TOPBUZZ

Probably the top interest destination in China for most tourists is visiting the Great Wall. Perhaps no thought is given to where the best place is to visit for lack of knowledge however. For the average tourist, my favorite area on the Wall is the Mutianyu section. Not many tourists here and it is the most beautiful section with lush green vegetation. The large group tours go to a closer section to Beijing accessible by freeway which is called the Badaling section where you will often find 80 or more buses in the parking lot and very crowded. Both sections have cable cars that take you up onto the Wall. Once you are on the Wall at Mutianyu you may hike out left which is quite level. About one mile out is a section not repaired to show you what it was like when it was in ruins. Few tourist go beyond 100 yards so often you may hike out to areas where there are few if any tourists for great photos. For avid hikers there are other sections with more challenges which I will be glad to shar...

For those searching the internet for the best deals in hotels; one needs to be very careful to read the fine print. My wife and I just returned from a trip to Spain. Although I am a tour operator to China, it is our off season vacation which she arranges every year. Needing a hotel the night before we left Madrid, she looked for a location close to the airport and reasonable just for one night. On Price Line she found the Hotel San Pablo just 5 minutes from the airport since we had a 07:00 flight the next morning. The cost was $49.90 Euros or $67.37 U.S. dollars. When we arrived posted behind the desk was their rack price of $39.00 Euros or $52.65 U.S. The clerk was embarrassed about it and gave us a large suite to compensate since we had pre-paid the one night. No breakfast was included. In China it can be the same when booking a hotel. Be sure the hotel is as they listed as a Sofital and Sofitel are two different hotels. One being a major international hotel and the other ...

Taking a train in China is a bit different than other countries. You can only buy a train ticket 3 to 5 days before the departure date. You can only buy a ticket from where you are departing from to your first destination. When you get to your first destination, the same rule applies for on going destinations. You can not buy train tickets at one place for your entire tour by train. Many trains are over night. Take only First class Sleepers as second class is very noisy and the car is all open only separated by metal mesh and are three bunks high. First class has two uppers and two lowers and closed compartments. If you are less than four people you may share the compartment with others of mixed sex. The people who have the upper bunks have the right to sit on the lower bunks until it is time to sleep. The toilet facilities can be both western and Chinese depending on the age of the train cars. Some only have the hole in the floor in the more remote areas. Dining cars usually have poor...

Before you arrive on your international air flight to China, your airline will hand out an Arrival card and a Health card. The health card asks simple questions wanting to know if you have a fever, where you came from and where you will be staying. You will drop this card off at a collection station as you arrive. The Arrival Card will ask your Airline, fight number, date of arrival and where you will be staying the first night. Keep this card with your passport. Upon your arrival follow the crowd which will take you to the Security counters. There you will present your passport and the Arrival Card. You then go to the luggage area where you will see your flight listed on a board in English and the luggage carrier number. After you pick up your luggage you may exit the luggage area (there is no customs check) through double doors (once you exit you can not return to the luggage area) There you will find a crowd of people with many of them holding up signs with names on them. If you hav...

China is the size of the U.S. in square miles; so think in those terms when planning a trip to China. Questions to ask yourself: 1. What are my interests? 2. How much time do I have to tour? 3. What budget should I set? All good questions as you can not see everything so you should plan to see what interests you. The average person goes for about 17 to 19 days. If you only go once in your lifetime a good basic introduction to China is Beijing, Xian, Guilin and Shanghai and maybe even a Yangtze River Cruise squeezed in. That gives you a fairly good idea about China. People going a second time might consider LiJiang, Chengdu, Lhasa, and the Silk Road up through the Northwest part of China. For national parks, historical or more remote interesting areas, you should use an experienced tour planner who is more familiar with China and can help you plan to your specific interests and needs. I teach a one session class on Touring China each quarter here in Seattle and many realize how complex ...

China has over 57 different minority peoples in China. Each has their own cultural ways and dress. The Han people consist of the majority or over 85% of the people in China. Above you see the Zhrung women sewing. The women all wear their hair in the same style as reflective of their culture. The Mosuo people seen rowing a dug out boat live around a fairy tale like lake called Lugu Lake about 7 hours drive from LiJiang in Yunnan province. The majority of the minority peoples live in south central China in Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi provinces. Tours can be arranged to visit many of the minority peoples in their villages to see how they live and learn about them. Sadly many of the young people are leaving the villages and going to the large cities shedding their native dress and culture. There are still many remote areas however where you can visit and learn about each one and I continue to visit these areas myself. I will write later about some of the unique customs of individual cultur...

As a Tour Operator to China for the past 25 years, I have made over 50 trips myself working with local Chinese associate partners. I review sites, restaurants, hotels, shows, and transportation throughout China. Hotel reviews seem to be the most common interest for most people. What is happening is that some hotels are being given bad reviews which they do not deserve and some are given reviews better than they should be. Competitors often are paying people to give poor reviews on certain popular hotels in hopes of driving them to their hotels by giving very positive reviews on their own hotels. Your best advice comes from a knowledgeable tour operator or travel agency with first hand knowledge. Hotels are rated with stars however China hotels are often not always representative of international standards. Always look for a central location near sites you can walk to. There are often 5 level of prices in each hotel. Prices sometimes include the 15% service charges, breakfast and ta...