Allowances
A. Flights if bought now are as low as £380 with a short stopover in between. Latest you must arrive in Beijing is Sunday 17th July early morning. Earliest you should fly home is Sunday 1st July.
B. Accommodation for 10 nights (5 in Beijing, 5 in Wudang), plus training, food for 10 days training and access to Wudang mountain is £850 early bird price, £950 regular price, or £900 3 instalment price which I will explain more later.
C. Trains to and from Wudang cost approximately £110 return (dependent on exchange rate). This is for a soft sleeper. It can be done cheaper (almost half price) with a hard sleeper, so if you are on a really tight budget, you can save a little with this option. Soft sleepers are 4 beds to a cabin and slightly larger. Hard sleeper are 6 to a cabin and a little more narrow.
D. Hot springs are approximately £35-40 per 18 hour stay (dependent on currency exchange). This includes unlimited access to hot springs, very large buffet supper and breakfast, and fully reclining armchairs with personal tv screens where you can sleep comfortably (they will bring you a pillow and duvet for the night). If you don’t want to spend the nights in the hot springs you will need to organise your own hostel or hotel at extra cost.
E. Any pocket money for extra food, water, nicknacks, bus and subway (very cheap in China) etc... I’d recommend a minimum of £200, but you could do it on a shoe string budget of £100.
G. If you do not have a Chinese visa already, this is an additional cost of £160 and will last you 2 years if you want to travel to China again at anytime in the future. If you need to get a visa I will advise you on how to go about getting it.
If you stick to the pocket money budget, pay the early bird price and get plane tickets now, the cost for the whole trip (including £200 pocket money) would be around £1620, (not including visas). If you are playing it very tight you can save another £50 on train fares with hard sleeper and only take £100 pocket money, making it £1470 total.
I’ve organised it so you can spread the cost so it is far easier for you to attend.
First you buy your flights now!
Next you pay the early bird price of £850 by 1st April, or If you don’t think you will be able to pay the full price by then, you can do instalments of 3 monthly payments at £900 (£300 each month) on 1st April, 1st May, and 1st June. Otherwise you just pay £950 before 10th June. This is all to account for the possible inflation of the Chinese Yuan.
Lastly you take the remainder of the money with you in Chinese Yuan, so you can pay individually for your train tickets, hot springs, bus rides, and other expenses. This is about £390-400.
Confirm now!
To confirm your space on the trip book your flights and send me your ticket confirmation ASAP.
You will most likely have some questions, so feel free to ask in class. You will be directed where to go when arriving in Beijing to the meeting place. Using the subway in Beijing is very easy and affordable so you won’t have problems getting too and from the airport. But if you have never been to Beijing before it maybe worth trying to liaise with someone who has so they can show you around on arrival. You will be helped with booking train tickets to Wu dang and booking the hot springs. Most meals are provided for you, so there is very little thinking needed other than for training and exploring.
This will be a great trip, both for your own training and for the experience of meeting real Chinese masters and learning culture that most Chinese themselves are not even aware! It will also give almost all of you the chance to advance a grade in your training.
Let me know if you intend to come and book your flights. I will keep everyone a breast of how many spaces are left as and when each one is taken. The price is extremely good for 2 weeks in and around China with training, accommodation and almost all food thrown in. I doubt it will ever be this cheap again.
