ROUTE OPTIONS
Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, Temple of Heaven, BeijingThe choice of possible routes around China is infinite; there's so much to see, and such wide variety on offer. To simplify travel planning this book is organised around four routes, each covering a different part of the country and taking in the most interesting sights. Each of the routes is very different in character from the others, and all of them tie in with likely travel connections at either end. The routes can be combined in any number of ways.
Keep your travel plans flexible; it's more fun that way. Do some preliminary planning and, once in China, talk to other travellers and then modify your route accordingly.
COSTS
China is not, as many people believe, a particularly cheap place to travel. In the last few years the authorities have been making great efforts to foster an increasingly lucrative tourist trade. While prices in budget hotels are cheaper than in Western cities, the cost of entrance fees, transport, and accommodation can mount up quickly. While researching this book, I was staying generally in budget accommodation, going to visit three or four tourist sights a day, and travelling by train every two or three days. Without spending much on luxuries, I found that I was getting through US$150 per week. You can, of course, travel more cheaply than this if you try, and likewise you can pay top Western prices and enjoy luxury.
Hotel accommodation
In most places there is a range of accommodation available, from top class hotels, right down to cheap hostels with basic three- or four-bed dormitories. If you are on an organised tour or have booked your accommodation through a travel agent in advance, you will find yourself in the former of these. Budget travellers, on the other hand, will have to hunt around for a good bargain at the latter end of the scale. In some cities there is only one budget hotel, and the prices can be higher than you might expect. In Shanghai, Guangzhou, Kunming and Chengdu, for example, you will pay a minimum of US$6/£4 for a dormitory bed.
One of the problems is that hotels must have a licence to accept foreigners, and in some cities the police restrict the number of licences. Though you may not mind living in a fleapit and the reception might be happy to have another room filled, they may not be allowed to take you; 'We're full' can often be taken as a euphemism for 'No foreigners allowed here'. Unfortunately it also gets used if the receptionist simply can't be bothered to help you, so it pays to be persistent (while remaining polite!). A little friendly bargaining can be worth a try too. Staying with a Chinese family is a non-starter, and even in cheap hotels Chinese and foreigners are not permitted to stay in the same room. Although a small hotel may have a dormitory, if there are already Chinese in it, you will have to take a private room.
Transport costs
In many places foreigners are charged more for their train, plane or bus tickets than the local Chinese, and although this custom seems to be dying out, where you do come across it there is little you can do except pay. Despite this, transport is reasonably priced considering the vast distances involved. Tickets are cheaper if you buy them yourself but doing so takes time. Many travellers, therefore, use a ticket agency at some time during their visit. They pay more for the ticket but the commission (typically US$6-10/£4-6) can be a reasonable trade for not having to stand in line for several hours. Train tickets have the price printed on them, so it's easy to check whether the travel service has been fair with you.
Ticket prices depend not only on what type of ticket you buy (Soft Sleeper, Hard Sleeper, Soft Seat or Hard Seat - see opposite) but also on the type of train. A ticket on an express or international train will cost you more than a ticket on a fast or local train. Slower trains stop everywhere and tend to be fairly grotty, while express and international trains make far fewer stops and are more comfortable.
Air tickets are much easier to get hold of than train tickets but, of course, cost more. Large hotels are usually willing to book them for you, or you can arrange them yourself at the local CAAC office and avoid the commission. Examples of air fares can be found in the Moving On section at the end of each city guide. Long distance bus prices are also reasonable.
Accommodation on the train
A night spent on the train saves you both time and money, and assuming that you manage to get a sleeper ticket, travel on Chinese trains is pretty relaxing. If, on the other hand, you decide to rough it in the Hard Seat carriages you are likely to have an interesting but rather more tiring journey. There are four types (or classes) of rail ticket:
Box Hard Seat is the cheapest form of travel and has gained a bad reputation with many foreigners as it can be horrendously overcrowded. It consists of rows of very slightly padded seats in an open-plan carriage. Actually it isn't too bad as long as you manage to secure a reservation for a seat, and don't try it for much longer than seven or eight hours. Hard Seat carriages are the only ones where the number of passengers allowed is unlimited. On busy trains, therefore, they simply keep filling up until no more people can physically squeeze inside. Capacity crowding is pretty unpleasant when it occurs.
Box Soft Seat carriages are only found occasionally, on short distance inter- city trains. The seats are cushioned and the number of passengers is limited to the number of seats - luxury.
Box Hard Sleeper tickets are generally the most difficult to obtain because they offer a good compromise between comfort and price. The carriages are laid out in sections accommodating six people in two banks of triple bunks. Again the number of passengers is limited. The bunks do not fold up or down, so unless you've got the bottom bunk, which serves as the communal seat in the daytime, you can sleep all day if you like.
