How to travel from Guangzhou to Guizhou, Sichuan, Tibet and Qinghai with 1515 yuan?

Starting in Guangzhou, I traveled through Guizhou, Sichuan, Tibet, and Qinghai for 19 days. When I finally tallied the bill, I only spent 1,515 yuan.

Figure 2 shows my daily spending breakdown. The total was 4,815 yuan, but after deducting two major subsidies, the actual outlay was this much.

Why was it so cheap?
Mainly due to good luck. I happened to hit up two cultural tourism subsidies in different places (Zhubo originally wanted to take the Qinghai-Gansu loop route, but after discovering the subsidies, I booked flights in and out of Tibet directly):

1. Ctrip's Tibet Cultural Tourism subsidy offers a maximum discount of 1,800 yuan on airfare and accommodation.

2. Shigatse Cultural Tourism also has a separate subsidy, with a maximum of 2,500 yuan. I barely reached the lowest tier, saving 1,500 yuan.

These two subsidies combined effectively covered the bulk of my expenses.

The route was as follows:
Guangzhou - (train) -> Tongren - (train) -> Chengdu - (flight) -> Lhasa - (high-speed rail) -> Shigatse - (flight back to Lhasa) -> Xining

My travel expenses were as follows:

· Entering Tibet: I found the cheapest flight from Chengdu to Lhasa, usually around NT$500, so I chose that flight.

· Leaving Tibet: The flight from Lhasa to Xining cost over NT$1,000, but it just covered the airfare requirement for the Tibet subsidy, so it wasn't a waste.

· In the city, I relied on public transportation and my legs.

I didn't spend much on food and accommodation:

· Traveling alone, I mostly ate takeout and small restaurants. Sometimes I'd split the bill with people I met at hostels.

· As for accommodation, I stayed in hostels 80% of the time; they were cheap and a great way to make friends.

In the end, the bulk of my expenses were travel expenses and entrance fees (luckily, I still had my student ID, so many places were half-price).

Actually, I didn't expect to save so much at first. I just happened to see the subsidy policy and started planning. I feel like good things like this are hard to come by, but by paying more attention to official channels (like Ctrip's Culture and Tourism section, or simply searching the local Culture and Tourism Bureau's official account), you might be able to catch a chance.

Zhu Bo is a relatively frugal person and someone who's willing to endure hardships, so it's hard to replicate his style without trying to imitate him. I just wanted to share my ideas so that everyone, especially students, can save money and travel to more places. I can spend only 1515 yuan when I'm traveling, but I shouldn't spend only 1515 yuan. I always have to be careful and leave a way out.

The route and expenses are all in the picture. If you have any questions, please leave a message and I'll reply.