Usually before you arrive to your first point of entry into China, airline crews will ask you to fill out a health card before you passing through customs. Upon entering China, travelers must also complete a customs declaration form listing the valuables or amount of foreign currency being brought into the country. A copy of the form will be collected upon exit.

You should have your ticket(has the same name as it appears on your passport), valid passport with China visa, China airport tax coupon(each airport)

Besides showing your valid ID. Ticket and tax coupon, you need to check-in your non-carryon luggage. You may need to pay for the overweight luggage.

You will get your boarding pass and luggage receipt. The boarding pass is for board on the plane. The luggage is for picking up luggage upon arrival the desination.

Make sure the time to board and wait for boarding on the boarding at the right entrance.

You may choose to arrange the international arrival/departure transfer on your own, taking taxi or use hotel shuttle service.Or you may request this service from us by providing the international flights schedule. This service costs about $15-$50 pp.

In big cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, some people can speak English. In 3, 4 and 5 star hotels, everyone is required to speak good English. Mandarin is spoken throughout China. People in Hong Kong and part of mainland China speak Cantonese. English is the first foreign language of China and becoming more and more popular. But even though, without a English-speaking guide, you need to have some important information both in Chinese and English in case you need help to go back.

Note: In each hotel you stay, you can get hotel information card both in English and Chineses at the front desk.

Generally, after you go through the security check point, you will enter the airport lounge. Both the Screen Banners on the wall and the broadcasting announcement will remind passengers of the fight number and schedules. For any problem, you can get help from the airport stuff. Meanwhile you need to pay attention to the announcement, which will be repeated in Chinese and English.

After you arrive in a city, our guide will meet you at the airport. He/She will await you at the arrival exit, holding a board with your nameson it. You need to navigate through the terminal building by yourself before you reach our guide. Try to ask the airport staff for help if you have any problems. Please pay attention to the board with your name when you reach the gate.

If due to the overcrowded passengers, you may not see your guide, you should remain staying at the same exit spot.

If after the crowded is gone, you still can¡¯t find the guide, you should make a call to contact the local person which is listed on your final document.

If you make your own flight arrangements, you will be responsible for making your own airport arrival/departure transfer. If you miss the tour due to the late flight arriving, Yangtze Cruises, Inc will not be responsible.

If you decide to take taxi to the hotel upon your international arrival, we suggest you have your hotel's name address and phone number written both in English and China to show the taxi driver. The tour final documents provided by Yangtze Cruises, Inc will have this kind of thing sent to you before your trip.

China's legal currency is Renminbi (RMB). Foreign currencies can not be used directly in China, though some shops illegally accept foreign currencies.

Renminbi (RMB) Yuan is the Chinese currency. USD $1= RMB yuan 8 (reference only). We recommendyou bring your major credit cards, traveler¡¯s check and small amount of cash. Most hotels and shops in big cities accept major credit cards. You can change your traveler's check into local money in the hotel exchange counter. Usually the exchange rate is a little higher than cash exchange. Personal checks are usually not accepted. In Hong Kong, the local currency is HK dollar. USD $ 1= 7.5 HK dollars(average rate for reference only).

The basic unit of RMB is yuan. 1 yuan (or kuai) =10 jiao (or mao), and 1 jiao = 10 fen. RMB is available in both paper notes and coins. Hong Kong uses HK dollars.

Foreign currencies may be converted into RMB at all local banks (into HK $ in HK), bank branches or hotels at the exchange rate quoted on the foreign exchange marker on the day.

Black market in foreign currency is forbidden in China. People may approach you in front of hotels, at tourist spots or at banks for a black market exchange. You should be extremely careful. The exchange rate may be attractive--higher than the bank rate--but it is illegal and you risk being cheated.

When you exchange money at the banks, you should ask for a certificate, with which you can change RMB back to foreign currency before you depart the country.

The official exchange rate at this time is 8.2 yuan to 1 U.S dollar. Keep the receipt of the transaction as you might need when you leave China to change your US dollars back in Bank of China at the airport.

