China

Quick Facts

[edit]

Local name

Zhōng Guŏ (中国)

Capital

Beijing

Government

Communist State

Nationality

Chinese

Population

1,307,560,000 ^[1]

Languages

Mandarin, Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages

Religions

China is officially an Atheist Nation but Daoism (Taoism), Buddhism, Islam, and more recently Christianity are becoming more and more prevalent.

Currency

Chinese Yuan (CNY)

Calling Code

+86

Time Zone

UTC+8

Introduction

No Spitting

© All Rights Reserved Ivory

A mere holiday to China (中国), anyone who's been there is going to say, is not enough. It is a colossal land, not only in size but also in the depth of its history and the range of its natural, and even sometimes unnatural, wonders.

From the amazing sights that everyone knows - like the Army of Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an or the Great Wall of China - to places that few outsiders will ever visit - Namsto Lake or the Buddhist grottos in Guyuan - China has something for everyone to see and experience. With a varied geography encompassing the highest mountains in the world, amazing deserts, grasslands, dense jungles and rainforests, China can be a difficult country to explore - but it's well worth the effort.

China was ruled by a series of Imperial Dynasties for around four to five thousand years until the Republic was founded in 1912. The Republic fell, on the mainland, to Communist in 1949. Since then, China has - somewhat ironically - charged to the fore of the modern world, particularly in the past few decades as it has focussed on growing economically through international trade and commerce. The result is cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, where skyscrapers tower above the horizon, but ancient spiritual practices are still maintained reverently.

Brief History

Xian Warriors

© All Rights Reserved plomeley

China is one of the world's oldest continuous civilisations. Its history is marked by many dynasties, civil wars and foreign invasions.

Ancient China
The traditional history of China extends back 5,000 years to the third century BC, when the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors were said to have ruled over the land in a time of peace. This period was followed by the Xia Dynasty, which lasted for approximately four and a half centuries. From an archaeological point of view, practically nothing is know about either of these periods. There is, however, archaeological evidence confirming traditional Chinese histories of the Shang Dynasty, which followed the Xia period.

The Shang kingdom was overthrown by the Zhou Dynasty in either 1050 BC or 1122 BC. During the Zhou period, 7 different states sprang up, who fought against each other for supremacy in 260 years known as the Period of the Warring States. Ultimately, it was the Qin Dynasty which triumphed, marking the beginning of the Chinese Empire.

Imperial China
The Qin Dynasty can be credited with two of China's most famous attractions: it was Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi who was buried with the Terracotta Army, and it was during the Qin period that the building of the Great Wall was commenced.

Many different dynasties gained power during China's Imperial era. China was divided during the time of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, reunited under the Sui Dynasty, divided again in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, overrun by the Mongol Empire (the Yuan Dynasty) and restored under local rule by the Ming Dynasty in 1368. The Ming Dynasty was the last Han Chinese dynasty, replaced by the Manchurians who started the Qing Dynasty in 1644. The Qing dynasty lost official political control in 1911. The Qing Emperor was a figure head in government until 1944. Its final years are depicted by the movie The Last Emperor.

Modern China
From the late 19th century through to the early 20th century, a revolutionary movement inspired by Dr. Sun Yat-sen emerged, eventually leading to the establishment of the Republic of China in 1911. Sun Yat-sen was president for just four months, and he was followed by Yuan Shikai, who ruled until 1916. Following his death, China became fragmented. Sun Yat-sen struggled to unite the country in 1920, but his death five years later saw his followers split into two rival factions: the Nationalists also known as the Kuomintang (Guomingdan) led by Chiang Kai-shek and the Communists, who were led by Mao Zedong after 1934. The Nationalists and Communists fought bitterly, even throughout the Japanese occupation between 1931-1945. In 1949, Mao Zedong and the Communists had secured most of China, and Chiang Kai-shek fled to Taiwan. On October 1, 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China.

The early years of communist rule were very hectic. The first move by the central government was to purge the population of potential sympathizers to the old government. The official number is that 700,000 people were executed during the purges. Most historians estimate a much higher number around 1 or 2 million people. Then central government created several disastrous programs. In 1957, the government started the 100 Flowers Campaign, which proclaimed "free speech." Slowly people started to speak more freely than the central government liked. In response the government punished thousands of people.

In 1958, Mao initiated what may be one of the darkest periods in human history, perversely called the Great Leap Forward. The plan behind the Great Leap Forward was to produce steel in backyard furnaces. Towns were given quotas to fill and people started to work. In order to fill the quotas farmers stopped working in the fields; worse still, they melted down their tools and cooking equipment to meet the steel demands of the central government. No one spoke up because of what happened to people during the 100 Flowers Campaign. This result was the worse famine in human history, and the only famine not caused by a war or a natural event. Anywhere between 14 and 43 million people died during the Great Leap Forward before it was brought to an end in 1960.

It looked like after the failure and misery of the Great Leap Forward that Mao would be forced to step down. Slowly he was being pushed from power by rising stars like Deng Xiaoping. Mao moved himself back into power by declaring the beginning of the Cultural Revolution in 1966. The cultural revolution was Mao's attempt to continue the communist revolution. The youth were encouraged to join the Red Guards, a military like organization. The red guards went into cities and villages denouncing, torturing and humiliating millions of people that did not hold up their ideals of communism. Their main targets were academics, small business owners, decedents of landlords, artists, religious and local leaders. The affects of the red guards were felt in every part of China, especially in major cities with academic centers and minority areas with large religious populations.

All towns were forced to construct a Red Hall. The red halls were a public meeting place where people could come together and denounce their neighbors. They also confiscated or destroyed any cultural relic that they could get their hands on. The only reason why some major sights, like the Forbidden City and the Potala Palace, were protected was because Zhou Enlai sent his own personal troops to guard them. Some historians blame the insanity of the cultural revolution on Mao's advancing Parkinson's or Lou Gehrig's Disease, which started in the mid 1950s. The terror of the red guards continued until Mao's death on September 2nd 1976.

