[Rick Lee]

It's been two years since I've been there, but I think Xi'an was less than $250 round trip from Nanjing. You have to find a local to get the deals for you. No chance you'll get them on your own. The prices vary wildly depending on who does the booking. Since there were four of us in Xi'an, it was cheaper just to hire a taxi driver for the whole day to take everywhere and wait for us.

I can live without ever seeing Beijing or Shanghai again. Chengdu and Chongqing should be at the top of your list, Kunming and Guilin too. If you're ending up in HK, go to Guangzhou for a few days and then take the ferry from Shenzhen to HK.

Go find some English-speaking students on China Daily's BBS and pay them $30-$50 a day to do everything for you. It will easily pay for itself in savings. You'll get gouged at every turn if you try it on your own.