2. Visitors to China are also fond of joining in the expat traveling groups. There are also routes and destinations designed particularly for visitors to China. Booking is easy. Just register online and pay by bank or credit card transfer.

Travel Terms and Conditions - China Culture Center

These Terms and Conditions govern the relationship between you, the passenger, and us, Beijing Ji Ming Feng Yu Cultural Promotion Company Ltd., trading as the China Culture Center (CCC) (hereinafter, “CCC”). By booking a trip, you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions. They outline, among other things, our cancellation policy and certain limitations of liability. These terms affect your rights to sue, governing law, forum, and jurisdiction; please be sure to carefully read these terms and make sure you understand your rights and obligations and our rights and obligations. These terms and conditions apply to all Group tours and Private Tours arranged by CCC.

Section A-Applicable Law
This relationship shall be governed by the laws of Chaoyang District People’s Court, Beijing, and People’s Republic of China. Any claims against CCC must be brought in the Courts of Chaoyang Court, to the exclusion of the Courts of any other state and country.

Section B.Passports and Visas
A valid passport and necessary visas or permits are required for non-Chinese citizens traveling on our within-China programs. All such documentation is your sole responsibility. You should contact the appropriate consular office for entry requirements pertaining to your trip, as CCC is not responsible for providing you with this information or documentation. China Culture Center accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever for your failure to obtain appropriate documentation.

Section C- Confirmation, Cancellations, Alterations and Refunds

1.Confirmation of Tours:
All private custom-made tours need to pre paid in full before the China Culture Center will confirm any bookings associated with the tour.

2.Cancellations and Refunds
If you must cancel your trip, in part or in whole, you must do so in writing. Cancellation refunds will be calculated as of the date we receive your written cancellation.

All payments for travel services not provided to the passenger shall be refunded in accordance with these Terms and Conditions and in accordance with CCC’s cancellation policy.

To receive any refund, your air tickets and, if applicable, cruise tickets must be returned to CCC. Any applicable refunds will be processed 30 days after our receipt of your written cancellation and air tickets.

Cancellation Charges: Unless otherwise stated, for all cancellations we will refund the cost of your trip less the following per-person charges. Charges shown include the RMB 200 administrative fee:

Following are the refund rates for cancellations:

For Local Beijing Group Tours
Most of our Beijing tours so not require prepayment so we are unable to enforce a cancellation fee. CCC encourages you to please let us know in advance if you are unable to join the tour you have reserved a place on. Our team will endeavor to confirm your attendance a few days ahead of the tour date however if we should fail to contact you for any reason the onus is on you to contact us to ensure the tour will proceed as planned. For any of our tours that requires prepayment the below cancellation policy applies.

For CCC travel programs (both group and private ones)

1. If you cancel more than 10 days before the scheduled departure date, you will receive a full refund if CCC has not
yet purchased your air or train ticket. If the air or train ticket has already been purchased, the ticket-booking fee will be deducted from your full refund, as well as any other fees associated with canceling.

2. If you cancel 2 to 10 days before scheduled departure, RMB200 will be charged plus the cost of air and/or train ticket cancellation, as well as any other fees associated with canceling.

3. If you cancel 24 hours prior to departure, RMB200 will be charged plus the cost of air and/or train ticket cancellation.

For Private Custom-made Tours-in Beijing only.
1 If you cancel more than 10 days before the scheduled departure date, you will receive a full refund if CCC has not yet purchased your air ticket, train ticket or any other tickets that cannot be refunded. If air, train tickets or other tickets have already been purchased, the ticket-booking fees plus any airline cancellation fees will be deducted from your full refund.

2. 20% of the total price will be charged if the cancellation is made 5-2 days before departure plus any other expenses associated with canceling the tour.

3. 50% of the total price will be charged if the cancellation was made between 24 hours and 48 hours before departure.

4. 80% of the total price will be charged if the cancellation is made within 25hours.

Please note that the charge rate above does not include the actual costs due to air or train tickets cancellation. You will be charged for that cost if your tickets have been purchased by the time of your cancellation. The refund policy varies depending on different destinations and airlines and the receipts will be provided by ticket booking office or airlines.

3. Cancellation by CCC -Circumstances beyond our control
When a trip is cancelled due to circumstances beyond our control including, but not limited to, poor weather conditions, cancellation of services by third party providers, general threats to the safety and wellbeing of travelers, we will refund you the full payment less any irretrievable expenses including, but not limited to, ticket booking fees, ticket cancellation fees.

