China Travel Forum

[Wallis]

Hi guys,

We are looking at travelling from Zhongdian to Lhasa in May 18 with China Minority travel. Their website looks good but I'm just wondering what their tours are like. I've found a few threads on thorntree re. people looking for others for these overland tours, but can't find info where people have reported back after the tour.

If anyone has info or experience with China Minority travel, we'd really appreciate hearing from you. We're keen on the southern Sichuan Tibet highway.
Cheers!

[Guest]

No experience with nor information about China Minority travel. But a word of warning: If they venture into Tibet with the attitude that Tibetans are minorities, then you will miss a good deal about Tibet.

I did your trip the other way round last October, and the guide the agency (with a good name and reputation) gave us was unbelievably incompetent (borrowing our LP guidebook - which he had not heard of before - every morning to read up (and misunderstand) a few ideas of what we were going to see. So: don`t rely on any agency or the staff they supply, it is all a question of goodluck. (We had a wonderful guide on different trip in Central Tibet.) Some of the locals actually pose as guides just to get a free ride!

The worst thing that can happen to you is that the agency (which is usually run by Han-Chinese) will supply a Han-Chinese guide.

And chances are that this one will have absolutely NO clue about anything relating to Tibetan civilisation. So to improve your chances of enjoying your experience, just make absolutely sure that your guide is Tibetan. Even if he does not know anything about the sights on your way, he will still be able to give you some understanding of everyday things. And he might act as an interpreter, if you want to ask the locals something

The South Sichuan Highway will be one of your most memorable experiences, spend a little money to make it truly enjoyable. Good trips!