ORGANIZED TOURS

China is one of the world's great travel values. High-quality group tours including airfare from the West Coast and visits in Beijing, Shanghai and Xian can cost as little as $1,700 per person. Some reputable tour companies include:

• China Focus, www.chinafocustravel.com; 800-868-7244

• Pacific Delight Tours, www.pacificdelighttours.com; 800-221-7179

• Ritz Tours, www.ritztours.com; 800-900-2446

• SmarTours, www.smartours.com; 800-337-7773

ON YOUR OWN

If you're sticking with the capital and other major cities like Shanghai, traveling on your own is fairly easy -- provided you get your hotel clerk to write down your destination in Chinese. (A good guidebook will also list major destinations in Chinese; keep the page handy.) Subways are easily navigated; taxis are plentiful and incredibly cheap. Most signs are in English as well as Mandarin.

Day tours are offered through most hotels. Beware: cheap day trips can involve seemingly endless visits to factories that ''subsidize'' the cost. One shopping excursion per day-trip should be your limit (they can be quite interesting.) Tours from CITS, China's oldest travel agency, are recommended.

Local travel agencies can arrange trains tickets and flights within China for a reasonable fee. We worked with CITS (www.citsusa.com), which handled all requirements promptly and efficiently.

Visas: Required. You can get them from the Chinese embassy (www.china-embassy.org/eng/) or via CITS or a number of U.S.-based visa services. Prices vary so it pays to shop around.

Visas for Hong Kong and Macau are free and issued on arrival to U.S. citizens.

TOP TIPS

Take it easy: Bring your patience and your sense of adventure; no matter how hard everyone tries, you will get lost at some point. Remember that in nearly all cases, your taxi driver means well.

Smile: People here will smile back, even invite you to join them.

Hydrate or die: Heat -- especially in Beijing -- can be deceptively high. Wear a hat and drink plenty of water; it's readily sold on street corners.

Toilet paper: Your hotel will have it, but public and train toilets probably won't. Bring it along -- daily.

Handicapped toilets: When all else appear to be squat toilets, look for the handicapped loo. It's sure to be Western style.

Business cards: Bring plenty. Snag a card from your hotel and any shop you visit, in case you want to return.

Staying in touch: Bigger hotels have wireless and/or cable hookups as well as Internet access in the business center. If your cellphone from home doesn't work (or is too expensive abroad), you can rent one locally.

INFORMATION

Guidebooks: We like Fodor's and Lonely Planet.

China National Tourist Office, 888-760-8218; www.cnto.org

-- JANE WOOLDRIDGE

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