When a trip is delayed or its itinerary is affected by circumstances beyond our control including, but not limited to, poor weather conditions, cancellation of services by third party providers, general threats to the safety and wellbeing of travelers, we have the right to make all reasonable changes to minimize negative impact on the trip. If any part of the trip is cancelled or replaced by activities that are of less monetary value, we will refund you the difference between the price of the original itinerary and actual activities provided less any irretrievable expenses including, but not limited to, ticket booking fees, ticket cancellation fees. We may offer alternative activities that incur extra costs to those travelers who agree to pay such costs.

China Culture Center reserves the right to substitute hotels of similar quality at any time or to make changes in itinerary of similar quality, flights, or cruise ships, or to cancel the tour prior to departure.

4.Cancellation of Private Custom-made Tours:
In the event of cancellation due to uncontrollable circumstances (such as weather, transport strike, political unrest, war etc), the participants shall bear any costs incurred during the processing of the tour. If cancellations occur prior to departure but after CCC has already purchased the air and/or train tickets, then guests have the following options:

1. Postpone the trip and transfer the ticket with new dates to be confirmed.

2. Cancel the trip and the participant will cover any financial losses resulting from air and/or train ticket cancellations.

After the trip has commenced, we are unable to refund any amount for unused services due to your early departure, late arrival, or missed days on tours.

5.Alteration of Itinerary
Before your booking is confirmed, alterations to your itinerary are happily processed free of charge, because providing the best tour possible for you is our goal. However, alterations after you have received your booking confirmation may incur fees if we are unable to cancel activities already booked without incurring a cancellation fee. It is your responsibility to contact your CCC consultant (not the tour guide) to discuss changes to your itinerary and their effects. All changes are subject to availability and cannot be guaranteed. All changes must be paid for in advance.

China Culture Center reserves the right to modify the itinerary of your tour if air schedule or surface transportation changes, and/or events beyond its control make such alterations necessary. In this event, any of the increase or reduction of the tour cost will be calculated and charged/ refunded accordingly.

Please understand that not all museums and attractions are open every day of the year. China Culture Center reserves the right to vary the sequence of sightseeing and/or to re-route the order of cities if that will enable you to visit all listed excursions. In either case, the itinerary content will be maintained to the extent possible.

Section D-Air Arrangements

To provide you with the lowest possible airfares, CCC takes advantage of special promotional fares. These fares can be quite restrictive and carry cancellation charges imposed by the airlines ranging from 25% to 100%. Therefore, any penalties resulting from flight changes made at your request after flights are ticketed will be your responsibility. If you cancel your trip after receiving your tickets, you must return your tickets to CCC before your refund (if applicable) is processed.

If you make your own domestic (in China) flight arrangements, CCC will not be responsible for any loss resulting from cancellations or changes in national gateways or travel dates. We recommend that you do not purchase tickets with high penalty charges for changes.

Air routings are subject to availability. Routings cannot be guaranteed, and are subject to change at any time.

CCC is not responsible if an airline cancels or delays your incoming flight. If that occurs, you should work with the airline to ensure you arrive at your destination. CCC will not provide any refund for portions of trips missed due to cancelled or delayed flights, which delay your arrival at your CCC starting destination. If an air schedule requires an extra overnight stay in a city, CCC can assist with hotel reservations;

Section E-Special Policy for the Olympic Period May-October 2008

The Chinese government may limit access to main tourist sites at any given time during this period. Restrictions have not been published so CCC has no way of knowing which site may be restricted at which time. CCC will try it’s best to schedule visits to these sites but may have to re-arrange or cancel such visits if access is denied. CCC will refund the cost of any entrance tickets that could not be bought. CCC cannot be held responsible for government actions resulting in our inability to visit sites that are included in your itinerary.

Section F-Responsibilities and Rights of CCC

1. Promotion:
China Culture Center reserves the right to take photos, video, media report, etc. during the tour for its own promotion use.

2. Rights and Responsibilities of CCC:
The responsibility of CCC is strictly limited. As a tour operator, CCC organizes, promotes, and sells tour programs consisting of certain travel services, including surface, air, and water transportation, sightseeing excursions, and cruise/hotel accommodations that CCC purchases or reserves from various suppliers (collectively, “Suppliers”). CCC does not own or operate any of these Suppliers. The Suppliers providing travel services for CCC’s tour programs are independent contractors, and are not agents or employees of CCC. As such, CCC is not responsible for any negligent or willful act or failure to act of any supplier or of any third party. CCC is not responsible for any purchases you make during your trip, whether that merchant is part of the scheduled itinerary or not. By utilizing the travel services of the Suppliers, you agree that you will look to such Suppliers for any accident, injury, property damage, or personal loss to you or to those traveling with you, and that CCC shall not be liable.

