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Travel Service Facilities
1. What are the hotels like in Pan-Tibet Regions?
There are lots of hotels in Pan-Tibet Regions, quite a few of them are above three star. Hotel star in China is assessed by China National Tourism Bureau considering a very strict criterion. Generally speaking, the services and facilities offered by the hotels above three-star include:
1) Central control air-conditioner, color TV, telephone, refrigerator and double curtain in the room.
2) A private bathroom with 24-hour hot water, disinfected towels & glasses, tooth brushes &paste, soap, bath lotion & shampoo and toilet paper.
3) One or two beds, a wardrobe, and a dressing table, with ceiling lamps, bedside lamps.
4) An electrical water boiler, with which you can boil the water to drink.
5) Round-the-clock room service.
6) Concierge service & Bank service of exchanging money & post card delivery service
7) Business center & Tour Department
8) Chinese and Western restaurants, coffee shops, bars, banqueting halls, conference rooms, multi-function halls, ballrooms, beauty parlors, massage rooms.
There are fewer choices for hotels in Pan-Tibet Regions and they do not have as good facilities as hotels in modern cities in east China. We generally use four star hotel in big cities like Chengdu, Kunming, Xining,etc. However, four star hotels will be very much expensive during peak travel season July, August and September. So we will choose some good three star hotels instead. If you are visiting some remote places like Shigatse, Mt. Everest, Ngari, only guesthouse available, sometimes, multiple rooms living with other guests or camped tent will have to be served in Ngari region.
2. What kind of meals will be included in our package tours?
Chinese food is mainly served if there are no special requests before. It is generally Chinese traditional fried vegetable and meat, with rice or noodles for main food, eight dishes with one soup for 10 guests sharing a table. We have different food arrangements for groups from different regions of the world. Generally a Tibetan dinner with dance show will be arranged for your Tibet trip, and sometimes, we will arrange one special dinner like Sichuan snack or Sichuan hotpot.
3. What kind of vehicles are we going to use during our tour?
If you book a private package from us, private car/van/bus with air-condition and cushioned seats will be provided for you according to the number of your group. We will generally use 5-seat limousine or 4WD vehicle for you. If you are traveling in join-in group tour (sit-in-coach tour), a private transfer will be provided for you from airport to the hotel, the hotel to the airport, for the sightseeing, you will share a big bus with some others.
4. Are all the entry tickets included in our tour fare?
Generally we will include all the entry tickets listed in your itinerary. Besides entry tickets, we also include sightseeing bus or some of cable cars in places of interests. For example, we will generally include cable car for Mt. Emei. However, sometimes the price for entry tickets will rise after we confirmed the travel fare. If this occurs, you have to make up the difference.
5. What about our tour guides?
Tourism in China has been booming since China opened to the world almost 30 years ago, so do the professional staff working in tourism. Now, all over China we have tens of thousands of trained and licensed tour guides. There is a nationwide examination for qualified tour guides once a year, only those who pass the examination will be certificated by the national tourism administration and be able to work in this field.
We have tour guides speaking English, German, French, Japanese, Thai, and Korean. They are friendly, knowledgeable and experienced; they are the experts in communicating with people and organizing your tour well by dealing with all the unexpected situations and difficulties. We often use Tibetan guide for Tibet travel, their English are not as good as guides working in Tibet from inland cities, but Tibetan guides are more familiar with local folk custom, religion and more hospitable with guests, you can experience Tibetan style from them which is one of the most important part for traveling at a place. Speaking as guests' preference for so many years, Tibetan guides are also more welcomed. In Tibet, it’s easy to offer English and Japanese speaking tour guide, but for other language, you need to make a special request when you make inquiries, as there maybe not available for a certain language.
6. If I book a tour from you, what kind of insurance will be included?
Tourist life insurance will be included as long as you book package tour from us (if you book single services like hotel reservation, car rental, etc, the insurance will not be included). The insurance will compensate for tourist’s personal body
injury caused by any accident in your trip. But not for the losses of personal properties and belongs. The highest compensation will be 300,000RMB per person. We will buy the insurance for you from China Life Insurance Co., Ltd., one of the biggest insurance companies in China.
7. Is tipping a common practice in China?
Yes, tipping for tour guides and drivers in recognition of their good service has become a common practice. Hotel bellboys and house keepers accept your tips as well. It is not customary to leave tips at hotel or local restaurants as the bill usually includes 10-15% service charge.
8. Does the quotation you offer include tipping?
No, the quotation we offer does not include tipping as tipping is a personal matter.
9. What are the best souvenirs to take from China? Where to buy them?
China is a big country and different cities are famous for different items. Silk, tea, antiques, paintings and calligraphy, Chinese medicines, handicrafts such as paper-cuttings, replicas of terra-cotta horses and warriors and other articles with Chinese flavor are all ideal souvenirs and good gifts for friends. Following are some suggestions of where to buy them. For example, Beijing is famous for cloisonné, Xian for replicas of Terra-cotta soldiers and rugs and antiques, and Shanghai for jade, Hangzhou for fresh water pearls, Suzhou for silk, and Guilin for scroll paintings and China Southern Sea Pearls.
Our guide may offer you shopping opportunities to fill your leisure time, but if you don't want to go, please do not feel embarrassed to let our guide know. You have much choice to buy souvenirs in different stores, like free markets, local department stores, antique shops, etc.
Good buys: Sichuan Tea, Sichuan silk products, souvenirs of Giant Panda, Tibetan handicrafts, Tangka, medicine, and jewelry.
10. Are there any entertainments we can go and entertain, especially during the night time?
Sichuan Opera: the cultural heritage in Sichuan province, 18:30-20:00, 20:30-22:00 every day played in a traditional outdoor tea house. It usually costs 120RMB per person including the opera ticket and a cup of Gaiwan Tea.
Jinsha (Golden Sand) Music Opera: a splendid music opera showing the ancient culture of Jinsha relic with 3000-year-long-history discovered in Chengdu. 19:00-21:00 every day played in Chengdu Art Centre. It costs
150-120RMB per person.
Pub Street: Chengdu is a famous leisure city. There are many pub areas here. The famous are located in yulin living area (south part of the city) and pub street Fangcao Street (southwest part of the city). Some are equipped with Kara OK. Most pubs serve liquid only, no food. If you want to take some western food, North Kehua road has many restaurants which will be the good choices.
Night Beer: It is a local calling for small restaurants serving authentic local food with fresh beer and open till late night or even all-night. Most Sichuan young people usually go home very late during summer. They'd like to invite friends to have supper in these restaurants till night or have snacks after some amusement activities like watching a movie, playing in Kara OK. The lifestyle shows Chengdu is a leisure city typically.
