Champion Holidays - Discover China and Beyond

General Information

Appliances
Hotels in China and Japan provide hair dryers and are wired for use of V110. Voltage is V220 in mainland China and Hong Kong, V100 in Japan. Small adapters for international travel can be purchased at appliance or hardware stores in the US.

Baggage
For international flights, you may bring two checked bags per person for free of charge. Maximum weight per each bag should not exceed 50 lbs and the total dimension (length, width and height) of the two bags should not exceed 107 inches. One carry-on bag of total dimension not exceeding 45 inches is allowed. For domestic flights in China, you may bring one checked bag per person for free of charge. Maximum weight per each bag should not exceed 44 lbs and the total dimension (length, width and height) of the bag should not exceed 62 inches. In Japan, your baggage will be transferred by a truck between Tokyo and Kyoto when you travel by bullet train. One piece per person is free of charge. Additional 2,200 yen (currently) is required for an additional piece. You will not have an access to your suitcase until arrive at a hotel. You can not bring your suitcase into bullet train.

Clothing
Pack lightly and bring casual clothes. Attire for dinner is also casual, but shorts or sandals are not considered appropriate.

Cruises
Cruises along the Yangtze River are provided by five-star China Regal Cruises or Victoria Cruises or other similar luxury cruise lines on the Yangtze River. Accommodations include standard staterooms with two beds, outside windows and complete bathroom with shower. “Pea-boats” and other small craft used for stream drifting are chartered from the local land operators by China Regal Cruises or Victoria Cruises, or other luxury cruise lines. The cruise itineraries including the shore excursions are subject to change at the time of operation. Boats for cruising on the lake, river or canal in the other cities are chartered by Champion Holidays land operator in China.

Currency
The US dollar can be exchanged for Chinese or Japanese currency at airports or hotels (Currently about 6.8 Chinese yuan or 100 Japanese yen against 1 US dollar) ATM machines are available in China and Japan and major credit cards are accepted at many stores. You need Chinese or Japanese currency for taxies, tips, shopping at street vendors, and smaller shops.

Expert Tour Guides
Our Champion Holidays tour guides are required to meet very strict professional requirements including English language proficiency, knowledge of the history and culture in China and Japan, and congeniality toward our tour participants.

Flights
We customarily use Air China for our international flights. We may also use Japan Airlines or other airlines for certain tours. Meals are provided on board, and movies are also available. Direct international flights from the west coast of the US to China take about twelve hours, while Air China’s non-stop direct flight service from New York to Beijing takes about thirteen hours and a half.

Health
The local handling travel agency requires exclusion in China & Japan of any person rendered unsuitable for long trips by health conditions such as mental illness, serious, chronic ailments, contagious disease, advanced pregnancy, senility or infirmity. Vaccinations are not required. Please check with your travel agent or Public Health Service for current required or recommended inoculations.

Hotels
We offer the comfort of five-star or the best available hotel accommodations with full American breakfast in each city. For our China price buster tours, superior first class hotels may be used in certain cities. Deluxe or superior first class hotels may be used during the stay in Japan. For the hotels in Hong Kong and Japan, hotel surcharge may apply during the period of conventions or special events. Non smoking rooms with two beds and private bath are reserved in most hotels. Triple rooms are the rooms with two beds and a rollaway. There is no discount for the third passenger in the triple rooms. Special requests for the connecting rooms, smoking rooms, or bed types should be advised at the time of reservation. These requests are subject to availability and confirmation by the hotels.

Itineraries
All Champion Holidays programs have been created by China and Asia tour experts with many years of experience - not only designing the tours to these destinations - but also living and working in that part of the world.

Japan & Hong Kong Special Administration Region
Visas are required for non-US citizens and must be obtained directly by the passenger or the travel agent.

Local Contacts
We have set up an office in Beijing and Shanghai in order to better coordinate our tours and render immediate assistance - if needed - to our clients during their stay in China. We also provide names and telephone numbers of contacts in each city, along with a complete itinerary including hotel addresses and telephone numbers, to our passengers for every tour.

