Planning to travel from the US to China for the first time, costs?

[來撒母耳]

Hi everyone,

This may sound odd but when I first started to learn Chinese I had no intention of going to china, it was a "some-far-off-day" sort of plan. I really got into learning chinese for the sake of learning the language itself, I love the language and the characters especially even since I was a kid. So until now I've had thoughts about using Chinese on the internet, and also meeting an international community when I make a return trip to London... Anyway that brings me to my point, now that I've studied steadily for the past few months and talked to my Chinese friend a lot and realised that learning in a completely English environ[/font]ment is painfully tedious, I have decided that I want to go to china, and soon, my friend says he's working on a business opportunity where I possibly might be able to work there in 3 month periods in the future, but for a first visit I want to take just a short trip. For now I'm not setting a firm date yet. I want to budget out the money I need, so my questions mainly revolve around finance.

1. What is the best way to get a deal on plane tickets?

2. What kind of VISA do I need? I've heard that I can only get 3 month ones, are there any shorter?

3. Would it be more cost effective in the long run to go on a longer trip?

I may be going with someone and possibly staying with his family, but if I don't and I don't want to put them out If I go alone,

4. How much money would I need for daily expenses? Food, Lodging, mobility etc...

Any other things I should be aware of? Extra costs, good cities to visit with reasonable prices? etc...

谢谢！ B)

[amandagmu]

I can't answer all of your questions until you say where you'd like to go. Beijing, Shanghai, Yunnan, Hong Kong - everywhere is different, both in terms of buying plane tickets and daily expenses.

I can say with some certainty that if you're an EU or North American citizen then you should apply for a 30-day tourist visa. Anything longer requires special permission via invitation letters (for example a 60-90 visa requires a language school / university letter or business/work invitation letters). I could be wrong on the business stuff because I've personally only dealt with the student visa process on several occasions.

[rob07]

1. I use www.zuji.com to find the best deal on plane tickets. I live in Australia, other sites may do a better job for other countries.

2. Generally you do not apply for a specific type of visa. You tell them what you are planning to do there and they decide what kind of visa to give you. If you get a 3 month visa, then 3 months is only a upper limit, you can leave as soon as you like.

3. Getting to China is usually a significant cost, whereas it is not necessarily expensive when you are there so longer trips do usually make sense financially. However, if you are coming on a boat from Japan to stay in 5 star hotels in Shanghai, not so much. Daily expenses could be anywhere between $20-1,000, depending on where you are and what you are doing.

[來撒母耳]

@rob07. Thanks for your advice, it would be awesome if I could get away with $20 dollars per day or less as I'm on quite a tight budget now, and I also try to be quite frugal even when travelling, my souvenirs from the past have included soda bottles of unique drinks that you can't buy in the US, or in my state :rolleyes:

I also now have a destination, my friends suggest going to a smaller city than the usual popular attractions, and this appeals to me, I find everyday living in different cultures one of the most interesting things about travel, rather than going to see the typical tourist sights, and my friend's family who I might be staying with live in Tianjin。。。 so, Tianjin it is then!

[imron]

I second zuji.com. They're awesome.

Previously when travelling in China, I found I'd spend on average about RMB 200 a day (this was total expenses during the travel period divided by the total days travelling). This included all travel (train/bus), accommodation (dorms in hostels where possible), food, sightseeing and entertainment. This is probably going back 4-5 years, so I imagine costs are likely to be higher now.

Personally I've also found that I much prefer having a shorter trip with a higher budget per day, than a longer trip on a tight budget where you can't really do anything.

[amandagmu]

OK, for Tianjin I'd recommend using www.kayak.com (coming from the U.S.) and flying into Beijing... then taking the train to Tianjin. The train ticket won't set you back that much, I think, although I have yet to visit Tianjin even though it's so close by.

Also, do you live in an area where there are a lot of Chinese or East Asian/Southeast Asian families (like SF or DC)? If so, there are likely to be better deals through travel agents near you... but you'll have to find them via word-of-mouth.

[Lu]

A longer trip is of course more cost-effective than two short ones, but costs more than one short one. Generally, many people like to stay at least a few weeks once they get here, but it really depends on how much time and money you have.

I think I used to spend up to about 100 yuan/day on food, local transport and attractions, this was almost ten years ago (aiyo) but should still be doable in smaller cities, I think.

Have you looked into some travel guide books yet? They might give you some ideas for places you'd like to visit. Tianjin is probably nice enough, but while you're here perhaps you'd like to see some more of the country.

As to plane tickets, best is to check a bunch of different websites and agencies. Which one has the best offer can vary over time and place.

[anonymoose]

I also now have a destination, my friends suggest going to a smaller city than the usual popular attractions, and this appeals to me 。。。 so, Tianjin it is then!

So by what standard is Tianjin considered a small city? According to Wikipedia, Tianjin is the fifth largest Chinese city by population, at about 8.2 million. But at least you'll be glad to know that it's not one of the usual popular attractions. In fact, there's very little attractive about Tianjin.

[imron]

I would recommend south-west china as among the better travel options (especially Yunnan). It's far nicer than many of the eastern provinces which are quite industrialised.

[PanShiBo]

>>How much money would I need for daily expenses? Food, Lodging, mobility etc.

If you can speak, read and understand basic language (~1,500 hanzi), 200 rmb/day is realistic minimum. 80-140 rmb lodging (private room, shower, internet), 20-30 rmb food. Average cost of ground long-distance is 25 rmb for every 100 km (train or bus ). In cities take public buses normally 1-2RMB for a ride, avoid taxis.