Tours in China

It is difficult to describe our tours to China in one paragraph. In such a vast country, the travel conditions would vary by destinations traveled, types of activities, and main points of interest of each trip. The vast majority of our tours in China will cover several regions of the country. Visiting multiple provinces, each featuring distinct characteristics, allows travelers to put different aspects of China into one big picture.

The transportation on such a tour would rely on multiple domestic flights, to bridge over the vast distances, and then land transport, usually by private vehicle, within each area. The rapidly developing network of high-speed trains (“Bullet Trains”) offers another means of long-haul transportation, which is often more efficient, more environmentally friendly, time efficient and cheaper than air travel. In recent years we are trying to replace air travel with rail travel as much as possible, and as much as it makes sense. When planning each tour, we make tremendous efforts to adjust the flight and train schedules to meet the day’s plan, or, ultimately, to modify the days’ activities to fit the flights and trains’ schedules.

Some tours will focus on particular themes through specific areas of the country, amid these are tours along the Silk Road, the Tibetan Plateau, or the regions inhabited by ethnic minorities in the south. On such trips, there will be fewer flights and more overland travel, some by private vehicles and some by public transport (trains for the most part). Obviously, public transport schedules might change on moment’s notice. In case of such a change in schedule, we shall do our best to adjust the itinerary to accommodate these changes. Still, the situation is not always under our control, and delays and schedule changes might inevitably affect the course of the trip.

As a thumb rule, a tour to China is not very flexible, and will usually follow the planned itinerary quite strictly. Due to the need to book and pay in advance for flights, hotels, and various other services on the program, it is quite difficult to make amendments to the plan while on the trip. However, under extreme circumstances, we shall make our utmost efforts to amend the program to accommodate any unforeseen changes.

Another factor that should be taken into account is the fact that 60 million foreign tourists arriving in China annually constitute hardly 17% of China’s total travel industry. That is to say that 83% of all travelers in China are Chinese! Therefore, in many places, the tourism infrastructure is aimed at pleasing the Chinese crowd, whose preferences do not always match those of Western travelers. That is the reason why some hotels, especially in areas popular with Chinese travelers, were built, designed, and furnished to satisfy this customer base. The same goes for restaurants and services that try to cater to the taste of the majority - local tourists in this case, and not necessarily to please a more Western palate.