Find Out What is the Biggest Obstacle to Traveling in China

China is a great nation in terms of many things.  Obviously it's the most populate country in the world, and it is the second largest country by land size well.  The list can go on to many other topics, but one notable trend is the tourism in China which has been growing as fast as the country's economy.

There are countless number of amazing and unique travel destinations in China that are still relatively new to outsiders as well as for the people of China.  If you have been to any of China's popular tourist spots, you have probably noticed that it's crowded and the vast majority of the tourists are the locals and travelers from neighboring countries.

I have been following-up on comments from folks who have recently visited China, and one particular type of complaints that stood out of the rest is the high entrance fees to parks and landmarks.  For instance, the admission fee for the popular Zhangjiajie National Park is around $40 (US) per person, and that's not including other optional services and places as usual.  Smaller parks, museums and pretty much everything else geared for the tourists generally costs between $10 - $20.

I don't think that is excessively high for people coming from countries like the U.S., Japan any many other parts of the Europe.  However, it is kind of out of range when compared to how much things costs in China where the buying power of U.S dollar supposed be about one sixth of U.S.  If you are traveling with a family of four, you can easily rack up significant amount of traveling budget in admission fees, so it's important to factor them in to the overall travel budget.

However, the local tourists are the ones that are much more affected by this, and the central Government since has mandated  reduced fees at some of the major tourist spots, especially on national holidays. That's another reason for overcrowding at these place during national holiday.

One thing that's better about the admission fees in China is that they are at least more consistent across the broad.  If you are faced with extra high fees while traveling in China, you need to be more cautious and find out if you are being ripped off.

In the U.S. by comparison, the fees at some tourists spots can be simply outrageous, especially those run by private entities.  It's like that $5 soda at a movie theater which you really want it regardless of the price.  One good example is the Biltmore Estate located in North Carolina.  On a recent trip, I believe I paid around $70 per person for something that should have cost $30 maximum.

After all, China is still one of the best travel destination in the world and the cost of traveling is still cheaper than many other parts of the world.  The prices of everything from food, transportation and admission fees will only go up rather fast as the GDP of China continue to rise.