Hong Kong, Macau and Shanghai and Beijing are some of the most expensive places to visit in China. Taking a tour maybe is cheap, my friends have take tours and the prices they were quoted I tam sure were good deals. There are always ways to save money in Asia.
I am not an expert in China. I have visited Hong Kong but, that was many years ago. My current long term love is visiting Thailand.
I use Agoda.com for my hotel reservations. If you are not using Kayak.com or some other search engine to scan other websites, reliance on local sites like Hotels.com or Expedia.com or Orbitz.com is a waste of money. Up until recently Iwould not consider looking online for a hotel for thailand.
Hong Kong Yes, even then you have to compare. Ask others who visit Thailand what sites they use for info and booking. I learn more from other's answers which is why I come here.
Good luck.
Food is cheap, taxis are cheap, hotels may be cheap, reasonable or expensive depending on where you stay. China is cheaper than most countries, and only more expensive than a few.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.