China

From Imakoopedia

Note: This article covers only Mainland China, which excludes Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

China is a country in Eastern Asia that is only slightly smaller than the United States of America. With coasts on the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, it is surrounded by Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar(or Burma), Laos and Vietnam to the south, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to the west, Russia to the northeast and northwest, Mongolia to the north, North Korea on the northeastern coast.

Table of contents

1 Regions 2 Cities 3 Other destinations 4 Understand 4.1 History 5 Basic services 6 Get in 6.1 By plane 6.2 By train 6.3 By car 6.4 By bus 6.5 By boat 7 Get around 7.1 By plane 7.2 By train 7.3 By bus 7.4 By taxi 7.5 By pedicab 8 Talk 9 Buy 9.1 Currency 9.2 Shopping 9.3 Etiquette 10 Eat 11 Drink 12 Sleep 13 Learn 14 Work 15 Stay safe 16 Stay healthy 17 Respect 18 Contact 18.1 Internet 19 External links

Regions

• The Central Uplands
• The Eastern Highlands
• The Eastern Lowlands
• The Mongolian Border Uplands
• The Sichuan Basin
• The Southern Uplands
• The Tibetan Highlands
• The Xinjiang-Mongolian Uplands

Cities

• Beijing-- Host of the 2008 Olympics
• Chengdu
• Chongqing (Chungking)
• Hangzhou
• Kunming
• Yichang

Ports and harbors (2001) 

• Dalian
• Fuzhou
• Guangzhou
• Haikou
• Huangpu
• Lianyungang
• Nanjing
• Nantong
• Ningbo
• Qingdao
• Qinhuangdao
• Shanghai
• Shantou
• Shenzhen
• Tianjin
• Wenzhou
• Xiamen
• Xingang
• Yantai
• Zhanjiang

Other destinations

• Great Wall of China
• Tibet

Understand

Keep in mind that China is a very diverse place with large variations in culture, language, customs, and economic levels. The economic landscape is particularly diverse ranging from the major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai which are basically first world to rural areas in the interior which are still at third world levels.

Something else to remember is that China has recently experienced a huge economic explosion, catapulting rural residents into the status of metropolitan businessmen or "migrant workers". This results in a large class of people who have not yet become accustomed to living in a modern society.

Things you can expect from the richer chinese (as well as their compatriots who earn 10% of their salary) are:

• Spitting: in the street, shops, supermarkets, or even in restaurants.

• Shouting: even if the speaker is 15cm away from you, you can expect an unusually loud voice. Shouting is also standard for having a conversation on a mobile phone.

The climate is also extremely diverse, with it being tropical in south to being subarctic in north

There is also a wide range of terrain with mostly mountains, high plateaus, and deserts in west; while plains, deltas, and hills can be found in the east. On the border between Tibet and Nepal lies Mount Everest, at 8,850 m, being the highest point on earth. While Turpan Pendi, in northwest China is the lowest point of the country, at 154 m below sea level.

History

For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences. But in the 19th and early 20th centuries, China was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established a dictatorship that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping gradually introduced market-oriented reforms and decentralized economic decision making, and output quadrupled by 2000. Political controls remain tight even while economic controls continue to be relaxed.

Basic services

Electricity is 220 volts/50 hz. Most buildings have universal outlets that can handle a wide variety of plug shapes.

Get in

Citizens of virtually all other countries need a visa. Getting a visa is easy for Western tourists as you don't need an invitation, for example. It is also quite cheap compared to other countries' visa fees, with approx. 20 €. The usual tourist single-entry visa is valid for thirty days and must be used within three months after it was issued. Obtaining a visa on arrival is possible at some airponts but not recommended.

By plane

While several major airlines fly to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, flights are usually not too often and budget seats can prove hard to come by. For good offers, book as early as you can. Particularly busy periods are usually when Chinese students are flying home for Summer, flying back to Universities around the world after Summer or around Chinese New Year.

By train

By car

By bus

By boat

Get around

By plane

China has a great deal of domestic flights to all the major cities and tourist destinations. Beware, though, that travelling from China to Hong Kong is considered an international flight and, as such, can be quite expensive.

Prices for domestic flights in China are set at standard rates. However, most good hotels will have a travel ticket service and will be able to save you 15%-40% off the price of tickets. Even after considering discounts, travelling by plane in China is not inexpensive.