Mao Zedong remained the leader of the People's Republic of China (hereafter, China) until his death, which initiated a power struggle, eventually won by Deng Xiaoping in 1980. Deng introduced some economic reforms which sparked the modernisation process in China. His reforms were criticised by both the conservatives and the liberals. It was the latter group which led the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, protests which saw China's reputation in the world plummet.

A third generation of leadership took over after 1989, and it continued to focus on economic growth and not on liberalizing the government. Since then, China has emerged as a global superpower, with a population of over 1.3 billion people. In 2008, it will host the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Geography

The geography of China is very diverse. Even though China is the most heavily populated country on the planet, it also has some of the most remote and least populated places in the world. This is reinforced by the fact that the vast majority of the population lives on the East Coast of the country. Making the western provinces sparsely populated.

Generally speaking, the northern and far west of China are semi arid to desert. The southwest is very wet and can suffer from extreme flooding. Most of the country is mountainous except for the large deserts in the northwest and the prairies of Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang. The far northern provinces skirt Siberia while Hainan, in the far south, has the same latitude as Hawaii. The southwest has large areas of mountainous jungle and rain forest with many wild animals including elephants. The Himalayan plateau is one of the highest and harshest places in the world. The two major rivers in the country are the Yellow River in the north and the Yangtze River in the center, which cut through China like two horizontal lines. The south has a mild winter but extreme typhoons in the spring, while in the north the winters can be very cold with sandstorms in the springtime. Although bad earthquakes can occur in many parts of the country they are infrequent.

China shares borders with many countries including North Korea, Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam.

Regions

China has 33 province-level divisions in six geographic administrative regions.^[2] Out of these 33 divisions, there are 22 provinces (省 shěng), five autonomous regions (自治区 zìzhìqū), four municipalities (直辖市 zhíxiáshì) and two special administrative regions (特别行政区 tèbié xíngzhèngqū). ^[3][4]

• Eastern: Anhui, Fujian, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shandong, Shanghai, Zhejiang
• Northeastern: Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning
• Northern: Beijing, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Tianjin
• Northwestern: Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Xinjiang
• Southwestern: Chongqing, Guizhou, Sichuan, Tibet, Yunnan
• South Central: Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Henan, Hong Kong, Hubei, Hunan, Macau

Minorities by region

The northern region of Heilongjiang has a distinct Russian feel to it, with even a Russian church St. Sofia in the city of Harbin. The Mongolian minority occupy Inner Mongolia while the Uighers, Tajiks, Kygyrz, Uzbeks, and Khazaks live in Western Xinjiang and the Tibetans are spread around Tibet, Qinghai, Northern Yunnan, Southern Gansu, and Western Sichuan. These minority groups are just the tip of the iceberg because officially there is 56 different minority groups strung across China.

Cities

Beijing

Beijing - Rear corner of Forbidden City from outside

© All Rights Reserved Gelli

Beijing is the country's capital and host of the 2008 Olympic Games. It is a sprawling city of over 16 million people. Home to such attractions as the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, Beijing is a must for any traveller visiting China.

Shanghai

Shanghai is the current day economic center of China and boasts an interesting colonial past. Built along the Yangtze River, it has the world's largest cargo port.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong was reunified with China in 1997, and it is one of the Asia's most important cities. A hub of business and a city of skyscrapers, it blends modernity with tradition.

Other major cities

There are a lot of very large cities in China. This is a list of some of the most interesting ones to travellers.

• Macau - Located under a 100 km from Hong Kong, is well known for its thriving gambling industry.
• Chengdu - An historic city famous for spicy food and capital of the Sichuan province.
• Guangzhou - Also known as Canton, is a large industrial city in Southern China.
• Guilin - The setting of many of China's classical poems about it beautiful rock formations.
• Yangshuo - Guilin's neighbor and one of China's favorite backpacker hangouts.
• Hangzhou - Home to the famous west lake and considered one of the beautiful cities in China.
• Kunming - The city of eternal spring due to its mild climate and chill atmosphere.
• Nanjing - The capital of China during the Republic and many ancient dynasties.
• Suzhou - The famous garden city described by Marco Polo as the "Venice of China."
• Xi'an - The first capital of a unified China and home to The Terracotta Army.

Sights and Activities

• Forbidden City - The home of the Emperor and the Imperial Chinese government for almost five centuries being built at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. This is one of the most amazing palaces in the word. Room after room, staircase after staircase it never ceases to amaze visitors.
• Great Wall of China - The longest wall in the world and one of China's claims to fame!
• The Terracotta Army - An ancient ghost army, made of clay, to protect the tomb of a great emperor.
• The ancient city of Pingyao/Shuanglin Monastery & Wangjia dayuan.
• Longsheng - Longji Rice Terraces (Dragons Backbone Terraces)
• Yangtze River/Three Gorges Dam
• Guangxi - Dong and Miao minority villages in between amazing karst peaks.
• Yangshuo - Amazing biking among karst peaks.
• Xiahe - Tibetan Region in Gansu with an amazing Monastery.
• Dali - is pretty town located on a very nice lake that has a great chill feel.
• Lijiang - Has an amazing old town, listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List
• Shangri-la - is a small Tibetan town with a nice temple.
• Tiger Leaping Gorge - Considered one of the best hikes in the world.

Events and Festivals

Festival in Shangri-la

© All Rights Reserved ROKPA.ORG

China has three "Golden Week" holidays per year. People get a mandatory two or three days off work for each holiday, and workers' companies can grant them the rest of the week off, making each holiday a total of 7 days. As you can imagine, having 1.3 billion people with the same days off can make travelling at these times arduous to say the least.

