Shane Lee asked:


This article is about the Lhasa travel and China vacations. You can find some helpful information in it if you are planning your Lhasa travel now.

Lhasa is the capital of the Tibet autonomous region in China. It is located at 3650 meters (12 000 feet) above sea level on the northern slopes of the Himalayas. Lhasa, which means “Land of the Gods”, is the heart of Tibet. Over 1,300 years old, it sits in a valley right next to the Lhasa River. Tourist resources are plenty, good hotels, tasty restaurants, travel agencies, Chinese department stores and supermarkets, in some parts of the city, you may find no difference to other Chinese cities, but the Tibetan influence is still strong and evident, especially around the old quarters near Barkhor.

In Lhasa, the most popular vehicles for the travellers are these 3: bus, taxi and manpower three-wheeled cart car.

There are several bus lines in the city of Lhasa.  You can take them to the major tourist attractions in Lhasa(the price is the same for all the bus lines: 2 rmb). The bus is not a bad choice for your Lhasa travel because the bus starts from the departure stop at every 1 or 2 minutes and it is not crowded(much more comfortable than the bus in other Chinese cities). Some tips here:The Tibetan Hospital of Lhasa(near the Square of Dazhao Temple) is most buses’ terminal and you can get in the bus there if you want.  An interesting thing I found out is that many buses here do not have bus stops in their way to the tourist attractions and all you need to do is to wave your hands to the bus driver. He/she will stop the bus for you(like what you do to get a taxicab). It is pretty funny, 

Although Lhasa does not have a big population, the number of taxicabs in Lhasa is not small. In the downtown of Lhasa, the cost is always 10 rmb(no matter day or night). If you are going to some place a little bit far away,like the Zhebang Temple, you can bargain with the taxi driver first. Usually the cost is from 15 to 20 rmb. Another choice is to rent a taxicab for a whole day and it is about 200 to 300 rmb. (You can get more information about Lhasa travel and China vacations at Travel2ChinaInfo Dot COM)

The manpower three-wheeled cart car is a very interesting thing in Lhasa and it is also most travellers’ favourite vehicle. The capacity is 2 people and you can experience the real Tibetan people’s life by taking this specail vehicle. The manpower three-wheeled cart car can take you to lots of interesting places in Lhasa. If the cart car owner is a Tibetan, you will find it very hard to communicate with him because they don’t speak English or Mandarin Chinese. You will need to learn some basic Tibetan for the communication with them. Counting from 3 to 5 in Tibetan is very useful here because you can use it to bargain with the cart car owner, .  If the cart car owner is a Han people, usually they will ask you to pay 1 or 2 rmb extra fees.(They speak Mandarin Chinese and this will help you to understand the life in Lhasa better if you can speak Mandarin too.)

Here is some useful Tibetan for your Lhasa travel(Tibetan for the number from 1 to 10):

1: ji, 2: ni, 3: song, 4: xi, 5: nga, 6: chu, 7: diu, 8: gei, 9: wu, 10: jio.

Travelling by bike in Lhasa is also a very pleasant experience. Many hotels and motels have the bike rental services and usually the cost is about 2-3 rmb for a hour and 20-30 rmb for a day.

Copyright belongs to Travel2ChinaInfo Dot COM .  You can find more information about lhasa travel,beijing flights and china vacations from our web site.

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Shane Lee asked:


This article is about the Chongqing travel, China travel guide, China vacations and China travel tips. You can find some useful information in it if you are planning your Chongqing, China travel now.

There are 4 municipality (directly under the jurisdiction of the Central Government) in China and they are: Beijing, Shanghai,Tianjin and Chongqing. Chongqing is the biggest city in South-West China. It occupies 82,300 square kilometers and its population is 30,220,000. Here is some useful info for your Chongqing, China travel: Tel area code is 023 for Chongqing; Zip code is 400000; Tel for the Chongqing Tourism Bureau is 89033055; Chongqing Tourist Complaint Telephone is 96927.

Language of Chongqing:

The Chongqing people speak Sicuan dialect but you will find no problem in communication if you speak Mandarin Chinese here. Chongqing is one of the 4 municipality of China and Mandarin Chinese is the official language of Chongqing. ( More info about China travel guide, China vacations, China travel tips at Travel2ChinaInfo Dot Com )

How to get in?

You can get here by train, by bus or by air. I will recommend you to get in by air because Chongqing is called the “mountain city” in China. You can save a lot of time if you choose to take the plane. There are airlines connecting Chongqing with more than 40 big cities of China. The Chongqing Jiangbei Airport is about 23 kilometers away from the downtown of Chongqing. The cost is about 50 rmb if you take a taxi from the airport to the downtown of Chongqing. Another option is the airport bus and the cost is 10 rmb.

