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China Tourism

During 1989, especially in the after math of the Tian'an men tragedy of June 4, China became shrouded in uncertainty. Middle and long-range policies for political change and economic growth were apparently under-going stringent review, leaving large gaps in confidence both at home and internationally. Although tourists were never directly endangered either by the public disturbances or by any official policy, China Tourism sector was gravely affected by the events of June, with foreign tourist activity down by more than half during the summer of 1989. However, substantial tour discounts put into force for the last half of 1989, together with credible reassurances that China remained a safe and rewarding tourist destination, combined to produce signs of recovery by early 1990.

The possibilities for independent travel through China have grown dramatically in recent years, mainly due to an official relaxation of travel restrictions on foreigners coming to China. The China Guidebook now in-corporates a wide new array of detailed information for budget travelers and others seeking to explore China's cities and countryside on their own.

Getting to China is much easier than it was just a few years ago. The range of options for group travel to China has expanded to offer consider-able choice in format, time span, itinerary, and cost. To assist travelers in planning their trip, Sections II-V1 of the Guidebook discuss the variety of choices now available for group and individual travel and explain the special procedures and protocol required by the circumstances of organized travel in China.

Since a large proportion of visitors to China, including many tourists, travel to pursue professional or special interests, the Guidebook includes even sections prepared especially to aid trips that will focus on business, education, health care, art, archeology, religion, or cuisine. In addition, a special section in Chinese offers advice for those visiting relatives in China.

All major cities and sites included in general itineraries available through 1990 are covered in Section VI1. Along with its tourist amenities, each city is discussed in terms of its role in traditional China as well as its place in the cultural, political, and economic context of today's China. The emphasis of the Guidebook is on life and cultural values in the People's Republic of China today- a bias that attempts to reflect the ways in which China's people have come to view their own country.

For most travelers to China, time for free activity is limited. To enable travelers to make maximum use of the free time available, the Guidebook includes several step-by-step "freelance" walking tours for sightseeing and shopping in the larger cities, along with 24 updated city and regional maps.Monthly climate charts have been added for almost all cities.