China is a massive country, both in terms of population and area. The growing popularity of The Middle Kingdom as a destination for Western tourists has made travel infinitely easier than it was even 10 years ago.

The problem is that the easiest tours to book offer little excitement. It might be a "once in a lifetime experience" to see the Great Wall of China; but centering your whole trip around The Wall leaves much unexplored. The same goes for other major destinations.

If going it alone seems to time and energy consuming (or scary), you can take advantage of one of a number of growing tourist companies that specialize in personalized tours of China.

Check Electric Pagoda's web site. They offer some out of the ordinary package deals and also offer custom trips. Red Monkey Travel is another one that looks interesting. The advantage of going with a smaller firm like the ones above is that they will be more likely to work with you to customize a trip. Larger companies might have more to offer, but might not be able to provide a personalized experience. That might be as important as trudging up the Wall with ten thousand other tourists.