China in 2009 ?
 

Hello there. I've been browsing the forums but I haven't found an up-to-date response to this question. I've also contacted China embassy in Spain, and the Spanish embassy in Beijing. No clear answer. The question is:

Can we finally ride into China without "guide" now?
How about Tibet?

Thanks a lot.

Simple answer... Nope.:no:

John

Not yet!

I'm hoping that over the next few years, possibly China will open up more and sign up to other international agreements. Recent commitment to fighting global climate change and nuclear non-proliferation from the Beijing government suggests that they will go down a path of international cooperation.

However, this year is the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, an unpopular anniversary with some minority groups and also there are some other less popular anniversaries this year.

At the moment we are days away from Chinese National Day, and there is a risk of minority riots, and the country is highly sensitive to any criticism and on clamp-down with H1N1 not helping the mood, so brief answer is: wait and see...and hope.

Not yet! And this situation won't change in the near future.
In Tibet, a Tibetan guide is a must-have at some areas besides the national guide.

PS:
Last year, 2009,maybe you have known that the Tibet goverment issued very very limited travel permits during the 60 anniversary period.