Most of the internationally accepted credit cards are usable in China. They include: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Diner's Club, and the JCB card of Japan.

Credit cards are accepted only in large shopping malls and stores. Credit card symbols are displayed in the visible place in shops and hotels indicating credit cards are accepted.

You can withdraw money (Chinese Yuan) from ATM machines of Bank of China at any time. And you can also transact through the bank clerk.

Their working hours are 9: 00AM -17: 30PM from Monday to Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, the working hours normally are 9:00AM - 1:00PM, but it may vary with banks. So you are recommended to transact it during the working days. The ATM machine of Bank of China can accept most foreign credit cards, such as VISA, American Express, Master Card etc.

Generally you need not take Chinese currency to China since you can easily exchange you US$ into Chinese Rmb in hotels and banks. However if you would like to have local currency upon your arrival in China, it is okay that you may take a volume of Chinese currency less than 6,000 Rmb without declaration at the customs. You are required to declare your import of Chinese currency exceeding 6,000 Rmb.

The Bank of China has an agreement with foreign financial organizations on selling, cashing in and compensating for traveller's cheques.

Issued by Currencies

• Thomas Cook USD HKD DEM FRF CAD AUD JPY CHF GBP
• International Payment Co. USD GBP CAD
• American Express Co. USD DEM FRF
• Citibank USD
• Nanyang Commercial Bank USD HKD
• Swiss Bank CHF
• Bank of Tokyo JPY
• Mitsui Bank JPY
• Sumitomo Bank JPY
• Fuji Bank JPY

Most 4 or 5 hotels provide convenient Internet service with reasonable fees. In most big cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Qingdao, you can easiliy find internet caf? usually no drinks supplied.

During the day-time tour, shirt, T-shirt, jeans, Shorts and sneaker are all very practicle. The regular daily 3 meals too.

Unless there is a show or special dinner, it is nice to dress up as you used to do in your own country. But that doesn¡¯t mean you need to pack several suits or dresses even if there are several special occasions during your trip.

All the fees are payable in local currency and in cash only at a special airport tax desk at each local airport before check in.

Breakfast will be arranged in the hotels you stay. Sometime American Buffet, sometime Chinese Buffet.

The day meals listed in your itinerary are usually pre-arranged and fixed for the group and will consist of Chinese delicacies and a limited choice of western foods. If you like Chinese - you will enjoy! If you don't-- you always can order other meals on the menu, please note that extra cost for this extra order may apply. It should be paid by youself before you leave the restaurant. If you don't feel the local Chinese meal is better that you have in the US. Please don't blame the restaurant, since most of overseas Chinese restaurants are westernized.

To guarantee the hygiene and quality, all the meals during the tour are pre-arranged in the government approved restaurants, which are all of set-menu. People cannot make their own orders at this point. If you have special requirements, please inform us before the tour starts, so we can make arrangements accordingly.

You have the following several choices:

1. Use restauraunts in the hotel.
2. Government approved restaurant for foreigners
3. Travel guide book'ss recommendation

There are two kinds of The shows in Xi'an, one is the Deluxe Tang Dynasty Dinner Show, which is what on our web site, the other we believe is the one you have had. These two shows are held in different places, the Deluxe one is held at No.75, Changan Lu, Xi'an; the other one, called Tang Dynasty Palace Music and Dances show is held at No.5, Weiyi Bei Lu, Xi'an.

Most of the meals we offered are Chinese food, but we defer to your preferences and opinions. Any suggestions would be welcome.

Limited bottle spring water and soft drink will be provided, if you want more, you need to pay.

Yes, the guide and the driver will dine in the same restaurant with you. But, they will not share a table with you without your invitation.

If you are individual traveler, our guide will arrange an individual table for two of you. If you travel with a pre-arranged group, you will share a large table with other people. Usually 6-10 people on one table.

If you have some special requirements, please inform us so that arrangements could be made in advance.

There are mainly eight dish systems in China, namely, Shandong cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, Guangdong cuisine, Fujian cuisine, Jiangsu cuisine, Zhejiang cuisine, Hunan cuisine and Anhui cuisine.

