Joining your tour in Hong Kong

Meeting Point

The meeting time is 16:30pm on Day 1 in the Yes Inn lobby, where we’ll gather for a trip briefing and head to Victoria Peak. If you are going to miss the briefing for any reason, please let us know and be sure to meet us by 8:30am on Day 2. We will depart Hong Kong at around 9:30am, ready to cross into mainland China and transfer to your next destination.

Hostel Address:

Yes Inn @ Yau Ma Tei Hostel (formerly known as Hi Inn @ Nathan Road / Wing Sing Hotel)
2nd Floor, 1B Wing Sing Lane, Yau Ma Tei.
中国香港九龙油麻地永星里
(Tel: +852 2771 8088)

How to get to your Hostel:

If you’re coming from Hong Kong International Airport:

Take the  Airbus A21 or the N21 Overnight Airport Bus  (00:00 am–04:00 am) and get off at  Man Ming Lane, Nathan Road. The hostel is only a 5-minute walk from the station. The whole journey will be about 60 mins, and will cost about HK$33.

To arrive via the Airport Express, get off at Kowloon Station, then take a taxi to the hostel. The whole journey will be about 50 mins, and will cost about HK$130. The last train will depart from the airport at 00:40 AM. The taxi portion of your journey should cost about HK$300. Please ask the taxi driver to drop you off at No.1 Wing Sing Lane (nearby Shanghai Street), Yau Ma Tei.

If you’re coming from Hong Kong West Kowloon Station: 

The easiest way to arrive is by taxi, which should cost about HK$300. Please ask the taxi driver to drop you off at No.1 Wing Sing Lane (nearby Shanghai Street), Yau Ma Tei.

If you’re coming from Shenzhen International Airport/Shenzhen Bay Port/Huanggang Port (China): 

Take the  Chinalink Express Bus to Pitt Street/Portland Street (Yau Ma Tei), then walk to the hostel (around 10 mins). This whole journey will take 1.5 hours and cost about HK$100.

If you’re coming from Lo Wu/Futian Port by MTR (Shenzhen, China):

Take the  MTR East Rail Line to Kowloon Tang Station, the change to Kwun Tang Line towards the Yau Ma Tei direction. Alight at Yau Ma Tei Station and take Exit C. The hostel is only a 5-minute walk from the station. The whole journey will take around an hour, and will cost around HK$50.

Keep in touch!

We want to hear all about your amazing travels across China.

Whether you’re on the tour or reliving your amazing experiences, be sure to use the hashtag #thedragontrip to join in with our amazing community of fellow Dragons.

In addition, if you tag our profile in your photo with the handle @thedragontrip, we might just feature it! We love to see all the fun you get up to on your adventures.

Lastly: if you don’t want to have your photos appear on our social platforms, please do email us to let us know.

Meet Your Fellow Dragons

As many of our Dragons travel solo, we want to take to make the process of meeting your fellow travellers as easy as possible. We create groups for every departure date in advance, meaning that you can get to know everyone on your tour before you hit the ground. WhatsApp, our usual platform, is non-functioning in China, so instead we use the Dingtalk app. Search for ‘Dingtalk’ on your app store, and set yourself up with an account on the app. You’ll then be sent a specific QR code which will add you to the group chat created specially for your trip. This will be your main source of communication with your group and Adventure Leaders whilst you’re on your tour in China.

You can also like us on Facebook and join ‘The Dragon Trip: Adventure Advice‘ Facebook group – here, you’ll be in a community of past, present, and future Dragons who can all share tips and advice.

Our Ultimate Packing Check List

On all of our trips you will be required to carry your own bags, so pack light. China has tonnes of local markets in case you forget something, and you can always borrow from others in your group – that’s what friends are for!

Please be aware that on trains in China, you  are not allowed to bring sprays or aerosols over 120ml on board – if you try to board with these, they’ll be taken off you! If you’d like to bring a power bank with you, do be aware that on trains in China, power banks must be under 20,000W, or they may be confiscated.

Documents:

• Passport (with a copy of the photo page)
• Your Mainland China Visa
• Insurance Details

Money:

• Your credit/debit card (we suggest using ATMs to withdraw cash.)
• Chinese Yuan

The Essentials:

• First Aid Kit (with medicine for diarrhoea, paracetamol, disinfectant etc.)
• Camera and charger
• T-shirts
• Shorts/skirts
• Long pants (for hiking)
• Long trousers and sleeved shirts (when visiting temples and some of the local villages)
• Swimming costume
• Flip-flops
• Sensible walking shoes/hiking boots
• Towel
• Washbag
• Flashlight/torch
• Mosquito repellent
• Sunscreen
• Hat
• Sunglasses
• Lightweight waterproof
• Earplugs (for a better sleep in the dorms, night train and sleeper buses)
• Warm clothes for camping
• Moneybelt (pickpocketing and motorbike snatching is common in some cities)
• Locks for bags
• Waterproof backpack cover

Top Tips from The Dragon Trip

Try saying that tongue twister really fast.

On the weather:

• In summer, it can be very hot in China. When the temperatures get too high, we can make small adjustments to the schedule to avoid the hottest moments of the day.
• If travelling before May or after September, please bring a hat, gloves, coat, hoodie and warm trousers with you. It can get a little bit cold!
• If you are camping on the Great Wall of China, remember to pack some warm clothes as it can get quite cold at night.

