China Family Travel with Kids

Dining is one of the most important parts of the journey. And in China, you and your children will have chance to enjoy the authentic Chinese food. Some of the foods are out of your imagination. But you should pay a great importance to make sure all foods are clean and nourishing.

We also strongly recommend your bring a portable bottles to store purified waters or drinks because the tap water in China is not drinkable in China. You can also buy the mineral water in the supermarkets or shops.

You may worry about the diarrhea, which is a common problem everywhere not only in China. Our suggestion is to avoid street food.

A comfortable stay is very important for family travel. Besides, the family-friendly amenities matter much more, such as supervised, planned activities, fun activities like theme parks and attractions nearby, larger or themed rooms that accommodate families, or special rates and meals for kids.

Large city or hot tourist destinations, such as Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai, Guilin, Hong Kong, Chengdu, ensure family-cater accommodation. You may also have flexible choices of hotel's rates, location, amenities, etc. The number of your children is the vital fact for choosing what kind of room to stay. If your families travel with only 1 kid, adding an extra bed is enough. But a relatively large room should be taken. If your family has 2 or more kids, an interconnecting room which can accommodate 4 to 5 people is recommended.

The actual condition may differ, so you'd better contact the hotels in advance to check the availability of interconnecting room or adding extra bed.

Travelers possibly get ill when traveling in different regions of China under different weather condition, especially the children. So it is very necessary to pack the common medicine and the emergent medicine for some spectacular condition, such as high altitude sickness.

Many pharmacy staples that are easily available in your country may be difficult to find in China. And most medicines are only labelled in Chinese. So you'd better pack your own medical kit. These are medicines recommended to pack: oral hydrating salts or electrolyte solution, an anti-colic product, anti-itch cream, hydrocortisone cream, Benadryl syrup, and children's sunblock, eye drops, bandages, mosquito repellent, anti-fever medicine, cough and flu medicines and any other medical essentials.

You are suggested take your kids to consult your pediatrician or travel clinic to check if your kids need to shoot extra vaccines, or pack anti-malaria pills. Furthermore, we strongly recommend shots for rabies and hepatitis A before your trip to China. Also remember to let your travel agency get the emergency contracts for major hospitals in the destinations you are going to visit if you travel with a travel agency. If you travel independently, you can search online or guide book to get the contacts for hospitals in advance.

Flight, train and car are major transfers for family travel in China. It depends on the destinations you are going to. Children can't bear long-time transfer. So comfort and safety are the priority.

Also avoid long-distance driving to some remote areas, such as Tibet, Qinghai, Yunnan, etc. A baby seat is recommended during driving.

Safety comes first, next the travel. You should pay a big attention to take care of both the adults and kids.

The best time for family travel in China depends on the free days you have, the places you go and other preferences. The holiday schedule of school may differ, but whenever you come to China, there are suitable places for your family to explore. While the Middle Kingdom so vast that the weathers are different in different regions. Some places, such as Jiuzhaigou Valley, Harbin Ice and Snow Amusement World, are recommended to visit in some certain months. Some historical or cultural sites are usually suitable for travel all year around. Some regions, like Tibet, Xinjiang, Gansu, are featured in extreme weather, such as cold, snow, dry or others. You'd better not cover these places on your list if you travel with infants or very young kids.

Famous destinations, such as Beijing, Xian, Guilin, Shanghai, are recommended for visiting in all seasons.

Public holidays, such as the New Year's Day (Jan 1-3), Labor Day (May 1-3), National Day (Oct 1-7) and Spring Festival are the "Golden Travel Weeks" for domestic travelers when most attractions are crowded by travelers. So avoid traveling during the public holidays.