Trip Note for China
Travelers are advised to read the Trip Note before your China tours.
Visas- A China visa is required for entry into China. Travellers holding APEC cards are allowed entrance visa free if their card has already been approved for China. Recent years, many nationalities are visa free to visit China for 15 days. You can confirm with your travel agency about it or check more details on website for Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The People's Republic of China.
Insurance
-Travel insurance is compulsory for all our customers. Please provide us with:
•Insurance company
•Policy number
•24 hour medical emergency contact number
•The expiry date of the policy
Vaccinations and Your Health - We recommend that you contact your primary care physician or a travel doctor for advice on vaccinations and travel health and we advise that you check to see if your tetanus-diphtheria booster is still valid every 10 years.
Luggage - We advise each person to pack up one baggage with the weight under 20 kg/44lb. Don’t overload yourself, because you have to carry your own baggage.
You will also need a day pack/bag to carry water, cameras and other electronics like iPods and mobile phones. Remember to keep safety in mind while traveling in any place. The following checklist will help to plan your tour. Not all items listed will be needed on this trip. Pack only what you need.
Packing list -
Passport
Passport copy
Walking shoes
Sweater
Jacket or coat in winter
Rain suit (jacket and pants) or umbrella
Sun block
Gloves
Sunglasses
Insect repellent
Camera
Cell phone
Electric plugs/converters
Hat
Your own necessary medicine
Itinerary Disclaimer – The information in this trip details has been compiled with care and is provided in good faith. However it is subject to change, and does not form part of the contract between the client and the operator. The itinerary featured is correct at time of printing. Occasionally our itineraries change as we make improvements that stem from past travellers, comments and our own research. Sometimes it can be a small change like adding an extra meal along the itinerary. Sometimes the change may result in us altering the tour for the coming year. Ultimately, our goal is to provide you with the most rewarding experience.
Accommodation - Each tour lists the hotel standard, you can check it before your booking, The hotels are selected for convenience of location, comfort or character, and can range differently from tour to tour. In some remote areas, accommodation may be of a lower standard and may not have all western amenities. Please note that there is no international classification system for hotels, and differences and quality do exist between the European Countries and China, though it is marked 4 or 5 star hotel.
In bigger cities and large towns the standard is similar although on a lesser scale. In small towns or villages where tourism is less prevalent, the hotels we use are smaller and facilities are more limited, though we generally stay in the best place in town. Rooms will still be en suite but rooms can be basic. Plumbing and electricity supplies can be somewhat erratic and although the welcome is warm, service levels may be less efficient than you may be used to.
Booking a Single Room – Silkroadtrips are pleased to offer travellers the option of pre-booking a guaranteed single room. Kindly note our single supplement do not include sharing cabins on the overnight trains or cruises. All of our tours are planned and operated on a twin-share basis, meaning that the standard cost is based either on individual travellers sharing accommodation with another group member of the same sex, or people who book together sharing accommodation.
Trains - Aboard the overnight sleeper train, berths are usually in 1st class ‘soft sleeper’ lockable compartments for 4 which have 2 sets of bunks with clean bedding provided. WC and washbasins are provided for shared use at the end of each carriage. Hot meals and snacks are sold to your berth on all overnight journeys. In times of large demand we may have to travel in 2nd class ‘hard sleeper’ which consists of sectioned off compartments for 6,leading off an open plan carriage.
Bullet trains are getting popular, it is very modern with a high velocity of 300km per hour. There are western toilets, dinning car on the bullet trains, and normally for short distance running 1—8 hours.
Note: Travelers cannot take aerosols and/or open alcohol containers on the train.
Air - You can check in 20 kg baggage and carry 5kg hand bag with you while boarding a flight in China. Please be aware, before boarding a flight in China that the Chinese authorities will only allow bottles onto aircraft if they have been checked in as main luggage. Any bottles in the hand luggage may be confiscated.
Food - Eating is always an important part of the tours. Each tour of Silkroadtrips has listed the included meals, please check it on-line. Our professional guide will always arrange the meals at clean local restaurants to taste different food with different budget approximately from CNY20 to CNY200 per person per meal.
Tipping - If you're happy with the services provided then a tip - though not compulsory - is appropriate. Tipping is of great significance to the people who will take care of you during your travels, inspires excellent service, and is an entrenched feature of the tourism industry across China and other Asian countries. We recommend that any tips are given to the intended recipient by a member of your group, rather than collected and passed on by the group leader.
The following amounts are based on local considerations and feedback from our past travellers:
Restaurants: Tipping is not common practice at restaurants in China or Tibet.
Tour guides: Throughout your tour you may at times have local guides or national guide. We suggest CNY20-50 per person per day for guides.
Porters: In some hotels a porter may offer to carry your bag to your room. We suggest CNY10 per bag for porters.
Drivers: You may have a range of drivers on your trip. Some may be with you for a short journey while others may be with you for several days. We would suggest that you tip only those more involved with the group (for example those that help you with your bags etc). CNY10-30 per person per day is generally appropriate.
Optional Extras - Our standard tours are planned to be as fully inclusive as possible. However, from time-to-time you may be suggested to join optional tours/sightseeing in addition to the standard sightseeing planned for that city. Such options are at an additional cost, with prices ranging from 20-200 CNY per person. If you do not wish to take part in any optional extras, you will have the option of enjoying some free time at leisure or to return to the hotel.
Personal Expenses - Kindly check the inclusions for your tour, you will need to take some extra money to cover drinks, laundry and souvenirs, plus any additional sightseeing that may be offered to you. Based on the advice of previous customers an approximate amount of $250 per week should be sufficient; however for those that can’t resist a bargain, consider allocating a higher amount.
Electricity Supply & Plugs - China operates on a 220V and uses a combination of US/European and Chinese style plugs in most hotel rooms. You can buy an international adaptor before the tour.
Pay in China: Cash, Mobile Payment, and Card - Currency in China is Renminbi or Chinese Yuan, the short name is RMB or CNY. Other currencies are not used in China.
Cash RMB works nearly everywhere, but it is difficult for the seller to give you the change as mobile payment is very popular.
Mobile payment is the most popular way to pay in China today. Alipay and WeChat Pay are widely accepted, which you can download on your cell phone and link it to your card. Alipay is easier to register on the cell phone. Then you can pay in China with either Alipay or WeChat Pay easily.
You can withdraw cash with your card from ATMs in most of banks in China with logos like Visa, Mastercard, and JCB etc.
Credit cards like Visa, MasterCard are not popular in China, UnionPay is the most common card to use.
Social Media Applications and Google in China - Please note many applications cannot work in China including WhatsApp, Facebook, twitter, Instagram, and Line etc. Moreover, Google and yahoo services cannot work either in China, so gmail doesn’t receive emails in China. You need to use VPN to help you get these services in China.