Travelling during the Spring Festival/Chinese New Year is incredibly difficult. Chinese New Year is China's Christmas, so the millions of migrant workers and students flood back to their home towns. Everybody else takes the opportunity to spend their hong bao (gifts of money traditionally given at CNY) and go travelling. Most of the time, since you are only allowed to purchase train tickets 6 days in advance and must be present in the city of origin, sometimes only standing room tickets are available. Be aware! The Spring Festival is undoubtedly the busiest time for the Chinese transportation system. Flying will avoid the crowded trains, but book early and expect to pay higher prices. All the main tourist attractions will be crawling with tourists (worse than usual), so unless you like crowds, it's best to avoid it altogether.

Chinese New Year is based on the lunar calendar, so the date changes each year. The Chinese New Year/Spring Festival holiday is 7 days long and usually starts on New Year's Eve. Dates for Chinese New Year for the next few years are: Feb 7, 2008; Jan 26, 2009; Feb 14, 2010; Feb 3, 2011.

The two other national holidays are October 1st, National Day, celebrating the founding of the People's Republic of China and May 1st, which is International Labor Day. Almost all Chinese get the two holidays off and many take the opportunity to travel. If you want to avoid the crowds, fly, but it should get a lot less busy towards the end of the week.

The Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival is an annual event officially taking place for a month starting on January 5th each year. It is held in the city of Harbin in the Heilongjiang province. It is one of the world's largest ice and snow festivals, along with Canada's Quebec City Winter Carnival, Japan's Sapporo Snow Festival and Norway's Ski Festival.

Weather

The weather in China is very extreme. The summers are hot unless you are in the mountains and the winters are very cold. Beijing is cold and dry with sporadic snowstorms. Bring a hat, gloves, a scarf and at least 3 to 4 layers of clothing when you are visiting the north of the country in winter.

The best times to visit the entire country are spring (April to June) and autumn (late September to November), when temperatures in most parts of the country are somewhere between 15 °C and 25 °C.

The north and northeast of the country are dry with occasional snowstorms in winter. Harbin is famous for its ice sculpture festival in late winter. Temperatures can drop below -40 °C during this time.

In summer, it is usually dry and warm or even hot in some places. This especially applies to the northwest, with Turpan being the oven of China, recording temperatures near 50 °C.

The central parts of China are a bit less extreme, but note that in summer a combination of high temperatures (up to 40 °C) and high humidity can make things more unbearable than the hot and dry weather further north. Winters here are usually less cold, but freezing temperatures and snow do occur. Summertime sees more rain in this area as well. This also applies to the mountainous parts in the central west, with Tibet being relatively wet in July and August. Winters here can get almost as cold as in the north.

The south of China has warm and humid weather year round, but even in Hong Kong it is not uncommon for temperatures to drop below 5 °C in winter. Normally it is more like 20 °C, though. Tropical storms hit the Chinese coast occasionally during the July to September period and the hot and humid weather make this time of year not a good time to visit.

Getting there

By Plane

Most tourists enter China by airplane. Almost all the major airline companies have service to and from China directly or by a feeder. Remember many airlines are cross referenced with Chinese airlines so that United flight might be a on a China Eastern plane.

The major airports serving as main gateways to China are:

• Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) - Beijing which has daily flights to Europe and North America.
• Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU) - Chengdu which has daily flights to Europe.
• Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN) - Guangzhou
• Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) - Hong Kong
• Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) - Shanghai which has daily flights to Europe and North America.

Smaller cities like Tianjin, Hangzhou, Kunming, Guilin, Macau, Xiamen, Shenzhen and Xi’an have flights to other countries neighboring countries in Asia. The western cities of Lhasa, Urumqi, and Kashgar also have flights to neighbouring countries. China has several good airlines, like Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and China Airlines.

By Train

See also: International Trains

Travelling by train into China is possible from many neighbouring countries.

• Russia: The Trans-Siberian Railway (Trans-Mongolian and Trans-Manchurian) runs from Moscow all the way to Beijing while stopping in various cities in between.

• Kazakstan: Train service available from Almaty in Kazakstan to Urumqi in Xingjiang. Border crossing could take a long time due to customs check and changing of wheelbase for the different train track.

• Vietnam: Via the Friendship Pass to Nanning in Guangxi province, and also from Hanoi to Kunming.

• North Korea: Trains run between Pyongyang and Beijing four times a week.

• Hong Kong: Regular train services available daily.

By Road

Main article: Overland Border Crossings In China

Crossing a land border in China can be an option for many travellers. The border crossings near Nanning, Hong Kong or Macau are near major population centers. The other land crossings in China, open to foreigners, drop people off in the middle of nowhere. This does not mean these places should be skipped. In fact, the opposite is often true, as some of the border crossings are in the most remote and some of the most interesting places in China, where few travellers go. These places can make for great stories and experiences.

By Boat

There are ferry services from Japan, South Korea and Vietnam.

Getting around

By Train

Now this is remote

© All Rights Reserved Blakei

China has one of the most extensive train systems in the world. They are usually very reliable and for overnight trains the attendants provide boiling hot water and tidy up every hour or so.

The train system is divided into several classes. Trains with an "N" signify that the train travels within a province or district only. "K" means fast, "T" means Super fast, and a train with no letter in front usually means it's a common passenger train and will make more stops. "Z" is a direct train and is probably the most expensive, but well worth it. The hard bunks on the Z train are as nice as a bed in a hostel.

While soft sleepers are appealing, they aren't necessary. Hard sleepers are equally safe and comfortable, unless you're stuck in one with no air-conditioning during sweltering National Day. Depending on the class of trains, hard sleepers may or may not have air-conditioning and heating.

When purchasing train tickets remember that for the majority of cities tickets can only be purchased for that city. Sometimes a person can purchase roundtrip tickets but this is pretty rare. If a traveler wants to buy train tickets that go from Beijing to Xi'an then to Chengdu the traveler will have to buy the Xi'an to Chengdu ticket in Xi'an. In most cases train tickets can only be purchased 2 weeks in advance. Sometimes CITS can buy train tickets for other cities but for a large fee.

At this time there are no rail passes of any kind for Chinese trains. There is a very good student discount though. Although, depending on where you are in China, the ticket vendor will only give the discount to people with Chinese University IDs only.

