Fabulous Gardens, Terracotta Warriors, The Great Wall Home Stays in China

A Home Stay is a great way to experience the real China and will certainly add a deeper and more genuine dimension to your holiday that many tourists miss out on.

THome Stay means you will literally be staying in a family house alongside the family that lives there. You will be shown typical daily life by both your guide as you arrive and by the family you are staying with. We use carefully selected locations and unlike some travel companies we offer only REAL homes with genuine local families. They are NOT guest houses by another name. We would recommend staying just one or two nights, then move on with your itinerary around China.

All the facilities you would expect in a basic hotel room are ready for you. You will be well looked after in comfortable surroundings. It should be noted that these home stays are not luxury 4/5 star accommodations but do allow you to experience the real China. Our home stays are very flexible. A typical scenario would be to arrive late afternoon or early evening with your English speaking guide, meet the family and enjoy an evening meal. The following day you will be shown round the surrounding area. We would prefer you not to be rushing around and want you to experience the home cooking and hospitality as much as possible. The children in these villages are very keen to practice their English on you!

Rest assured, a very warm and friendly welcome awaits you!

For a more detailed itinerary of this tour please send us an email info@sanyachinatravel.com
or phone us on 01256 863030

Sichuan Home Stay with the Zhang Family near Chengdu

Stay with the Zhang family who live in Hui Long village just outside Chengdu in Sichuan province. Here you will stay with Jun’s Sister In Laws family. Jun and Kevin launched Sanya Travel in 2005. The family home is one hours drive from the airport or the train station in Chengdu. The village of Hui Long is typical of this region with about 300 inhabitants. Here you will see daily life in the Chinese countryside.

Are the family English speaking? The Zhang family are not English speaking, however when you arrive your guide will stay with you for the evening meal to translate and make sure that everything runs very smoothly. We have covered everything in terms of communication.

Accommodation There is one private room with a double bed. There will be tea/coffee available with plenty of drinking water.

What is there to do? There is a local market and typical village life to enjoy. The following places can be visited before and during your stay - The Wangcong Temple in the Village, Shangli Old Town (it is also possible to stay in a guest house in Shangli Old Town), The Dujiangya Irrigation System and Mount Qingcheng are also quite close.

’I really hope more people choose to do the home stay, it was a nice experience and they were all very friendly. They looked after me well! If I go back to Chengdu again, which I am sure I will, I would love to do a home stay with them again.’ Hannah (Sept 2009).

If you are interested in learning (or just experiencing) Traditional Sichuan Cookery then this is a perfect place to stay. Please click here to see our Sichuan Cookery Home Stay tour.

You can also visit the Panda Research Base on a homestay tour - please click here to see our Panda Research and Homestay Tour

Shanxi Home Stay with the Yang Family near Xi’an

Stay with the Yang family who live in Yihetun Village situated in the country side 30 minutes from Yongji City in Shanxi province, relatively close to Xi’an in neighbouring Shaanxi province. The home stay is run by one of our former guides from Hainan Island - Feng (who likes to be called Jim!) Jim has moved back from Sanya to be with his family and is now the local school teacher.

The village is famous for its Pepper and Sunflower production. Normally you will drive to the village by car from Xi’an with a journey time of 2.5 hours; it’s a very interesting drive. It is also possible to travel part of the way by train from Xi’an. There are local scenic spots to explore with all the normal small shops and tiny restaurants you would expect to see in the Chinese countryside. It is also possible to arrange a school visit (normally in the late afternoon) or if you prefer a nearby Kindergarten.

Are the family English speaking? Yes, you will not need a guide for translation with you while you are staying with this family. Accommodation There are two rooms with a double bed in one and two single beds in the other.

What is there to do? Every two days there is a local market where you will be shown around if time permits. There are also several villages near where you will be staying, you can walk or ride a bike (bikes provided). In the village there is an old theatre and temples to see.

This is a rural area so we are keen to show you typical daily life of the Chinese countryside and how the village works. In the past our clients have spent time with the farmers in the small holdings. Cotton, Sweetcorn, Sunflowers and Oriental Persimmon are all grown in the village.

To find out more about this tour, please visit our P

If you would like some additional tourist information and maps sent to you of Sichuan Province or Shaanxi Province these are available to help you plan your time around these home stay locations. Email us at info@sanyachinatravel.com for your free copy.

Red - Plane, Green - Train, Black - Automobile, Blue - Boat