Guide

Near Guide Bus Station

Budget hotel with doubles about ¥100 after bargaining, roughly 50 m from the bus station; takes foreign guests.

Wen Quan Binguan (hot-spring hotel)

The upmarket option, doubles from about ¥200, with a hot-spring heated pool and spa; bargain hard outside summer.

Etiquette

• Greeting: Handshake and a nod; use surnames with a title; avoid: Hugs and cheek kisses
• Face: Disagree privately and indirectly; avoid: Correcting or embarrassing someone in front of others
• Gifts: Give with two hands; expect the gift to be refused once or twice and opened later; avoid: Clocks, umbrellas, white flowers, sets of four
• Business cards: Present and receive with both hands, read it, keep it on the table; avoid: Writing on it or pocketing it at once
• Queues and crowds: Hold your ground politely in scrums at buses and lifts; avoid: Taking pushing personally
• Temples: Walk clockwise around Tibetan stupas and prayer wheels; remove hats; avoid: Touching statues or photographing where signs forbid
• Politics: Listen; follow your host's lead; avoid: Raising Tibet, Taiwan, Xinjiang, 1989 or the party leadership
• Numbers and colour: Red and 8 are lucky; red envelopes carry money gifts; avoid: Writing names in red; the number 4

Scams and watch-outs

• The last return bus to Xining leaves Guide at 17:45 — book your return when you arrive.
• Zha Chang hot springs water is very hot in summer; locals say winter is better. Entry is charged; check the current fee.
• Yuhang Pavilion entry is ¥60.
• The old town inside the walls was rebuilt in the 2010s; expect new temples and a museum rather than historic streets.