This link gives free access to a quick reference timetable of Chinese trains. For a modest fee, you can order a comprehensive timetable from the owner of the website. For a map of Chinese railroads, click here.

By Plane

All of China's major cities and many of its minor ones are linked by airports. Many of these airports have only been built in the last decade. Although Chinese airlines have had a bad reputation in the past, airline safety records have improved dramatically. Air travel is a little cheaper than most Western countries, but going on a few flights can still hurt your budget if you are a backpacker. However, China is a very large country and you can save considerable time by just flying one or two long legs. The major online airline booking companies are Ctrip and Elong.

By Bus

China has one of the best bus networks in the world. Even during the busiest times of the year, such as Chinese New Year, bus tickets are easy to obtain. In larger cities, the main bus stations are attached to or near the train stations making for an easy transfer. Most larger cities still have multiple bus stations, but almost all bus stations have buses that go to the same towns.

In towns without train stations, the bus is the main artery of transport and usually there is only one bus station per town. In smaller towns, many of the bus stations do not even have computer systems, meaning you can't book tickets in advance. Also, many of the buses that serve smaller towns can be quite old and in bad shape. Remember you can always ask for a bathroom break.

As a general warning, most bus stations in China only have signs written in characters. There will be no pinyin and certainly no English. Just ask one of the attendants for help and as long as you're polite they are usually happy to help you.

Travel Agents

There are now countless travel agencies in China, although due to some weird outsourcing system they all seem to outsource to each other and back again. While many of the local travel agencies are very good, many can be shady. If you want to guarantee an English speaking guide it is best to stick to one of the national chains. But even then, the national chains often outsource to local travel agencies.

China International Travel Service (CITS) is the state owned travel agency and can be a little pricey although will give any traveller information for free. There are CITS offices in almost every major city in China. Most of the time there will be at least one person that can speak English and they can help book just about anything. CITS is one of the few places that can buy train tickets for other cities for a surcharge.

Red Tape

China is the land of red tape, and, indeed, red stamps. Known as a 'chop' in English, most administrative tasks require at least one red chop, and sometimes two.

Most countries require a visa before entering China. You can apply for a visa in your home country at a Chinese consulate or embassy. Rules and costs vary depending on which country you come from. The Chinese government is notorious for changing rules and paperwork frequently, so it may be easier to let your travel agent (or a visa company) arrange your visa, rather than doing it yourself.

There are several classes of visas for China: Tourist/Family Visit Visa (L), Business Visa (F), Work Visa (Z), Study Visa (X), Transit Visa (G), and Resident Visa (D). Tourist visas range from 30 days to 12 months in length. Visas can be single entry, double entry, or multiple entries. With a multiple entry visa, you may enter and leave the country as many times as you like, while a single entry visa will only allow you to enter the country once, regardless of whether you wish to come back before your visa expires.

Visa requirements are different for going to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tibet and Mainland China, despite the fact they are technically all part of the same country. If you are travelling in Asia before going to Mainland China, it may be easier to get a Chinese visa in Hong Kong before crossing the border into Mainland China. Many hotels, hostels and guest houses offer visa services. Some nationalities need a visa to enter Hong Kong.

Once you are in China, you will be required to register with local authorities everywhere you stay. If you are staying in a hotel, you will fill in a Temporary Residence form when you check in and the hotel will register for you. Hotels will usually ask to see your passport and may make a photocopy of it. If you are staying at a private home, you will need to register with the local police station within 24 hours and fill in a Temporary Residence form there. If you register after 24 hours, you will be charged a fine for each day you are late. In reality, registration is only really necessary if you wish to apply for a new visa, or extend a visa. When you register with the police, you will receive a carbon copy of the Temporary Residence form. You will need this piece of paper when you apply for a new visa or extension. The copy you will receive will variously referred to as a "yellow paper" or sometimes a "blue paper". It may, in fact, end up being pink or some other colour, though the content and use is all the same. If you do not intend to get a new visa, registering may be more hassle than it's worth. All visa are administered by the Public Security Bureau (公安 gōng ān). If possible, try and go to a large office, as the smaller offices' staff tend to get bored and may make your application more troublesome.

Money

See also: Money Matters

The currency used in Mainland China is the Chinese Yuan (CNY) and has the symbol ¥, the same one used by the Japanese Yen. It is also referred to as Renminbi (人民币 rénmínbì) (RMB) or literally the "people's currency".

Yuán (元) (pronounced like the two letters 'u' and 'n' in English ie. U.N.). literally means "round", after the shape of coins. More casually, it can also be referred to as "kuài" (块), which is a measure word for money. These are the English equivalent of saying "dollar" and "buck", or "pound" and "quid", respectively, if you're from the UK. Each of these expressions refers to the same unit of currency. In other words, CNY 1 = RMB 1 = 1元 = 1 yuán = 1 kuài.

The smallest denomination is the fēn (分), which is the equivalent of a cent, or a hundredth of a yuàn (0.01 yuàn). This unit is very rarely used, as most prices are rounded to the nearest jiǎo (角), or 0.10 yuàn. In spoken Chinese, a jiǎo is called a máo (毛). Chinese Yuan come in denominations of 1 jiǎo, 5 jiǎo, 1 yuán, 5 yuán, 10 yuán, 20 yuán, 50 yuán and 100 yuán. All of these denominations come in a note form, though 1 jiǎo, 5 jiǎo and 1 yuán also come in a coin form (though this is most common in Shanghai).

Prices are written in a few different ways.

• Common usage by Chinese people: 5元, 50元, 500元, etc. or ¥5, ¥50, ¥500, etc.
• ISO standard (usually international transactions): CNY 5, CNY 50, CNY 500, etc.
• Used by people familiar with the term Renminbi: RMB 5, RMB 50, RMB 500, etc.

