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First Trip to China

karTERkarTER
edited March 2009 in - China
Looking for advice on our first visit to this fascinating country.

We will be travelling from Hong Kong in April, where we aim to arrange visas and wonder what the procedure is- how long can we stay, how much will the visa cost, etc. We will be travelling for about a month, if we can.

Are there any restrictions on what we can bring in? We use a laptop and don't want this to cause difficulty at the border. Is internet connection generaly available and which UK sites are blocked? We write a daily Blog and usually visit some British papers such as the Times & Telegraph- will access be denied? Also we need access to our online UK bank.

We will be going to Guilin. Any tips or recommendations? What kind of temperatures can we expect and will we have language problems? We can only converse in English & German and French at a push.

Any advice will be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks.
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Comments

  • ZoechinaZoechina
    edited 9:59AM
    For application of Chinese visa, this site: www.fmcoprc.gov.hk/eng/zgqz/ may help you.

    There are restrictions on how much liquid you can bring on the plane. You can bring your laptop. There are no foreign sites blocked.

    Guilin will be turning warm in April and you probably will have language problem since you don't know Chinese. But it's ok. You can ask for the Chinese names of the tourist attractions you want to visit and show them to the cab driver.

    May you have a good time in China.
  • karTERkarTER
    edited 9:59AM
    Appreciate your help- great link. Thanks.
  • GuestGuest
    edited 9:59AM
    I am travelling to Canton Fair in Guangzhou China, I need to visit Nanjing, Santou in Guangdong and also Yangdong.Can you please give experet opinion of best way to do this. I have allowed 7 days for this also for my business visa I have been asked for itinery and invitation lettters from Chinese trading companies, do I have to provide invitaion letter for all companies I intend to visit or will one do. Also for my itinery does it have to be exact showing all hotels booked etc. or is it just a general itinery.
  • karTERkarTER
    edited 9:59AM
    Not familiar with a business visa but we now have our tourist visa, valid for one month.

    On the application form we had to give details of our itinerary but it was only rough as we're not sure of our plans yet and we had no problem getting the visa.

    It was very expensive though- we applied for ours in Hong Kong and it cost us HK$600 each, about £55. It is half price in Macau apparently.

    Hope you enjoy your trip
  • karTERkarTER
    edited 9:59AM
    Sadly we will shortly be coming to the end of our first tour of China and we cannot use you on this occasion. Had we known earlier, we would definitely have considered your offer as this would have made our first stay even more memorable.

    Good luck in your venture and perhaps we will meet up another time?
  • karTERkarTER
    edited 9:59AM
    Thanks for the advice. We may use this on our next visit.
  • karTERkarTER
    edited 9:59AM
    Greatly appreciate all the comments but we've now left China having had a marvellous time in Guanzhou, Guilin & Yangshuo (we also had time in Hong Kong & Macau).

    What can I say? It's a great country with marvellous people and we're already looking forward to coming back in the years to come.
  • karTERkarTER
    edited 9:59AM
    Thanks for commenting and good luck with your business.
  • GuestGuest
    edited 9:59AM
    Hopefully going to cHINA IN LESS THAN 3 WEEKS TIME , can't wait!! in process of applying for Visa.

    Just checking the Net for cheap flights , i found Air China £563 pounds for a single....no stops ... Do you know if i can find other cheap flights.

    Also can you take a 3 month supply of contact soultion with you ???
  • karTERkarTER
    edited 9:59AM
    I'm assuming you're flyin from the UK, which means I have no idea about flights as we've been out of the country for over three years. Air Asia is the best airline we have found in Asia but I'm not sure of how much coverage it has in China- very little I'd imagine. However, AA from Stansted, Essex (UK) to Kuala Lumpur is cheap and you can always fly on from KL to China. Check out their website.

    Re the contact solution, you can carry it in your hold luggage, but I wouldn't bring so much as you can buy it there.

    Enjoy your trip.
  • karTERkarTER
    edited 9:59AM
    Of course there are many more places to visit in China- it's huge and we'll be back for more, probably next year (2011).
  • GuestGuest
    edited 9:59AM
    so, flying to HK on the 24th of April and leaving HK on the 5th of May. We want to go to Shang Hai in between there (we have family there). What do I need to do regarding visas? Can I apply in HK? Would you happen to know how much? and how long we will have to wait?
  • GuestGuest
    edited 9:59AM
    Hi,we would like to visit china - Guangzhou specifically for shopping in April. Any advise as to where to go for bargains? Thanks.MT
  • MR.1MR.1
    edited 9:59AM
    I suggest you be aware of your money, thieves love you tourists.
  • karTERkarTER
    edited 9:59AM
    We stayed in Guilin and loved it.
  • China ToursChina Tours
    edited 9:59AM
    Hi KarTER?Warm greetings from Cindy from Gulin, China :)

    It's great to learn that you and yours enjoyed youselves in Guilin. It is indeed a place that is worthy of a second time. (Personally, I like Yangshuo best and never tired of visiting there:) )

    If you and yours are planning to take another trip to China and need our help, just feel free to let us know and we will be very willing to be your friend and guide in China.

