Touring china?

Question

OK, im 18 but 19 next year and I'm planning before university to go traveling (once again) with my mate.

I love Chinese culture so a trip to china seemed perfect... looking through brochures and various websites I found that a tour would be the best to take it all in rather than being stuck in one place.
HOWEVER big problemo is that tours = middle aged persons and pensioners and the last thing i want is to be ferried around in a convoy of tourists; I want to explore china myself!

Does anyone know of any good UK (or foreign) tour operators that can give you this freedom but at a reasonable price. We are looking at traveling from the major cities such as HK, Beijing, Xian, Shanghai, etc and include the Yangtze river cruise. We do have a budget of about £2k

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

same here, only thing is that I'm American, I'm 20 years old, and I don't have a "mate." But I'm glad you asked because I plan to study abroad next year in china, and I also wanted to go as a tourist, and I'm glad you asked the question. good luck.

Answer 2

I just got back from touring China for 7 weeks. By far the best choice at your age is backpacking. China has great transportation systems, and with a little, tiny bit of Chinese you can get by.

If you stay at hotels or preferably youth hostels, the agents speak English well, at these places can help you book any tours for that city if you don't feel like touring yourself.

Besides flight, the best way to get around is by train. If you don't want to waste the day by train, then grab a late night sleeper, where you sleep the journey away in a bunk on a train. It's very easy to get a ticket, and no doubt you will find other young travelers as well.

When in Hong Kong, there is plenty of great things to do. Make sure to visit Ocean Park, see the free bay light show, and on Wednesday all HK museums are free.

Beijing will be over-booked with the Olympics next summer, but if you are going any other time don't worry about. A warning about tours, is that they make many stops to pearl shops, silk factories, etc. Although easier to book a tour, I would suggest you try and go to sites on your own. Oh, and the Badaling section of the Great Wall is very touristy. If you'd like a more authentic feel, I suggest hiking at a different location.

Shanghai has a great acrobatic show and opera. It is modern, and it's subway system is a nice replica of Hong Kong and easy to navigate. Here you'll be admiring all the skyscrapers. Maybe book a day tour to the neighboring villages outside the city.

Now, Xi'an is a well-kept secret. Although everyone just stops in for the Terra Cotta warriors, I suggest you explore the city a bit. Xi'an is the first capital of China, and is the only city with it's walls intact. You can rent a bike and bike on the wall to get a good view. At night, go outside the South gate and join in the warm season festivities. Outside the city walls is a booming electronics district, so you'll find fun ranging from Kareoke bars to late night visits to Hagen Dasz.

Yangtze river cruises can be booked the night before at a hotel or with a travel agent back home, but it will be costly if you stay with the high-end Western tour companies.

I want to suggest you and your friend go to Guilin and Yangshou as well. Yangshou is beautiful countryside that you see in all of the calligraphy paintings. Yangshou is all water and hills, and it is a gorgeous ride down the river from Guilin (a nice, bustling city). Also, I had the best western food in China in Yanshou at a place called Drifters.

Alright, good luck and have a great trip!

Answer 3

Why would traveling alone mean you are stuck in one place? China is full of thousands of young backpackers who are traveling around independently. I've been to all the major cities you list, and done the Yangtze river cruise without needing any kind of tour group. The only time I've ever had a slight problem was in a small city called Yan'an (important for its connections to the history of the communist party) - they would only officially let foreigners stay in the most expensive hotel in town.

A little bit of Chinese language skills can go a long way in making the trip easier and more fun - but if you stick to the bit cities and major sites, you'll still be able to get around with just 'hello', 'thanks' and numbers. I know two friends who backpacked the major cities you describe without knowing any Chinese. They didn't have any problems.

£2k is plenty (assuming this doesn't include the airfares to/from China). The advantage of traveling independently is also that you can stay in cheaper places: small Chinese hotels that are comfortable but cost less than £8 a night, and cheap youth hostels too.

Answer 4

You can do it by yourself. I have had friend who have done it and I planned to do it myself next year. Hotels and hostels can be easily booked on the net (you might want to try hostel world or traveller's point). However, most parts of china don't allow you to buy train tickets until about five days before departure so be aware that will would be constantly doing this while travelling, sometimes the hotels can help you out with this.
However, if you wanted to travel with a tour group I would recomment intrepid travel. They are cheap, organise all your travel and hotel arraignments and have many different tours. I have travelled with them before and found that it was 80% young people and that they were so cheap because you had the option of whether you went on day trips and stuff as a group. In other words, you could do your own thing during the day but everyone slept at the same hotel (the hotels were nice too I want to add) and travelled on the train together which let us avoid a lot of hassles. Your budget would easily allow for any of their trips. I've added the website link.

Answer 5

I just got back. You will need someone who speaks both northern and southern dialects (Manderin and Cantonese) if you go with one group. I would look at having several tour guides who are specialists in each city. Go see the Great Wall in Beijing if you miss everything else. Stay in a good hotel in Shanghai (Pudhong). See the Back Lakes and the Hutongs in Beijing as well. They are filled with 18-15 year olds. Good luck with the river cruise but you will be with a few older people there. Go to a Kareoke club with a native. Have fun.

Answer 6

I have to disagree with Matthew B's comments.

China is more open than ever. Use your common sense. As long as you don't cross the borders of military zones, you will be fine. Major Chinese cities on the coast are just as modernized as western ones. I agree, 'backpacker' is a good way to tour in this vast country. You should be good with £2k.

Answer 7

I found a great site for information about china. I have been there several times and it always seems to help me with my planning. www.itsaboutchina.com. You can in contact with several tour guides directly. Which is really great.

Answer 8

your going to have a tough time finding one. the problem is china law on tour groups, they have specific laws restricing tourists. They still maintain a sense of isolationism.