Meals
In addition to the breakfast buffet served at the hotel, most tours include lunch and dinner at select, on-site locations. Farewell dinner parties are arranged near the end of each tour, and most itineraries include special dinners, such as the Peking duck dinner in Beijing, the dumpling dinner banquet in Xian and etc. Passengers enjoy fine dining on China Regal Cruises or Victoria Cruises. (See individual tour descriptions for meals included.)

Passport
All passengers must have a passport which is valid for six months from the tour return date to the US, and the passport must have at least two blank pages for a visa.

Relaxed Pace
We have gone to great lengths to make each tour a vacation that is relaxed in pace. For instance, for our Prime Tours in Beijing, we book four nights instead of the usual three, as there is so much to see and do in this ancient/modern capital city.

Shopping
Time for shopping will be arranged during your tour at various sites for your convenience. Champion Holidays does not take any responsibility for any damages, payments, shipping or other problems of your purchases. It is each passenger’s responsibility to contact stores directly.

Tibet Entry Permit
If you are traveling to Tibet, Champion Holidays handles the entry permit. If you are applying for China visa on own, we must receive a copy of your China visa by 45 days before departure.

Tour Size
The average tour group for our prime tours is 15 to 25 people. The group size of China price buster tours may or may not exceed the average group size of the prime tours. Customized and private tours can also be arranged.

Visa
Visa is required to travel to China. You may apply for a visa in person at the Chinese Consulate near your home. If you choose to have Champion Holidays to apply for a single entry visa to China on your behalf, a non-refundable fee of $160 per person is required. ($130 charged by the Chinese Consulate (Visa fee is subject to change without prior notice), $30 charged by Champion Holidays as handling fee). Passport shipping fee of $25 per each mailing is also required. If you apply for a visa through Champion Holidays, you must be a resident of the US regardless of nationality. You need to send us your passport along with your final payment 45 days before departure. The normal processing time is two weeks including the delivery time. For express processing within one week, an additional charge of $30 per person will apply. When the visa is done, the passport will be mailed back to you along with the other travel documents 2 weeks before departure. If you require your passport sooner, an additional charge of $30 per person for extra processing and separate mailing will apply. Champion Holidays is not responsible for refusal of your visa by the Chinese Consulate New York. Visa is not required for US citizen to travel to Hong Kong and Japan.

Value Pricing
Because of our extensive contacts in China and our special arrangements with hotels, land operators, and airlines, we are able to arrange top-notch service for our customers at very competitive prices. Departure dates, tour prices per person based on double occupancy, and cost of single supplements appear with each program in this brochure.

Average Temperatures

		JAN	FEB	MAR	APR	MAY	JUN	JUL	AUG	SEP	OCT	NOV	DEC
BEIJING	HIGH	36	42	54	70	82	89	90	88	81	69	52	40
	LOW	13	18	29	43	54	63	69	67	56	43	29	18

SHANGHAI	HIGH	48	50	58	68	78	84	92	92	84	76	65	54
	LOW	34	36	43	52	62	70	78	78	70	60	49	39

XIAN	HIGH	42	48	60	72	81	91	93	90	79	69	59	45
	LOW	22	27	36	46	55	64	70	68	58	47	35	24

GUILIN	HIGH	55	56	64	74	83	89	93	93	89	80	70	60
	LOW	39	42	49	58	66	72	75	74	70	61	52	43

NANJING	HIGH	46	49	58	70	80	86	92	92	84	74	63	51
	LOW	28	30	38	49	59	67	74	74	65	53	42	31

HONG KONG	HIGH	68	68	72	79	84	88	90	90	89	85	78	72
	LOW	56	57	61	67	74	78	79	79	77	73	65	58

TOKYO	HIGH	46	48	53	66	73	80	87	89	82	71	60	51
	LOW	30	32	33	44	51	60	69	71	64	51	41	32

KYOTO	HIGH	48	49	54	64	72	76	82	86	79	69	61	53
	LOW	35	36	41	50	58	66	71	75	69	58	49	40