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China Travel FAQ

• What do I pack for my trip to China ?
• What are the temperatures in major cities ?
• What about baggage limits on the flight ?
• What is Chinese currency ?
• What is the Voltage in China ?
• Can I drink the tap water there ?
• What is the tipping practice for visitors to China ?
• For Tibet Tour, do you offer a join-in tour? Can I join a group?
• How do I pay you? Can you accept credit card? Can I pay online?
• In Tibet, what is the difference between budget guesthouse, comfortable hotel and the best hotel?
• I want to book an independent tour or private tour, but we do not want to do shopping. Can you manage that?
• In the price you mention the including of lunches and dinners. Is there any local styled food included?
• Besides your sightseeing tours, do you have any other special tours like trekking, hiking, rafting, horse riding, etc?
• Can we stay in Tibet long time, as long as 25 or more days?
• How can I get the travel permit? Can you tell me all about the permit?
• Can I use credit card when I'm in China?

What do I pack for my trip to China ?
The rule of thumb is to pack lightly, and bring casual clothes. A sturdy, comfortable pair of walking shoes is an absolute. A sports coat and a nice shirt for man, and one or two dresses or pantsuits for women will suit the most formal occasions to be encountered in China. Travelers should bring shirts, sweaters and jackets that can be worn in layers to suit a range of climates. Shorts (for both men and women) are fine for summer days though not recommended when visiting religious shrines. Remember, dress for Comfort, not for Style.

Checklist:

• Electrical converter and adapter plugs. China's electrical system operates at 220 volts.
• Hair dryer, razor, alarm clock.
• Common toiletries, cold and digestive medications, lip balm, sanitary napkins and any over-the-counter medicines you generally use.
• Chewing gum, mints or throat lozenges to keep your mouth moist.
• Reading materials, including a guidebook on the places you will see.
• Sunscreen lotion and sunglasses.
• A light raincoat or an umbrella except in winter months.
• Camera & film. Be aware that while print film is available in most places, slide film may be difficult to find. And be sure to pack extra batteries.
• A notebook to keep track of all the exciting things happening on the trip.

What are the temperatures in major cities ?

What about baggage limits on the flight ? For China domestic flights, you are allowed to check one piece of luggage. The limitation is 20 Kilograms (44 pounds) total. A fee may be imposed for extra pieces or excessive weight. You can also take one hand carry-on plus a backpack or tote bag, all of which should fit in the overhead compartment or under your seat.

What is Chinese currency ?
The local currency in China is called Renminbi (RMB) Yuan, one US dollar is about 7.65-7.7 Yuan, and one Canadian dollar 5.0 Yuan. We recommend that you bring your major credit card, traveler's cheques and a small amount of cash. Most hotels and shops in big cities accept major credit cards. You can change your traveler's cheques into local money at the hotel exchange counter. The exchange rate is a bit higher than using cash. Personal checks are not accepted. In Hong Kong, the local currency is in HK dollars. One US dollar is about 7.9 HK dollars, and one Canadian dollar 5.5 HK dollars. Please note the exchange rate fluctuates and information provided here is for your reference only.

What is the Voltage in China ?
The voltage is 220 Volts, if in your country, the voltage is 110 Volts, you should pack an adaptor if you decide to bring any electronic unit with you during the trip.

Can I drink the tap water there ?
Although many locals do drink the tap water, we recommend that you drink only bottled water or boiled water. Bottled water is available everywhere. You may use the tap water to brush your teeth as long as you remember to rinse your mouth once or twice after brushing.

What is the tipping practice for visitors to China ?
It is a common practice for visitors to tip the tour guide and driver in recognition of their good service(maybe 50-100 yuan a day for the guide and half of what you give to the guide for the driver). A hotel bellboy expects your tips as well. It is not customary to leave tips at hotels or local restaurants as the bill usually includes a 10-15% service charge.

For Tibet tour, do you offer a join-in tour? Can I join a group?
Yes, we do. We strongly recommend our Package 1 and Package 3 to those whose budget is limited. The problem to join these package tours is that most of the group members are Chinese, although our tour guides are bilingual (Chinese & English), you feel a little inconvenient to follow the group activity.