For more detailed information about the Chinese cuisine and food culture, please see our website www.chinaplanner.com.

All of the restaurants we use for our tours are all approved by the national tourism administration, therefore they are dependable in terms of hygiene and quality.

But we respect you choice if you prefer arranging your meals by yourself. We will deduct the cost of the meals from the quotation.

In a guided tour, having lunch with the group is easier for you to enjoy the tour, and it's easier for us to operate the tour. You may arrange your own dinner.

Let you guide know beforehead, find out if there is extra charge for this change. The extra cost need to be paid by you after each meal.

Generally, cities all have their unique local dishes and snacks. You can consult it with your local guide and she/he will give you suggestions on what to eat and where to eat. Also you can follow-up the travel guide book¡¯s recommendation.

You only need remember always to choose a restaurant which is dependable in terms of hygiene and quality.

The meal price depends on the grade of the restaurant you choose and the food you order. Basically, the meals listed in the tour itineraries are RMB 50-80.00 net per person for each meal. Local speciality cuisine dinner such as Beijing Roast Duch starts from RMB 80 pp.

Credit card is only accepted in large hotels. For most of the restaurants in China, Cash in Chinese Yuan is acceptable. So bring some cash in Chinese Yuan before enjoy your meal.

Usually what type of meals we are going to get during our stay in HK.

Usually we don't arrange any meal in HK. Since most of travelers would like to enjoy leisure on own during the stay in HK, besides HK has too many interesting meals to be pre-arranged, So while you wondering around, you may decide to try anything you want.

Do not drinking tap water anywhere while traveling, even if you are in 5 star hotels. It is much safer to bring bottle-water which can be purchased at your hotels and at many local shops or ask advise from our local guide. Usually it's less expensive in local shops than in hotels.

If I have special diets, such as vegetarian, dairy alegic or religious restriction.

Please advise us while you make travel booking from us if you have any specific dietary considerations. We will accordingly inform the local service in China to take care of this as well as taking care of your tours. Please double check with your local guide (or national guide).

Flight delay/cancel is out of control of Yangtze Cruises, Inc and all our local services. We don¡¯t take any responsibility for the air delay/cancellation and losing any tours caused by the delay/cancellation. But please be assured that Yangtze Cruises, Inc and all our local services will make every effort to achieve the best possible alternate arrangements. Under such circumstances, we would appreciate your patience and understanding.

In big cities, there are luxurious sedans at a higher rate. In small cities or towns, taxi's condition are less luxurious. You can hardly find taxi, especially at night. Taxi fares vary from city to city but they are required by the government to have the rate clearly marked on the taxi window.

Most taxi drivers do not understand much English, although those in tourist cities are encouraged to learn and speak some simple English. Non-Chinese speaking visitors are advised to have their destinations written down in both Chinese and English and show the address to the cab driver. Taxi rate is about USD1-2 averagely.

In most of China cities, airport is about 1hour away from downtown driving. The cost is about $15-35. Except in Guangzhou, the airport is very close to downtown.

This depends on how many people in the tour group. All the vehicles are air-conditioned, clean, comfortable, non-smoking and big enough for the entire group of people.

The drivers are all well-trained and experienced. Some of them can understand simple English. If you have any request for the driver, you may ask the guide to help your communication.

Post offices are efficiently run and very reliable. Usually in 3, 4 and 5 star hotels, there are free post services. If not, ask your local guide for help First class mail overseas costs RMB YUAN 3.60.. Air mail to overseas averagely takes about 7 - 10 days.

Most of the nights are not pre-arranged so that you can have a good rest or walk around the city to catch something you are interested in. For the rest, we will arrange programmers such as enjoying an acrobatic show, watching a Beijing Opera, having a dumpling banquet, or attending a Tang Dynasty Dance and Song Show.

Any suggestions are welcome and we will try our best to fill your need.

