Rick Steves' approach--China?

The best source of info is at the travel forums at Tripadvisor, and Lonely Planet. Be aware that in China there is a huge gap in quality between four and five star type hotels, and cheaper accommodations . You may have to spend more than you are used to to stay in western chains.

There really aren't the equivalent of Rick Steves type hotels in most parts of China. Tourism is a comparatively new phenomenon there, so they don't have the charming little guesthouses and family run small hotels of Europe. That said, there has been an explosion of hotel building in the last couple of years, especially in Beijing (for the Olympics), Shanghai (for last summer's Expo) and even in Guangzhou (for the Asian Games). There are lots and lots of new hotel rooms, so be sure to use a guidebook that is as new as possible. (There are also quite a few hotels that aren't allowed to take foreigners. I've seen some of them, and trust me, you aren't missing out on much!!) One problem is that many hotels still don't have good English websites. Another is that you are still expected to haggle for prices, at least at hotels that cater to Chinese people. I wanted to stay at a nice hotel in Guangzhou that was near the university I was visiting and the hotel listed its room rates online at over 100 dollars a night! So I emailed a Chinese friend to haggle for me and got it down to a little over 30 dollars. In case you are planning to go to Hong Kong, definitely check out the YMCA there. It's right next door to one of the most expensive hotels in town and has a view of the harbor to die for, for about a tenth the price per night!

Karen, As the others have mentioned, Lonely Planet Guidebooks will probably be the best source of information not only for Hotels but also sightseeing, getting around, language issues and other details. LP also has a similar "HelpLine" called The Thorn Tree. I believe the Northeast Asia Forum covers China. LP tends to be tailored more for the young Backpacker crowd, but their information is usually excellent and they cover just about everywhere in the world. Happy travels!

www.virtualtourist.com has forums and a ton of info on china and every destination. china is huge! where are you planning on travelling? i went to bejing and speak no chinese. no real issues. just a lot of culture shock!

You may also want to check out travel books (more story-books than guide books) on China. I recently read "Scrambled Eggs with Chopsticks". It may be interesting to see what unexpected adventures others came across and how they handled them.

Well, I ordered 3 books from Amazon as a start. I looked at the Lonely Planet thorn tree and decided that it wasn't for new China travelers such as myself. I'm so far from being able to take a trip like some of their posters. The Frommers and Fodors forums seemed more helpful to me. I don't know where I'm going. Beijing and Xian seem like a start. My Chinese friend came from Xian, and he says he will find me some guides in both places. I'm also thinking about the place with the three gorges. Perhaps I'll find some private travel agency that will help--like Interlake China tours. I wish that Rick Steves could help me here!

I was in Beijing for 4 days (2 years ago) and would have been totally lost without a private guide. My experience was no one spoke any English except the hotel staff. I used Trip Advisor's travel forum and Frommer's destination guides to plan what I wanted to see. Had a great time.

I've been to Beijing twice and never had any problems touring the city on my own...and I don't speak any Mandarin. The subway system takes you to most all of the main tourist sites, and the signs are in western letters. Also the hotels give out "cheat sheets" with the names of the main sites written out in mandarin so you can communicate with the taxi drivers. I found that a lot of the locals speak English, and frequently started up conversions to practice. If you're willing to study up on the guidebooks, and know where and how you will get from place to place, a private guide is not mandatory.

Beijing is easy to travel independently. The subways are clean, ultra-modern, and take you all over the city for the equivalent of 30 cents. And all the announcements are in English and Chinese, so you can't miss your stop. Most of the major tourist sites: the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven: have English language automated audioguides that sense where you are and play the appropriate information. With a decent guidebook, it's a piece of cake. If you don't want to lug around the whole Lonely Planet China guide, you can download PDFs of particular chapters from their website. Xi'an is also easy to get around without any Chinese, though you will probably want to hire a driver and guide to get to the Terra Cotta Warriors outside town. Every hotel can arrange this, or you can find your own guides and save the hotel-middleman fee. There's plenty to see within the walled city of Xi'anthe Drum Tower, the Bell Tower, the Muslim district, and of course the walls themselves, where you can rent a bike and bike along the length of the old city walls. Outside the walls, don't miss the Big Goose Pagoda and the Little Goose Pagoda, either. I find the hotel listings on Lonely Planet a bit funky-backpacker for my taste, but Frommers and Fodors are a bit more civilized. The Citadines Aparthotel is a terrific value in the center of Xi'an. Beijing has a lot of good optionspick one within a block or two of the subway for easiest transportation. China is a lot easier for independent travel today than even a few years ago. Tours usually involve too much regimentation, hands out for trips, forced marches through the sights, and lousy food. Trust me, you'll have a much better time with a couple of guidebooks and a little advanced planning.

I stayed at the HongKong YMCA many many years ago and it was great. Not luxurious, but adequate and cheaper than anything else we found, and a great location. Definitely stay there.

Hong Kong is one of my favorite cities, and if there is one city one should splurge on a five star hotel it's HK. I'm not knocking the YMCA it is in an excellent location, but luxury hotels are an art form in this city. Each one tries to top the other with amenities and service....it will blow your mind! My favorite is the Langham Place hotel in the Mongkok neighborhood. I describe it as a five star hotel that caters to travelers that wear t-shirts and jeans;)

We stayed earlier this year in Shanghai. I had business in Wuxi about 2 hours west of Shanghai for about 4 days. My wife toured while I was in Wuxi. We then spent a week in Shanghai. What a wonderful experience with the world Expp about to open. You will find that outside of the larger hotels, its difficult to find English speaking people. Street signs and train station signs are all in Chinese so its difficult to get around. However, the Shanghai metro has all of their signage in English below the larger Chinese letters. Outstanding. The maps in the stations can be read and understood. The ticket machines do have an English button and it works well. In many stations, there is a staff person who speaks English to assist. The metro is so new and clean. Graffiti seems to be unknown. Great restaurants in many of the hotels (Hilton, Hyatt, etc.).