General Tour Information
Note: The information presented here is an abbreviated version of our formal General Information for Tours to China: Manchuria, Hanzhong and the Taibai Shan National Forest Reserve. Its purpose is solely to give readers a sense of what might be involved if they took this tour. Although we do our best to make sure what follows here is completely accurate, it should not be used as a replacement for the formal document which will be sent to all tour 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.
HEALTH: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are currently recommending the following for travelers to China (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, and a one-time dose of polio for adults. You can review the latest CDC advisories here.
Biting insects are not numerous although mosquitoes are occasionally locally fairly common in the marshlands around Beidaihe. Tap water is not safe to drink. Bottled water and soft drinks are readily available, and hot, boiled water (for coffee or tea) is available on trains and in hotels.
CLIMATE: In Beijing and around Xianghai Nature Reserve, it is likely to be fairly warm (up to 77-86°F) during the days, but the early mornings may be chilly. In Shaanxi and particularly around Xi’an, it is likely be hotter than elsewhere on the tour, with daytime temperatures perhaps even reaching 90°F. In the Qinling mountains at Taibai Shan it is likely to be slightly cooler, especially in the early mornings, when temperatures can drop to around 46°F - a warm sweater, jacket and possibly gloves might be needed here. There may still be some snow on the highest peak, but we do not anticipate venturing that high up the mountain. Rain is rather scarce throughout the tour but is still a distinct possibility. Beijing’s climate is notoriously dry, especially in the spring, but it could rain. Rain is most likely in the mountains of southern Shaanxi (at Yangxian and Taibai Shan) but can occur anywhere.
ALTITUDE: At Taibai Shan, we will stay at a guest house is at 7500 feet. This is certainly high enough for us to experience mild altitudinal problems, such as breathlessness and mild head aches. Moreover, on at least two of the days that we will be in the park, we will venture higher, going up to Xiabansi at 10,500 feet. There might even be an option to take a cable car from there up to Shangbansi which, at 12,140 feet, will be the highest site that we will visit. At all these higher elevations our birding will be fairly leisurely — we expect to stay almost exclusively on the road and to spend much of the time walking slowly back down the upper part of the mountain. When we are here we will limit our activities, try to avoid excessively walking up hill, and will move at a slow pace to avoid altitudinal headaches and breathlessness, etc. Most altitudinal problems can be overcome by sitting quietly in or near the vehicle and drinking plenty of fluids.
PACE OF TOUR AND DAILY ROUTINE: This is a not an easy, relaxing tour, and while it is not a particularly strenuous trip, there is a lot of travelling, and a number of the days are long and tiring. However, the Taibai Shan mountains are a slightly more strenuous place to visit. Some sections of the roads are fairly steep, and while we will try to walk downhill whenever possible and will always walk slowly, we are still at moderate altitude, and it is easy to become tired. A modest degree of fitness is recommended. Due to the early morning bird activity in the areas we will visit, we will want to be out in the field early each day. This will often mean being out at 5:00am (and occasionally earlier) and having a picnic breakfast in the field.
ACCOMMODATION: We will spend a total of three nights in Beijing—these will be our first and last two nights in China. The hotel that we’ll use is of an excellent, international 4-star standard with private bathroom/toilet facilities, several restaurants, and a swimming pool. T
Moving on from Beijing, we will spend one next night on the train traveling north to Jilin. This will be the first of two overnight train journeys that we will have.
We’ll stay near the headquarters at Xianghai National Nature Reserve in a new and fairly comfortable hotel. All of the rooms will be clean, and all have private facilities, with western-style toilets and showers.
We’ll drive from Xianghai National Nature Reserve to Changchun where we’ll stay in a modern four-star hotel about 40 minutes from the airport.
Our next two hotels in Xi’an and Hanzhong are comfortable, western-standard four- and three-star hotels respectively.
We’ll spend four nights at Taibai Shan National Forest Park, nights at three different places, and will use two different guest houses inside the Forest Reserve and a hotel close to the park’s main gate. Both of the guest houses are clean, fairly warm and well-maintained. We’ll stay in private rooms, each of which have twin beds and private bathroom/toilet facilities with showers and a western toilet. They also have hot water for showers here. The hotel close to the park’s main entrance two-starl, and all the rooms have twin beds and private bathroom/toilet facilities with western toilets and hot water. The final place is Hong Hua Ling on the eastern side of the mountain. This is the poorest accommodation that we will use on the entire tour. There is a simple guest house here, but on all previous visits all the rooms have been spotlessly clean. A couple of the rooms have a double mattress on the floor and a private, Chinese- or continental-style toilet and a small wash basin. Most of the other rooms also have mattresses on the floor. Only a couple of the rooms have more western-style, elevated beds, but none of them have private bathroom/toilet facilities, and we will have to use the public hole-in-the-floor, Chinese-style toilets approximately 100 feet away. The guest house does not have 24-hour electricity but has a small generator that will be on for several hours after dark in the evening. We will spend just one night here.
FOOD: Chinese cuisine is well-known and widely appreciated. The Chinese way of eating differs from that in the west in that a selection of different dishes are shared by those sitting at the table. Food is almost always plentiful. Few of the restaurants we will visit provide knives and forks. Instead chopsticks, often disposable wooden ones, are used. If you are not used to eating with chopsticks, we suggest you start practising right away or bring your own cutlery.
DRESS: Dress will be informal throughout the tour.
TRANSPORT: Transportation is by small bus, train and internal flights. There will be an overnight train journey as we head from Beijing up to Xianghai Nature Reserve in Jilin Province. We will travel first class, in soft sleeper berths. Each of our cabins will have four comfortable sleeping beds, a small table, a sliding, lockable door and plenty of space for us, and our luggage. Some of the bus rides may last for up to seven hours, but we will, of course, make regular stops along the way to stretch and to birdwatch.
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.
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 Northern China 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.
Updated: July 2007