travelling from UK to China?

Question

Considering going to China as a tourist & want to see the usual things like Terracotta Army, Tieneman Square, Great Wall..... anyone been on an orgaised trip..... if so which company did you use & what is the best time to go ( weather wise?)

Answer 1

I know a couple of people that have travelled to the far east and why fly when you will miss so many things...heres how they got to the far east.
1-train from manchester to London
2-train from london to paris
3-train from paris to moscow
4-train from moscow to somewhere in china using the trans-siberian rail.

They all say the same.. it's the best way to travel to the far east.
So many things to see. Plus you can always stop off and get a later train,

Have fun whichever way you decide to traval

Answer 2

The places you mention, in the north, make September/October the ideal time to visit. The very hot summer temperatures begin to drop and you'll almost certainly have bright, dry days to potter around. But beware, November-March are bitterly cold months, colder than the UK.

In all my time in China, I've yet to meet a single member of a organised tour group who doesn't complain about the tour. The most common complaints are usually things like being allowed 45 minutes looking at, say, the Terracottas followed by 2 hours in the gift shop afterwards. Also not being allowed to take photos but being advised that photos are on sale in gift shop (at scandalous prices). Another favourite is the bus stopping at a "special" shop of some sort en route to wherever they are visiting that day and the tour guide spending an unusual amount of time and effort encouraging the tourists to buy there. The tour guide normally has a vast collection of usually not-too-subtle scams.

The common thread, as you may have worked out already, is that the tour group people feel that everything is geared to suck as much cash out of them as humanly possible while they are in China.

I may have ended up speaking to an unrepresentative group of tourists over the years, it's possible, and I've never fancied joining a tour group myself but I'd definitely do a spot of research on the many travel websites beforehand.

As a possible alternative, you could always fly straight to Beijing on whatever good deal you can secure on the flight and hotel and let the hotel or local travel agent arrange your visits. Even the most humble hotels in Beijing have daily organised tours to the Great Wall etc. so there's really nothing to it.

Answer 3

When to go depends on which part of China you want to see. If you want to go to the north like Terracotta Army, Tieneman Square, Great Wall you can pick a time between May to September. Unless you want to see the snow. Cause that'll be a different view. If you decide to go to the south like Guilin or Hainan, then you can set off any time. It's always warm in south China.

About which company I suggest you ask on http://ask.jongo.com/ they answer all China-related questions. Maybe you can get some help there.

Answer 4

I would travel either round about easter time, or the last couple of weeks in october. If your not used to hot weather the summers are a real pain. For hotels tourist visits I try visiting http://www.octopustravel.com/IntlHome.jsp
I have used it several times to book nice cheap hotels with.
As for flights you can either book online with BA a london-beijing/shanghai ticket will cost you about 550 pounds.

Or you can go with china air, although my mum and auntie went with china air on ecomany class but they didn't enjoy it.

Other airlines at klm airways but you have to change at asterdam.

Answer 5

i went in 6th grade.. so i guess thats like four years ago. we went on an organised tour, which i think was called 'panda tours.' we saw all of what you have listed plus other things. i went during winter [winter break] and it was rainy and cold. so.. i would probably suggest going in the fall because im sure the summer will be too hot.

i think the tours change around the packages depending where you're coming from. [not in the sense of taking you to different places, just how they treat you, what food they suggest etc.] when i went to china, it was just a side trip because i had family in the philippines that we were visting. my dads friends booked the trip so they knew it was coming from the Php. i think it will be nicer if you book from the UK.. my parents kept saying we should've booked the tour instead of from the php. [we're from the US.]

Answer 6

Try the following link and speak to Mr. Kar. He is very helpful and always makes a good job of organising my travel to China - which s often!
Best times for visiting are May or September. Too cold in winter....too hot for comfort in summer (especially August)

Answer 7

its very cold in winter, i went there last october and it was ok quite warm but i was told it was the warmest oct in years and they were selling fur hats on the wall! and apparently normally need them. i stayed in the grand hotel in beijing, it was very nice and right next to tieneman sq. but we did not go with a tour company. it was with work so cant help you there. The only other thing i would say is take snacks the food is very unusual, nothing like the food you have eaten here. For me it was a very mixed experience i found it a strange mixture and often not enjoyable. but i hope if you choose to go it is everyhitng you hope for.

Answer 8

once you're travelling from the US to China, i'd use your American passport to coach for the visa then enter & go out China on it - you want in effortless words use your British passport to enter an ecu member state or the united kingdom The chinese do not comprehend the theory of twin citizenship, or a minimum of they pick no longer to, save your British passport on your bag & in effortless words use the US one

Answer 9

I went from nyc to china, but I went on cathay pacific, ireccomend first class. I went in the summer but some days it was too hot , go in sping

Answer 10

GBF tours pte ltd great