Yes, a visa is required for USA and Canadian citizens and most other nationalities, as well. Please check the Chinese Consulate’s web site to find out if you need a visa or not.

You will need one visa application form, one recent photo with size of 2" by 2", and your original passport.

The visa application fee is $140 per person for an American passport, regardless of entries. Normally, it will take 4 working days to process your application. Please make sure your passport has a minimum validity of 6 months prior to your travel date. If you apply for a Chinese visa via Chinatour.com, an additional service fee will apply.

Most Chinese Consulates do not accept Visa application via mail, you have to either apply in person or through a local travel agency.

Chinese currency, called YUAN, is issued in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100. 1Yuan = 10Jiao (in 1, 2 & 5) = 100 Cents (in 1, 2 & 5). The official exchange rate is around USD1=6.8 Yuan (RMB) as of Dec 2009. Traveler's cheques are the safest way to take money with you on your holidays. US dollars can be easily exchanged at the hotel's front desk. Most hotels, restaurants, and major shopping centers welcome major credit cards. Click here for more information on Chinese money.

Vaccinations are not mandatory when travelling to the People's Republic of China. However, prior to travelling in China, it is highly recommended that you check with your personal physician to determine if there are certain precautions you should take or issues of which you should be aware. For the latest overseas travel health information, please contact the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) by visiting wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/china.aspx or by calling toll-free 1-800-232-4636.

All travelers aged 18 years and over are allowed to bring into China the following goods duty free:
Tobacco: 400 cigarettes
Alcoholic beverages: 2 litres
Perfume: Reasonable amount for personal use
The above information is for your references only.

Customs on your return to USA and Canada.

U.S. DUTY-FREE EXEMPTION
When shopping in China, be sure to keep your receipts on all purchases so they are be readily available for customs officials upon re-entering the United States. Effective November 4, 2002, the standard personal duty-free exemption is $800 for items brought abroad by a returning U.S. resident.

Duty for items mailed home valued at $200 or less is waived. Antiques that are at least 100 years old and fine art may enter duty free but folk art and handicrafts are generally dutiable.

Each U.S. resident may bring back 1 litre of alcohol and 200 cigarettes or 100 cigars for inclusion in duty exemptions. Items which are purchased at the Duty Free stores are subject to duty if the value of the total purchase exceeds $800.

Family members in the same household returning to the United States may combine their personal duty exemptions. Children and infants receive the same amount of duty free exemptions as adults with the exception of alcohol and tobacco products.

Be cautious and rely on your personal judgement when making purchases in China, as there are merchants that may misrepresent their goods. Moreover, the importation of imitation goods into the United States may infringe upon USA patents and trademarks and you may be in violation of U.S. custom laws.

Canadian DUTY-FREE EXEMPTION
All receipts for purchases made in China should be kept for declaration upon returning to Canada. Under Canadian law, all animals, plants and products must be declared as well as any currency or monetary instruments (Stock/bonds, cheques, money orders etc.) totalling $10,000 CDN or more.

For each returning resident of Canada, a duty free exemption of $750 CDN is available and may include goods, other than alcohol and tobacco that were acquired during your trip. Each traveller over 19 years of age also may bring 1.5L of wine or 1.14L of liquor and 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars for inclusion in duty exemptions.

Be cautious and rely on your personal judgement when making purchases in China as there are merchants that may misrepresent their goods. Moreover, the importation of imitation goods into Canada may infringe upon Canadian patents and trademarks and you may be in violation of Canadian custom laws.

Beijing standard time, used all over China, is 16 hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time (15 hours ahead of PST during daylight saving time).

Influenced by American and European travelers, tipping is becoming popular in China now. We suggest a total USD $7 per client per day for the tour manager, local guides, and coach captains in gratitude for their service. For group tours, for your convenience, the tour manager normally will collect the tips for the entire journey on the first day of your tour and will distribute the tips to the local guides and coach captains. You also may tip on your own at the end of your visit in each city.

Accident insurance up to $30,000 per person is automatically covered in our tour price, but we strongly recommend that you take out comprehensive insurance cover for trip cancellation, medical expenses, personal accident, personal baggage, money and public liability before you travel. Please ask our experienced travel agents for information about the insurance ChinaTour.com offers.

The electrical current in China is 220-volts; multi-function power outlets are provided by most of the hotels' housekeeping departments.

