Home

Frequently Asked Questions

China
China

Regarding travel to China, do we make our own travel arrangements or will AGCI do that for us?

Our program in China has experienced coordinators who live there and travel with the families throughout their entire stay in China. Your travel dates will be given as soon as you have accepted the referral of your child, received your letter of invitation from the CCAA and have confirmed a visa appointment with the U.S. Consulate. You can then book your tickets and we will start planning for your trip. You will order your tickets yourself or through one of our preferred travel agencies. We will tell you where you need to be and when and book your hotels for you. Our coordinators will meet you at the airport, take you to the hotel, to all your appointments and take you wherever you need to go. The trip to China will be about 11–14 days. The first 6 days will be spent in the capital city of the child’s province and the last 5–6 days will be in Guangzhou. Each travel coordinator is very knowledgeable about the adoption proceedings and necessary travel arrangements within China, so you will be in good hands. Families have always had great things to say about each of our coordinators. Your child will come from one of about 15 different provinces and from one of about 400 different orphanages. You will first fly into a large international airport in China such as Hong Kong, Beijing or Guangzhou. You will be flying out of Guangzhou for your return trip home so most families end up flying into Guangzhou on their arrival flight with a round trip ticket. The only reason to fly into Beijing or Hong Kong is if you decide to do some additional sightseeing before the adoption procedure begins. Once you arrive in China, you will then have to catch a connecting domestic flight to your child’s provincial capital city. Your travel agent will have no problems arranging this domestic ticket for you. Prior to booking your domestic flight we will inform you of which city you will be flying into. We also arrange travel with other families in small groups, which is always a wonderful experience for our families to build relationships with other families adopting through AGCI and sometimes from the same orphanage.

During the days we are in China, will there be any tours or cultural exposure?

The trip to China is about 11–14 days. The first 6 days will be spent in the capital city of the child’s province and the last 5–6 days will be in Guangzhou. Once you arrive in China, one of our experienced travel coordinators will be there to meet you at the airport. She will be your adoption travel guide while you are in China and will accompany you throughout your entire trip. Each travel coordinator is very knowledgeable about the adoption proceedings and necessary travel arrangements within China, so you will be in good hands. Families have always had great things to say about each of our coordinators. Your child will come from one of about 15 different provinces and from one of about 400 different orphanages. You will first fly into a large international airport in China such as Hong Kong, Beijing or Guangzhou. You will be flying out of Guangzhou for your return trip home so most families end up flying into Guangzhou on their arrival flight with a round trip ticket. The only reason to fly into Beijing or Hong Kong is if you decide to do some additional sightseeing before the adoption begins. Once you arrive in China, you will then have to catch a connecting domestic flight to your child’s provincial city. Your travel agent will have no problems arranging this domestic ticket for you. Prior to booking your domestic flight we will inform you of which city you will be flying into. Sightseeing and tours will have to be done BEFORE you begin your 11–14 day journey. Some families choose to go a week early so they can have some cultural exposure. There may be a day or two where you can do some sightseeing in the area that you are in, but you will pick up your baby on day one or two so the focus will be on getting to know him or her and bonding with him or her so you probably will not want to be in the car a lot traveling around with them. You will have various things that you will need to do for the adoption throughout the week in your child’s province and then finally in Guangzhou. It is extremely important not to over-stimulate your child, both while in China and when first arriving home. Literally everything is now a first for your child and too many things at once will make your child anxious. Please do not plan on seeing every sight in town after you have your child. Going a few places and seeing a few things is fine, but be sensitive to your child’s reactions and be prepared to spend time alone together in the hotel each day. If you want to do a great deal of sightseeing and shopping it is a good idea to arrive in China early, and be sure to plan any stops in other countries on your way to China and not on the way home with your child.

We would like to have our children travel with us to China. Other than the airplane tickets, can you give an estimate of how much extra it would cost us?

