The real-name ticket policy and identity verification policy applied to China railway transportation have caused great inconveniences for foreign, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan travelers because of different naming habits. Our opinions on the issue are: use the complete full passport name for booking; English name is preferred if you get a Chinese name in traditional Chinese characters; omit unrecognized symbols by booking system like hyphen and apostrophe; if the system cannot accept all your name characters, type in as many as you can.

After being closed for more than three years, the Simatai Great Wall reopens in 2014. What's more, a new attraction, Beijing Wtown (Gubei Water Town), which is underneath the wall, is also open to visitors. As the construction is not completed, visitors should make a reservation to visit the wall. Those who visit both the town and the wall do not need to reserve as you won't pass the construction site.

Three were killed and 79 were injured in the violent terrorist attack at Urumqi South Railway Station on April 30. The government took immediate act to solve the case. International community condemned strongly on the inhumane terror act and expressed their sympathy to the victims and families. The two attackers are confirmed to be killed in the blast. All the wounded are accepting treatment in local hospitals.

Self-employed guides can be found in many tourism communities and websites like Tripadvisor.com. Visitors are prone to hire them because of the low prices they offered. These guides, however, may provide poor service and even cheat visitors as they are not supervised by any agencies or authorities. Thus TravelChinaGuide.com suggests that visitors choose qualified and professional travel agencies.

China tourism industry boomed and achieved a fast development in 2013. The total revenue of tourism grew by 13% over 2012. More and more Chinese people traveled abroad and they spent more money on traveling. The income of inbound tourism also increased in 2013, although less tourists traveled to China compared with 2012. Japan, Russia, USA, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore, Australia, Canada, Germany, UK, and France were the major tourism source countries. Foreign visitors concerned more about facilities and environment.

The Malaysian government declared on March 24th that the missing plane MH370 "ended in the Southern Indian Ocean". This is considered an irresponsible conclusion and hurt the families of passengers and all those who care about the missing plane. From the delay of declaring the plane's missing to the providing misleading location information of the plane, to this rush conclusion without any piece of wreckage being found, the Malaysian government disappointed everyone. We just need an open investigation and responsible information of this accident. We need the truth!

The US first lady Michelle Obama started her seven-day visit in China on March 20, 2014. Her mother and two daughters accompanied her. During the seven days, Mrs. Obama will visit historical and cultural attractions and schools. She will also communicate with Chinese students and talk about education and culture with them. Michelle will spend the first few days in Beijing. The Chinese first lady, Peng Liyuan will accompany her visit to the Forbidden City and a high school. She will also visit the Summer Palace, Mutianyu Great Wall, and Peking University. Then in the rest of days, Michelle will visit the Terracotta Warriors and City Wall in Xian and the Panda Base in Chengdu. Mrs. Obama will fly back to USA on March 26th.

From March 1, 2014, the Chinese official train ticketing website has implemented a new identity verification policy. Passengers have to have their identity checked before purchasing or collecting tickets. Chinese passengers can do the verification online or at railway stations, but foreign visitors have to do it at Chinese railway stations with their original passports or travel documents. The new policy is said to improve the real-name policy and crack down scalpers, however, it brings great trouble to foreign visitors. Foreign passengers may not able to collect their tickets booked online at railway stations because of the inconsistence of their names on their passports and the booking information caused by the "not so smart" booking system. They can only cancel the ticket and book a new one if they are refused to collect their tickets.