How I did it
From the start I had my heart set on Central Asia. When I found an $815 flight to Beijing, I knew I was halfway there. After I bought a ticket I started emailing travel agents, both here in the States and in China, asking about flights to Kashgar - the city wasn’t listed on any of the Internet reservation systems.

Very few agents replied with any useful information, but finally I did hear from CITS in Beijing. Working by email, I made a reservation to fly from Beijing, through Urumqi, to Kashgar for $740 round trip. I was shocked to realize it was going to cost me almost as much to get to Kashgar as it had to Beijing - oh, well.

At about the same time, I started looking for hotels. After reviewing several travel guides (Lonely Planet and Rough Guide), I made some reservations. As my trip was short I wanted to nail down as much of the uncertainties as I could. In two cases, I made my reservations by directly emailing the hotel. In the others, I used Sinohotel (www.sinhotel.com) in Beijing, which had been recommended by an online acquaintance. I was particularly pleased with them - they were quick to reply. Also, in several cases, they offered a substantial discount from published prices and in all cases, my reservations were as expected. It’s worth noting that no deposit was required with any of the reservations I made.

I then downloaded a visa application from the Chinese Embassy in Chicago's web site (www.chinaconsulatechicago.org). The visa cost $35 and took about two weeks to process. It was good for a single entry and a stay of up to 30 days.

About two weeks before I was scheduled to leave, a representative of CITS emailed asking for payment for the air tickets. This caught me a little off guard - I thought they were simply going to hold them until I arrived. We started discussing how I might make payment when another complication arose. They told me that their office was closed on the weekend. As I was due to arrive on a Saturday, this meant I would have to stick around Beijing until Monday - something I didn't want to do. There seemed to be no way around this - they told me I had to pick the tickets at the main office - so I declined to make payment. I asked if they could hold the reservation anyway and they said they would try. They also suggested that I might try to find an agent who would be open on the weekend. This was a suggestion I took to heart. Unsure of my onward flight, I left for Beijing.

When I arrived the first thing I did was ask at the information desk about where I could buy a ticket to Kashgar. They directed me upstairs where I found the Xinjiang Airline representative at window 12. It looked like you could buy tickets to any destination in China at the airport. In just a few minutes I had my tickets and was on my way. Getting the tickets turned out to be one of the easiest things about the trip.

Hotel Review
The Lu Song Yuan, in Beijing, is about a 45 minute walk (or 10 minute taxi ride) northeast of the Forbidden City. I loved this place - the staff was friendly and I met a lot of interesting travelers. The rooms were organized around a series of small courtyards and furnished with Chinese "antiques." I stayed there three times and had a different room each time. All were quite small, but had modern plumbing, smoke detectors, TVs and a card system to turn everything off when you leave. There is a restaurant and Internet access "Tea shop" in the complex. The hotel is on a narrow hutong (alley) off a busy street where there are plenty of places to eat. It’s a hard place to find so make sure you have a map (www.the-silk-road.com/lusongyuan/lu_locate_index.htm). I made my reservation with Sinohotel (www.sinhotel.com) and paid when I arrived at the hotel. The rate, Y264 ($32), was $2 less than the walk-in rate. I would definitely stay there again.

The Ocean in Tianjin is a large and sterile high-rise that I picked for its location - about 10 minutes from the train station and about 10 minutes from the downtown shopping area. Other than offering a great view of the city and the Hai He River, there wasn't much to distinguish it. I made my reservation directly via email (ohtj@shell.tjvan.net.cn) and paid $50 per night.

The Guest House for Diplomatic Missions in Beidaihe was a great hotel, in a great location, with a very friendly staff. I highly recommend it. It's a collection of three-story buildings set in manicured grounds not far above the beach. My room had a stunning view of the sea and I fell asleep to the sound of the pounding surf and chirping crickets. There is a restaurant on the grounds or you can walk a few hundred meters and pick one of the many seafood places that line the beachfront. As an added bonus, they gave me a 30% discount when I arrived - it was midweek at the end of the season and the place was pretty much empty. I made my reservation directly (see239@163.com) and paid Y350 ($43) per night.

The kindest thing I can say about the Seman in Kashgar is that it’s past its prime – well past. While the sheets and towels were clean everything else was pretty grimy: the bathroom was stained and the walls were dirty. The real surprise was that this rundown place was full of tour groups – surely there is a better place to stay in Kashgar. There is an excellent Chinese restaurant in the courtyard and many small Uyghur cafés nearby. The hotel is about a 20-minute walk from the old city. I made my reservation with Sinohotel and paid the walk-in rate of Y280 ($34) per night.

The Hongfu in Urumqi is a multi-story monster full of Japanese tour groups and Chinese businessmen – both of which looked with distain at my wrinkled pants and dusty shoes. But at 348 Yuan ($43) per night, it was cheap luxury – and a relief after the Seman. It’s well located near the train station and there is a fascinating night market that runs almost in front of it. I reserved through Sinohotel and got a rate considerably lower than the walk-in rate of 850 Yuan. The best food I had this trip was at a restaurant in the lobby. They also have a travel agent, which I used to arrange my trip to Turpan.

Ann Arbor, Michigan
November 2001

Part One: Beijing & Tianjin
Part Two: Beidaihe
Part Three: Kashgar
Part Four: Urumqi & Turpan

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