China is a mysterious and multifaceted country, to visit which means to get a lot of new impressions. Is it possible to organize such a trip on your own, and how difficult can it be?
China is one of the most ancient civilizations on the planet, which during its existence has managed to accumulate a huge cultural and historical baggage. Therefore, it is worth organizing an independent trip there so as to have time to see at least part of the richest heritage of this country.
Flight planning
In addition to its cultural diversity, China also has a very vast territory, so you should decide in advance which part of the country you would like to visit. Thus, Beijing and Shanghai are popular as tourist destinations, which provide an opportunity to get acquainted with numerous sights: for example, in Beijing, the Forbidden City and the Great Wall of China are almost a must-see, and in Shanghai - Pudong Embankment and the Pearl TV Tower. Those who prefer a beach holiday can opt for the resorts of Dalian or Hainan.
The most affordable flights are from cities in the Russian Far East: Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. However, if you buy tickets in advance, it is quite possible to find an inexpensive flight from Siberia or the European part of Russia. It is quite convenient to do this using one of the flight search engines: for example, www.skyscanner.ru or www.aviasales.ru/. After making your choice and paying for the purchase, do not forget to print out e-tickets: they will be useful to you not only for boarding a flight, but also for obtaining a visa.
Hotel selection
China is a country famous for its inexpensive hotels. Therefore, even with a fairly modest budget allocated for this item of expenditure, it is quite possible to choose a worthy place of residence for yourself. In order to make your choice, you can use one of the popular booking systems, for example, booking.com or hotels.com. Before making a final choice, it is useful to read the reviews of previous guests about their stay at this hotel: it is quite possible that they will indicate some points that will be important to you. In addition, after making a reservation, do not forget to also print out the booking confirmation: it will be useful to you when checking into the hotel and when contacting the consulate.
Obtaining a visa
When planning a trip to China, you should remember that for Russians this country has a visa regime for visiting. You can apply for a tourist visa yourself: to do this, you must first study the composition of the required package of documents on the website of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Russia ru.china-embassy.org, and then, having prepared the necessary papers, contact the embassy in Moscow or the consulate in St. Petersburg, Irkutsk, Yekaterinburg or Khabarovsk.
However, you should investigate the reasons for visa-free travel to China: your trip may fall under one of these reasons. So, a visa is not required to visit Hainan Island as part of a tourist group, if you do not plan to leave the island. In addition, upon presentation of supporting documents, a 72-hour visa-free transit is possible when visiting several major cities - Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing, Shenyang and Dalian.
In addition, to apply for a visa, you can use the services of one of the many agencies that are ready for a fee to take over the communication with the embassy or consulate. And after the documents have been submitted, you just have to wait for a ready visa and plan your movements within the country in order to have time to see as much interesting as possible.
