Thorn Tree travel forum

1

Ok hope you already know of the potential problems with changing the group visa (that you get in Nepal when you enter through Tibet Autonomous Region) to a normal China visa?
Also, sorry to say that you're too vague.
What are your sightseeing interests, apart from "major tourist attraction" and "rural culture & natural beauty"?
Plenty of recommendations for accommodations but not for "China" in general... if I was going to answer that question, I'll write my own guidebook for sale instead of posting it all here for free.
How much money daily is your "strict budget"? Are you travelling alone?
Is your point of exit Beijing, or somewhere else?
Cheers!

2

As noted, you will find it VERY expensive and inconvenient to travel from Nepal to Tibet and then into China.

Several problems with this routing. First, any Chinese visa will be cancelled in Nepal and you will have to purchase a new group entry visa for China. These are limited to 21 or 28 days. If you are lucky and insist you might get a group visa for one, just for you but there are no guarantees. Next, this visa is NOT renewable in Tibet so depending upon how long you were planning to travel in Tibet, you might have problems. And finally, getting this particular type of visa changed to an individual tourist visa which can then be extended is NOT guaranteed and many people who try at the first town or city outside of Tibet are rejected and only get 10 days extension, enough time to reach the nearest border out of China.

So...if you are planning to spend more than a few days to week in China, I would recommend reconsidering this plan of entry to China from Tibet.

One more point, you are asking for recommendations for an itinerary but China is a huge country and you don't indicate where you will depart and your itinerary will depend on whether you plan to go overland to Laos, Vietnam, Mongolia or the stan or perhaps you will fly out from Hong Kong, Beijing or Shanghai or maybe you will take a ferry to Japan or Korea. All of this type of information would be important to mention given your limited amount of time compared with the huge size of China.

Ruth

First check: Everbrite's travel pages, the New RU sticky,and New RU train sticky

Since I have taken the time to answer your question, it would be nice if you took the time to respond as to whether the information was helpful.

3

Finding a sleepy little town in Chian is like looking for a niddle in a Haystak.

It is not impossible but you will have to venture out and make a few detours. I have not been to one yet.
My first trip to China was more main turist places and a few new industrial towns that are grwoing like mashrooms.

I would say fisrt start with those places like Nanjing, Nanchang, Hunan, there are tons of them. Purty much every provincial capital. Once you get to one pick some small villages on your map, and go for broke...:) explore!

Igor The Troll travel blog

4

As mentioned above onward travel in China is problematic when you enter from Nepal. On $30/day you could survive quite comfortably just in Lhasa and environs but if you want to make any major excursions it's going to cost a bit more.

Highlights for me in China included Horse trekking in Songpan, Tiger Leaping Gorge, Travel overland fromLhasa to Zhongdian and kicking around in western Sichuan. Lot's of sleepy villages in Sichuan.

WeiLong in China

http://thewanderingant.com/travels/betel-nut.html

5

30 a day? That's rich! You can get a dorm bed for 50 kwai. A hotel room for 100 kwai. Come on, maybe Shanghai and Beijin is a bit more but you will be very comfortable with this budget. Thre some entrance fees to turist stractions that ten to range from 50 to 200 but otherwise you are clear. Beer cost 3 kwai.

You are a rich Westerner... :)

Just stay away from package tours, do it yourself is cheaper and fun! No need for guides, just ask dirrections...

Igor The Troll travel blog

6

The OH DAN HOUSE, not to be confused with the Oh Dan Hostel, is a pretty good option.

garyma.com {Wanderlust}