China is still a cash economy, so card transactions are quite rare. Most big department stores will accept local and foreign bank cards and credit cards, but market stalls, most restaurants, and small shops will not. The ATM network is growing (especially in the bigger cities), though you should still scout out an ATM near where you are staying because you can't rely on one being where/when you need it. Not all ATMs will accept foreign cards, so check the symbols carefully. ATMs usually have an English option. Beware also that some ATMs will only accept personal identification numbers (PINs) that are six characters long. If this happens, you will get a message saying "PIN error", so just try a different machine.

Only very touristy places accept U.S. dollars. RMB is essential but easy to exchange. The Bank of China will exchange travellers' checks for a small commission. Be wary of the Chinese peddlers outside banks that claim to give you a better exchange rate. Counterfeit money is not uncommon (watch for notes 10 and above) Fake 100s are very common in some regions. Also, do not accept any damaged notes. A bill missing even a tiny corner must be exchanged at the bank - few people will accept it.

RMB is no longer a restricted currency. This does not mean you can exchange RMB into a different currency at every bank or with private businesses. The Bank of China will let you exchange up to 500 USD worth of RMB into any currency daily, but exchanging money is more difficult at smaller branches or remote cities. At the Shanghai Pudong Airport and Beijing International Airport you can exchange RMB into other currencies at the different bank representatives outside and inside the terminals. They are suppose to only let you exchange up to 4000 RMB, for a 50 RMB charge, but the tellers can usually be convinced to exchange more. If worse comes to worse just walk to the another bank window and exchange more money.

Work

cooking breakfast

© All Rights Reserved ozrob53

China is an incredible place to work and live. There tend to be three categories of expatriates that work in China: the Executive, the Young Professional, and the English Teacher.

Executives have usually been sent by their companies to China to take advantage of the economic boom and the cheap but skilled labour force. They generally have large expat packages that include free education for their children at expensive international schools, large villas or apartments paid for by their company, and a company car complete with driver.

The Young Professional has also usually been sent to China for the same reasons as the Executive. The YP is usually a bit lower on the management scale and has a less extravagant salary package. Their work tends to be more hands-on, and their experience closer to "China" than the Executive villa allows.

The rest tend to be English Teachers. It is often said that there are more people studying English in China than there are native English-speakers in the world. For this reason, there is usually no shortage of teaching jobs available in China. The work can be fun and interesting, and you can meet fascinating people from both China and the rest of the world.

Jobs with government schools will usually not pay very well by western standards (3000-4000RMB/month - less than US$500). There are more and more private language schools opening to meet demand, so there are better-paying options, especially in the bigger cities. In Shanghai, for example, a teacher with a degree and some experience will usually get a minimum of 150RMB/hour part-time (roughly US$20). A full-time teacher can get anywhere between 8000RMB and 15,000RMB+ per month (US$1000-2000). An average full-time teaching load is about 20 teaching hours per week, with some specified preparation time. While this salary is still not a lot by some western standards, the lower cost of living in China means you can live very comfortably off this salary. You can also bear in mind that the average rural Chinese worker earns less than 1000RMB per month, and a city-dweller is lucky to get 2000RMB.

It is easy to find websites advertising jobs: just google "TESOL job China" and you'll find a bunch of websites to choose from. Asia Expat and China Splash are also good for browsing TESOL and other jobs. You need to be discriminating when looking at schools to join. There are always stories of underpayment or no payment, working over time with no pay, visa troubles and other problems. Research the company you are thinking of working for and see what other people have to say about them.

Working visas should be arranged by your company. It is illegal to work for a salary in China unless you have a Z visa (see Red Tape). This is usually issued in China and requires a medical exam. While it tends to happen a lot, it is technically illegal to work on an F (business) visa or an L (holiday) visa. Reputable companies will get you a Z visa.

It is also important to remember that if you want to teach English as a way to see the world, you still actually have to do the teaching. Teaching children can be tiring and difficult at times. If you are teaching adults, they will expect results for the amounts they are paying. Most jobs require a degree of some description, and they usually prefer teaching experience. Most companies do not require a TESOL certificate, but some places will pay more if you have one.

Study

NanKai University, Main building

© All Rights Reserved Lavafalls

There are many ways to study Chinese language in China. Most people study two different ways, either at a program associated with a University or private language school. The other two main options are hiring a private language tutor or finding a Chinese person to do language exchange with. China did not have a mass transportation system until the last 30 years, making it that local dialects are the law of the land. When choosing a location to study Chinese remember that what you learn in class might not be useful on the street because some dialects are completely different from standard Mandarin (Putinhua).

A key thing to remember is that all the different ways to study Chinese, except language exchange, were created to make money. Now that does not mean that the teachers or tutors are bad or not committed. It means that the programs the teachers work for are a money making ventures. The only reason why Chinese universities created teaching Chinese to foreigners departments is because it is a way to generate extra income. This is not some program to further the academic field of language teaching.

Programs Associated with a University

Many large universities in China have programs for teaching Chinese language to foreigners. The quality and cost of these programs vary greatly. In general the more famous the university the more the tuition will cost. This does not mean the program will be better or the class size will be smaller. All of the the university programs are located on that university's campus and follow the academic schedule of that university, which is usually a semester system. The major upside of studying at a university is that you get to meet other students from all over the world who are also studying Chinese language. Some universities now even offer four year degree programs in Chinese Language and Culture.

Private Language School

Private language schools have now been founded in almost every major Chinese city. These schools tend to be very small and located in odd office buildings. The classes tend to be smaller then at a university but are usually much more expensive. An upside to a private language school is that the teachers can be more flexible to adjusting to your schedule or a groups schedule for studying.

Remember the founders of these private language schools, foreigner or Chinese, did this to make money. Now they could be committed to creating a better system for teaching Chinese or just view it as another job. Many of these places are perfectly good but there is no evaluation from independent organizations. Therefore there is no way to know for sure how good the school is other then word of mouth. Make sure to ask around before enrolling at a private language school.

