1. Acceptance of These Terms
These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of walkingchina.com and all content, guides, GPX tracks, maps, and materials we publish (together, the "Service"). By using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.
2. About the Service
WalkingChina is a publisher of self-guided cultural walking content. We provide information, suggested routes, GPX tracks, and field notes so that you can organise your own independent walks.
We are not a tour operator, travel agency, guide service, or insurer. We do not organise, escort, supervise, or provide travel services, and nothing on this website constitutes professional travel, medical, or safety advice.
3. Safety, Risk and Personal Responsibility
Walking, hiking, and travelling in unfamiliar terrain carry inherent risks, including injury, illness, extreme weather, wildlife, altitude, traffic, and getting lost. You are solely responsible for your own safety and for assessing your fitness, equipment, and conditions.
- •Always verify local conditions, opening hours, access rules, and closures before you set out.
- •Carry adequate water, sun protection, and weather-appropriate clothing, and tell someone your plan.
- •Follow local laws, regulations, and any site-specific rules, and respect cultural heritage and the environment.
- •In an emergency, contact local emergency services immediately (in mainland China dial 110 for police and 120 for medical ambulance).
4. Accuracy of Content
We work to verify our routes and field information, but trails change, landmarks move, roads close, and translations can drift. All coordinates, distances, GPX tracks, and descriptions are provided for general reference only and may contain errors or become outdated.
Do not rely on our content as your only navigation aid. Always carry an independent map or offline navigation tool and exercise your own judgement on the ground.
5. Intellectual Property
Unless otherwise stated, all content on the Service — including text, route designs, GPX tracks, maps, illustrations, and the WalkingChina name and marks — is owned by or licensed to us and is protected by applicable intellectual-property laws.
We grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to view the Service and to download route files for your own private, non-commercial use. Any other use — including resale, redistribution, or incorporation into another product or dataset — requires our prior written permission.
6. Acceptable Use
- •Do not scrape, harvest, crawl, or systematically extract content or GPX data.
- •Do not resell, sublicense, or republish our content without written permission.
- •Do not misuse the Service, attempt to disrupt it, or access it by unauthorised means.
- •Do not use the Service in violation of any applicable law.
7. User Submissions
When you send us a reflection, photograph, or track — for example through the "Share Your Story" form — you confirm that you own or have the necessary rights to it and that it does not infringe anyone else's rights or contain unlawful content.
You grant us permission to use your submission to produce the requested commemorative output and, where you have agreed, to feature it on the website. You keep ownership of your original submission.
8. Third-Party Links and Services
The Service may link to third-party websites and tools such as rail booking, mapping, audio guides, and accommodation providers. We do not control and are not responsible for those third parties, their content, or their terms. Your use of them is at your own risk and subject to their own terms.
9. Disclaimer of Warranties
The Service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis, without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, or uninterrupted availability, to the fullest extent permitted by law.
10. Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, WalkingChina will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, nor for any loss of profits, data, or goodwill, arising from or connected with your use of the Service. Nothing in these Terms excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.
11. Indemnity
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless WalkingChina from any claims, losses, or expenses arising from your use of the Service, your breach of these Terms, or your violation of any law or third-party right.
12. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution
These Terms are governed by the laws of the People's Republic of China, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules. Nothing in These Terms deprives you of any mandatory consumer protection you are entitled to under the law of your country of residence.
Before starting any formal proceedings, we ask that you contact us first at [email protected] so that we can try to resolve the matter directly and in good faith.
13. Bespoke Itinerary & Cultural Consultation Services
When you request bespoke itinerary planning or cultural curation advisory services, WalkingChina acts solely as an independent cultural researcher and digital itinerary curator. We do not provide in-person travel accompaniment, local transport execution, or physical tour guide services.
Deliverables include curated digital route dossiers, verified GPX waypoints, and asynchronous cultural background advisories. Custom research deliverables are prepared based on public geographical, historical, and logistic information available at the time of compilation.
Fee quotes, revision scopes (typically up to two rounds of minor itinerary adjustment), and delivery timeframes will be agreed prior to engagement. Custom bespoke advisory fees become non-refundable once the personalized research dossier has been transmitted, subject to any statutory consumer withdrawal rights that cannot lawfully be waived.
14. Changes to These Terms
We may amend these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Effective" date at the top of this page. Your continued use of the Service after a change means you accept the updated Terms.
15. Contact
Questions about these Terms may be sent to [email protected].