China Tourism: Getting Around

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Getting Around

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The first thing to do upon arrival at any Chinese destination is to buy a map for ¥5 (65¢) or less. Even though few of these are bilingual, and most are inaccurate, they're essential for navigation. Your hotel staff can mark on them where you want to go, and you can show the characters to the taxi driver or bus conductor. Everyone navigates by street names and landmarks.

By Plane -- In 2003 the announcement by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) that it would allow the permitted maximum discount on airline tickets to reach 40% was greeted with derision by Chinese travelers, who had been obtaining such discounts, and greater, for some time.

Booking domestic flights before you arrive in China is expensive and unnecessary. The only Chinese airlines offering flights on internationally accessible ticketing systems are those who also have international routes: principally China Southern, China Eastern, and Air China. The only way to book domestic tickets before you leave home is through CITS offices (other agencies will go to CITS, too), or through online websites. In either case, you'll usually be asked to pay full fare (or more), which might be, for example, ¥1,200 ($150) one-way plus perhaps a booking fee on the Beijing-to-Shànghai route. Yet you could pay ¥800 ($100) or less with no booking fee by buying over the counter from an agent in China, depending on seasonal demand. Some ticketing websites even have full fares on their English pages and discounted fares on their Chinese-language ones. So avoid them.

Much flying in China is on a walk-in basis, especially on the most popular routes. It makes sense to book a few days ahead to get the best price, but for most of the time, on most routes, there is an oversupply of seats.

While you can buy tickets between any two destinations served by Air China at any Air China office, you'll usually get a much better price from agents in the town from which you plan to depart. Prices are always better from agents than from the airline, even if they are next door to each other, and you can and should bargain for a lower price, and shop around. No agent with an online terminal connected to the Chinese domestic aviation system charges a booking fee. Agents sitting in four-star and five-star hotels will not offer you the discounts they could, however. You need to look out in the street away from your hotel. You usually cannot get a refund on an unused ticket from anywhere except the agent where you bought it.

By Bus -- China's highway system, nonexistent 20 years ago, is growing rapidly, and journey times by road between many cities have been dramatically cut to the point where on a few routes, buses are now faster than trains. Although most buses are fairly battered, in some areas they offer a remarkable level of luxury -- particularly on the east coast, where there are the funds to pay for a higher quality of travel. Some buses even have on-board toilets and free bottled water.

Many bus stations now offer a variety of services. At the top end are kongtiáo (air-conditioned) gaosù (high-speed, usually meaning that toll expressways are used) háohuá (luxury) buses, on which smoking is usually forbidden and that rule is largely enforced. These tickets are usually easy to obtain at the bus station, and prices are clearly displayed and written on the ticket. There are no extra charges for baggage, which in smaller and older buses is typically piled up on the cover over the engine next to the driver. It's worth booking a day ahead to get a seat at the front, which may have more legroom and better views.

Buses usually depart punctually, pause at a checking station where the number of passengers is compared with the number of tickets sold in advance, then dither while empty seats are filled with groups waiting at the roadside who bargain for a lower fare.

Sleeper buses, although cheaper, should generally be avoided when an overnight train is an alternative. Usually they have three rows of two-tier berths, which are extremely narrow and do not recline fully.

Transport can vary widely in quality in rural and remoter areas, but it is usually dirty and decrepit, and may be shared with livestock.

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China Tourism: Getting Around

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