Restaurant & Food

The restaurants we will take you for lunch or dinner are all designated tourist restaurants approved by local tourist administration bureau. They have very good sanitary conditions and the food is prepared fresh and clean.

Note: If you have any special dietary needs, just let your travel consultant know while booking.

Vegetarian food Requirement

Vegetarian food in Chinese cuisine culture is usually divided into 3 categories: the Monastery Vegetarian Food, the Court Vegetarian Food and the Folk Vegetarian Food. And the main ingredients are: soybean, taro powder, mushrooms, fresh vegetables and tofu (bean curd). It will be easier to find the vegetarian restaurants in big cities of china, such as: Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, HK, etc.

If allergic to some food

We suggest you to list any food or ingredients that you are allergic to and let our travel consultant know. Then your travel consultant will mark them in the guide’s itinerary, so that our guides in different cities can make some preparations and arrangements in advance.

Do our guide and driver join the meal with us?

The tour guides and driver will be at the same restaurants with you, but they will only join the meal when you invite. Sometimes the drivers are shy to join as they usually eat fast and could not understand English talk around the table, so the guide will be with you more often.

Will we be able to try some local foods during our visit?

Yes, you will. There will be some meals excluded in your itinerary as you like, and your private guide will be delighted to give you some suggestions and take you to the local restaurants, if you are interested in local food tasting. But remember, some local snacks may not match your stomach, so ask your guided for more information before eating.

Vehicles

We offer sedan cars, SUVs, business vans (MPV), and different types of buses. Different vehicles will be used according to different group size.

Shopping

What to buy in China?

In China, there are myriads of souvenirs for visitors, and each city has its own specialty.

Some of the best buys are Mounted Butterflies; Pure tea; Dali Batik (tie-dyed fabric)

• How to bargain?

Bargains are not acceptable in big supermarkets and department stores. But in some night markets or tourist shops, you can bargain for a lower price, since the vendors always ask for very high price for a certain item. You’d better ask the opinion of the guide first, and then the guide will tell you the real value and quality of the item. Please note that when the bargain is processing, the guide will be hesitate to help as it may annoy the bosses. Just try to let the guides know you will bargain in advance.

What to do with persistent vendors?

If you do not need something from them, just do not ask for price. Some of the venders are very persisted, and if they keep selling things to you, you can simply say “No, thanks.” (Chinese pronunciation: ”Bu, XieXie”). If they do not give up, you just keep silence. Silence is sometimes useful to handle this situation.

More Tips for free-time shopping

• 1. If you think you have no desire or interest, you do not feel embarrassed to let our guide know DIRECTLY (since some of our guides are enthusiastic in taking you shopping)
• 2. Better to choose the shops run by the state when buying expensive articles.
• 3. Do not shop everything in one city, because every place has its unique local products which worth buying.
• 4. Do not feel obligate to buy anything only because the shop attendants are very kind to you.
• 5. Be smart consumers. Do not spend big money on things you are not familiar with. Do ask for shop guarantee, contacts and certificates when purchasing big items like antiques, jade, arts pieces.
• 6. Leave plenty of time for transactions. When you see something you like - buy it. Usually, you would not find it elsewhere and you would not have time to go back.
• 7. Always verify the date of antiques before you purchase them. Antiques dated before 1795 cannot legally be exported.
• 8. Articles made from rare wild animals are contraband and will be confiscated by customs without compensation.

Emergency calls

Call your guide, or if you can’t find your guide, call your travel consultant or our office immediately. All the phone numbers include in our confirmation letter. Keep the letter with your during your trip.

Note: As our Beijing office is using the different guide arranging system, so we will not be able to provide the Beijing guide information until the day before you arrival, but once we have it, we will email you immediately.