All of our guides are certificated by the national tourism administration. They are friendly, experienced and knowledgeable and are very competent both in terms of organizing the trip and their ability to communicate. They could deal with all kinds of unexpected situations and help you avoid many difficulties.

How many hours per day will your guide be with me? How will be the guided tour itinerary arranged daily.

Usually, the guide will ask you what¡¯s your prefered morning call time and set up the time to pick you up to start the tour. From then on, The guide will be with until you finish the visit plan of the whole day, it may be around 5pm.

Unless you are interested in knowing that, otherwise you may choose not to go. But even you go, you do not have to purchase any treatment.

Tipping has become a common practice in China. It has become a very popular norm to tip the tour guide and driver, hotel bellboy in recognition of their good service. It is not customary to leave tips at local restaurant. Normally, you do not need to tip at hotel restaurants, as the bill includes 10% to 15% service charge.

No tip is included in the tour cost even if you travel with a group.

We suggest $5 to $10 /per guest per day as tips for tour guide and 3 to 8 USD to the driver and about 2$ for hotel bellboys as a gratitude for their service.

For active tours like hiking, biking, rafting, we suggest you double the tipping. If you are traveling in group more than 10, we recommend US$5-6 / per guest per day for the tour director and US$2-4 for the local guide in each city, $1-2 for our driver.

It's your own decision not to tip if you don't enjoy the service.

Most hotels in China today feature direct dial phones in the rooms and business centers where faxes can be sent back home. In outlying areas where direct dial phones are not yet available, international phone calls can be arranged through local hotel operators who will take your number and call you back when the connection is made.

ON CRUISE SHIP: While most ships on the Yangtze are supplied with telephone/fax capabilities, due to terrain, these can only be used while docked in certain (not all) ports. In cases of emergency, communication is passed both ways via the Captain's ship to shore radio.

• Dial 011+86 (COUNTRY CODE) +(CITY CODE) + number to call from the U.S. to China,
• Dial 001 + CITY CODE + NUMBER to call back the States from China.

IDD service is available at all hotels and post offices. China country code is 86 and outgoing international code is 00.

It is very convenient to make phone calls in China now. Telephone booths can be seen everywhere, in hotels, restaurants, airports as well as on the street. Various phone cards are sold in China, available in post offices and in hotel. IC card and IP card are recommended for convenience and comparatively low price.

Most public telephones you see in China are IC telephones, which are for local, long distance call and IDD. Generally IC telephone cards are available in amount of 20 RMB, 30 RMB, 50 RMB and 100 RMB. The rate for local call is 0.20 RMB/3 minutes. Long distance call rate varies according to the distance. International calls with IC telephone cards are relatively expensive, usually over 10 RMB/M.

Emergency calls 112 (weather), 119(fire), 120 (hospital), 110 (police) are free and require no phone cards.

IP cards¡¯ rates for international calls vary. China Unicom's rate for calls to Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan usually is 1.5 RMB/M, 2.6 RMB/M to America and Canada while 3.6 RMB/M to other countries. Currently, the IP phone service has covered the whole country, providing international service between China and over 200 countries and regions.

You can always use the hotel telephone. But be aware that it could be as expensive as US$3 per minute. On the Yangtze cruise ships, it could be $20 per minute as they are using satellite telephone.

* Suggestions:

1. leave the phone numbers at home and ask them to call you;
2. send faxes from the business centers at the hotels and ships;
3. send emails from those business centers at the hotels and ships (note: you can not bring your own email account there as China¡¯s ISPs and ICPs are independent).

International Direct Dialing Service Codes & Time Difference of Some Countries and Regions

• Austrlia 61 +2:00 Austria 43 -7:00 Belgium 32 -7:00
• Myanmar 95 -1:30 Nepal 977 -2:30 Nether-lands 31 -7:00
• Canada 1 -13:00 Chile 56 -12:00 France 33 -8:00
• Germany 49/37 -7:00 Switherland 41 -7:00 HongKong 852 0
• U.K. 44 -8:00 Italy 39 -7:00 U.S.A. 1 -13:00

Yes, you can. And keep in mind that bring your electrical multi adaptor along is a must.