The traffic condition of Chongqing:

Because Chongqing is the “mountain city” of China, you will not find bikes here. This is very different with other big cities of China. The public transportation is very advanced here in Chongqing. You can get anywhere you want by city bus, tourist bus,subway or taxi. Here are some useful Chongqing, China travel tips: (1). ALTO is the most popular taxi car in Chongqing. Its flag-fall price is 5 rmb and the cost is 1.2 rmb for one kilometer. The VW Santana is another choice for the taxi service in Chongqing and the cost is 1.6 rmb for one kilometer. (2). In Chongqing, you will need to pay for the high way fee if you go through a high way by taxi. The cost is 10 rmb for each time. Another extra fee for the taxi is the waiting fee: 0.6 rmb for every 5 minutes. (3). The city buses are in the same price in Chongqing. (4). The city bus with air condition will cost you an extra 0.5 rmb AC fee, comparing with the city bus without AC. (5). The Chongqing subway can take you from the Chongqing Zoo to the Daping. The train goes through the downtown of Chongqing and the cost is 8 rmb for one person.( More info about China travel guide, China vacations, China travel tips at Travel2ChinaInfo Dot Com )

By Shane Lee. Date: 08/11/2009.

Copyright belongs to Travel2ChinaInfo Dot COM .  You can find more information about China travel guide, China vacations, China travel tips from our web site.

NOTE: Permission is granted by the copyright owner to disseminate this article in whole or in part provided credit is given to the author (with a link to the article’s source URL Travel2ChinaInfo Dot COM ) and this NOTE is not removed.

Shane Lee asked:


This article is about the Lhasa travel and China vacations. You can find some helpful information in it if you are planning your Lhasa travel now.

Some tips for your Lhasa travel:

1. Do I need to bring some food for my Lhasa travel?

It is a good choice to bring some food for your travel. Most travellers don’t like the local food in Lhasa,Tibet. You can bring some food you like for your Lhasa travel (chocolate,cookie,etc). The gum is also a good thing and it can help you to alleviate the possible headache in a high altidue place like Lhasa. If you are travelling by yourself or going to do an adventure travel in Tibet, you’d better bring some compact biscuit. This can be very helpful for your Lhasa travel or Tibet travel.

2. Shopping in Lhasa,Tibet:

If you wanna buy some specail Tibetan products here, the best place is the Bajiao Street. You can get all kinds of stuffs here. One thing I need to mention is that you may buy some fake items in this market. Usually, these fake items are easy to identify. You can get very good deals here if you are good at bargaining. Sometimes you can get 60-70 percent off.   For the Tibetan medicines, you don’t need to buy it in Bajiao Street. Most Tibetan medicines here are fakes and the best place to buy them is the Tibetan Medicine Store or Tibetan Medicine Market in Lhasa. You can not bargain in these places of course. If you wanna get some fruits in Lhasa, the first choice is the Zongjiaolukang Market – the biggest fruits market of Lhasa. It is close to the Potala Palace.

3. Do the Tibetan people speak mandarin Chinese?

In Lhasa or other big cities of Tibet, the Tibetan people have good education and they can understand the mandarin Chinese. You can communicate with them in Chinese. Most young Tibetan people can speak good mandarin Chinese. But if you are travelling to some small towns of Tibet, the people there can not understand the mandarin Chinese and the communication with them will be a big problem. Here is some useful Tibetan for you:

Thank you: Tujiqi.

No: Mindu.

I have no change: Maozimindu.

Sorry: Guanda.

Please: Gujiguji.

I am sick: Adaibimindu.

Please find a doctor for me: Anmuqicairelang.

4. Can I live in a Tibetan people’s home if I am not able to find a hotel or motel?

Yes, the Tibetan people are very hospitable and they will welcome you to stay in their homes. One thing you will need to pay attention is to respect their customs and culture. You can leave them some small gifts to show your appreciation when you leave.

5. Can I get the Internet access in Tibet?

Most cities of Tibet have the Internet bars. The cost is about 3-5 rmb for a hour and the Internet connection there is DDN(Digital Data Network) or ISDN(Integrated Services Digital Network).

Copyright belongs to Travel2ChinaInfo Dot COM .  You can find more information about lhasa travel,beijing flights and china vacations from our web site.

NOTE: Permission is granted by the copyright owner to disseminate this article in whole or in part provided credit is given to the author (with a link to the article’s source URL Travel2ChinaInfo Dot COM ) and this NOTE is not removed.