Originally Posted by
groobs
The plan is to fly into and out of China with Emirates, then once in China do the somewhat circular route of Beijing - Xi'an - Chengdu - Guilin - Shanghai...............The internal flights are currently priced up at about 400GBP, plus as an enthusiast, I've the added bonus of having worked out that I can fly each leg on a different Chinese carrier (China Eastern then China Southern then Air China and then Shanghai Airlines), which is pretty cool.
If you are an enthusiast and like a bit of a challenge then fly by the seat of your pants and book the flights online through ctrip or elong.
I have used these extensively - they both accept foreign credit cards - I have found them 100% reliable.
You will love the uniqueness of the internal Chinese carriers - when you receive your in-flight meal and you peel back that silver foil you will be amazed at what you find underneath.
Most flights are 2 class - First / Biz - rarely is there 3 classes. First claas is not that expensive - the seats in economy are realloy cramped - but you are only talking short haul so it will be ok.
Have fun - enjoy the Chinese domestic terminals - they are certainly an experience. One note - toilets in domestic terminals are - well let's say 'less than clean' - beware.