I've been reading some other message boards and I've found several posts where people say that the online ticket sellers (ctrip, yoee, elong) are cheaper than the traditional, in-person Chinese travel agents -- and also quite reliable. Others insist that you're still better off buying a couple days in advance from a local travel agent.

If anyone here has occasion to "comparison shop" in the next couple of months, I'd love to hear their report. Obviously, the only certainty about anything in China is change -- so it may very well be that the online outfits are changing the Chinese travel business.