China is a well known gourmet paradise. Ingredients including fresh vegetables, meat, noodles, bread, rice, dumplings, soups and regional specialities, with an amazing number of ways to prepare, cook and serve them.

Prepare to be amazed by the sheer variety of dishes and cooking styles on offer. Chinese chefs are highly skilled in creating incredible mouth-watering
dishes.

Eating is a communal affair, dishes are shared round the table and you normally use chopsticks and bowls.

With many practising Buddhists, who take a meat free diet as part of their religious practice, vegetarians are catered for.

Drinking tea has been an important part of traditional and cultural customs over many centuries. Enjoy the fragrance, aroma, colour and texture of the tea as the flavour grows stronger.

Sample a delicious brew in a traditional tea house, where you will be entertained by the unique serving methods.

Yes, the quickest and easiest option for UK passengers is a direct flight from London with British Airways, which is the route we include in our group tours. British Airways also fly direct to Shanghai and Hong Kong. Other airlines include: Cathay Pacific direct to Hong Kong, Hainan Airlines direct from Manchester to Beijing, Virgin Atlantic to Shanghai and Hong Kong. Plus Air China flies to Beijing 7 days a week and has an extensive internal network.

The flight time to China is between 11 to 12 hours.

British Airways have domestic connections with London from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle. KLM have domestic connections with Amsterdam from Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Durham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Humberside, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester. They also have a large network of internal flights in China. These options are more convenient if you do not live near London.

Indirect options from London usually involve a stop/change in the home hub of the airline, for example: Emirates fly from London to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong with a stopover in Dubai for 3 hours. KLM fly from London to Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Xiamen and Hong Kong with a stopover in Amsterdam of 2 hours. Lufthansa fly from London to Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong with a stopover in Frankfurt or Munich of 2 hours. Finnair fly from London to Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong with a stopover of 90 minutes. These flights inevitably take a bit longer, but can on occasion work out to be the most cost-effective.

Also, Emirates offer a comprehensive service via Dubai, where you are allowed a free stopover.

Upgrades to World Traveller Plus and Business Class are available on request.

Most international flights allow 23kg for economy class, 30kg for business class and 40kg for first class. Please note that internal flights in China have a strict allowance of 20kg and excess baggage charges will apply.

If you have purchased your own international flights, for the scheduled Group Tours, you will still be met at the airport upon arrival and transferred to your hotel. Likewise, upon departure we will transfer you to the airport from your hotel. For Private Tours or Tailor-Made Journeys, we are able to build your flight schedule into a Land Only Tour for you.

Internal flights are the quickest and most convenient way to cover the large distances when travelling in China. During our tours transport methods include; flights, trains, coaches and private cars with air-conditioning.

China’s rail network has expanded dramatically over the past decade with the construction of an extensive high-speed train service. Journeys that were traditionally taken on overnight sleeper trains can now be completed in just a few hours. Extensive investment into the rail system has produced an efficient, reliable, high-tech service with safe, comfortable bullet trains covering vast distances in shorter journey times. Domestic train travel in China is a wonderful way to see more of the countryside and scenery away from the big cities. Many high speed rail journeys have now become quicker than flying.

There are now many bullet trains in operation in China, offering an efficient way of travelling between cities.

Each carriage is numbered and each bunk is numbered, which is shown on your ticket. In the carriage each 4-berth cabin is also numbered, which is not shown on your ticket, e.g. you are in Carriage #6, berth 7. Berth 7 will actually be in cabin 2 (Cabin 1 has berths 1-4; Cabin 2 has berths 5-8 etc).

Shanghai has the Maglev train that whisks you from Pudong Airport to the city centre in about 8 minutes, reaching a top speed of over 400 km per hour.

The Qinghai - Tibet railway takes you to the stunning plateaus of the Himalayas at an altitude of over 5000m above sea level, and is the world’s highest train track.

Daytime high-speed trains have first and second-class seats; some have business class. Second-class seats are the most economical but are still spacious and comfortable. The high-speed trains have western toilets aboard the train, luggage racks for general luggage as well as luggage closets for larger items. Free WiFi is available aboard some trains. Free drinkable hot water is available on board and there is a dining car serving a selection of food and drink. An on-board attendant will also serve snacks and drinks from a trolley. Passengers in business class will be served with complimentary meals and beverages.