Without limitation, CCC is not responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to person or property, death, delay, or inconvenience in connection with the provision of, or failure to provide, any goods or services occasioned by or resulting from—but not limited to—acts of God or force majeure, acts of war or civil unrest, insurrection or revolt, strikes or other labor activities, criminal or terrorist activities of any kind, overbooking or downgrading of accommodations, mechanical or other failure of airplanes of other means of transportation or for the failure of any transportation mechanism to arrive or depart on time, sanitation problems, lack of medical care, or for any other cause beyond the direct control of CCC.

To the extent that CCC is involved in booking air & train transportation for you, CCC acts as an agent of the air carrier or train station and not as your agent. For all other purposes, CCC does not act as an agent for any party whatsoever.

CCC reserves the right to correct promotional or pricing errors at any time, or to increase the program price in the event of cost increases due to changes in airfares, cruise fares, currency fluctuations, park fee increases, taxes, or fuel surcharges. CCC reserves the right to decline to accept or retain any person as a member of any tour or to cancel or alter the tour without notice, in which event your sole remedy shall be a prorated refund for any unused portion of the trip. Hotels and other accommodations are subject to change.

CCC reserves the right to change the departure date of any trip, as well as cancel any trip or extension that does not reach a minimal level of participation. If CCC changes a departure date to another departure date that departs within 14 days from the original departure, cancellation penalties as described in this document still apply should you subsequently decide to cancel. If CCC cancels any optional extension for which you are booked, cancellation penalties as described in this document still apply should you subsequently decide to cancel the base (main) portion of your trip.

CCC, like most tour operators overbooks its vacations. We do this because historically, a few people cancel their trips when they book with us. Overbooking is done in the best interest of our customers and CCC. With the revenue produced by filling spots on our trips that would otherwise go empty, we maintain exceptional value on our trips. This allows us to accept more reservations than decline them when customers call to make a booking.

3.Local Partners:
Please be aware that CCC provides cultural content for travel programs but must cooperate with local partners (hotels, airlines, restaurants, tourist sites, etc.) to provide services. CCC will always do its best to ensure a smooth trip, but the quality of services can vary from place to place so you may sometimes encounter unsatisfactory service. CCC will do its best to cope with any service issues that arise, but we appreciate your understanding in the event that they do occur.
In a country as vast and varied as China, it will not surprise you to learn that all hotels and restaurants are not alike. When CCC arranges all of the many details of a tour, the comfort and safety of our travelers is a priority. We must however work within the limits of what is available in each city or area we visit. Sometimes, in areas less visited, our options are very limited and we have only 2-3 hotels to choose from. At all times however, CCC does its best to ensure that the hotels we stay in and the restaurants we visit meet at least certain minimum standards-clean, safe and providing the basic essentials .In most cases we are able to do that. We are usually able to select hotels that exceed those minimum standards, through available choices or negotiation with the hotel, and provide a level of accommodation, within our budgetary limits, that is more compatible with what international travelers are accustomed to. The same process applies to the restaurants we choose.

When the standards do not meet your expectations, we always welcome your comments but we also ask for your understanding. CCC does not always achieve perfection but it is constantly our goal.

4.CCC Rates:
Price quoted is for one passenger based on double occupancy, and includes, when applicable, economy-class China domestic air, train, ground transfers within China, accommodations, hotels, meals, sight-seeing and local guide, as specified in this agreement. Price and travel dates are given in good faith and subject to change without notice. In the event of changes in foreign currency exchange rate, airline surcharge, security fees, and other extra charge, the tour price will be adjusted according to market conditions.

Section G- your Responsibilities as Participant on the Tour

1.Participants are financially responsible in the following situations:
1. Prior to arriving in Beijing or China, if you fail to board the airplane and thus miss the trip for any reason of neglect, omission or error on your part then you are responsible for the loss of the air ticket, the hotel room booking charges, and the CCC service fee (RMB 200). The rates of refund for air tickets and hotel rooms vary from case to case.

2. While in China, if you fail to board the train or airplane for any reason of neglect, omission or error on your part, you must cover the loss of air and/or train tickets, the hotel room booking charges, and the CCC service fee (RMB 200). The rates of refund for air tickets, train tickets, and hotel rooms vary from case to case.