Other Ways to Study

Private Tutor: A private tutor is usually pretty easy to find in most Chinese cities. The cost depends on the experience and how much English the teacher knows. It is usually pretty hard to arrange a private tutor from abroad. The best way to find a private tutor is to ask around at local expat bars.

Language Exchange is very different from having a private tutor. The idea is that a foreigner meets up with a local Chinese person and they speak for a couple of hours, half the time in both languages. The biggest perk of this system is that it costs no money. This is a good way to reinforce your Chinese classes or sessions with a private tutor because it forces you to have more structured study time. Also language exchange partners can become good friends and a good way to learn about the local community. There have been stories of people learning Chinese by having massive amounts of language partners and meeting with a different one every day for 4 hours a day.

Language

Chinese languages are as diverse as the landscape. There is a different dialect in every region, and the language/accent will sometimes change from town to town. The languages can be loosely divided up into Cantonese (spoken in Hong Kong and nearby Mainland China), and Mandarin (the official language of the mainland). The Chinese word for Mandarin, pǔtōnghuà (普通话) translates literally as common speak. It is based on the dialect spoken in the capital Beijing.

Chinese Mandarin is a tonal language and has the greatest number of homophones of any language in the world. The writing system uses characters, known as hànzì (汉字), and the standard romanization of pǔtōnghuà is called pīnyīn (拼音). Since pǔtōnghuà was introduced as the common language in 1955, it has been the standard language of instruction in schools. The vast majority of people speak Mandarin, except for some older people who went through the school system before pǔtōnghuà became the standard.

There are five tones in Mandarin, simply called 1st tone, 2nd tone, 3rd tone, 4th tone and neutral tone (or 'light' tone when literally translated from Chinese). Tones are not indicated in Chinese characters. In pīnyīn, the tones are indicated above a vowel, for example: mā (1st), má (2nd), mǎ (3rd), mà (4th) and ma (neutral).

When reading pinyin, most English pronunciation rules can be followed. For example, b, d, f, g, h, j, k, m, n, p, s, t, w, y and z are all pronounced in a similar way as in English. Some exceptions include x (pronounced 'sh'), c (pronounced 'ts'), and q (pronounced 'ch'). The 'r' sound when said as an initial sound has no English equivalent, but sounds close to a growled 'l'. 'Zh' is pronounced as a soft 'j' sound.

Some useful words and phrases:

• Hello = nǐhǎo (ni how) 你好
• Thanks = xièxiè (shye shye) 谢谢
• Goodbye = zàijiàn (zai jyen) 再见
• Please take me to... = qǐng sòng wǒ qù... (ching song wo chew) 请送我去...
• I (don't) like... = wǒ (bù) xǐhuan... (wo (boo) she hwan) 我(不)喜欢...
• How much does this cost? = zhège duōshǎo qián? (jigger dwo shao chyen) 这个多少钱?
• My name is.... = wǒ shì... (wo shr) 我是...
• Where is the toilet? = xǐshǒujiān zài nǎ(r) (she show jyen zai nar) 洗手间在哪(儿)?

Eat

Hygiene

Chinese kitchen sanitation standards may seem horrifying to some Westerners: little or no refrigeration, meat and vegetables cut up on the same dirty chopping board, and hearing your chef hocking up behind the kitchen door. Some of this is negated, however, thanks to Chinese cooking methods. Food is usually cooked at high heat, in small pieces, and served immediately. Food is therefore thoroughly cooked, and a lot of the bugs are killed in the cooking process. Many foreigners that get food poisoning in China will get it from eating Western food, as meat is often served in large pieces (which means it is easier for it to cook unevenly), and vegetables are served raw (in salads etc). Having said that, you should still be a little cautious when choosing your dinner.

Some tips for eating safe:

• Try to eat in restaurants where there are a lot of other people. Empty restaurants are probably empty for a reason.

• Avoid eating out of bain-maries; aim for freshly-cooked.

• While meat is generally well-cooked, if you are worried about hormones or antibiotics in meat, or you don't want to find out that you're actually eating dog or some other mystery meat, vegetarian dishes are a tasty alternative. The best places for genuine vegetarian food are Buddhist temples, most of which will have a cafeteria or restaurant serving cheap and delicious food. Regular restaurants will always have vegetable or tofu dishes, just don't be surprised if you find some pork mince hiding behind a bok choi leaf.

• Street food is generally cooked in front of you, so you can judge the safeness for yourself. Meat is never refrigerated (it's difficult to carry a fridge around on the back of a bike), so think twice before eating meat-on-a-stick (ròuchuànr 肉串(儿)) on a warm day. There is a likelihood that the meat may in fact be cat, rat or dog, instead of the lamb they say it is.

• MSG (monosodium glutamate) is sold by the bag-load in Chinese supermarkets and is still used as an additive in a lot of dishes. If you are sensitive to it, tell your waiter. The Chinese word for MSG is wèijīng (味精).

Sleep

Accommodation in China comes in all sorts and sizes and in most places you won't have any problems finding a decent room for a good price. Although being very general in most cases, hotels and guesthouses tend to be in acceptable conditions and new places to stay have been built recently and in the more touristy cities and towns the competition means good quality for good prices. Remember to always ask for a discount and bargain, especially at mid range and top end hotels.

In general, places to stay in China are pretty good, but don't expect things to be organised and clean like you might be used to at home or in some other countries. Check out time is at noon almost everywhere and a late check out means you will have to pay for an extra night or part of that. You can store your luggage in most places, so that won't give to many problems. Outside the main cities, English is not spoken too well (except in top end hotels), but a few phrases of Chinese and a happy smile will probably communicate what you mean within seconds.

Most hotels are lodging only and breakfast is an additional cost.