The hotels selected for group tours are based on the 4 to 5 star ratings of the China National Tourist Administration, or are the local accommodations that provide the best value for the money in some remote areas. Of course, different countries have different standards, but ChinaTour.com endeavors to provide our clients with the best available in terms of cleanliness and comfort. Most of the hotels are centrally located in the city or are conveniently located in the tourist area.

All bookings are made on a twin share basis. This means you will receive two single beds or two double beds, depending on availability. Triple share accommodation consists of twin beds (2 single beds) plus a rollaway/fold-up bed. If you want a double bed, this can be requested but cannot be guaranteed. All hotel rooms contain private shower/tubs, air-conditioning, TV, telephone, and safe etc.

Yes. We will try to match up singles of the same gender in twin-bedded rooms. For mutual comfort, we do adopt a no-smoking rule in shared rooms. Nevertheless, when finalizing the tour, if we cannot make a match-up, a forced single supplement will apply.

Western style full breakfast is always included on our tours, and most lunches and dinners, which are Chinese style, are also included. You will find quite a few special local banquets, like the Beijing Duck dinner and the Xian Dumpling Banquet, also included in your itinerary. Please check your itinerary for details. Meal code: AB=American Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner, SD=Special Dinner, IM-In-flight Meal. We understand that clients may have varied dietary needs. If you have special dietary need due to religious or medical limitations, please advise your tour guide in advance.

We suggest that your single checked bag not exceed 30 x 18 x 10 inches (or 76 x 46 x 26 cm) and weigh no more than 20kg; airlines may apply a penalty for checked bags that exceed 20kg.

Please note that most airlines have restrictions on the size of carry-on hand luggage. To determine your baggage dimensions, add together the depth, height and length of the bag:
115cm = 56cm (L) + 36cm (H) + 23cm (D) or 45 inches = 22 inches (L) +14 inches (H) + 9 inches (D).

There is no on-board toilet on the tour coaches. For long journeys, our guides and drivers will make enough rest stops on the way for your comfort. For the good of the majority, all coaches are smoking free.

You can book your tour online or by fax, then mailing a copy of your passport and tour reservation form to our office with your deposit. Or, print out your tour reservation form and send it to us via mail with your deposit and a copy of your passport. Please click here to download the Booking Form.

Some clients might like to book two group tours as one journey to make full use of their holidays. First, choose the tours you would like to join; you can choose the first departure with International air and the second one as Land Only. You may need to pay for an internal flight or extra hotel for the connection between the two tours. Please talk to our experienced staff for help.

Payment options for payments made 45 days or more in advance. Google Checkout, PayPal, credit card (Visa or MasterCard), check, bank draft, money order, or wire transfer (Bank Name: East West Bank, Routing Number: 125108492, Trust Account Name: Chinatour.com International Inc., Trust Account Number: 63923205, Swift Code: EWBKUS66XXX, Bank Address: 135 N. Los Robles Ave., Suite 600, Pasadena, CA 91101 USA).

Payment options for payments made 44 days or less in advance: Google Checkout, PayPal, check, bank draft, money order, or wire transfer. Please allow at least 10 business days for ChinaTour.com to process your booking.

All standard cabins on the Yangtze River Cruise have river-facing. Smart casual dress is appropriate for the banquet on the cruise.

ChinaTour.com offers a transfer service for all passengers who join our group tours. If you are joining the land only portion of a tour and book air tickets separately on your own, please advise us of your flight arrival and departure transfers.

Upon arrival at the airport or train station, please put your ChinaTour.com name badge and luggage tag on, our guide will greet you at the exit.

According to Chinese official regulations, you cannot travel to Tibet independently .You must book a tour package to Tibet through a tour company. A special travel permit is required to enter Tibet, in addition to a valid China visa. ChinaTour.com has designed several flexible and affordable packages, please contact us for further details.

All our group tours are guaranteed departures. Whether the group consists of two or twenty-four people, we guarantee the departure dates at low group prices. You can be confident that your travel plans are taken care of and then relax and prepare for a marvellous holiday.
*All guaranteed departure tour programs require a minimum of two persons to qualify for a guaranteed departure. ChinaTour.com reserves the right to cancel a departure that does not meet this requirement.

Most of our groups are between 10 and20 people. The most popular departures are in April, June, September and October. For your comfort, the maximum number of travelers on a group tour is 24.

You may bring your own mobile phone into China; please check with your mobile service provider for the details of international roaming. Prepaid SIM cards are very easy to access; simply ask your local guide to help and enjoy your call.