Five days a week, 8 hours a day, normally from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. All the government offices, institutions, schools,hospitals and other units do not work on Saturdays and Sundays. The emergency clinic is open when the hospital is closed. Shops are open everyday, normally from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. In big cities, stores close late. In summer stores close later than in winter.

Everything is pre-arranged, double-confirmed therefore you will be able to enjoy a worry-free trip. In some scenerary spots, there may be crowded people, but the our local guides are all very experienced to handle this situation and will be able to well organize your tour.

First of all make sure that the missing item was not misplaced. In the unlikely event of properties loss, ask your guide for help, if serious, report immediately to the police. Yangtze Cruises, Inc is not responsible for any loss, theft or damage to your baggage. Insurance is strongly recommended. Airlines have baggage restrictions and you should check with the air carrier prior to your flight.

Besides our trained professional guide will give you possible first aid, you will be sent to the nearest hospital for emergency treatment as quick as possible. If this happens on the cruise during the sailing, the doctor on the cruise ship will give you the first aid make contact the nearest local hospital whenever it¡¯s necessary and send you to the hospital from the close port.

Please DO NOT photograph people without asking their permission first. Also, refrain from taking photo's of restricted areas such as airports and military installations. And although camera film is readily available at most major hotels - it is still a good idea to bring plenty of film and batteries for the camera's with you! (Some museums may charge fees for film or video photography- or may not allow them at all)

If the passport is lost in China, report to the local public security organization as soon as possible. Besides, contact the embassy or consulate of your own country applying for an exit document with a certificate issued by the local public security organization.

"The People's Republic of China protects the lawful rights and interests of foreigners within Chinese territory, and while on Chinese territory foreigners must abide by the law of the People's Republic of China." Within Chinese territory, the legitimate rights and interests of the foreign visitors are protected by the People's Republic of China. And the freedom of person of the foreign visitors is inviolable as that of the Chinese nationals. And likewise, all foreign visitors must abide by the law of the People's Republic of China. Any activities that disrupt public order, disserve public security and infringe upon the interests of the state, of society and of the collective would be punished according to the laws of China. Within the period of validity of their visas, foreign visitors can freely travel the areas open to foreigners. But they should respect the folkways and customs of local areas. While, those who what to visit areas that are not opened to foreigners should apply for a Foreigners Travel Permit from the local public security organ. Only after the approval is granted, can they enter the area legally.

The People's Republic of China protects the lawful rights and interests of foreigners within Chinese territory. If your legal rights and interests are infringed or something unpleasant happens to you, you may complain to related organs.

Complain to the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) directly or to the Institutions of Supervision over Quality in each province, when:

• Your travel agents or hotels or other travel operators offer you poor service or do not follow the agreement;
• The guides or other travel staffs extort money from you;
• You are injured or your baggage are damaged or lost due to the fault of the travel operators

Usually, besides the tour itinerary, the local guides may provide option for you, such as visiting factories or going shopping. You can always let your guide know your interests and needs. Discussion is always a good way with your guide.

Silk, tea, antiques, paintings and calligraphy, Chinese medicines, handicrafts such as paper-cutting, replicas of terra-cotta horses and warriors and other articles with Chinese flavor are all ideal souvenirs and good gifts for friends.

Shopping in China is both an interesting thing and a challenge. In each local city or town, you may have some shopping time. But buy or not is your own decision despite the suggestion or recommendation.

In some store you may bargain, in some stores the prices are fixed. Keep in mind that you should always ask for the receipt for what you paid.

ART/ANTIQUES older than 120 years is not allowed without prior permission from the Ministry of Culture. If not sure, inquire with your Tour Guide PRIOR to purchasing any items of great value.

When buy expensive articles, you'd better choose the shops run by the government. Make sure that the antiques you bought carry a wax seal indicating that it is authentic and is able to be exported from China.

Also need know that antiques dating before 1795 cannot be legally exported. Keep the purchase receipts to show the customs when depart China.