We suggest that if you have your children come with you that you bring along a nanny, older sibling or grandparent who can help watch the children while you attend various meetings and get to know your adopted child. You will not want to be torn between giving the much needed attention to both your children and your adopted child. Keep in mind that being in a foreign culture may also be hard for your children to adjust to so they will probably need some extra care too. There will be one meeting in particular (the exit interview at the U.S. embassy) where no children are allowed to attend except the adopted child and parents. The cost will vary depending on which hotel you stay at, cost of airfare, and food. The cost of airfare for 2 people to China is about $2400 and the cost for lodging and food is about $1400. So, if the tickets are the same for children, it would be about $1200 per ticket and then, depending on the age of your children, about $100 extra per child for food. Also, you may have to pay a small fee to the travel coordinators since they will be taking care of more people.

If we were to adopt a child over 3, would we be facing a language barrier?

As soon as children begin to speak Chinese fluently there will be a language barrier. At age three, though, they should be able to pick up the English language quickly. Lessons can be given for a small fee paid to the orphanage if it is an older child; this would probably take place at the age of about four and up because children that are younger than that usually do not struggle with picking up the language when they come home to America.

Do you work with more than one orphanage in China? Where in China are the orphanages that you work with?

Your child will come from one of about 15 different provinces and from one of about 400 different orphanages. The orphanages that we receive referrals from are scattered all over China. We never know where the referrals will come from until we receive them in the mail.

What kind of electricity is available for camera batteries, razors, hair dryers, etc.? Should we take an extra camera battery?

You will have plug ins in your hotel room, but these will be Chinese plug ins. You will need to buy a converter from a travel shop so that you can plug in your razors, hair dryers etc. The converters will say if they fit a Chinese plug in, and someone at the store should be able to help you find the right one. I also noticed that in two of my hotel rooms (I stayed at 3 different hotels when I traveled) the hotel provided plug in converters for American travelers so I didn’t have to use mine all of the time. You can buy batteries for your camera in China, but it may be a good idea to bring your own just in case they are difficult to find. If you have a charger for your camera, you should be able to charge it up using the converter.

What about communication with family back in the U.S.? Are phones and e-mail easily accessible? Should we take phone cards?

You will have a phone in your hotel and most hotel’s have a business center with email access. It’s pretty inexpensive to get on line. They will just charge this expense to your room. You will need to buy phone cards in China as a U.S. phone card will be very difficult to use. I bought a 33 minute phone card for 100 Yuan or $12 U.S. dollars and made international calls out of my hotel room very easily. Some families order a PANDA phone which is a cell phone that your travel agency delivers to your hotel. You pay a flat fee for X amount of minutes and just leave the phone at the hotel when you leave. When you book your tickets to China your travel agency will most likely talk to you about the possibly of ordering a PANDA phone.

What currency do we use? Can we use credit cards, ATM’s? What type of access to cash will we have once we’re over there? How much should we take? How much does an average meal cost?

For adoption fees you will be using U.S. dollars. The $3000 orphanage donation fee needs to be paid in crisp $100 bills as well as the adoption expenses paid to the civil affairs office (another $600–$800). I would also advise bringing some smaller bills $10s and $20s that you can convert to Chinese Yuan when you get to China. There is an immediate Airport tax of 50 Yuan ($8) when you get into the international airport in China. You can convert a $20 bill pretty quickly to pay for that. ATM’s are not readily available, so I advise families to bring as much cash as possible. Some hotels are not even set up to take credit cards. In Guangzhou, you will be able to pay your hotel fee with a credit card, though it will be cheaper if you pay the coordinator in cash as they make the reservations before hand. However, the first part of your trip is still to be determined as we don’t know where your little boy or girl will be from. It is 22% less if you reimburse Angela for your hotel stay in your child’s province with cash vs. paying with a credit card. You probably will spend $20–$25 a day per person for food. Breakfast is often included in your hotel stay. You will need cash for food; credit cards are very very rarely used in restaurants. I advise families to bring at least $6000 to pay the orphanage donation fee, adoption fees, food, hotel etc. You will be able to get rid of $4000 of this money immediately upon arrival in China as you pay the orphanage director the donation fee and the civil affair fees on your first full day in China. There are safes in your hotel room to leave money you don’t need. I brought about $3000 with me and felt completely safe, and left most of the money in the hotel safe until I needed it.