Your guide will meet you on the platform. However, some trains are now so fast that no-one is allowed onto the platform until after the train has arrived. In these instances it’s hard for the guide to come in quickly against the flow of passengers, so you should stay put until your guide finds you. The guide will know where on the platform you can be found, and this will avoid you having to look for multiple exits. Your guide can ask the carriage attendant to warn you 5 minutes or so before you arrive at your station. Local trains, e.g. to Suzhou, may be a through train, stopping only very briefly, about 2 minutes, so make sure you are ready! Sometimes you may need to show your ticket to get off the platform when you arrive, so hang on to it, just in case.

You will need to go to the waiting room for your train number and destination. In large stations the information is in Chinese and English, and in the smaller stations you can ue the train number to see which platform / waiting room to use. Doors from the waiting room to the platform will be opened when the train arrives, and close 5 minutes before it leaves. However, on some of the smaller trains the procedure is different. Once the doors are open, find the right platform. Don’t underestimate this task, it may involve quite a bit of walking, and some stairs, as one waiting room may give access to many platforms. Sometimes you can get on early, with the help of your guide, who can pay a porter a few Yuan to give you early access to the platform. The main point is GET THERE IN GOOD TIME.

Taking a taxi is the most comfortable, easy and secure way of getting around any city in China. There are plenty of them available, simply hail one and the next available taxi will pull over for you.

Prices vary from city to city, but on the whole they are quite affordable costing you only a few £ pounds each time.
Top Tip; Make sure when you get in the taxi, that they turn their metre on!

Our small group tours and tailor-made journeys give you the chance to
experience some truly wonderful vistas, from the Yangtze River, where we use the 5* Victoria Cruises, Century River Cruises and Sanctuary Explorer, to the traditional fishing vessels of the farmers on the Li River near Guilin and
Yangshuo. You can also explore the ancient canals of the Water Villages near Shanghai.

No trip to China would be complete without a bicycle ride. After all they have more than anywhere in the world, and it is used as the main form of transport. It is a fantastic way to get closer to the real China and a chance to meet some local people. Suggested cycle rides include Xian’s Ancient City Wall, which is a car-free zone, giving you a perfect view of the city. Yangshuo’s rice paddies and tranquil villages provide a fascinating insight into rural life.

Mandarin is the national language
and is spoken / understood by most
of the population.

In Hong Kong, Cantonese and English are the official languages.

Many service staff in hotels and tourist areas can communicate in English.

In Hong Kong, English signage is very common and service staff in the tourist areas can speak English.

If you plan to go out and explore by yourself, take a copy of the hotel’s business card to assist a driver with directions.

China’s currency is the Renminbi (RMB), the basic unit of which is the Yuan. It comes in paper notes in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100.

The Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) is used in
Hong Kong and the Macau Pataca (MOP) in Macau.

The Taiwanese currency is the New Taiwan Dollar (TWD).

There is a customs limit of taking 20,000 RMB in cash per person per day into the country.

In the large cities, banks and money changers should accept $US and £ sterling. But for more remote areas, there is unlikely to be exchange facilities, so you will need to change your cash to RMB beforehand.

Credit and debit cards should be accepted at major branches of The Bank of China, and you can use cards with Visa, Maestro or Mastercard logo's.

Withdrawals may be limited to £200 per time, and there may be fees from the bank and your card provider.

We recommend that you contact your bank before departure to tell them you are travelling to China and you will be using the ATM machines there.

These will be accepted in major international standard hotels, restaurants and department stores. Elsewhere most vendors and services will expect payment in cash.

We do not recommend taking travellers cheques, as they can be difficult to exchange in the hotels and banks.

It’s very handy to have some RMB on your person before arriving in China, which is easily obtained from your bank, Post Office or local money exchange. On-line money exchange providers in the UK offer the lowest rate of commissions so you will get more for your money cashing in this way.

Many sites across Asia require a fair level of physical activity. The sheer scale of some attractions means walking is involved.

Our local representatives will do their utmost to accommodate any requests, and where possible, suggest alternative routes.

Please advise us of any special needs in advance, and we will do our utmost to provide support, including wheelchair assistance.

Overall, our destinations are safe, but as always when travelling abroad, please exercise common sense especially at the major tourist sites.

The travel and living conditions in some destinations can differ greatly from the UK, so please travel with an open mind.

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO), issues advice to all countries, and their advice for China can be found on the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/china