breadth and depth with adding new ideas that take you to a journey beneath the surface of the region. We offer sightseeing, cultural, adventure as well as special interests tours.
What do you mainly focus on?
China is huge and rich in both cultural and natural landscapes, as well as diversity of peoples, minorities and customs. Our China tours are trying to offer a combination of them with an unforgettable travel experience.
Could you give me an idea should I tip for guides, drivers, hotel staff?
Tipping has become gradually accepted as a common practice in China, especially in tourism field, including guides and drivers from an organized tour group, waiters in decent western restaurant and hotel staffs if you are satisfied with their services. But it is still unnecessary to tip when taking a taxi or dining in Chinese restaurants. Reference tipping standard for you as below:
RMB150=USD24/per group per day to the guide
RMB100=USD16/per group per day to the driver
Will my mobile phone work in China? Can I buy SIM card in China?
It depends on the type of phone. There are two main carriers in China: China Mobile uses GSM which is the best operated so far and China Unicom uses CDMA. If you have a dual band or tri band unlocked GSM phone or use COSMOTE card, you can use your phone in China, though any calls you make can be thought as long-distance. Or you can purchase a GSM or CSMA SIM card in China for use in compatible phones that will give you a Chinese number and allow you to purchase minutes in the form of cards that may be purchased for different values (RMB 50, RMB 100, RMB 500). For those who will travel to remote mountainous regions, GSM SIM card is recommended for its better communication.
Lodging and Dining
What are the accommodations like in China?
Most big cities and popular travel destinations in China have wide choices of the accommodations with the reputed or good hotels ranging from budget to luxury. In lesser cities normally have hotels at least 3 or 4 star categories. In smaller towns, the hotels are more basic. Further in remote or mountainous towns, the accommodation is rudimentary or the guest house with dorm bed and outhouse toilet that may be the squatting pot. Sometimes you have to spend night in local family for an experience or limited conditions in remote areas.
Is the Hotel staff able to speak English?
In the bigger cities, popular travel destinations or in the 4- to 5-star hotels the staff is well trained in speaking English, especially at the reception. In the big Chinese cities also the staff of 3-star hotels is able to speak English, but don’t expect much. In smaller cities or remote regions, limited English.
Does the hotel room have access or WIFI to internet?
The internet access or wifi service is available in hotel rooms in some popular or bigger cities or towns, and not for hotels in remote or smaller places.
What can I eat in China?
There is a wide variety of foods available in China, and the food can be very tasty. In most of bigger cities or popular travel destinations, western food is also founded.
Can we taste different food during our trip? Or eat Chinese food throughout the trip?
Except full board service for big groups or based client’s requests, we generally provide breakfasts and a few lunch or dinner with flavor and selected local cuisine for our clients, such as Beijing Roasted Duck, Sichuan Hot Pot, Tibetan dinner, but leave rest all meals for excludes so that visitors can have more freedom and chance to try some local food, snacks or western food to match your budget, interests and appetite. Our guides will help on giving information and suggestion.
Do I get vegetarian meals in China? And how to do for the special diet requirement?
If you require the special meals due to religious or medical limitation, please inform us so that arrangements can be made in advance. Vegetarian food can be arranged and the main ingredients of the Chinese vegetarian food are: soybean, taro powder, mushrooms, fresh vegetables and tofu (bean curd). It will be easier to find the vegetarian restaurants in big cities of china such as Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an, Chengdu, but there is limited choice in remote regions such as Tibet where normally has potato, tomato, cabbage, lettuce to order.
Transportation
Can you reserve the air tickets and train tickets for China cities?
Yes, we can help for air tickets and train tickets reservation. The earlier booking, the more guaranteed that is suggested to book the tickets at least 20 days prior to the trip schedule and your scancopied passport front page is required.
Can you arrange international flights from and back to our country?
We may purchase the one way international air tickets to return your country, but we cannot book the coming one way or round way international flights for you. As our clients are from different parts of the world, it will be hard for us to combine all the international flight resources, so our clients usually book international flights on their side, and we do the China domestic flights.
What vehicle do you use in China?
The vehicles we provide for our clients are available for varied group size. Generally, a car is provided for a group of 2 persons, a business van for a group of 5 persons, a medium bus for a group of over 10 persons. We provide a larger vehicle with more seats than the number of people on the tour, to make sure you are comfortable and have space for all your baggage. The road condition in China is generally good, but we will offer 4WD jeep for the areas involve tough road driving and off road excursions. Trekking, motor ride, motor biking, cycling and mountain biking are the ways to get around in China.