If you do not wan to travel alone, you may invite people to join you by posting messages on some travel forums. Here are some recommendations:

1. Virtual Tourist Tibet Travel Forum:
   http://www.virtualtourist.com/f/5a7/
2. Lonely Planet Thorn Tree Forum:
   http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/categories.cfm?catid=13 or
   http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/categories.cfm?catid=16

How do I pay you? Can you accept credit card? Can I pay online?
Right now we accept your payment through Palpal or wire transfer. And you can also pay us the balance in cash upon your arrival in China. We also accept credit card, but there is a 5% service charge by Bank of China..

In Tibet, what is the difference between budget guesthouse, comfortable hotel and the best hotel?
One thing you should bury in mind is that hotels in Tibet concerning its facility and service are not what you imagine. Not like hotels in New York, or Beijing, or Hong Kong.

Budget guesthouse has a few kinds. One is the twin room with or without the bathroom in it. The other is triple, four-bed rooms, and more beds rooms named dormitory which all have no private bathroom in them.

Comfortable hotels on our website refer to middle class hotels, or standard hotels regarding to its location, or price, or comprehensive service ability. They are usually three star hotels, or comparatively good 2 star hotels.

The best hotels are the 4 star hotels in Tibet. There are only two 4 star hotels in the capital city, Lhasa: Tibet Hotel VIP Tower, and Lhasa Hotel. The best hotels in the regions out of Lhasa are generally 3 star hotels, and in some places no star hotels.

I want to book an independent tour or private tour, but we do not want to do shopping. Can you manage that?
Yes, we can manage that. We offer high quality of the ground service including shopping. But if you do not like shopping, we 100% assure you that you are not led to any shop. But it is our guides' responsibility to show you the essence of local product (specialties) . If you are not interested in any products at all, please specify this point with your travel advisor when making a reservation.

In the price you mention the including of lunches and dinners. Is there any local styled food included?
Answer: It will all be upon your request. If you like, you surely have chance to taste local flavored cuisine. Usually we will arrange at least one or two special dinner of local flavor, there is a dinner show when you watch the performance of Tang Folk Singing and Dancing in Xi'an. We provide a variety of lunches and dinners in order to meet the different taste of our guests. For this point, you do not need to discuss with your travel advisor, just tell your guide after you arrive here. Our guide will arrange suitable meals according to your requirement.

In Tibet, besides your sightseeing tours, do you have any other special tours like trekking, hiking, rafting, horse riding, etc?
Yes, we do provide all the above special tours you mentioned, and the mixture of different kinds. We offer the trekking tour, long time adventure tour, hiking during the sightseeing tour, and even rafting. As for the rafting, we have two kinds, one is for ages people which is mild and you can see the view that you cannot see in the sightseeing tour. The other kind is the exciting rafting which will cost a few hours covering 30 km. By the way, if you want to do trekking tour, it needs at least 8 days plus the sightseeing tour in cities or monasteries. During the trekking, you will have yaks and yakman, a chef to serve you besides our guide.

Can we stay in Tibet long time, as long as 25 or more days?
You can stay in Tibet as long as you wish. We provided tours of 20 days, 30 days, even 60 days to some clients before. But if you come to Tibet for a tour, not for work, you can stay as long as what your Tibet travel permit says. This is just like the visa validity. Furthermore, during your stay you have to tour with a travel agency. In another word, you cannot have long time free days. You can have only one or two days free and it must be in Lhasa city not the other cities or areas. And during the free day, the guide has to be with you.

What is the weather like or climate in Tibet? What do you suggest we bring with us if we travel to Tibet?
The weather is actually not bad except lacking of the oxygen and low pressure of the altitude. In winter it is not cold at the day time. By the way, the temperature changes fast from day to night. There is little difference between seasons.

For the clothing, we suggest casual attire style and layered clothing. In day time you may need only a T-shirt or at most a jacket, but at night you may need a coat. Down coat is necessary if you go beyond Lhasa and Shigatse to remote areas, the Everest Camp or further to Mount. Karlash.

Sun glasses, sun blocking cream, moisture scream are very necessary to be in your packing list.

Can I use credit card when I'm in China?
In some way, it is easy to use credit card in China, eg. in big stores, restaurants, hotels in big cities. etc. You can even withdraw cash in RMB(Chinese money) from a few ATM machines - but please remember, you can only withdraw not more than RMB5000, and you can only do it once in a week!