Box Soft Sleeper is the most expensive and luxurious way to travel. Each compartment has four berths with soft mattresses, and there's usually air conditioning. This is the class that most travel services including CITS will try to persuade you to use - mainly because it's too expensive for many Chinese and hence tickets are more easily available. In some ways Hard Sleeper is preferable: if you don't hit it off with the others in your Soft Sleeper compartment the atmosphere can get quite claustrophobic.
Other costs
The other major cost for most tourists is entrance fees. It is a universal policy across China that foreigners pay more to visit tourist sights. In some cases this will be double what the Chinese pay but it's not uncommon to pay three, four, or even five times as much. The entrance fees are actually not particularly high by Western standards, it's just that every place you go to has its own admission charge. Some even have two - one ticket gets you into a courtyard area where you find that you have to buy another to see what you came for. Unless you speak Chinese it's not always clear what you're paying for. The Temple of Heaven in Beijing, for example, has a ticket for foreigners which includes entrance to all the buildings. If you just want to walk in the park the ticket is a fraction of the price but the more expensive ticket is the one that's pressed on you.
There is nothing you can do about paying the entrance fees. An International Student Card rarely works, and you just have to accept the system. If you're studying or teaching in China, however, an official ID card will secure you massive savings - see under Documents in the Practical Information for the Visitor section. Having said all this, there are signs that the foreigners' pricing policy may be about to change. In August 1997 it was announced that the entrance fees to the Great Wall at Badaling would be standardised for foreigners and Chinese. It remains to be seem whether other tourist sites will follow suit.
WHEN TO GO
Giant Buddha at Leshan; world's largest carved stone BuddhaIn all but the south of the country winters are extremely cold, and summers are very hot in all but the mountainous areas. True, there is a difference between the extreme dry heat of the far north-west in midsummer and the humid heat of central China, but basically from May to September it's hot everywhere except in the mountains. (For temperatures in different regional centres, see p29). Although the rainy season varies slightly across the country, the rains occur mainly in June, July and the first half of August and do not affect the far north west.
In theory, then, the best time to visit China is either in the spring (April/May) or autumn (September/October). Most Chinese agree that autumn is the best time of all - the temperature is warm, the skies are clear, and the crowds have gone. Note that the spring can be particularly dry and windy in the north.
WITH A TOUR OR ON YOUR OWN?
Group tours
For those short on time and not particularly strapped for cash a tour may be the best option. Your itinerary will be organised for you, travel tickets provided and all hotel reservations prebooked. Without having to worry about where you're going to stay, or whether you'll be able to get your next train ticket organised, you can enjoy what you came for: the sights. Tours to China are becoming big business, and operators vie with each other to offer the definitive itinerary. Perhaps the most compelling argument for taking a tour, however, is simply that you will be accompanied throughout by guides who know what they're talking about. Without a decent understanding of what you're looking at, travelling around China can be incredibly frustrating.
The disadvantage of taking a tour, of course, is that you sacrifice your independence. You are required to conform to the timings of the rest of the group, and there is rarely enough time allowed simply to wander around and discover things for yourself. China is a huge place, and in order to fit everything in to some of the more ambitious tours, the timetables can be punishing - by the end of your fortnight you will have seen an awful lot, but you may feel like taking another holiday to recover.
Semi independent travel
Many travel agents now offer to organise tailor-made tours, allowing you to specify how long you want to spend in each place. Accommodation and transport bookings are then made, so that you have some security and structure to your visit. Although this arrangement generally works well, it is not always foolproof. The problem is that most bookings go indirectly through the China International Travel Service (CITS), who are more interested in group tours than in individual arrangements. Occasionally the system breaks down, and staff can be less than helpful in sorting out problems. If you do make bookings in advance, ensure that you are carrying all your vouchers with you to prove that you have not only booked in advance but that you've paid, too.
Fully independent travel
This is definitely the way to go if you have the time. For all the frustrations of backpacking around China, having the freedom to adjust your plans at short notice is rewarding. If you meet other travellers who have just visited somewhere excellent, you can change course; likewise if you feel that a place is overrated you can get back on the train and go elsewhere. Travelling independently will allow you the time to explore the cities or just go walking in the countryside. It can, however, be as frustrating as it can be fun and if you hate the idea of queuing for a couple of hours to buy each train ticket, you may be better off taking a tour.
Visas
Obtaining a Chinese visa is not a problem in most countries where there is a Chinese embassy (see Making a Booking for listings). Tourist visas generally last one month from the day of entry and are valid for up to three months. They are usually extendable by one month at any large Public Security Bureau (PSB) office in China. Beijing, paradoxically, is a bad place to extend your visa (see p85).
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