I'm new to this forum and have been reading a little bit here and there. My question is how cheap could I get a flight from preferably Minneapolis airport to Chongqing or Shanghai? I'm planning on leaving around the end of May and coming back the end of June. Does being a college student help defer costs at all, because I thought someone mentioned to me about a student discount with some carriers and how would I go about getting those tickets? Thank you.

-Brett

Go to your local Chinatown and check with any of the Travel Agencies there. They will have great special discounted fares for you. Normally on NW since it's their hub, but you'd also find good fares on other airlines.

Student fares don't really exist for Asia/Pacific regions.

What is your reason for going to Chongqing of all places?

It would be quite difficult for a first timer-first city in china I would think.

Guy: I don't know where the nearest china town is since I live in Rochester, MN. I could even use the Rochester International Airport since it would be more convenient, but it usually costs more. I currently reside in Des Moines going to college and met some Chinese international students. They said they received student discounts when coming over here and it only cost them around $1k for the flight.

Sir: The reason I would visit Chongqing is because most of the guys are from there and they said I could stay with them if I wanted. It would save a lot on hotel expenses and food every now and then. We would also travel to other places around china. Why do you think it would be quite difficult, because they speak their own dialect there?

No, because Chongqing is kind of a mess and has fewer foreigner-friendly amenities than say, Shanghai or Beijing.

I was there several years ago, but it was noticeably more rundown than other parts of China, and we were told that the central government neglected it because it had been on the "wrong" side during the revolution.

If you haven't traveled much, especially not in the Third World, Chongqing will be a shock.

They speak Mandarin there, but with their own distinctive accent, which is a bit hard to understand. They understood me when I spoke Mandarin, but I often had trouble understanding what they were saying back to me.

Get a guidebook for China and read up on it before you go. You won't be sorry.

This is 2007. The nearest Chinatown is on the Internet. Google "Discount Asia Travel". You will see a plethora of travel wholesalers, many of them are actually in a Chinatown somewhere.

For airfare alone, many airlines' own web fares are often as good as via a consolidator or Chinese agent. But they often have air+hotel package that can be cheaper - often on United.

Chongqing is a huge city, and many visitors just use it as the departure/arrival point for a Yangtze Three Gorges cruise. But outside the city is the Dazu Grottoes, which is very worth visiting.

Thank you for all the help so far