First Trip to China - Request Advice

We%26#39;re planning our first trip to China in the fall, about 3-4 weeks covering Beijing, Xian, Yangtze cruise, Li cruise, and Hong Kong. After doing a little research, I hope we can do this on our own as opposed to going on a tour. We don%26#39;t speak Chinese, so it seems like the language barrier could be a bit daunting, especially with travel (we%26#39;re planning to take the train between destinations in-country). Will the language issue favor going with a tour group or can smiling and gesturing make a self-directed trip feasible?

What potential travel snafus should we anticipate for travel from Beijing to Xian, Xian to Chongqing, Yichang to Guilin, and Guilin to Hong Kong? Also, flight arrangements might not be finalized until a few weeks before departure. Is that enough time to arrange accommodations and cruises (not to mention visas)? Thanks for any help.

First Trip to China - Request Advice

DIY is fine. Have a good guidebook with Chinese characters.

I%26#39;m not sure about how good the Yangtze cruise is these days - maybe search the threads about recent comments.

If you don%26#39;t so the Yangtze, consider a week in Yunnan instead. Lots of interesting places to visit, and fairly non Chinese speaker friendly.

Use hotels or hostels to book trains in advance. Look on sites such as elong.net and travelzen.com for flights, but don%26#39;t worry about booking flights until a few weeks before departure.

Visas should be straightforward now - it was only during the Olympics in 2008 when flight and accommodation bookings were required.

First Trip to China - Request Advice

Yes you will be fine. Some people recommend Me No Speak http://www.menospeak.com/ I haven%26#39;t got a copy but it looks pretty easy to use.

Just print out your hotels name in Chinese %26amp; where it is on a map to show taxi drivers. Same with places you want to visit. If you have the Lonely Planet just print out a copy of the map as it has places listed in English %26amp; Chinese. Pointing is fine.

Restaurants some have Chinese menus some don%26#39;t. Some just have pictures. Or if you are unsure walk around to see what everyone else is having %26amp; point. The people wont think it is rude and will try %26amp; help you out - a bit of fun for them;)

If you are taking the train you can get your hotel to book tickets for you. Some train stations also have English speaking counters.

It%26#39;s really just a matter of doing a bit of research before you go.

Can%26#39;t really see any snafus occuring as the places you have chosen are not off the beaten track.

The language is not an issue in big cities but can be a challenge in smaller towns.

You say that you wish to take the train. This can be a little more challenging than flying from the language point of view. Maybe you take the train for budget reasons but first look at a map and make sure that you understand the distance involved. Check the price of flights also.

You have 2 cruises in your plan. I guess you understand that the word ';cruise'; may not correspond to the image that you have. If you are thinking ';Carnival';-type cruises then forget it

In the end the language issue should not prevent you from traveling solo but make sure to always have your destination and hotel name and address in chinese (and phone number)

This is probably the wrong place to ask for unbiased opinion about whether a tour is right for YOU. Most of us are here because we are independent-minded travellers who like the planning almost as much as the travelling.

Thousands of foreigners travel safely around China without speaking Chinese. You need patience and a sense of adventure (as well as a sense of humour). You spend time waiting for buses, have frustrations with taxi drivers; eat somethings you%26#39;d rather not know about but you will have fun. This is a well beaten path you have chosen.

Consider that Hong Kong is not China when it comes to visa. If you enter China on a single-entry visa and go to HKG you need another visa to re-enter China. So think about either start or end your trip in HKG or get a multiple-entry visa for the PRC. The Yangtze Cruise is... nice but surely not as impressive as it must have been 10 years ago (due to the rising water level). As I live in China I considered that a ';must do'; but I would not necessarily recommend it as a 100% MUST to my visitors. Yunnan could be, as said, a nice alternative. And also the area around Yangshuo is just amazing. My parents actually liked that more than the cruise when they were here.

When I travel I always have my ICOON with me and I can make myself (more or less) understood in ANY country in the world: http://www.icoon-book.com/icoon.html