    Have a lovely day!
  • karTERkarTER
    edited 9:59AM
    We spent around 9 days in Yangshuo and it was fun, but we still preferred Guilin. Better accommodation, much bigger and plenty to see and do. Yangshuo was charming but 3 nights would have been enough. Check our Blog if you want to know how we got on: www.ktelontour.blogspot.com - I think we were there April 2009.

    We will definitely be back but next time we want to see Shanghai and Beijing- probably next year.
  • China ToursChina Tours
    edited 9:59AM
    Nice to meet you again Kar TER :)

    Your last trip to China sounds great! I'm quite interested in what you have experienced in China and I have tried several times to visit your blog but unfortunetely always failed to do it :( I'm not sure waht's wrong... Anyway, nice to know that you like touring China. Wish you and yours a wonderful trip in China next time :)
  • GuestGuest
    edited 9:59AM
    A trip to China will always be remembered. You do not want to spoil your trip with an overpriced airline ticket that will hang over your head. If you are worried about the price of airline tickets, You might want to check on http://www.asia.com/cheap-flights-country/China to make sure that you get cheap flights to China =)
  • GuestGuest
    edited 9:59AM
    please find the travel infomation about China:
    http://chinatrip.chinaeu.de/
  • GuestGuest
    edited 9:59AM
    Hi,

    September will be my first trip to beutiful Thailand. I need a contact person to show me around, can anybody assist please?

    Regards
  • chinaeuchinaeu
    edited 9:59AM
    http://blog.chinaeu.de/index.php/2011/04/how-to-plan-the-first-trip-to-china/
  • mona88mona88
    edited October 2011
    Well, Guilin is a great travel resort. The weather is medium and comfortable. And don't worry about language problems, as English has become a universal language. I suggest you find a tour guide.
  • Sophia_ChinaSophia_China
    edited October 2011
    I would highly recommend travelling to yangshuo, Guilin
  • China.travel.planChina.travel.plan
    edited 9:59AM
    I liked Yangshuo in the Guilin area but wouldn't recommend Guilin itself. It is a big city with lots of traffic and not any different to any Chinese city.

    Yangshuo however, is beautiful, with limestone Karst Mountains as a backdrop. It is a really peaceful place to head to after visiting the big cities of Beijing, Xi'an etc. I would recommend staying outside of the town, in one of the villages nearby and just head into town when and if you need to.

    You can do cookery classes, Kung fu classes etc in Yangshuo - I would highly recommend it!
  • GuestGuest
    edited 9:59AM
    How do i get to Longjian Shude foshan from Guanghzou airport, whats the distance is it and the best means of transport
  • aronaron
    edited 9:59AM
    i dont recomend traveling via hong kong. i say, just fly directly into the mainland. you waste time, and money by going through hong kong. hk hotels are 3 times more than the mainland.
  • james5james5
    edited 9:59AM
    China is very large country and many good places in china to visit.
  • triper44triper44
    edited 9:59AM
    Guilin is warm in April, but it rains frequently.

    you won't have problems to access most websites, while blogger.com, facebook or twitter are blocked in mainland. The internet link, mainland china don't have free wifi all the time. some cafes, hotels have that

    Take a travel guide book like lonely planet, you won't have problems for sightseeing in China
  • james5james5
    edited 9:59AM
    China is very big country in Asia and many best visiting places are in china.
  • DovjoansDovjoans
    edited 9:59AM
    Internet access is available in China. You can definitely visit UK sites in China. If you have one month time to spend in China. I suggest you to visit Tibet. Cause Tibet is the most beautiful and mysterious place in China. You will find out unique culture, Buddhism and natural beauty there. Visit Tibet Tour - www.tibettour.com. You will find more Tibet Tour Packages there.
  • poorperson1poorperson1
    edited December 2013
    If you plan to visit China, please choose Beijing, Shanghai. because here are two political center, Chinese biggest economic country great. You can discover many new things about the beautiful pictures of this East Asian country and its people
  • ErikaJoErikaJo
    edited 9:59AM
    My suggestion is no big cities...Try to go to those places:Yunnan(Dali, Lijiang), Zhang Jia Jie, Xin Jiang, Guilin, Yang Shuo...So many amazing places in China!
  • nevjnnevjn
    er...have your problem been solved?
  • jerry222jerry222
    My first trip to China is on Study bases.I lived in China for Four years on my first trip.China is a very beautiful and progressive country.I like the culture of Chinese people and their way of working and study is excellent.I also have a job with my study as my Internship.I visit China almost all.There are great attractions in China which attract the tourist from all over the World.The villages are also very impressive.The farmers are very hardworking and work day and night not for their family but also for the prosperity of the country.They do not waste time in any other activities.I like this too much.
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