By Bill Krupnick

If you work for a large multi-national company, then you likely have an expense account and a travel department that will take care of all of your travel details for you

, but if you're like the many small and medium companies making new forays into China and wanting to visit manufacturers and suppliers and have a limited budget, here are some helpful tips on how to travel well but not break the bank.

Flying into China
For those of us not lucky enough to fly in on business class, Economy Plus on United is always a welcome sight as it gives a of couple extra inches for those that really need it. You can buy upgrade an Economy Plus upgrade at the counter or purchase it ahead of time on their website. I recommend it for people on a direct flight into China.

But if you're willing to spend a little extra time to get to China, booking online with China Airlines often saves around 25% and more of the cost of flying directly into China. The flights on China Airlines depart from both Los Angeles and San Francisco 2 times a day to Hong Kong. And then from Hong Kong, there are flights to every 1st and 2nd tier city in China or a very convenient train/ferry into Shenzhen.

Flying within China
Of course, it is crucial to have your itinerary ready and flights booked before you leave for China but there are things you can do from outside of China to get Chinese prices for flights.

• DO NOT purchase your inland China flights from your local travel agent or from online standard website like Travelocity/Orbitz/Expedia. They are linked to very few of the Domestic Chinese airlines and will charge much more than Chinese prices.

Use instead these Chinese websites, they are in English and are designed for foreign users.

http://www.elong.net; This is one of the most famous Chinese domestic booking companies and they have a clear website.

http://ticket.9588.com; This website has a simple to use interface and is very clean and easy to use.

• Keep in mind, Chinese don't price their tickets in the same way as we do, there is no benefit to waiting till later to see if a better price will come up.
• China set a number of ticket at each discount level. At 20% discount, there are so many tickets - After they are all sold out, then they will sell all the 10% discounts until all the tickets are sold.
• There is absolutely no different in the tickets at different discounts. It does not affect your ability to refund.

As these are Chinese domestic website, they will need a day or 2 to confirm your credit card and they will require you to scan/fax them a copy of the card to show that you are the real owner, so don't do this at the last minute or they won't confirm your ticket.

Hotels
Hotels fall into the same class as domestic air travel. If you book from a local website, like hotels.com, they will only have a limited number of hotels (almost always western) that have partnered with them. Great to have if you can afford at a minimum $150+ / night.

Instead, use a domestic hotel book website that will give you better range at the middle end of the spectrum of hotels that are less expensive. However, keep in mind that when it says 2 or 3 stars will not be the 2 or 3 stars that you are used to. A good rule of thumb is to deduct 1.5 stars from whatever they have listed.

Well-know Chinese domestic hotel booking websites include:

http://www.elong.net
http://www.ctrip.com

They are not so inexpensive but better than you'd be able to find normally.

If you are really on a budget, i highly recommend using one of the many domestic chain hotels in China. You will not be treated to plush king size beds, room service or a bell hop to take your luggage. These domestic chains are no-frills but they are clean, accessible and often have free ADSL that is a must for business travelers.

• This type of hotel will not be a welcome sight for somebody who just flew 12-30 hours from overseas but if you are spending 3+ weeks crisscrossing the country seeing many suppliers, this is the best way to save money
• These hotels charge between RMB150-RMB250 (US$25-US$40) per night depending on brand and location.
• Well known chain hotels include:
  • Hanting Hotel/ Hanting Express Hotels
  • Jinjiang Star (Jinjiang ZiXing)
  • Motel 168
  • Home Inn

To make a reservation, I suggest contacting the supplier you will visit and have them arrange at the one closest to them.

Bill Krupnick is the owner and manager of 3C Interglobal, a custom manufacturer and injection molding plant, and lives and works full-time in ShiJiaZhuang, Hebei, China. He speaks English and Mandarin fluently and has worked in Taiwan and China for more than 35 years and has hands-on full time China management experience. You can contact him at Info@3cinterglobal.com or at http://www.3cinterglobal.com