By train

Train travel is the major mode of long distance transportation for the Chinese themselves. There are four classes of travel, hard seats, soft seats, hard sleepers, soft sleepers. Soft sleepers are the preferred mode of transportation for long distances and are relatively cheap by Western standards. The soft sleepers are stacked two to a column and are quite spacious, whereas the hard sleepers have 3 beds per column with the highest bunk very high up, leaving little space for headroom. Also note that the "hard" sleeper is not "hard" - the beds have a mattress and are generally quite comfortable.

Also note that because the train system remains largely state-owned and bureaucratic in contrast to the air and bus systems, personnel on the trains are noticeably ruder and less concerned with customer service than air or bus personnel.

The bathrooms on trains tend to be more usable than on buses or most public areas, because they are simple devices that empties the contents directly onto the track.

Long distance trains will have a buffet car, which serves hot (but generally overpriced) food. If you are on a budget, wait until the train stops at a station; there are normally stall vendors on the platform who can sell you some noodles or fruit at a fraction of the buffet car.

By bus

Bus is an important part for transport at shorter distances. Buses tended to be reasonably comfortable with most being air conditioned with soft seats or sleepers. The bathrooms on the buses are generally in very bad shape. Bus personnel tend to try to be helpful, but they are much less familiar with foreigners than airline personnel and English ability is very rare. b

By taxi

Taxis are generally common.

By pedicab

In some mid-sized cities, pedicabs are a much more convenient means of travelling short distances.

Talk

The official language of the People's Republic of China is Mandarin. Beware that although most Chinese are taught some English at school, the focus of the instruction is formal grammar and writing rather than conversation. Therefore, very few learn it to a sufficiently high standard to be able to understand an English conversation.

Useful hint: it's often helpful if you try to simplify your English. Stay away from using complex phrasing like "Would you mind if I come back tomorrow?" and stick to simpler, more abrupt phrasing like "I come back tomorrow."

That said, locals who have studied English to University level generally have an excellent standard of English. This is in large part because English is a required topic for university examinations.

Buy

Currency

The unit of currency in China is the yuan. The currency itself is called renminbi ("people's currency"), or RMB, and in the past it was distinguished from a separate currency that foreigners had to use (now abolished).

Foreign currency can be exchanged into RMB in most hotels and banks, although you will be required to show a passport or identification. Keep your receipt as you will need it at the airport to exchange RMB back into your original currency. Exchanging currency outside of official channels is technically illegal although enforcement of these currency controls is lax. However, as of 2003, the official exchange rates are close to the market value, and so official exchange rates can provide amounts similar to or better than unofficial ones.

Obtaining RMB in western countries can be a difficult or impossible task, and even where available the exchange rates are generally extremely unfavorable. It's generally less problematic to wait until arrival and using your debit or credit card in a local cash machine. Conveniently, the airport in Beijing and Shanghai has cash machines which accept most international debit/credit cards.

Check with your debit/credit card company's web site to find the availability of cash machines in China. They should be widely available. However, the writer found that, while Beijing ATMs had an English option, ATMs in the southern cities of Chongqing and Yichang lacked such an option so proved impossible to use. Also most banks will allow you to get a cash advance via a debit or credit card. It's useful to carry an international currency like British Pounds to fall back on, should you not have access to a cash machine.

Shopping

Outside of hotels, acceptance of credit cards is infrequent, and most transactions will require cash.

If you are buying anything which is not from a fixed price store, you will get a much better price if you let a local person do the buying for you. Vendors will charge the lowest price to local people (who can speak the dialect), next lowest price to other Chinese nationals, and the highest price to foreigners. In general, anything with a marked price tends to be sold at that price or slightly below, but there is large room for bargaining if there is no stamped price.

In bargaining over price, local people will tend to engage in hard bargaining behavior that foreigners may consider rude (i.e. commenting unfavorably on the quality of the merchandise).

Etiquette

Tipping is not necessary. Some upscale restaurants will add a service fee to the bill. Upscale restaurants and hotels will usually accept credit cards.

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Hotels for tourists are widely available and are generally of good quality. They are also much, much more expensive than hotels intended mainly for local people, even when they are of comparable quality.

