Terms of Service

1. Who we are and what these terms cover

ChinaMira is a China-based travel company that designs, arranges and operates journeys inside China: private and tailor-made itineraries, small-group departures, guide and car services, visa invitation support, medical travel coordination, business delegations and study programmes. ChinaMira is the trading name and contracting party for every journey we sell, and you can reach us at info@chinamira.com. By making a booking you accept these terms on behalf of everyone travelling in your party, and you are responsible for the full amount due for that party.

2. Enquiries, quotes and when a contract exists

• •An enquiry or a selection you make on our website is a request, not a confirmed booking.
• •We prepare a written proposal that lists what is included, what is not, and the price. Website prices are indicative and based on supplier rates at the time of quoting.
• •A binding contract exists only when we have received your deposit or full payment and have issued a written confirmation (booking confirmation and invoice).
• •Prices may change before confirmation if suppliers raise rates or government taxes and fees change. Once your confirmation is issued, the price is guaranteed except for increases in government taxes, permits or entry fees, or costs caused by changes you request.
• •If a price has been displayed or quoted in error, we may correct it, and if the correction is not acceptable to you we will cancel the affected service and refund amounts paid for it.
• •Bookings are accepted from travellers aged 18 and over. Travellers under 18 must be accompanied by a parent, guardian or another responsible adult aged 18 or over.

3. Payment: deposits, balance and methods

• •Day tours, city tours, transfers and cruise-only or ticket-only services are payable in full at the time of booking, because suppliers require immediate payment for tickets and seats.
• •Multi-day journeys, tailor-made itineraries, group departures, guide and car programmes, medical coordination, business delegations and study programmes require a deposit of 30% of the total price at confirmation.
• •The remaining balance is due 30 days before your journey begins. If you book less than 30 days before departure, the full amount is due at booking.
• •We accept bank transfer and PayPal today. WeChat Pay and Alipay are added for travellers who can use them once our merchant accounts are live; the payment options available to you are always shown on your invoice and payment page.
• •Payment channel surcharges apply and are added to the amount payable: PayPal 5%, Alipay 1%, WeChat Pay 1%. Bank transfer is free of our charges, but any fee charged by your own bank or by an intermediary bank is borne by you.
• •The surcharge is calculated on the amount being paid, shown separately on the payment page and on your invoice, and is included in the final total you are asked to pay. If a payment provider changes its fees, the current rate is always displayed before you confirm a payment.
• •We never ask you to send card details by email, chat or WhatsApp; all payments are completed on our own payment pages.
• •Special offers and promotional rates may require full payment at the time of booking, and the conditions of the specific offer then apply.
• •If a payment is not received at least 30 days before departure and no payment plan has been agreed with us in writing, we may treat the booking as cancelled. We will always contact you before doing so.

4. Changes you ask for

• •Changes requested before your booking is confirmed are free of charge, and we will re-quote the itinerary.
• •Once a deposit has been paid, we charge an administration fee of USD 50 per change request; the first change request is free of charge.
• •Any costs charged by suppliers for a change — hotels, airlines, rail, cruise operators, permits or tickets — are passed on at cost and are your responsibility.
• •Changes must be requested in writing by the person who made the original booking, and are subject to availability.
• •Submitting traveller details (passport names, dates of birth, passport numbers) is a firm instruction: tickets, permits and invitation letters are issued from those details, and later corrections may not be possible or may carry supplier fees.

5. Changes we may need to make

• •If circumstances beyond our control require it, we may adjust the order of days, substitute a hotel with one of at least a similar standard, or re-schedule a departure.
• •Such circumstances include severe weather, natural events, epidemics or health emergencies, strikes, road or rail closures, government action, or supplier failure.
• •Where a change generates additional costs — a different flight, an extra night, a re-booked cruise cabin — those costs are charged at cost and we will always tell you before committing you to them.
• •We never reduce the standard of a journey without telling you, and where a substitution is of lower value we refund the difference.

6. Cancellation and refunds

Cancellations must be sent in writing to info@chinamira.com (or to the advisor handling your booking) and take effect when we receive them. Please also message us on WhatsApp for anything inside 72 hours of departure, so nothing is missed.

• •Multi-day journeys (private, tailor-made, small-group, study, medical and business programmes): more than 45 days before departure — no cancellation fee; 31–44 days — 10% of the total price; 22–30 days — 20%; 15–21 days — 30%; 8–14 days — 50%; 7 days or less — 100%.
• •Day tours, transfers and city tours: more than 7 days before the service date — no cancellation fee; 3–7 days — 90%; less than 3 days — 100%.
• •Guide and car services: free of charge up to 7 days before the first service day; within 7 days the guide and vehicle day rates for the reserved days apply.
• •Groups of ten or more travellers: cancellation terms are quoted individually, because group seats, rooms and coaches are contracted differently. Your advisor will state them in writing.
• •Costs already incurred with third parties — airline, rail and cruise tickets, hotel deposits, permits and payment provider fees — cannot be waived and are additional to the percentages above.
• •No-shows and unused services after a journey has begun are non-refundable, including late arrival, early departure, missed days or services you choose not to take.
• •Where suppliers impose stricter terms than these (some cruises, festival dates and peak-season hotels), the stricter terms are shown in your proposal before payment.
• •Instead of cancelling, you may ask us to move your dates or transfer the booking to a friend or family member where supplier rules allow. Cruise, rail, air and some hotel bookings cannot be transferred.