Budget

Budget means that you will find yourself in a room in a hostel, guesthouse or one of the cheaper 1 or 2 star Chinese hotels. In the budget category there can be huge differences between accommodation and for the same price you can find yourself in a very clean room with airconditioning, TV and a mini fridge, but the rooms in traditional Chinese business hotels can be fairly basic or even dirty in some places. Expect to pay somewhere between 3 and 20 USD for a room. In some towns, like Yangshuo, you might get surprisingly much for your dollars, meaning private rooms with clean sheets, good showers etc. Note that in Hong Kong, Macau and a few other cities finding decent budget rooms can be a bit of headache, which means everything is full, there isn't any or it is really the lowest of the lowest. In very small towns staying in locals home may be the only option.

Mid-range

Midrange places can be a delight in China and as someone from the west you will get very good rooms for very little money. Most 2 and 3 star hotels (sometimes even so called 4 star hotels, Chinese stars are based on services, so a two star hotel just means there is a phone and TV in every room) and some upmarket guesthouses can be find in the midrange and basically that means that you will get more than the regular traveller will actually need. (Satellite) tv, minibar, aircon and several other thing you actually don't need will be included in the price. Many times in smaller towns the midrange hotels will have options for higher end and budget rooms. Occasionally midrange hotels are the old state owned hotel in the city.

Top end

Top end hotels are at least 100 USD per room but sometimes even per person. These are the most luxurious hotels and compared to hotels in the west are a bargain. Still, for most non-business travellers this is not the most obvious place to stay. In Hong Kong prices are much higher by the way. On the island of Hainan you will even find some beach resorts which can almost compete with the ones in Thailand.

Drink

Water

Do not drink the tap water. The locals do not drink it, nor should you. When first treated, the water is nearly at a drinkable standard, but after it has traversed along an ancient network of pipes, it has picked up any number of nasty metals and bugs. Many cities' drinking water comes from rivers, so it can also be affected by pollution, chemical spills and algal blooms. Purified and spring water is cheap and available everywhere. If you are really stuck, ensure you thoroughly boil any tap water before drinking it. When buying bottled water (especially outside the big cities), ensure the lid is properly sealed before drinking it.

Alcohol

Chinese culture is a heavy drinking culture. The only place you won't be able to find alcohol is deep within a Muslim Autonomous Region, such as rural Ningxia province. Most locations primarily sell two kinds of alcohol: beer (pijiu) or baijiu. Cities in China tend to sell the national beer of Qingdao and local brands. The local brands vary depending on the city: some can be great and others may be the worst beer you've ever tasted. Most of the time, you can get a big bottle of beer at a grocery store for around 3 RMB. Lastly the beer is usually weaker then Western beer at around 3.6 to 4 % alcohol and served chilled or just warm, in the winter finding a cold beer can be very difficult. Baijiu is a very strong tasting hard alcohol that most foreigners hate. Be careful because baijiu literally translates to white wine, and most of the time when a Chinese person offers "white wine" they mean baijiu. Making up for the horrible flavor is the price, which is sometimes cheaper than water. There are a few high quality versions of baijiu, such as Maotai, which can cost hundreds of US dollars a bottle.

• Toasting is very important in Chinese culture. When toasting an individual always hold the glass with two hands. And if that person is your superior to you click below the rim of their glass. In large group settings it is fine to just to click your glass on the lazy susan at the center of the table if you want to toast the whole table.

• Talk-Talk Bars are a common type of bar in China. These establishments are easy to spot because of the number waitresses in cute outfits waiting outside trying to entice you in. Once you get in, the girl's job is to talk and flirt with you to keep you drinking in their bar. A talk-talk bar is different from a hostess bar, which is usually much more expensive and classy.

• Scams: Although Chinese people can spot a shady bar from a distance, as a tourist you might have a slightly harder time. There are many scams at the shady bars around China. If a young woman comes up to you and asks you to buy her a drink, don't buy it. Most of the time the woman is paid by the bar to pretend to get you to buy her drink. She then gets a drink and disappears, and the bartender comes up saying you owe him over a 1000 RMB. If you refuse then two very larger bouncers will appear to make you pay. Also many of the shady bars double as fronts for prostitution.

Tea

Drying the tea leaves

© All Rights Reserved Lingering

Tea is the big thing in China and everyone in the world knows it. Tea is made in almost every region, consumed in all regions and made from just about anything: leaves, flowers, grass, bark and animal parts. The big question is how do you tell high quality tea from low quality tea? There are thousands of different kinds of teas all with unique tastes. Like wine, in order to tell good from bad requires a fine taste and years of practice. Luckily there are some general categories that tea can be lumped into. Besides the categories listed below, there are hundreds of other kinds of tea. Even with all these choices most Chinese people just drink the basic loose leaf green tea that comes in giant bags.

• Green, Yellow and White Teas are loose leaf teas and the most popular kinds of tea in China. Green tea in particular is the favorite among most Chinese people. The vast majority of the time these teas are collected and processed when the leaves are fresh. This gives the tea a very strong flavor. Due to the fresh nature most of these teas lose their flavor in about a year.

• Red and Oolong Teas are also very popular teas. These teas are oxidized more in order to make their flavor last longer. In general red tea is viewed as a lower quality tea when compared to others. Although most Westerners like red tea because it is the most similar to black tea in the west.

• Black Teas is usually very expensive and intense tea. This tea has been heavily oxidized making it possible to keep its taste for years. Some areas of the ancient world actually used it as a currency. Black tea is very caffeinated and usually served in small glasses. Some black teas can be very expensive and hard to find.

• Scams: Unlike Japan or Korea, China has no complex tea ceremonies. Anyone trying to sell you a visit to a Chinese tea ceremony is trying to scam you. The process of washing the leaves is the only ritual done with expensive Chinese tea and any legit tea house will do that for free.

Health

See also: Travel Health

China's food exports have been blamed for pet and human deaths in the United States and in Panama. While the situation on the ground is not as dire as the media may make out, you should still be careful about what you eat and drink.

