General Tour Information
Note: The information presented here is an abbreviated version of our formal General Information for Tours to China in Winter. 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.
CLIMATE: The weather in South China is typically quite sunny and dry from October to the end of January. Temperatures at Yancheng and Poyang Hu are likely to be cold, especially at night. It is likely to be slightly warmer at the sites that we will visit around Hangzhou and Shanghai. Early morning temperatures will normally be around 40°F, rising to a maximum of about 55°F midday. However, it can be colder, especially in the hills near Wuyuan and near the coast at Yancheng NNR, and we should be prepared for early morning temperatures to occasionally drop into the low 20s. It can feel much colder if the wind is blowing. The humidity can be quite high, and unfortunately there is a chance of early morning fog at Poyang Hu. There is also a chance of rain at some time during the tour, and again this is perhaps most likely around Poyang Hu. At about 2,400 meters (7,870 feet), Weining and Caohai is the coldest area that we’ll visit on the tour; daytime temperatures there are unlikely to rise much above freezing.
ALTITUDE: Virtually all of the tour will be spent at altitudes of less than 800 feet, and while we will be doing quite a lot of walking especially around Poyang Hu, none of this will be particularly strenuous.
PACE OF TOUR AND DAILY ROUTINE: This is not a particularly strenuous tour. There is a reasonable amount of travelling and a couple of the days are long and tiring. However at this time of year the days are fairly short (the sun rises at about 7:15 AM and sets at about 5:30 PM) and the time we can spend in the field is limited. Even so we will leave our accommodation at about 6:00 AM and occasionally earlier, on a number of days and a modest degree of fitness is recommended. We might have picnic breakfasts in the field of a few occasions — this is most likely in the area around Wuyuan. It’s likely that we will also have a large number of picnic lunches in the field, but we will return to our accommodation for evening meals.
We try to make as many of our birding excursions as possible optional, so that if you find the pace too tiring it is possible to take some time off and relax. Essentially 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.
ACCOMMODATION: Varied. The hotel that we will use in Shanghai at the end of the tour is a comfortable 4-star establishment. Our other hotels are simple, but the rooms are clean and warm, with private facilities. At Yancheng NNR we’ll stay in the recently built reserve guesthouse. There are only seven rooms here, and if we have a large group, single rooms might not be available. Each of the reasonably appointed rooms has a heater and private facilities including a western toilet and shower. After the room heater has been on for an hour or so, the rooms warm up to a fairly comfortable temperature.
FOOD: Western food will be available only in our hotel in Shanghai. In the more remote areas, we will of course be eating Chinese food, which on the evidence of past visits is often excellent. Green tea and soft drinks, mineral water or beer are served with the main meals. Our ground agent will usually supply picnic breakfasts, which in the past have consisted of western cereals, milk, fruit (often bananas, oranges and apples), yoghurt, chocolate bars, instant coffee (normally with milk and sugar already included), tea, muffins, rice crackers, and biscuits. Picnic lunches are similar, often supplemented by boiled eggs, instant noodles, peanuts, or sometimes boiled potatoes. Where fresh bread is available, we will also have cheese and/or ham sandwiches.
The Chinese way of eating food differs from the western way in that a selection of different dishes are shared by those sitting at the same table and chopsticks are used. Food is almost always plentiful. Outside Shanghai, few if any of the restaurants we’ll visit provide knives and forks. Instead chopsticks, often disposable wooden ones, are used.
TRANSPORT: Transportation is by small bus, boat, and internal flights. Some of the minibus rides may last for up to six hours, but we will of course make regular stops along the way to stretch and to bird watch. While most road journeys will be made along sealed roads, in some areas the roads will be rough. This is especially true of some of the minor roads around Wuyuan and Poyang Hu.
We will explore a variety of sites in Poyang Hu NNR by boat. Individual boat journeys might last for up to two hours; we will charter the entire boat and will normally keep it for the entire day. The flights that we will be taking on Chinese airlines are of an international standard.
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.
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 South China in Winter 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