Booking in advance is usually not necessary but try to arrive with the addresses of a few hotels in hand.

Learn

Work

Stay safe

Walking (especially in rural areas) can be very dangerous because of oncoming traffic. Pedestrians do not have the right of way. Traffic will not stop if they see you in the way. In cities, traffic signals are often ignored and the safest way to cross the street is via an overpass.

The PRC does not recognize international drivers licenses. But in some places, the police are so corrupt you can come to some kind of 'arrangement' with them. However, driving in China is not for the faint of heart and it is questionable whether you would want to even if you can.

Petty crime remains relatively low, and it is common for people to quietly carry large amounts of cash. At the same time, one should take the usual precautions against being conspiciously wealthy.

There is relatively little begging, and most beggars tend to be people with obvious physical problems. In general beggars are not aggressive as there are strong social norms against begging as it is considered shameful.

While begging is considered shameful, aggressive marketing of petty services one can perform is not. People will however often aggressively try to perform some services for you (such as watching your luggage) or steer you to a hotel or have you ride in their taxi. Be prepared to ignore them.

Be careful when offered a "free art gallery tour" by two persons, mostly girls who speak good English. In Beijing this is most common, but also in other big cities such as Shanghai it happens when strolling touristy places. They are often students on or dropouts from English teacher schools and make money by abusing their English proficiency. The tourists they lure into small shabby art shops will be pressured to buy overpriced Chinese art which is nothing but a copy.

Stay healthy

Public bathrooms are generally between dirty and unusable but high quality ones can be found inside major tourist attractions (e.g. The Forbidden City) and at hotels catering for westerners. Public bathrooms in restaurants and hotels are moderately usable, although the one's in rooms tend to be very clean. Make sure to bring your own toilet paper and soap when you leave the hotel. People will stare at you while you use the toilet (and although separate facilities are generally provided for men and women, where there are several cubicles within, for example, a men's toilet, there may be no doors on the front of the cubicles).

Also beware that the sit-down toilet familiar to most Westerners is not quite so popular in China in public areas. Hotels will generally have them in rooms but in places where Westerners will be in more of a minority, you can expect to find crouching toilets more often than not. Most private homes in urban areas now have sit down toilets, and one major benefit with knowing a local host is that they have clean bathrooms.

There are no widely enforced health regulations in restaurants. However most of the smaller restaurants will prepare the food in front of you. Most of the major cities have chain fast food places, and the hygiene in them tends to be good.

The water is not drinkable without boiling. However, all hotels (or boats!) provide either a thermos flask full of boiling water in your room (refillable by your floor attendant) or a kettle you can use to do it yourself. Purified drinking water in bottles is available everywhere, and is generally quite cheap (dont pay more than 2 or 3 Yuan for a litre).

One other interesting quirk is that Chinese tend to distrust the cleanliness of bathtubs. Most homes have plastic movable tubs or showers. In hotels with fixed bathtubs, they will generally make available plastic bathtub liners in the rooms.

Parts of southern China have mosquitos which carry malaria. If you will be visiting any such parts, your local travel clinic will be happy to provide advice. Generally, this means taking one anti-malarial tablet per week for two weeks before you depart, during your stay and for four weeks afterwards.

Drugs are generally available from a pharmacist without prescriptions. You can usually ask to see the physician instructions that came with the box.

Respect

Sensitive topics include local politics and the status of Taiwan. Generally the level of political repression is low enough so that there is not a major fear of having private conversations on these topics, but many Chinese have extremely strong feelings on these issues. One particular faux pas involves implying that Taiwan or Hong Kong are separate nations (i.e in maps or incidental descriptions).

Chinese tend to be very concerned about correct behavior and face, and also tend to be very conscious of social status. There is also a strong difference between members of the in-group and strangers although there is a considerable gray area between the two.

Contact

Internet

Most major cities will have a special three digit number and access code which will provide public internet services. International internet roaming services are therefore a waste of your money. Internet cafes are widespread, although many of them are designed mainly for gaming and are not useful places to do business.

China is notorious for having a firewall, although this can be circumvented without too much difficulty. If you have access to a corporate VPN outside of China, then this will let you bypass the firewall.

External links

• China Tourism (http://www.cnta.com/lyen/index.asp) - courtesy of the Chinese National Tourism Administration