3. If you decide to postpone an already-reserved CCC trip to the same trip scheduled in later months, CCC will help transfer your air ticket (valid for within one year). A later ticket may result in a price increase, and you are responsible for paying any extra costs associated with the new ticket. If the future ticket price is lower than the current price, CCC will refund the balance to you. This offer does not apply when tickets are purchased at a discount.

4. If, due to personal problems including medical issues, you have to leave in the middle of a trip, CCC will help you change the train or air ticket. You are responsible for covering any possible price increases due to the change, and any other associated costs.

2.Medical Issues
You must advise us in writing, at or prior to booking, of any physical, emotional or mental condition, which may require professional attention during the trip or may require the use of special equipment. If you fail to disclose any such conditions, CCC may refuse to allow you to take the trip and you will forfeit the trip cost; and in such event we shall have no liability, financial or otherwise.
If you are so challenged, you must bring and be responsible for all necessary items related to your condition. If any such condition arises after the trip is booked, you must advise us in writing immediately. Failure to advise us shall release CCC and all professional personnel from any liability related to such condition or its treatment.

We cannot accommodate women past their sixth month of pregnancy. If you require a wheelchair, you must provide your own small, collapsible wheelchair. Certain features, and certain trips, are not wheelchair-accessible. We cannot guarantee any wheelchair assistance or accessibility in China’s domestic destinations. CCC reserves the right to decline any trip participant whose condition, in our opinion, may affect the health, safety or enjoyment of other participants.

CCC is not responsible for the costs of any medical treatment you may require during the trip. Under no circumstances is CCC responsible for the quality of medical care, or lack thereof, you may receive while on the trip. You should take into account all international travel risks and familiarize yourselves with health requirements applicable to the areas you intend to visit. You are solely responsible for checking the safety and security conditions, vaccination, and other health requirements of governments in countries you are going to visit.

No smoking is permitted during the transportation in coach and airplane.

3.Insurance
The China Culture Center highly recommends that you purchase full coverage travel insurance from your country of origin.

4.Potential loss when you pay by credit card:
CCC charges a 3% bank service fee for international credit cards and a 1% fee for local cards. Please note that the service fee goes to the company that provides the credit card charging machine (POS machine). If you have already made a payment by credit card and then cancel or quit the trip for any reason, CCC will not be able to refund the 1% or 3% service fee.

5. Baggage:
Within China, one baggage with total sum (length + width + height) and that does not exceed 107 inches (44 Pound-or 20 kg) is allowed per passenger along with one carry-on bag. Excess baggage charges are not included in the trip price.

Section H-Waivers and Releases

1.General Waiver and Release
I release and hold harmless China Culture Center (CCC) and its affiliated directors, officers, employees, and agents from any and all liability, claims, and demands of whatever kind or nature which arise or may hereafter arise from my participating in a travel program and related activities, whether such liability, claims, or demands result from travel, disease, consumption of food, or from civil unrest or otherwise.

I understand and acknowledge that this release discharges CCC from any liability or claim against it with respect to any bodily injury, personal injury, illness, death, monetary loss or property damage that may result from my participation in a travel program with CCC. I understand that CCC assumes no responsibility for or obligation to provide financial assistance or other assistance, including but not limited to medical, health, or disability insurance, in the event of injury, illness, death, accident, monetary loss or property damage.

2.Medical Treatment
I hereby release CCC from any claim whatsoever which arises or may hereafter arise on account of any first-aid treatment or other medical services rendered to me or to my dependent/companions in connection with an emergency or health problem during my participation in a travel program.

3.Assumption of Risk
I understand that my participation in a CCC travel program may include activities and circumstances that may be hazardous to me, including, but not limited to, international travel, local transportation in the country of my travels, poor health conditions, inadequate medical treatment facilities and other inherent risks.

I hereby expressly and specifically assume the risk of injury, illness, death, monetary loss or property damage resulting from such circumstances during my participation with a CCC travel program, whether suffered by me personally or by any of my accompanying dependents or companions.

4.Due Care and Diligence
Many of China Culture Center tour packages include activities that require special care attention. Such activities include boarding and going ashore from boats, climbing hills and entering and exiting tombs and caves etc. You will receive help and advice from our representatives but all activities are undertaken at your own risk. China Culture Center, its employees and agents cannot be responsible for any action or event that occurs after its employees and agents have exercised their duty and taken the necessary care.