7. Confirmation, documents and invoices

• •After payment you receive a booking confirmation by email. It contains the itinerary, the payment schedule and the traveller information we need from you; please read it carefully and meet the deadlines stated in it.
• •Delays in providing traveller details can affect tickets, permits and hotel bookings, and any resulting costs are your responsibility.
• •Invoices are issued electronically as PDF files and can be downloaded from your account or provided by your advisor.
• •You need a passport valid for at least six months beyond your return date, with at least two blank pages, plus any visa or permit required for your itinerary.
• •Visa and entry decisions rest entirely with the authorities concerned. We can issue invitation letters and supporting documents where we have agreed to do so, but we cannot guarantee a visa outcome.

8. Health, mobility and altitude

• •You must be physically and mentally fit enough to complete the journey you book, and you must tell us about any condition, allergy, pregnancy, dietary need or mobility requirement that affects your travel.
• •Vaccination and health-entry requirements change; please check the current rules for the regions you visit and for any country you transit.
• •For Tibet, a doctor's certificate confirming fitness and normal blood pressure and heart condition is normally required, along with the permits we arrange.
• •If you travel with medical or mobility equipment, check the requirements of each airline, rail operator and cruise line. We will tell you what our partners require, but power and refrigeration cannot be guaranteed everywhere.
• •Illness before or during a journey may mean some services cannot be delivered; where that happens we will help you re-plan, and supplier refund rules apply.

9. Travel insurance

We strongly recommend comprehensive travel insurance from the moment your booking is confirmed. Where a journey includes high altitude, trekking, remote regions, cruises or medical appointments, insurance is often essential. A suitable policy normally covers cancellation and curtailment, medical treatment and evacuation, personal accident, baggage and theft, personal liability and delay. Please check that your policy covers travel in China and any activities you plan to take part in.

10. Baggage

Baggage allowances differ by airline, rail service and cabin class — please read your travel documents and the airline's own conditions. Within China, checked baggage is commonly 20 kg in economy, 30 kg in business and 40 kg in first class, with limited hand baggage. Chinese regulations require suitcases to have a locking device; airports may refuse to load bags without one. Excess baggage charges are your responsibility and are not included in your journey price.

11. If something goes wrong

• •Raise the issue with your guide or advisor immediately, while the service is being provided. Almost everything can be fixed on the day, and we would rather fix it than read about it afterwards.
• •If it cannot be resolved on the spot, send a written complaint to info@chinamira.com no later than 24 hours after the service was provided.
• •If you remain dissatisfied, email us within 14 days of the end of your journey so we can investigate with our partners and respond formally.
• •Complaints raised outside these timeframes are much harder to resolve with suppliers and may limit what we are able to recover on your behalf.

12. Communication and support

Our working language is English and we also handle Chinese, with interpreters available for other languages. Enquiries are answered within one working day (Monday to Saturday, China Standard Time). Travellers receive a 24/7 emergency contact for the duration of their journey, and on-trip matters should be raised on WhatsApp so we see them immediately.

13. Our responsibility, and its limits

• •We are responsible for arranging and coordinating the services we sell, and for selecting licensed guides, insured vehicles and established accommodation partners.
• •We act as an arranger for third-party suppliers. We are not liable for the independent acts or omissions of airlines, rail operators, hotels, cruise lines, hospitals or other suppliers, although we will help you pursue any claim against them.
• •We are not liable for events outside our reasonable control, as described in section 5.
• •Where we are found liable, our liability is limited to the amount you paid us for the affected service, except where the law does not allow such a limit.
• •You are responsible for your own personal belongings, for complying with local law and customs, and for any damage you cause to hotels, vehicles or third-party property.
• •We may use photographs or video taken on a journey for our own marketing only where you have agreed to it. You can withdraw that agreement at any time.

14. Privacy and cookies

How we handle personal data is described in our Privacy Policy, and what we store in your browser is described in our Cookie Policy. In short: we use your details to plan and operate your journey, we do not sell them, and we keep enquiry data for a limited period.

15. Governing law and disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of the People's Republic of China, and disputes are subject to the courts of Shanghai, China. We ask that any dispute is first raised with us directly so we can resolve it amicably. If any part of these terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining parts continue to apply.

16. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms as our services, suppliers and legal obligations change. The version published on this page at the time of your booking is the version that applies to that booking, and the date at the top of the page shows when it was last revised.