General Information
Note: The information presented here is an abbreviated version of our formal General Information for Tours to China: Lhasa and the Tibetan Plateau. Its purpose is solely to give readers a sense of what might be involved if they took this tour. It should not be used as a replacement for the formal document which will be sent to all registrants, and whose contents supersedes any information contained here.
ENTERING CHINA: United States citizens will need a passport valid for at least six months from date of departure and a tourist visa to enter China. Visa can be obtained at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China or by using a visa sevice such as CIBT.
MAP AND COUNTRY INFORMATION: You can view maps of China in the University of Texas series here. You can adjust the size of the map by clicking in the lower right corner. You can review the U.S. Department of State background notes on China here.
PACE OF THE TOUR: This is not an easy, relaxing tour. There is a fair amount of traveling, and a couple of the days are long and tiring. Several of the trails we will explore are fairly steep, and while we will walk slowly, we are at moderate to high altitudes and it is easy to become tired. A modest degree of fitness is recommended.
We will want to be out in the field early each day. This will occasionally mean being out by 5:00, driving to our first site and having a picnic breakfast there. On the day we drive to the Er La Shan Pass we will start even earlier. In most of China, hotel breakfasts are rather poor, so we will almost always have picnic breakfasts, usually consisting of instant noodles, biscuits, bread with jam or possibly honey, peanuts, sausages, and boiled eggs, plus tea and coffee and supplemented where possible with fruit and chocolate. We will have picnic lunches most days, and just before or after dinner we will compile the day’s checklist before retiring early.
In general, we aim to provide dawn-to-dusk birding for those who want it and as many opportunities as possible to opt out for those who wish to pursue other interests or simply relax.
HEALTH: At the current time no health certificates are required to enter either China or Hong Kong. CDC recommends the following vaccines (see your doctor at least 4—6 weeks before your trip to allow time for shots to take effect): Hepatitis A or immune globulin (IG); typhoid, particularly if you are visiting developing countries in this region; and, as needed, booster doses for tetanus-diphtheria and measles. You can review the latest CDC advisories here.
ALTITUDE: Participants should note that this is a strenuous tour, much more so than most of our offerings. Much of the tour is operated at very high altitude, and we will spend considerable amounts of time above 11,000 feet up on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The elevations that we explore on the Plateau will range up to a mighty 15,500 feet; by the time we reach these extreme elevations, we will already have had a week at high elevations allowing us to adjust gradually, and the stress of the altitude should be muted.
When at such high altitudes we will attempt to limit our activities, trying to avoid excessive uphill walking and moving at a fairly slow paces. Most altitudinal problems can be overcome by sitting quietly in or near the vehicle and drinking plenty of fluids. There will be oxygen available in at least one of the vehicles we will use on the tour.
CLIMATE: At the start of the tour in Beijing it is likely to be fairly warm (up to 90°F) during the day, but the early mornings will be cooler. It will be similar to this in Beijing when we return there at the end of the trip. In August in both Xining & Lhasa, however, the days will probably be slightly cooler (highs in the 70s or low 80s) and the nights possibly a little cooler (down to the low 50s). Up on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and particularly when we cross some of the higher passes near Koko Nur and near Wenchuan, it is likely to be considerably colder, especially in the mornings when temperatures can drop to around freezing. There will probably already be some snow on the highest peaks. Precipitation is rather scarce throughout the tour but is still a distinct possibility; this may fall as snow at some of the higher elevations that we visit. Precipitation is perhaps most likely on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau and at Huzhu Beishan.
DRESS: Will be informal throughout the tour.
TRANSPORT: Transportation for our time in Qinghai will be by a small coach, while around Lhasa we will use a fleet of smaller vehicles. We also have a couple of internal flights. Some of the drives may last for up to seven hours, but we will, of course, make regular stops along the way to stretch and to bird.
SMOKING: Smoking is not allowed in the vehicles or when the group is gathered for meals, checklists, etc. If you are sharing a room with a non-smoker, please do not smoke in the room. If you smoke in the field, we ask that you do so well away and downwind from the group if possible. If any lodge, accommodation or location where the group is staying or is gathered has a more restrictive smoking policy than the WINGS policy, the more restrictive policy will prevail.
ACCOMMODATION: The hotels in Beijing, Xining, and Lhasa are of a good standard with private bathrooms, proper restaurants, gift shops in the lobby, facilities for international phone calls, etc.
The hotels and guest houses that we will use on the Tibetan Plateau vary enormously, from the 3-star hotel at Niao Dao to a relatively modern 1-star guest house at Chaka. Even in some of the better hotels many of the rooms are poorly maintained. Please note that at some of the hotels/guest houses, even if hot water is available in the rooms, it is often NOT available until after 8:00pm, and that it is quite likely that we will have dinner and do our daily bird list before showers.
GENERAL INFORMATION & CONDITIONS OF WINGS & SUNBIRD TOURS: Please take a moment to read the WINGS General Information & Conditions. This section contains important information about how we conduct tours, e.g., what is included in the tour price, refund and cancellation policies, pace of the tours, and other information that will help you prepare for the tour.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: A more complete General Information for Tours to Lhasa and the Tibetan Plateau will be sent to each registrant on receipt of their booking. Final information with instructions for meeting the group, hotel addresses, etc., will be mailed about three weeks before trip departure. Other news will be communicated as necessary. If you have any questions, please contact us.
Updated: January 2008