On how to travel sustainably:

• We cover the cost of up to 20kg in weight on our flights. This keeps fuel usage down, and reduces the impact of the flight on the environment.
• Packing as light as possible keeps your carbon footprint low. We recommend 10-15kg, especially as you are expected to carry your own luggage.
• Use local laundry services. This money goes straight into the local community, and is available in most of our hostels with the price of $1-2 per kg.
• Pack a reusable water bottle. Many of our hostels provide filtered water, which reduces your need for single use plastics on tour.

Stay connected:

• Though we previously used the Alipay app for group communication whilst in China, moving forwards we will be using Dingtalk. It doesn’t require any full registration – you just install the app, and create an account so that you can use a QR code to add yourself into your group’s chat. This will be your main source of communication with your group and Adventure Leaders whilst you’re on your tour in China.
• Bring electronic products at your own risk. Some customers choose to travel with iPhones, tablets and laptops. Although theft is rare on The Dragon Trip, there is petty crime in some areas we visit.
• Didi: Didi Taxi app is one of the most reliable taxi apps similar to Uber that you can use in China. It also has an English version available and you can bind international cards to it.
• VPN: Some websites/apps are blocked in China, including WhatsApp, Google, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. To bypass the firewall, you can download a VPN. It is much easier to do this before you go to China. Two examples of free options are Betternet or ExpressVPN. As most app stores on your phone will also be blocked, make sure you install all the necessary apps before entering the mainland.

We recommend that you download two maps apps on your mobile phone:

• Maps.me: This is a great app to stop yourself from getting lost! You can download it to your phone for free. We recommend downloading many maps from different cities in China before your trip, and using these maps later when you don’t have Wi-Fi.
• Baidu Map: This app works well in China. However, you will need an internet connection to use it. It is excellent for directions, public transportation, etc. – although it is in Chinese. You can input addresses in Chinese and follow the directions.

We suggest downloading two translation apps on your phones:

• Baidu Translate: This app works well in China for translating sentences and text in pictures. However, you will require an internet connection to use it.
• Pleco: This is a great tool – a free dictionary to help you communicate in China.

Food & Drink:

• There will be lots of great nights out on The Dragon Trip, but please remember to always drink within your limits. Never journey home by yourself at night and never leave another person in the group alone. The legal drinking age in China is 18.
• The Dragon Trip has a zero tolerance policy towards drugs, but the Chinese government also takes a very hard line on any recreational drug use and will impose severe penalties for this. The police in Shanghai have a zero tolerance policy towards drugs, and regularly raid hostels, nightclubs and even private homes, and prosecute foreigners in possession of marijuana or other harder drugs.
• The food is delicious throughout China and you won’t be able to get enough of it. Try anything and everything possible. Your Adventure Leader will be able to recommend all of the best spots. Be sure to grab some from a vendor or a family-run restaurant – they won’t disappoint!

Pack patience:

• China is very different from home. Some systems or ways of doing things which you may take for granted back home aren’t necessarily the same here. Please be patient with The Dragon Trip and China as a whole, as sometimes things don’t run like they may back home, despite our best efforts.
• You may meet many people from lots of different backgrounds and cultures on this trip. You may have different opinions or ways of doing things. Treat everyone how you wish to be treated and remember to work together as a group.
• Always try to arrive a couple of minutes early to check outs or departure times. Being late may mean missing transport connections and you don’t want to delay the whole group.
• People can start or finish their tour in different cities. So it’s possible more people join your tour later, or some of your fellow travelers might finish their tour before you do.
• The check-out time in hostels is usually 10:00 or 12:00, and check-in time varies from 12:00 to 14:00. So it can happen that, upon arrival in early morning, you can’t get to your rooms directly. Please be patient, take a short walk, do some Tai-chi or practice your Mandarin with the locals in a nearby park while waiting for your rooms to be prepared.
• It is easy to withdraw money all over China at ATMs using Visa or MasterCard, but make sure you inform your bank that you will be travelling in China, so that they don’t put a block on your card.

Navigating a new culture:

• Be respectful of local culture, dress appropriately at temples and religious sites, be polite and kind.
• Agree on a price before getting in taxis or tuk-tuks.
• There are many different words for money in China, so you may see it referred to as yuan, CNY, Renminbi, RMB, dian (“chee-yan”) or kuai! If you want to avoid paying the international withdrawal fees at an ATM, then you can exchange money in most money exchanges around the world, as well as in Hong Kong and mainland China. We do not recommend travellers cheques, and finding a Western Union can be inconvenient, although is possible.
• Aerosol cans and sprays are also forbidden in many trains in China – staff from train stations may ask you to leave it behind when passing through security.

Contact Us

Any questions or feedback?

Contact our London Team: info@thedragontrip.com

(Please note that this email is only monitored from Monday to Friday between 9:00 and 17:30 (Friday 17:00) UK time, if you have any urgent issues, such as flight delays or last minute cancellations, please reach out to our China Ops Team.)

Contact our China Team: mytrip@thedragontrip.com

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