China train travel, Yangtze and Tibet questions
 

I have a couple of questions, I am in the planning process of a trip arriving in Beijing 4/29 and departing from Shanghai on 5/18.

We will be 3 adults and I am considering some train travel, ie Beijing to Pingyao, Pingyao to Xian, my question is if I book 3 people for the soft sleeper will we have the compartment to ourselves or do I need to book all 4 berths?

Is it difficult to get permit for Tibet?

Also, is the Yangtze river cruise worthwhile, I have seen very mixed reviews. It seems very expensive for "4" days that are really 2 days as day 1 you board the boat at 10:30 in the evening and the last day you are off at 11:30 am.

I appreciate any insight people have to offer.

1. You clearly have to book all berths in a cabin if you want it all for yourself.

2. Either the Chinese government issues permit or they don't. When they do, any travel agent specialized in Tibet travel can get it for you, along with the guides and packages they offer. Foreigners are not supposed to travel within Tibet without a guide.

3. Some people like the cruise, others hate them. But they don't need to be expensive. Plenty of discount trips you can get, especially from agents in Chongqing.

Whatever you do, don't reserve the Yangtze cruise from an "official" website, like that of Victoria cruises. Those rates are crazy and in-country agents can get you a much better deal. We did go on the Victoria Yangtze cruise and it was OK, not particularly memorable. There's more info here:
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...on-our-own.cfm

Of course, the cheapest way to cruise the Yangtze is to take the Chinese boats, booked the day of travel or the day before, but that might be too much authenticity. I took a western boat and enjoyed the voyage, but that was back in 1997 - I went then precisely because I knew the water level was rising. There are other things I would rate higher now, Tibet being one. But as rkkwan says, you can't predict the availability of permits. Although you're supposed to visit on a guided tour, if you arrange it in Kunming or Chengdu you can usually lose the tour once you get there.

It won't be a problem wandering and touring Lhasa by yourself. I "lost" my guide there as well last June - my agent certainly didn't mind getting paid for providing no service - and I saw plenty of western tourists wandering as well. But if you're going outside Lhasa, then the guide is mandatory as there are plenty of police checkpoints along all the highways.