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Anonymous
To be completely honest, seeing that many cities on a 12 day tour would be selling yourself short.
With 12 days including time for travel, you won't have time to get a feel for any of the cities. My recommendation would be to stick to one or two cities for the two week trip, and if you enjoy yourself you'll have a reason to return to China later.
And $3,000 is a fuckton of money for China (unless that price includes flights into and out of China). On your own, you could very easily get by on under $1,000, likely a lot less if you don't eat at overpriced restaurants catering to foreigners (although those places tend to be no more expensive than their North American/European counterparts), and stick to cheaper hotels. I stayed at a 2 star hotel in Guangzhou earlier this year, and I was satisfied with it. Bedsheets were clean, a private washroom with hot water, and it was only $15/night IIRC. That being said, quality will likely decline outside of major cities.
If you're worried about the language barrier, Hong Kong would be a good bet. Virtually all signs are in Chinese and English, most residents speak at least some English, and there's more than enough to keep someone occupied for several weeks.
But of course, if money and/or time means this is your only chance to go to China in the foreseeable future, by all means take the tour. Its probably the only realistic means of seeing as much of the country as possible in as painless a manner as possible.
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