China Transportation
Travel to and from China
The number of airlines flying into China is increasing; all the time, and the Chinese national airline, CAAC, has also expanded its routes to many parts of the world.
The following airlines now operate directly to Peking and have offices there:Aeroflot, Air France, British Airways, Iran Air, JAL (also flies to Shanghai),Jugoslav Airlines, Lufthansa, Pakistan International Airways, Panam, Philippine Airlines (via Guangzhou), Swissair and Tarom. The other main gateway to China is via Hong Kong through Guangzhou. In Hong Kong you can obtain: a visa and arrange a tour to China with transport by hovercraft, express train or boat to Guangzhou or by air to the major cities. There are also cruise ships which visit Shanghai and other ports.
Travelling within China
If you visit China as part of a group tour all the internal travel arrangements will be made for you. You don't have to worry about tickets, your luggage arrives separately and on time in a luggage van at the station or airport, and you don't have to bother yourself with travel passes between cities.
The main forms of transport between cities are rail and air. China does not have the kind of road network to enable visitors to travel for more than short distances by bus, and distances which may seem short to the overseas visitor are viewed quite differently by the Chinese. When there is no alternative - such as travelling through the desert from Liuyuan to the Dunhuang grottoes in Gansu Province - the journey by road is exciting, often bumpy, and not always in air-conditioned vehicles, but there are more opportunities to stop to take photographs or to enjoy the view.
The number of airlines flying into China is increasing; all the time, and the Chinese national airline, CAAC, has also expanded its routes to many parts of the world.
The following airlines now operate directly to Peking and have offices there:Aeroflot, Air France, British Airways, Iran Air, JAL (also flies to Shanghai),Jugoslav Airlines, Lufthansa, Pakistan International Airways, Panam, Philippine Airlines (via Guangzhou), Swissair and Tarom. The other main gateway to China is via Hong Kong through Guangzhou. In Hong Kong you can obtain: a visa and arrange a tour to China with transport by hovercraft, express train or boat to Guangzhou or by air to the major cities. There are also cruise ships which visit Shanghai and other ports.
Travelling within China
If you visit China as part of a group tour all the internal travel arrangements will be made for you. You don't have to worry about tickets, your luggage arrives separately and on time in a luggage van at the station or airport, and you don't have to bother yourself with travel passes between cities.
The main forms of transport between cities are rail and air. China does not have the kind of road network to enable visitors to travel for more than short distances by bus, and distances which may seem short to the overseas visitor are viewed quite differently by the Chinese. When there is no alternative - such as travelling through the desert from Liuyuan to the Dunhuang grottoes in Gansu Province - the journey by road is exciting, often bumpy, and not always in air-conditioned vehicles, but there are more opportunities to stop to take photographs or to enjoy the view.