Best China Tours for Expats

1. Plan your trip properly according to the holiday of a year.

In China, usually people, including most expats, can enjoy 2-day weekend, 3 to 7 days off on traditional festivals and public holidays. Besides, expats can enjoy the holiday of your own country, e.g. Easter Holiday for 3-4 days off.
When planning a weekend trip in China, choose a nearby destination that is accessible by short-time flight/high speed train. For example, if you live in Shanghai, Yellow Mountain, Suzhou, Putuoshan, and Xiamen are nice choices.
If you have 3-7 days holiday, design a trip concentrating on one place together with other neighboring areas. For examples, you may put Beijing and Pingyao, Chengdu and Lhasa or Xian and Luoyang together on a single trip.
If you’re planning your annual vacation of 1-2 weeks, expats travelers can have a slow paced close look of a province or a specific region. For examples, you may have an expedition to the Silk Road, or explore Yunnan Province.

2. Best time for expats to travel in China

Best time to hike the Great Wall is from April to November. For expats travelers, apart from April, May, September and October, November till mid-December is also a good time to travel, as you can expect less tourists, lower costs and better travel experience.

3. If I will go for a tour during the National Day holiday, what do you recommend?

Since you live in China, you should have known how crowded it will be at those famous tourist spots during the National Day holiday. Usually we don’t recommend the international travelers to come during the first week of October. While for expats living in the country, if they have no other choice, then we will let them know the real situation of the destinations like in Yellow Mountain, Zhangjiajie, etc. The travel experience would be very poor due to the crowds of people during the period, after all, China has the largest population in the world (1.4 billion). Of course, our travel specialist will also look for some solutions to make your travel dreams come true. For example, we may select some less visited places for our clients in Yunnan and Guizhou, or the quiet parts of the popular destinations. If the must-see sites are busy, we will request the local guides to take you there earlier or later in the daytime to avoid the worst tourist jams. Please also read the article Hidden Gems in China for expat travelers.

4. I have two children with us, what do you offer for a family trip in China?

China has a vast territory, while each region has its distinctive sub-culture under the Chinese long-lasting civilization. For expat families, it will never be bored to see the diversified cultures, gorgeous landscapes, people and their colorful lifestyles. As a veteran for inbound travel, ETC paid much attention to looking for and developing travel products catering to the needs of family tourists. Not only in those top destinations like Beijing, Xian, Chengdu and Guilin, but also at some smaller and remote towns of Yunnan and Gansu we find tour programs for the children to enjoy and learn during their trips in China, which will broaden their horizons and have an in-depth understanding of the Oriental country. This is a wonderful start for them to grow up into a global citizen in the future.

5. My parents are visiting us, what is your suggestion for a 10-day-long tour for senior travelers?

If your parents are the first-timers in China, we recommend a tour covering Beijing (3 nights) - Xian (2 nights) – Chengdu (2 nights) - Shanghai (3 nights), or Beijing (3 nights) - Xian (2 nights) - Guilin/Yangshuo (3 nights) - Shanghai (2 nights). If you live in Beijing or Shanghai, there is no need to arrange any programs, then we can skip it and add other places instead. Lijiang of Yunnan can be taken into account. If you intend to show your parents those less-visited places in China, then Guizhou, Fujian and Gansu Province are good options.

6. We are physically active travelers. Do you have any recommendation for us?

China has so much to offer. It will never let you down in outdoor adventures. Easy Tour China has an affiliated brand name – Guilin Cycling Tours, which deliver all types of adventurous experiences: cycling, hiking, kayaking, bamboo rafting, cave exploring, etc. If you crave for fresh air, stunning landscape, physical challenge and lifestyle travel, at ETC you will definitely find what you want. For more details, you can visit the website: www.guilincyclingtours.com.

7. I want to visit Tibet, can you help me?

According to the government rules, international travelers have to apply for a Tibet Entry Permit before entering Tibet. Only when travelers book a tour with a Chinese tour company, will they be given the permit, which is included in the package. This means foreign passport holders can’t travel independently to Tibet, they are required to take an escorted tour to visit the region. If you intend to visit Mt. Everest or any other places not open to the foreigners, then another Alien Travel Permit is needed. Therefore, please plan in advance, at least 20 days before, even you have obtained the China visa. The procedures are a little more complicated if you will visit Tibet. Easy Tour China is a specialist for the tailor-mades tours covering all over the country. Our travel specialists are very pleased to be at your service, crafting a memorable trip to Tibet for you.

8. Are there any other destinations besides China as we may plan to visit other neighboring countries like Vietnam or others?

After years of development, Easy Tour China established a close business ties with the partners in the neighboring countries. In the past years, we have successful operated many seamless private tours to Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, and Mongolia. The clients really enjoyed their travel experiences. If you intend to travel overseas, Easy Tour China team can help as well.

9. Tips for your 2025 trip in China

The COVID-19 epidemic is under control in China, most destinations (except for areas with medium or high risk) and attractions can be visited. But the travel restriction may be adjusted at any time according to the epidemic. For expat travelers, please be noted that:

● You can travel in China only if you have lived in China for over 3 months.

● Some hotels may not be allowed to receive foreigners.

● Most attractions have a daily limit on the number of people permitted to enter. And you need to book the ticket in advance.

● Prepare the travel essential items: mask, green health codes of your location and destination, passport and most recent China entry stamps, 14-day record of travel itinerary, certificate of employment, and nucleic acid test results.