Questions and Answers about the Expedition

 Q:  Please give us more details about the tour.

 A:  The Spring tour deadline for registering is April 10.   The Fall tour deadline for registering is Aug. 30.  By that time, I will email a tour-member list to you providing a detailed itinerary including hotel names, phone numbers and Internet service information.  I will ask you to send me your passport or a copy of the passport so that I may arrange for your visa.  Meanwhile, I will book all of the airline tickets.  If possible, we will also invite the traveling group to a meeting before our departure so that we may discuss the expedition and get to know each other.

Q: How can I join your tour from the East Coast?

A: We will take Cathay Pacific Airline to China prepaid from Vancouver BC or San Francisco , on May 22 for the Spring tour.  And we will take Asiana Airline to China prepaid from San Francisco on Oct. 9 for the Fall tour.  If you come from the East or Midwest, you will need to fly to San Francisco or Vancouver BC at your expense, and we will meet you at the San Francisco or the Vancouver BC airport.   Details will be announced soon.  Cathay Pacific and Asiana cover airfares for those coming from the West Coast.

Q: How can I get a visa to China ?

A: If you depart from Portland , I will apply for a group visa for us.  If you depart outside of Oregon , I will send you an application form to fill out.  You mail it back with your passport and I will apply for a visa for you.

 Q:  What is the weather like during May and June in China ?

 A:  It will be mild, about the same as the U.S. West Coast.  In Shangri-La, it will be cooler due to its high altitude.  In Yangshuo, it might be a little warmer than here.

 Q:  Is it easy to exchange U.S. money for Chinese currency in China ?

 A: You can get an initial supply of Chinese money at a Federal Reserve Bank and at some other large U.S. banks.  In China , you can exchange US dollars at Chinese airports and hotels.  Bring cash or travel checks with you, because there are no places to use credit cards in small cities.  Keep receipts on purchases so that you can reclaim US dollars at your departure airport if you have Chinese money left when you leave China .  The exchange rate from US dollars to Chinese Yuan is $100=RMB683 Yuan (as reported by the Chinese government on 7/20/2009).

 Q:   How much money should I bring with me for this trip?

 A:   The charge for either expedition is $3950.  This includes your visa fee, international airfare, domestic airfare in China , all ground transportation, our tour guides, medical insurance in China , room and board.  You only need pocket money and tips for tour guides, bus drivers, and bellhops.  We require some walking in the rice terraces in the spring trip, so you may want to hire porters to carry your camera equipment. There will also be some optional activities available in addition to the trip itinerary, such as shows and shopping, which would require small expenditures.  Normally, $600 will be more than enough for the whole trip.

 Q:  How much should I consider tipping?

 A:  Our tips need to run a bit higher than the normal amount for general sight-seeing tours.  Ours will be a special photo expedition that will require more from our tour guides and bus drivers.   They will need to get up early and go home late. We tried to ask the guides not to bring us to shopping centers (where they are paid by the merchants to deliver customers).   We paid about $9.50 per person per day for all tips during out last expedition.  I collected the tips and paid them through our travel agents ahead of time before we left the U.S. For the 2010 Spring and Fall tours, I will collect $150 per person for the tips for each tour.

Q: What is the standard voltage in China for chargers and other small devices?

A:  220 volts.  You should take a plug adapter for the outlets and a converter if you need to use electricity.  Some electronic adapters work on either 110v or 220v. If you are an AAA auto club member, it can supply adapters in its stores.   (In Portland , there is a store at Hwy. 217 and I-5.  It is at 6 Center point.  It’s a large red brick building, with a very large AAA on top.  You can’t miss it.)

Q: Do I need to get shots, and what medicine should I take?

A: You don’t need to get shots.  Bring your own prescription medicine, plus basic medicine like Advil, aspirin, antacid, etc. You might bring "Diomaox" for altitude sickness, or you can buy an oxygen bag or spray locally in China .

Q: Is it safe for the airlines to X-ray my film?

A: Yes and no.  One X-ray experience shouldn’t have any noticeable effect.  Several exposures to X-ray probably will affect your film.  I recommend that you have your film hand checked before boarding the plane.

Q: Can I get my laundry cleaned?

A: Yes.  In the cities hotels will be able to launder your clothes.  The rooms have a laundry bag with a form to fill out.  You can mark rush cleaning (same day return); otherwise, they will be returned the next morning, clean.  You do this in the morning when you leave for the day.

Q: Can I go to the Internet at hotels?

A: Yes. In the cities hotels will provide Internet service, but in the countryside such as at Dongchuan (colorful farmland), Longsheng (rice terraces) and Bifengxia (Panda Breeding Center), there may be no connections.

Q: What if I have to cancel the trip?

A:  You may cancel and withdraw your deposit at any time up to April 23, 2009 for the Spring tour, Sept. 13, 2009 for the Fall tour, when the full cost of the trip is due and payable so that we may purchase our airline tickets.  After that date, no refunds will be made for cancellation.  It is suggested that you consider trip insurance if you believe there is a possibility that you could be forced to cancel the trip.

 Q: What do we call you--Sue Zhou or Su Zhou?

 A: Either way.  Sue Zhou is my American name, Su Zhou is my Chinese name.  The pronunciation is the same.

About me

Sue Zhou, a native of China and a skilled Oregon photographer, has become widely known for the photo expeditions she has organized to take photographers—both professional and amateur—to hidden areas of superlative grandeur in China , scenes that confound the expectations of westerners who imagine that ancient land to have been totally exploited.  These tours visit spectacular places unknown to westerners and some even unknown to most Chinese.  They will also visit villages of some of China ’s many minorities who continue to practice ancient customs.

Sue and her travel group had been Yunnan province (Kunming, Lijiang, Dali, Shangri-La, Yuanyang, Xishuangbanna), Guangxi province (Guilin, Yangshuo, Xingping, Longsheng), Sichuan province (Chendu, Jiuzhaigou, Huanglong, Wolong), Heilongjiang province (Harbin, Qiqihar, Zhalong), Qinghai province (Qinghaihu, xining), Xinjiang province (Urumqi,  Yining, Kurningde, Bayinbuluke), Hunan province (Zhangjiajie), Hainan province (Haikou, Sanya), Jiangsu province (Zhouzhuang, Tongli, Suzhou), Shanghai, Beijing (Jiankou), and Hongkong.  For a reference about the tours from people who have joined one or more of Sue’s trips, call Sandy Pokorny at 503-629-9497 ( Sandy ’s China photos won first prize in the ( Portland ) Oregonian newspaper contest in 2002.  She has been on Sue’s tours three times) or Lois Summers at 503-618-9801 (Lois has been on Sue's tours two times).