Water

Same as Water>Drink:
DO NOT drink the tap water. The locals do not drink it, and nor should you. When first treated, the water is nearly at a drinkable standard, but after it has traversed along an ancient network of pipes, it has picked up any number of nasty metals and bugs. Many cities' drinking water comes from rivers, so it can also be affected by pollution, chemical spills and algal blooms. Purified and spring water is cheap and available everywhere. If you are really stuck, ensure you thoroughly boil any tap water before drinking it. When buying bottled water (especially outside the big cities), ensure the lid is properly sealed before drinking it.

Food

Same as Food>Hygiene:
Chinese kitchen sanitation standards may seem horrifying to some Westerners: little or no refrigeration, meat and vegetables cut up on the same dirty chopping board, and hearing your chef hocking up behind the kitchen door. Some of this is negated, however, thanks to Chinese cooking methods. Food is usually cooked at high heat, in small pieces, and served immediately. Food is therefore thoroughly cooked, and a lot of the bugs are killed in the cooking process. Many foreigners that get food poisoning in China will get it from eating Western food, as meat is often served in large pieces (which means it is easier for it to cook unevenly), and vegetables are served raw (in salads etc). Having said that, you should still be a little cautious when choosing your dinner.

Some tips for eating safe:

• Try and eat in restaurants where there are a lot of other people. Empty restaurants are probably empty for a reason.

• Avoid eating out of bain-maries; aim for freshly-cooked.

• While meat is generally well-cooked, if you are worried about hormones or antibiotics in meat, or you don't want to find out that you're actually eating dog or some other mystery meat, vegetarian dishes are a tasty alternative. The best places for genuine vegetarian food are Buddhist temples, most of which will have a cafeteria or restaurant serving cheap and delicious food. Regular restaurants will always have vegetable or toufu dishes, just don't be surprised if you find some pork mince hiding behind a bok choi leaf.

• Street food is generally cooked in front of you, so you can judge the safeness for yourself. Meat is never refrigerated (it's difficult to carry a fridge around on the back of a bike), so think twice before eating meat-on-a-stick (ròuchuànr 肉串(儿)) on a warm day. There is a likelihood that the meat may in fact be cat, rat or dog, instead of the lamb they say it is.

• MSG (monosodium glutamate) is sold by the bag-load in Chinese supermarkets and is still used as an additive in a lot of dishes. If you are sensitive to it, tell your waiter. The Chinese word for MSG is wèijīng (味精).

Medication/Health Care

Common medicines, such as aspirin, paracetemol, pseudoephedrine and anti-diarrhea tablets, are readily available from pharmacies and supermarkets in China. Many medications that require a prescription in other countries (such as the oral contraceptive pill and some antibiotics) are available over the counter in China. Most pharmacies (called yàofáng 药房 in Chinese) will have a book with English medicine names and their Chinese translation. One good chain pharmacy found in most big cities is "Watson's", which also sells toiletries and beauty products. Carrefour, a French food and department store, also has a section for over-the-counter medicines.

While medications are readily available, it is important to note that the quality of drugs released to the Chinese market can be highly varied. The incidence of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) is higher in China compared to other countries, and it can be difficult to tell the difference between good and bad medications - or worse, fake medications. It is always wise to carry anti-diarrhea tablets and some other simple medicines when travelling, so you may wish to bring them from home.

Due to the dense population, you don't have to travel far to find a hospital in a city. Due to the dense traffic, however, you probably don't want to rely on an ambulance to get you to a hospital in an emergency: it is usually quicker to catch a taxi. Major cities with big expatriate populations (such as Shanghai and Beijing) have foreign clinics and hospitals, with English-speaking staff and overseas-trained doctors. They are generally quite expensive, so check how much your insurance will cover before forking out hundreds (or sometimes thousands) of RMB.

Beijing:

• Beijing United Family Hospital

Shanghai:

• Shanghai United Family Hospital
• ParkwayHealth - Shanghai, China
• Huashan Worldwide Medical Center

Safety

China is a fairly safe country even for the single male and female travellers. The trains, though chaotic, are not dangerous and there is one train attendant per car that will make the rounds every hour or so. If you're smart and just use common sense everything should be fine.

Use more caution when travelling to the far western regions. Pickpockets are more common and more skilled. Heavily touristed sites are also a place to be very careful. Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City are particular hotspots for pickpockets. China is a very safe place, but like anywhere else, keep a close eye on your belongings.

Remember that in China people are very modest in different ways then in Western Culture. In a restaurant it is perfectly fine to yell at the top of your lungs to get a waiters attention but complimenting a women's haircut is saying you want to date her. Getting angry about little details such as food coming in the wrong order or screaming at at ticket vendor can get people very upset. Recently a group of Indonesian expats in Shanghai were very rude to the waiters at an expat restaurant, which resulted in a physical altercation. Also many Chinese are very patriotic and are easily offended when foreigners insult their great leaders. In general, be more patient and polite, particularly to local women at bars.

Keep connected

Internet

Wangba (联网) means internet café in Chinese. There are plenty of internet cafés in almost every town in China. Almost every town will have an internet café or gaming center. The best way to spot an internet café is to look for the 网 character and large digitized images of computer game characters. Often, there will be a sign saying "Green Power" in English at the entrance. Most gaming centers cost around 3 RMB an hour. You prepay at the main desk and are then given a card or a piece of paper. Once you are done you return the card or piece of paper and get reimbursed.

As one foreigner said, "a Chinese gaming center is like a 12 year old's bedroom and bathroom without a parent, plus you can smoke there too." Therefore be prepared for a place that might be a bit dingy or basic. Internet cafés in China tend to get crowded starting in the late afternoon to the late evenings.

Phone

When making international phone calls it is best to buy an IP card. A 100 RMB IP card costs about 30 RMB and gives about 40 minutes of calling, depending on where in the world you are calling. The back of the card has an option for English menus. There is no warning before the card runs out of minutes.

Post

The Chinese postal service is very good. Remember in more remote places usually only one post office in a city can handle sending international boxes or letters. Also many times it might be worth having the name of the country you are trying to send to in Chinese characters, because small town people might know what Estonia is in English.