Are there any recommended tourist opportunities we should schedule for ourselves? In advance?

A lot of families will travel to Beijing a few days before they have to meet our travel coordinators in their child’s province. Again, your travel agency can set up a wonderful tour of Beijing. They will meet you at the Beijing airport, take you to the hotel, pick you up and take you to the great sights of Beijing such as the Great Wall of China, Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. A lot of our families have had a wonderful experience booking this 3–4 day tour with Lotus Travel or Delight Travel. They will then put you back on a plane to the province where our travel coordinator will be meeting you and you will be receiving your child. There will be some time to do some sightseeing in your child’s province. This will depend on you and how your child is adjusting to his/her new family. Angela will be happy to take you to some of the sights in that province.

Transportation?

You are responsible for your flights to China. Our staff will take care of transportation to and from the airport to the hotel and to the adoption appointments, but you will be responsible for reimbursing the coordinator for all the transportation expenses. If you want to take a trip to the orphanage or do some sightseeing that is not within the city limits you will be responsible for any additional travel expenses. Our coordinator will book your flight from your child’s province to Guangzhou and you will be responsible for reimbursing her for that flight (usually only $75–$150 per person).

Limits on # of bags/luggage?

On international flights you can usually check two 70lb suitcases per person and one carry on. However on the domestic flights within China you will be limited to one 50 lb bag each and one carry on so it’s best to pack as light as possible for all flights. If you need to check more than one bag on the domestic flights you will have to pay a extra bag fee which usually isn’t too much.

Can we take Bibles?

Bibles are fine to bring as long as you are not giving them to Chinese citizens. Customs may stop you if they see a Bible and will make a note to check and see that you have the Bible on your return trip. These are just some things I have heard from our international staff in regards to Bibles. It is illegal to pass out Bibles in China if they are not government issued. But it is fine for a foreigner to bring a Bible for their own use. My bags were never were checked at Chinese customs, only at U.S. customs, so I never had a problem with that.

Can we use Frequent Flier miles towards the airplane tickets and hotels? What airline do you use? Names of hotels? Will we need the services of an airline inside the country? Will it be the same airline?

You can definitely use frequent flyer miles towards your flights. We don’t use a specific airline. It’s up to the family to decide which airline they use and what their travel agency is able to book. Most families use China Air or China Southern, for which I’m guessing the frequent flier miles wouldn’t apply. However Delta flies into Beijing and I’m sure other American airlines do as well. It is a lot more difficult to use miles for the hotel stay, though, as we need all traveling families to stay together as much as possible. Hotel names will vary depending on the province your child is from. In Guangzhou, you will stay in the most convenient and available hotel, most likely the Phoenix or White Swan. We ask that you do not get the Frequent Flier miles to count towards a hotel as it will make it harder on our staff when they are trying to make the arrangements.

Baby needs? What do we take with us for him or her? Food, meds, clothing, car seat, stroller, etc.?

I would advise buying as much as possible for your child while in China. Of course bring a few things: diapers, food, formula, etc., to use for a few days, but you can buy all necessary items in China for a lot less money and you don’t have to worry about packing too much. Clothing is very inexpensive, and you will know exactly the right size to buy once you get there. The same goes for strollers. They are very inexpensive and easier to buy in China than hauling them from the U.S. Car seats are not used and a huge hassle to have. The taxis and transportation do NOT have seat belts anyway, so you will have him or her on your lap the whole time.

Other than passports, what other documentation do we need to take with us?

All necessary paperwork will be included in the travel packet that you will receive with your referral. There will be examples on how to fill out all of the forms. You will also need to apply for a visa, but not until we know when you will be traveling. A lot of these things can’t be done until that precious referral information is received.

Embassy--where is it?

The U.S. embassy is in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. That’s why you travel there for the last half of your trip.